The post on X on Wednesday this week from @OneShiningMomentMets caught my attention:
Some Mets players home/road OPS so far this year:
Lindor – .546 / .791 Marte – .622 / .743 McNeil – .449 / .836 Baty – .530 / .688 Bader – .615 / .654 Taylor- .476 / 1.094 Narvaez – .039 / .846
Is it possible Citi Field has a bad batter’s eye???
Then a follow up post again on X:
‘Just to be clear this isn’t solely a Mets issue because other teams are hitting a combined .198/.294/.302 at Citi. The Mets are averaging in terms of runs per game… 5.5 on the Road 3.3 at Home.’
Citi Field. It’s where offense goes to die.
My first thought was, that’s kind of what we’ve been seeing when watching the Mets play at Citi Field. It also feels like the Mets have hit better on the road and that’s also true. It’s true that CitiField is a great ballpark for watching a baseball game. It’s apparently not as good a ballpark for batters trying to hit MLB pitching.
What is responsible for this maddening circumstance, and who can be blamed here? There are a few theories including one posted by @oneshiningmoment – wake turbulence from airplanes flying in and out of LaGuardia around Citi Field. A pilot (self-described) added his two cents but they’re worth reading:
One thing I can tell you is that I. LOVE. THIS! Everything makes more sense now. There had to be a reason Francisco Lindor is dreadful hitting at Citi Field. It’s because Citi Field is and always has been a. lousy hitter’s park, ‘Blame the planes’ is perfect. Unproveable but slightly plausible. To date there has not been a more compelling or believable theory as to why offense at Citi Field is too often non-existent.
If you can believe it, this is the 16th season of Citi Field. The Mets have had a better than league average home OPS only two times in 2020 and 2022. In 16 years! The team’s road OPS has been better than league average road OPS a total of 11 times in 16 years. Met fans have noticed but never knew the reason. While he was with the Mets, Jacob DeGrom pitched so many games in which he received little or no run support. Now we know. Blame the planes.
I’ve written before that being a fan of a team that scores a bunch of runs only to have the pitching implode, and give all those runs back and then some, is not as fun as you’d think. Waiting for your team to blow it is very unrewarding. Having a team be no-hit through more than two-thirds of game twice in four days as was the case this week, is excruciating to watch. Which is worse? Pick your poison.
Bringing in the fences at Citi Field is likely not the answer. Moving the fences back would create a larger playing field area which would then suggest building a team of faster outfielders to cover all that ground in the outfield. Would more hits and runs be a result? That’s hard to say for sure. It too is unlikely. The dimensions of Citi Field aren’t out of step with those of other MLB parks.
Visiting the Phillies and Marlins might be a relief for Met hitters. The pitchers no doubt won’t feel the same.
