Mets' Francisco Alvarez 'seeing a beach ball' during hot streak
Francisco Alvarez #4 of the New York Mets celebrates his third inning two run home run against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in the Queens borough of New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
As the game edged toward midnight, the Mets’ fate for the day no longer in doubt, manager Carlos Mendoza turned to Francisco Alvarez with about an inning to go with a simple message: Take the rest of the night off.
His job was done and his line in the box score was satisfying: three at-bats, three hits, three runs, three RBIs.
Alvarez starred as the Mets pummeled the Yankees, 12-2, to sweep the two-game Subway Series and get back to .500 (39-39) for the first time since May 7. He homered off righthander Luis Gil in the third, added a run-scoring double moments before a deluge of rain in the fifth and contributed a single during a game-sealing sixth.
“He’s seeing a beach ball up there,” Pete Alonso said.
Mendoza said: “There’s a lot to like.”
At the top of the list was the long ball, a feat of strength as much as it was a feat of hitting.
What would Alvarez think if he was behind the plate when the opposing hitter got a 98-mph fastball on the upper edge of the strike zone and lined it to the opposite field for a home run?
“I think that’s a great hitter,” Alvarez said. “It’s hard to do that, but when you feel good, it’s not that hard.”
Nothing seems all that hard for Alvarez right now. During his career-high nine-game hitting streak, he has slashed .566/.647/1.037 with three homers.
During that hot streak, he has raised his OPS on the season to .904. That is the highest of any catcher in the majors (minimum 100 plate appearances).
He has been as reliable as any Mets player during that run, starting 12 of 14 games since returning from a nearly two-month layoff following thumb surgery. That downtime — being relegated to observer from the dugout — allowed him to make the change that Alonso and others have noticed: calming himself on the field in big moments, not yielding to the pressure of trying to perform.
“I see the game in a different way,” Alvarez said.
For the Mets, all this is a massive upgrade from the 22-year-old now batting fifth behind Alonso. Remember: For as touted and talented as Alvarez is, last year he had plenty of power but graded out as about a league-average hitter overall. Lately, he has been much, much more than that, beginning to realize the huge potential.
“That was just an excellent swing,” Alonso said, calling back to the home run. “His approach on driving the fastball the other way to stay on all the other pitches is fantastic. Yes, fantastic result, but the process and the approach — that’s what led to that.”
That represents progress for Alvarez.
“A million percent,” Alonso said. “It’s maturation. Also, when he’s staying within himself and has that consistent approach every day at the plate, his ceiling is through the roof. It doesn’t exist for him. He’s one of the most talented young kids in the game right now.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
