The Mets haven’t had many reasons to smile this season.
Despite boasting a payroll north of $350 million, highest in MLB history, New York has performed well below expectations in a city that is known to have little patience for poor play. One of the things at the center of the team’s issues is sloppy defense.
On Saturday, the Mets benefited from shoddy defense on the other side.
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In the top of the fourth inning and his team trailing 2-0, New York second baseman Jeff McNeil stepped to the plate with runners at second and third. The struggling McNeil turned back the clock to the days of Little League, when hitting a home run was much more than just launching the ball over the outfield wall.
THE SQUIRREL SCURRIES HOME 🐿️ pic.twitter.com/zKqitRMbVq
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 23, 2023
First, McNeil rocketed a liner back up the middle, plating Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso to tie the game. Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran fired the ball home with no chance of throwing out Alonso.
Then, Boston catcher Jorge Alfaro tried to get the advancing McNeil at second but launched the ball to just shy of the warning track in center field. All that was missing was “The Benny Hill Show” theme song playing through the Fenway Park speakers.
McNeil kept running and scored to give New York the lead.
This was not the first time the Red Sox had given up a Little League home run this season. But what is a Little League home run, exactly? The Sporting News explains:
What is a Little League home run?
By definition, a Little League home run is “a play during which a batter scores a run during their plate appearance with the aid of one or more errors committed by the fielding team.”
The Rays’ Twitter account shared that definition with video of Tampa Bay first baseman Yandy Diaz’s trek to home plate on June 4 — when the Red Sox supplied a nearly identical lowlight.
Little League Home Run, def: a play during which a batter scores a run during their plate appearance with the aid of one or more errors committed by the fielding team. pic.twitter.com/K8YXxfDVn7
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 4, 2023
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That time, Connor Wong was doing the catching for Boston — and spotlighting the Sox’s shoddy defense.
Despite the troubles in the field (25th in MLB with -19 defensive runs saved, per Fangraphs), Boston sat just two games out of a wild-card berth in the American League following its 8-5 victory over New York on Saturday night.
Regardless, the message remains the same: Always hustle. Especially when the other team is the Red Sox.