New York Mets one of several teams with more strikeouts than hits

The New York Mets are one of several teams this season with more strikeouts than hits. If they want to get better, this needs to change.

The New York Mets are part of the problem with baseball’s new trend toward striking out too much. After 39 games, they have more strikeouts than hits.

They aren’t alone in this regard. Last month, for the first time in MLB history, there were more strikeouts than hits. This is a new direction that has some concerned about where the game is going.

The Mets have 312 hits thus far. Their 340 strikeouts top this total by quite a large margin. It will take some heavy offensive days and some great plate discipline for a few weeks to even things out.

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On the positive side, this team is actually striking out less than the average MLB team. The real problem with this particular squad is how few hits they are compiling. This is one of the most inconsistent offenses in baseball. Fans may have a tough time believing Amed Rosario now holds one of the team’s highest batting averages.

Yoenis Cespedes has been the biggest culprit in the K-Department. His 50 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances is a daunting total. Averaging about one strikeout per every three trips to the plate is not a percentage the big guy would like to see.

As a comparison, the team’s leader in hits is Asdrubal Cabrera. His 48 total on the year falls two shy of Cespedes’ strikeout total.

Last season, the Mets finished the year with 1,379 hits. This bested their total of 1,291 strikeouts. In what was regarded as a down year in 2017, they still managed to put the ball in play a little more regularly than they are in 2018. Hopefully, they can learn to do the same this year.

There’s no clear reason why batters are striking out a whole lot more this year. Are pitchers getting better? Perhaps batters are just swinging a lot more freely, hoping for the four-base hit.

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Plenty of teams live and die by the home run ball. The Kings of Queens are no exception.