NY Mets: Best “Bench Mob” moments of the 2021 season

May 11, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pinch hitter Patrick Mazeika (L) is congratulated by shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after a walk-off fielders choice during the bottom of the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pinch hitter Patrick Mazeika (L) is congratulated by shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after a walk-off fielders choice during the bottom of the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 11: Patrick Mazeika #76 of the New York Mets celebrates after the game winning run was scored on a fielder’s choice during his at bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field on May 11, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.The New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

No Mets Bench Mob guy has been as memorable as Patrick Mazeika.

Mazeika was taken as an 8th round pick in the 2015 Amateur Draft and even went to the same university as Jacob deGrom, Stetson. He’s 27 years old and was a somewhat late-bloomer. He was gradually brought up through promotions to Double-A in 2017 and Triple-A this year after hitting a professional-high 16 home runs in 2019.

Players brought up due to injuries are often not yet ready for the fast pace of the Majors, but Mazeika did not care. Before he even got his first hit, he had two walkoff RBIs, once against Arizona and again against Baltimore.

In both of those walkoffs, Mazeika’s xBA (Expected Batting Average/Hit Probability) was .170 and .040. His launch angle was -65 degrees against Arizona and -14 against Baltimore. Both are pretty bad places to be, but he got the job done and it’s all that matters.

Thankfully, Mazeika was lucky enough to get his first Major League hit, which ended up being a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In Triple-A Syracuse this year, Mazeika is batting .288 with 5 HR and 25 RBI. Altogether, he has 6 HR and 29 RBI between Triple-A and the big-leagues. If he keeps those minor-league numbers up, we might be seeing him more in the future.