The NY Mets 2010s home run king: A look into Lucas Duda's tenure

When New York Mets fans hear the name "Lucas Duda," there are a lot of mixed feelings. His power-hitting contributions to the mid-2010s Mets teams should come to mind, but many fans remember him for his dreadful error late in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, a botched throw home that would cost the Mets the game and the series, with the Royals taking home the trophy that night. However, Mets fans forget that before Pete Alonso graced the team with his presence in 2019, Lucas Duda was looked at by many as the closest thing to a consistent power hitter the Mets had.

For his first few years, Duda saw a solid amount of major-league action. He had a solid 2011 campaign, batting .292 with a .852 OPS in 100 games, hitting 10 home runs, and driving in 50 runs in the process. Duda started at right field to begin the 2012 season, but midseason struggles saw him sent back down to Triple-A until late August despite showing flashes of power. Through the 2013 season, Duda saw a lot of time occupying corner outfield positions.

In 2014, Lucas Duda became the Mets' newest power hitter.

Lucas Duda's 2014 campaign was something out of nowhere. He began to platoon with first baseman Ike Davis, eventually earning the starting position when Davis was traded midseason to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 153 games, the most he'd play in his career, Duda hit 30 home runs with 92 RBI and an OPS of .830, accumulating 3.1 fWAR. I remember Duda's 29th home run of the season, a walk-off two-run shot against the Houston Astros in the season's penultimate game. He would go on to reach 30 the next day in the final game of the season. Duda's race to 30 home runs brought joy and excitement in September to an otherwise unexciting year of Mets baseball.

Duda carried his success over to the 2015 season, a magical pennant year Mets fans would never forget. In 135 games, Duda hit 27 homers and drove in 73 runs, with an OPS of .838 and 3.2 fWAR. If not for a back injury that cost Duda several games in late August, he probably would have surpassed his 2014 totals. Nevertheless, Duda played a big role in the Mets' surprising playoff run that year. In Game 4 of the NLCS against the Cubs, Duda tied a Mets record with five RBI in a postseason game. The Mets would go on to win that game, sweep the Cubs, and advance to the World Series.

Outside of his heroics on the field, Duda garnered national attention when Curtis Granderson launched the Instagram account @wefollowlucasduda during the 2015 run. The account was exactly what it was said to be, with Granderson and other teammates following Duda around in the clubhouse and the locker room. When the Mets won the division and the pennant, the account caught the attention of the baseball world, with Duda receiving praise for the good vibes he brought to the clubhouse of a winning team.

2016 saw the return of Duda's back problems. A stress fracture in his back took him out for essentially the whole season, playing in just 47 games the year after the Mets' World Series run. Despite missing some early season games in 2017 due to elbow hyperextension, Duda was able to stay relatively healthy, hitting 17 home runs and batting in 37 runs with a .879 OPS in 75 games for the Mets until a midseason trade to the Tampa Bay Rays effectively ended his tenure in New York.

To many, Duda is seen as a "forgotten player," but Mets fans should see him for the under-appreciated power hitter he was, bringing the team some good memories during his time in New York before the Pete Alonso era captivated fans of the Flushing Faithful.