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3 Mets playoff heroes that are doing the small things well

Championship winning teams usually have this type of play from some key players.

By John Flynn |
Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets - Game 4
Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets - Game 4 / Elsa/GettyImages
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If the New York Mets wanted to be in the position where they are now, in this postseason, with a showdown looming with Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, they needed a total team effort throughout this postseason. It had to feature the little things to be done well to set up the big moments.

Thanks to the incredible culture of winning that the Mets have built this season, such a feat has been realized in a season where nobody thought this team would play for the pennant starting on Sunday night, and there are three players that should be highlighted on that front.

1) Francisco Lindor

Obviously, Francisco Lindor delivered the biggest moment of the Division Series win against the Phillies with his go-ahead grand slam in Game 4, but if Lindor's status as team MVP was legit, it would not have come without him doing the little things.

He generated some outstanding at-bats during the Mets' run, getting the opposition's pitch counts up. Among his 34 plate appearances during the postseason so far, he has seen five or more pitches in 15 of them, highlighted by the eight-pitch leadoff walk he drew against Devin Williams in Milwaukee on October 3 to jumpstart the Mets' improbable rally that climaxed with Pete Alonso's go-ahead homer.

Lindor has also supplied strong defense so far in the playoffs so far, as he has yet to commit an error in 29 chances so far, while turning five double plays on defense.

2) Starling Marte

On a surface level, Marte's postseason hasn't been spectacular. Through 2 rounds, Marte is hitting just .200 with zero home runs a .533 OPS in 27 plate appearances. However, he has had two timely hits that proved to be critical in Mets wins.

In Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Milwaukee, on the heals of Pete Alonso's famous go-ahead homer, the Mets had a chance to add more against Devin Williams, and he hit an opposite field single that plated a monster insurance run that made the lead less tenuous for the bottom of the 9th inning.

Then, in Game 3 of the Division Series against Philadelphia, the Mets had a bases loaded, nobody out situation in the 6th with a 2-0 lead. After Jose Iglesias and Jesse Winker failed to bring runs in, Starling Marte stepped up and delivered a 2-run single to break the game open and allow the Mets to breeze to victory.

Also lost in the shuffle were the at-bats he took in Game 4. He had plate appearances of seven, nine, and six pitches respectively against Ranger Suarez and Jeff Hoffman, which drove up the opposition's pitch counts, which led to the pitching changes, and eventually, the big moment of the series in Lindor's grand slam.

3) Jose Iglesias

For all the OMG discussion this postseason with the Mets and their run, it was the author of the song that proved to define the mental grit and toughness with this team. In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, down by a run with two out in the 5th inning, he beat out a ground ball to first base by hustling to the bag and diving head first to be ruled safe, thanks to Milwaukee's Joel Payamps inability to cover first base.

That hustle turned a 4-3 deficit into a 4-4 tie, and instead of stranding two base runners, the Mets added four more two out runs to take an 8-4 lead, which turned out to be the final score of that game.

Also, not surprisingly, his defense has been stellar as well, as he has played 61.2 innings on the field, has helped turn big double plays, and filled in nicely at third base when Carlos Mendoza substituted Mark Vientos out of the game for defense (Luisangel Acuña came in to replace the moved Iglesias each time at second base).

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