The Mets were average with home runs in 2022 and need to add more

With 171 home runs this past year, the New York Mets finished in a tie for 15th place with the Baltimore Orioles for the most trips around the bases. They’re right in the middle of the action with just as many teams behind and in front of them thanks to the tie with the Orioles.

The Mets were never a team anyone expected to power its way to the postseason. Aside from Pete Alonso, they didn’t have all that much home run prowess on the roster. It proved to be the case with only Eduardo Escobar and Francisco Lindor reaching 20 home runs this past season.

While it’s right in the middle, the teams who hit fewer home runs than the Mets were mostly bad to downright awful.

Most playoff teams hit more home runs than the Mets this past season

Among the 14 teams that hit more home runs than the Mets in 2022, 8 made the playoffs. More important, only 3 playoff teams hit fewer home runs than the Mets. It was the San Diego Padres (153), Tampa Bay Rays (139), and Cleveland Guardians (127) who failed to reach the Mets’ mark.

Home runs were definitely a huge factor in the regular season for many teams. In fact, all four of the teams that earned a bye in the first round finished within the top five. Only the Milwaukee Brewers, a non-playoff team, crept in with the third-most dingers this past year.

There is a very simple solution for the Mets to find power. They need to get it out of the DH spot.

Mets DHs batted .218/.314/.371 this past year with 18 home runs. The team got more home runs out of every other position other than catcher and second base—a position of major weakness and one where they got a batting title.

We can’t put all of the blame there, though. The way the Mets were constructed was anti-home run. The three starting outfielders have decent power but none are capable of exploding with the long ball. It would be nice to have at least one outfielder who could finish the year with 30. Alas, that wasn’t a part of the plan.

The Mets proved you can win often and do it without all that many home runs. A couple more threats to go yard can make a big difference even if all it does is scare a few pitchers or give your team an extra win or two.

An average home run hitting squad in 2022, the Mets should aim for a few more long balls in the coming year.