Francisco Alvarez, the New York Mets’ catcher, had not hit a home run since July 26 and was in the midst of a 2-for-25 slump as he reached home plate with the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning of Monday’s home game against the Baltimore Orioles.
It appears that New York co-hitting coach Eric Chavez provided Alvarez some easy advise before the slugger crushed his team’s most dramatic walk-off shot this season.
“I just want you to be a good hitter,” Chavez told Alvarez recently, as reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic.
The Mets have consistently credited Alvarez with the club’s summer turnaround, leaving some to question what could have happened if the 22-year-old hadn’t missed nearly two months of play this spring due to a damaged ligament in his left thumb. Sammon said that Alvarez “also dealt with a nagging shoulder issue in late July,” which appears to have hindered the power hitter’s offensive abilities.
“When he first came back, he was hitting the ball the other way really well,” Chavez recalled of Alvarez’s return to the lineup following his thumb injury in June. “Then he began to get pitched within. Then he decided he wanted to hit pull-side homers. So he began spinning out. So we’ve simply been focusing on his path.
Alvarez entered Tuesday batting.253/.318/.410 with six home runs, 28 RBI, and a.728 OPS in 67 games this season. The Mets (65-60) will hope the final at-bat of Monday’s win was a portent of things to come, as they finished the day’s MLB action 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the National League’s final wild-card playoff place.