Mets: Is Jeff McNeil the most professional hitter in the MLB?

The New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil led the MLB in batting average last year at .326. Is he the most professional hitter in the game right now?

When I was growing up, the baseball phrase “professional hitter” was synonymous with only one player: Tony Gwynn.

Gwynn was a hit machine, the type of pure hitter who could simply hit the ball where it was pitched. There were no holes in Gwynn’s approach at the dish.

Nowadays, that phrase has died off some. Analytics enthusiasts don’t seem to care about hits, do they? Especially not singles — they could care less about those.

But over the years, I’ve stood my ground on this topic. If the game is on the line, and runners are in scoring position, what are you going to rely on walks to drive in runs?

And that brings us back to McNeil, a guy who simply gets hits. He’s a “professional hitter” in the old mode of Gwynn, Derek Jeter and Larry Walker (just to name a few), one who led the MLB in batting average last season, while also hitting over .300 in 2018, ’19 and ’20.

Mets: Jeff McNeil is the most professional hitter in baseball

The question is: Can anyone compete with him in this category in today’s MLB?

For me, the first name that comes to mind is Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins (formerly of the Minnesota Twins). Arraez is currently hitting an insane .500 — leading the National league, obviously — after hitting .316 and winning the AL batting title last season.

And here’s what people don’t seem to know about Arraez: He also hit over .300 in 2019 and ’20. His only MLB season below .300? He hit .294 for the Twins in 2021.

Arraez is a .320 lifetime hitter, compared to McNeil’s .306.

As much as I want to crown McNeil as the most professional hitter in the MLB — as a lifelong Mets fan, of course — I simply can’t do so in good faith. Arraez is probably the best “hit machine” in today’s game, while Jose Altuve, Mike Trout and Trea Turner all have career batting averages right around McNeil’s .306.

Of course, Trout and Altuve have a lot more pop than McNeil does, too.

All things considered, Jeff McNeil is one of the most professional hitters in the MLB, but not the top dog. Nevertheless – along with Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte – he is one of the ultimate keys to the Mets’ offensive success. He’s one of the only make-or-break players on GM Billy Eppler’s enigmatic roster.

John Frascella is a published baseball author who has been covering the MLB for 19 years. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 for all things MLB, NFL and NBA throughout the year.