NY Mets: Buck Showalter lets Brett Baty off the hook for misplayed pop-up

Mets manager Buck Showalter was willing to forgive Brett Baty for his gaffe in Saturday’s game, and upon closer inspection, there may have been more to that pop-up.

The New York Mets lost their fourth consecutive game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers in another poor offensive outing.

The team recorded only three hits in total in the deflating 5-1 loss, and along with the Mets’ anemic batting, a few key players made critical mistakes that may have derailed the game. Pete Alonso bungled what should have been a simple throw to first and allowed a run at the top of the eighth.

One inning later, Brett Baty misjudged a pop-up that also allowed the Dodgers, who had runners on second and third, to score and extend their lead. We all know what fans were thinking: Come on, it’s a pop-up. A sky-high pop-up that went viral on socials for the worst reasons.

Nevertheless, Mets manager Buck Showalter defended the rookie third baseman after the game, claiming that catching that pop-up was not as easy as it looked.

https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1680600289504632832

Mets’ Buck Showalter defends Brett Baty for rookie mistake

Looking at the trajectory of Matt Muncy’s pop-up, one could see how Baty may have experienced some difficulty in positioning himself well to catch the ball and get the much-needed out.

But at the same time… these are professionals. This is what they do for a living, and even if there was a gust of wind affecting the ball’s trajectory, it appeared to be a pretty routine infield fly ball by MLB standards.

Showalter likely doesn’t want to chip away at Baty’s confidence this early in the young infielder’s career, but in the bigger picture, the lack of accountability could become a troubling issue moving forward.

Ever since Baty got promoted to the majors, he has struggled to live up to expectations. He struck out three times that night and has only four hits in the month July; he’s slashing .238/.308/.346 so far in 2023.

With the Yankees also standing behind their blundering players, there must be something in the New York water this season.