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When Dwight Gooden was a Met, he famously consented to the Mets' directon that he bat righty, even though he insisted he was a lefthanded hitter. Not only were the Mets trying to protect his arm, but Ralph and Tim in the booth seemed to feel like every team in the league would do the same to protect a young star pitcher like Dwight — not that there had ever been a young star pitcher like Dwight.
But no matter what every team would do, that ethic has been out the window with the Mets of recent vintage, with fully four fifths of the Mets' rotation being cross dominant. DeGrom, Syndergard and Wheeler throw righthanded and bat lefthanded, while Steven Matz has the Ricky Henderson curse of throwing lefthanded and batting righthanded. Very strange.
Thats remarkable to me. The Mets have every reason to protect this pack of starters, but values have changed. Only Jason Vargas, regarded in some quarters as the team's best hitting pitcher, bats and throws from the same side. But Vargas hasn't shown the power the others have. (Vargas is 21 for 107 lifetime, but has never gone deep.) Three different pitchers have now homered for the Mets this season, and while I haven't looked it up, I imagine that either establishes or seriously threatens the team record.
If he gets a chance, Gselly can hit a little, too.
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