For somebody hitting .339 to lead the major leagues, Jeff McNeil tends to get worked up about his failures.
It’s a character trait that has driven the 27-year-old Mets utilityman throughout his professional baseball career: good enough is never good enough.
Enter hitting coach Chili Davis as the sage, reassuring voice to remind McNeil during these times of self-doubt that he hasn’t gotten his last hit in the big leagues.
“The kid pushes himself and sometimes he gets a little down on himself,” Davis said. “But one thing he needs to understand: I’m never going to get mad at him because he leaves his zone once in a while, because sometimes he leaves his zone and makes out and sometimes he leaves his zone and hits the ball and he gets hits. I would like him to get better at it, but I can’t get mad, because everybody leaves their zone once in a while.”
McNeil is a throwback to an era when hitters left the on-deck circle ready to attack. He’s proud of that approach, which clearly suits him. If the first pitch is a strike — or even just close to it — there is a good chance McNeil is swinging.
Of McNeil’s nine homers this season, five have come on the first pitch of his at-bat. Overall, he’s hitting .400 on the first pitch.
“You only get three strikes and I don’t want to give them one freebie, so I am going up there just looking to swing,” McNeil said. “I am not looking for my pitch exactly, but a pitch I can handle. It doesn’t have to be in a little Cheerio, it doesn’t have to be right there, but if it’s in an area I can handle, I am going to fire.”
Davis, who arrived to the Mets this season preaching contact over swinging for the fences, appreciates McNeil’s attacking approach.
“Yeah, more guys need to go up there looking to hit in this game,” Davis said. “You swing first and let the ball stop him, which is how you play the game.”
Davis says McNeil compares favorably to Kirby Puckett, who built a Hall of Fame career with his aggressive approach. Davis and Puckett were teammates with the Twins in the early 1990s.
“Kirby didn’t walk a lot, but he didn’t strike out a lot and he would get his 200 hits every year,” Davis said. “He hit everything, swung at everything. He was a great hitter and he could run, too.”
Jose Reyes (2011) is the only Mets player to win a batting title. Can McNeil join that list?
“I do think he can do it, because of his ability to put the barrel on the ball and his speed,” Davis said. “He can get infield hits, he hits the ball all over the field and fastballs mean nothing to him. He’s like Mookie Betts, you have got to bring something to get that fastball by him.”
McNeil says he has come to value his relationship with Davis based on their similar philosophies.
“I had heard he would be a good hitting coach for me, that we would fit well and he likes my type of hitting, spray the ball around the field and take what the defense is giving you,” McNeil said. “I know he kind of preached that in spring training. It kind of showed there, we were using the whole field and beating the shift and taking what the defenses give you.”
Davis has the ultimate compliment for McNeil.
“I think he’s a damn good player,” Davis said. “Versatile, very good hitter, great kid.”