Darin Ruf has been a major leaguer for eight seasons and has played more than 500 games. He added another three years of professional experience in the Korea Baseball Organization.
The former Phillies and Giants slugger has attended thousands of hitters’ meetings, but none quite like the gatherings he has sat in on during his week and a half with the Mets.
“The information-sharing from our advance meeting to in-game is more than I’ve seen anywhere else,” Ruf, a trade-deadline acquisition, said before the Mets’ 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Phillies at Citi Field on Friday night, which snapped their six-game win streak. “When we’re talking about the pitcher that night or a bullpen arm, multiple — multiple — guys speak up about how they’ve had success against this person, what we should try to do as a team, what we should look for.”
Swinging, pitching and running have been pretty important to the Mets’ rise to first place this year, but talking has played a part, too.
During meetings, around an upbeat and winning clubhouse or near the batting cage or home plate, the Mets are quick to convey any insight into an opposing player, which shows “how much [the Mets hitters] care about each other,” Daniel Vogelbach, another newcomer, said.
Often, a Mets hitter who just recorded an out will talk briefly with the batter about to take an at-bat for a last-second tip. The hitters’ meetings are conducted similarly, a team filled with veterans allowing those veterans a loud voice.
Manager Buck Showalter said entering this season, he did not want to allow prep meetings to run past 15 minutes. Hitters can only absorb so much without either being overburdened or bored.
“We wanted it to be something people wanted to come to,” said Showalter, whose club had scored the third-most runs in baseball entering Friday. “You don’t want the meetings to last too long. A lot of the minutiae doesn’t mean a lot.
“The best information is the stuff they talk about. You don’t want someone standing up there reciting countless numbers.”
It speaks to a culture that values the team over the individual and that culture has become increasingly important as the Mets have transitioned into a platoon-heavy club. Ruf and Vogelbach, the respective righty and lefty options at designated hitter, might sit for a few days straight and need any preparation help they can get.
Vogelbach, who has been a Met for approaching three weeks, also said he has not been a part of a team this vocal.
“It’s definitely rare for me with where I’ve been — it’s definitely been way more here,” said Vogelbach, who is on his fifth major league team. “The guys in the clubhouse care about each other, and when you really have one main, common goal in mind, the way we help each other — you feel confident going into games.”
The communication between the pitchers has been less meetings-based and more constant. Whenever they can share information, they do, which has given way to dozens of TV clips in which rotation members, nearly always including Max Scherzer, can be seen talking among themselves in the dugout during the game.
“There’s just so much information to share,” said Taijuan Walker, who has bounced back nicely following a poor second half last season. “Especially when you get a guy like Max who has been doing it for so long. He has a lot of knowledge.
“Just talking over pitch sequences, why you’re throwing it here, you should throw it here — just different stuff.”
The talking makes it easier to incorporate different personalities into the mix. The clubhouse, which already featured a pingpong table, recently added a pool table, which was the site of a heated game Friday, involving relievers Edwin Diaz, Joely Rodriguez, newly added Mychal Givens and Adonis Medina.
Ruf looked over at the game and said it helped with team bonding, as well as being good for minds that can be consumed by the game.
A year after the Mets’ trade deadline brought Javier Baez and the ensuing thumbs-down scandal, the camaraderie has improved. Last offseason, the Mets’ front office identified players with good reputations off the field, such as Scherzer, Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha and Starling Marte, and the in-season additions have assimilated smoothly.
“It’s been a very easy clubhouse to go into with a lot of really good people,” Vogelbach said.