
With the Mets closing in on a 9-2 victory, McNeil entered to play second base in the eighth so Luis Guillorme could slide over to shortstop and Francisco Lindor could come off the field to an ovation from fans. Four hits is normal for him,” McNeil said.įreeman’s flyout to the center-field warning track in the fifth all but ended his hopes. McNeil and his teammates were watching, as the start of New York’s game was delayed almost two hours by rain. The 2020 NL MVP went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs to finish at. 322 after going 0 for 4 on Tuesday night versus Colorado, and needed to go 4 for 4 or better Wednesday to top McNeil. “To be able to give him a moment that he deserves - he doesn’t ask for it, and he would have played tonight, and all those things. “He earned it all the way,” Showalter said. But even after Showalter pulled most of his regulars with a large lead, McNeil remained in the game and flied out twice in rainy conditions. New York was eliminated from the NL East race during the second game when first-place Atlanta beat Miami. 251 average during a disappointing 2021.Red Sox score 5 runs in 7th inning, avoid sweep with 6-3 win over Rockies 319 across his first three major-league seasons, McNeil dipped to a. The season as a whole represents a massive rebound for McNeil. “I wasn’t really expecting to be here,” McNeil said Tuesday. When his finger felt healthy enough, he was able to carry over the good results to his normal grip. McNeil credited a summer injury to his finger that caused him to rework his grip on the bat, into an even more unorthodox split grip, and his approach. 465 in his final 10 games to secure not just the NL’s best average, but the best in all of baseball.

He closed the season on an absurd tear, hitting. 300, and he sat 30 points behind Freeman. He and most of the team were glued to the TV just before their own first pitch for Freeman’s third, a long flyout that clinched the title for McNeil.Īs recently as the trade deadline, McNeil’s average was under. Because of that, he didn’t watch Freeman’s second at-bat: a home run.

McNeil watched Freeman’s first-inning single. Freeman entered Wednesday needing to go 4-for-4 to retake the lead, and while McNeil and the Mets sat in a rain delay, he made a run at it. The Mets’ do-everything All-Star had caught and passed Los Angeles’ Freddie Freeman just this week. By that point, the title was his - not that he didn’t have to sweat for a little. McNeil did not start New York’s season finale against the Nationals, eventually entering for defensive reasons in the eighth inning and not getting a turn at bat. “That’s a heck of an accomplishment,” manager Buck Showalter said. That’s the one that’s attainable for me.” “I’m never going to lead the majors in home runs or stuff like that. McNeil achieved the individual goal he’d always had his eye set upon, claiming the National League batting title Wednesday with a.
