Late in Spring Training, Terry Collins said he would consider hitting the pitcher eighth more frequently in 2015 than he had in the past.
The belief is if there is a more competent hitter in the ninth spot in the order, the chances of that hitter getting on-base are higher which would translate into more run scoring opportunities for the top of the order.
However, as Terry Collins has done twice in this series against the Cubs already, a consequence of batting the pitcher eighth is it can take the bat out of the seventh hitter’s hands, which can neutralize threats with two outs.
Even so, Collins batted Noah Syndergaard eighth on Tuesday, and said before the game he intends to bat the pitcher eighth more frequently going forward in an attempt to jumpstart the top of the batting order.
Collins said he’s less likely to hit either deGrom or Syndergaard eighth when facing a left-handed starting pitcher.
In certain cases, the idea isn’t totally outlandish, and with the way the Mets are hitting at the moment, why not try something new? Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Jon Niese in particular are decent hitting pitchers, and Matt Harvey showed in 2013 he isn’t a sure out at the plate, either.
Certainly in the case of someone like Bartolo Colon, there’s probably no tactical advantage gained by bumping him up in the lineup since he’s one of the most ineffective hitting pitchers – or hitters in general – in the league. The point is, it’s not something the Mets can do everyday, and a lot could depend on how well the pitchers are hitting early in the year.
The Mets pitching staff is 8-for-64 at the plate through the first 33 games of the season.
Collins batted deGrom in the eighth spot on five different occasions last year – he went 2-for-12 with four strikeouts in those situations. He batted deGrom eighth in the second game of the season, the only time he has batted a pitcher eighth this season.
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