Latest news with #centerfield
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Daulton Varsho's leaping catch
Daulton Varsho ranges back to the center-field wall and leaps to make a lovely catch for the first out of the top of the 5th inning
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Daulton Varsho's leaping catch
Daulton Varsho ranges back to the center-field wall and leaps to make a lovely catch for the first out of the top of the 5th inning
New York Times
08-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Mets' next center fielder is in Binghamton — but is it Carson Benge or Jett Williams?
SOMERSET, N.J. — In Thursday's fifth inning, on a fly ball to right-center field, Carson Benge drifted comfortably back, gliding toward the gap, and snagged a fly ball just over his left ear, a showcase of the grace that could make Benge the New York Mets' center fielder of the future. Of course, in Sunday's sixth inning, on a sinking fly ball to left-center, Jett Williams raced to cover ground, getting there in plenty of time to make the catch and preserve a scoreless tie, a manifestation of the outright speed that could make Williams the Mets' center fielder of the future. Advertisement Center field is not as easy to play as John Fogerty wants his coach to believe, and the quality two-way center fielder has become an endangered species in the major leagues. Center fielders have produced below league-average numbers offensively in each of the last eight seasons. Only the St. Louis Cardinals have received less production from that position than the Mets this season. New York's .590 OPS from its center fielders is its worst since 1973, perhaps proof you can win a pennant even with subpar production from Don Hahn and a 42-year-old Willie Mays. In general, the Mets have enjoyed quality work out of center in the 50-plus years since, thanks to Mookie Wilson and Lance Johnson, Carlos Beltrán and Brandon Nimmo. Who will be next to take that baton? As muddled as their present looks, the Mets know their future contains more clarity than most. Their right fielder, shortstop and left fielder are signed through the end of the decade, and they have promising team-controlled options at the big-league level at catcher, third base and perhaps second base. When projecting where the Mets' everyday lineup will need future assistance, center field glares. In his two seasons running the Mets, David Stearns has signed one center fielder and traded for three others. Cedric Mullins is the latest option brought in to stabilize the position before he hits free agency this winter. Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri are controlled via arbitration, meaning New York has no money committed to the position beyond 2025. That's where Benge, Williams and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies come in. Drafted in the first round out of Oklahoma State last summer, Benge earned a promotion to Double A in late June. To say he hit the ground running, as his manager Reid Brignac did Thursday, is to understate the cliche. Even Usain Bolt might not have hit the ground sprinting this fast. Benge was just named the Eastern League's player of the month for July, and he entered Thursday hitting .349 with a .437 on-base percentage and 1.070 OPS with Binghamton. Advertisement 'I feel like I've been taking the same swings,' Benge said Thursday. 'Everything has started to click a little bit more.' Mets director of player development Andrew Christie called it 'repatterning' with Benge's swing — 'changing the goal of what he's trying to do.' That means fewer groundballs and more balls pulled in the air. Benge hasn't been thinking about that consciously. It's just been the result of the drills the Mets have worked on with him this season. The bat sure looks like it can play, and the glove is coming around with more exposure in center. As a two-way player in college, Benge saw the majority of his outfield time in a corner. Thursday marked his 45th start in center this season, compared to 38 in the corners. 'I'm getting reps in all three spots, so I'm equally as comfortable (in center) as any other spot,' Benge said. 'Pre-pitch, his jumps and his first steps to the ball have improved,' Brignac said. 'It's the ability to show you can go get balls, that you can turn your back on the baseball and then find it, beat the ball to the spot — those things young players need the reps and the time to progress.' In other words, you might say Benge needs to get up to speed in center, and that's not just about reps; his next step is adding the footspeed that makes an outfielder a viable option in center. The Mets have made deeper investments into their sports science department that they hope can pay off this winter, for Benge and others. They've already seen progress there with Benge this season, with higher max speeds on his routes in recent weeks, according to Christie. 'I think there's every chance he stays in center field,' Christie said, 'and that would be a huge win for him and for us. He has the requisite base of athleticism to do that.' A Mets first-round pick in 2022, Williams has rebounded from a lost 2024 season by making it look like it never happened. In spring training, Williams wanted to rediscover the swing that propelled his 2023 breakout; his numbers this season are proof that he has. He entered Thursday hitting .282 with a .389 on-base percentage and .873 OPS while spending the full season so far with Binghamton. Advertisement 'We got to the '23 swing, and now we're improving upon it,' Christie said, noting that minor adjustments Williams made in late May helped him generate more extra-base power. A natural shortstop, center field is less of a priority for Williams right now. He plays there once or twice a week to expand his versatility; when he does, he shows off the exact kind of speed Benge aspires to. 'Easy,' Williams said of playing center. 'There's still a lot of work to do — taking the angles to the wall, knowing how many steps you have to the track, jumping into the wall if you have to, knowing the slice of the ball and the angles off the bat.' 'It's continuing to do what he's been doing,' Brignac said. 'He looks like a natural.' For the Mets, it might be less a question of whether Williams can defend at the position and more whether that's the best fit for him long-term. After all, he could be Jeff McNeil's successor at second. Binghamton's Nick Morabito and Brooklyn's A.J. Ewing have also had strong seasons while playing a bunch of center field. Finding reps for all those guys in center is the proverbial good problem to have. Just how valuable would it be for the Mets to find a two-way center fielder from within? 'This is not a very difficult question to answer: It would be massive,' Christie said. 'We have a huge opportunity to provide value to the major-league team, and those guys can be a huge part of it.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Phillies rumors: The brutally historic reason Philadelphia needs CF help at trade deadline
The post Phillies rumors: The brutally historic reason Philadelphia needs CF help at trade deadline appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Philadelphia Phillies have had a solid 2025 MLB season up to this point, currently sitting at 41-29 leading into Sunday afternoon's series finale vs the Toronto Blue Jays. Still, there has been a bit of slippage as of late for the Phillies as the team looks to make sure it peaks at the right time ahead of the upcoming MLB postseason. Advertisement One area of concern for the Phillies this year has been the hitting prowess, or lack thereof, of their outfield players. In fact, recently, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today highlighted a stat showcasing just how brutal the play of the Phillies' center field position has been this year, and also hinting at the team's possible desire to remedy that at the upcoming MLB trade deadline. 'You think the Phillies would love to find a center fielder at the deadline? Their center fielders have a .609 OPS, which would rank the lowest at the position in franchise history,' reported Nightengale. In some respects, it's amazing that the Phillies have been able to find themselves at 12 games over the .500 mark despite the historically bad hitting from their center field players so far this year. Advertisement The Phillies are looking to break through this year and win their first World Series championship in the current era. The Phillies have come close to reaching this goal in recent years, reaching the World Series in 2022, but have lost in an earlier round of the playoffs in each year since then, causing immense frustration among the fanbase. The Phillies currently sit 3.5 games behind the first place New York Mets in the NL East standings, but have a sizable gap between themselves and the third place Atlanta Braves. After their series vs the Blue Jays concludes, Philadelphia will next take the field for the first game of their series vs the Miami Marlins on Monday evening at 6:40 PM ET from Miami. Related: Phillies ball boy bare hands Kyle Schwarber foul chopper Related: Phillies' Ranger Suarez issues confident admission after dominant outing vs. Blue Jays
Wall Street Journal
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Wall Street Journal
He's Baseball's Most Spectacular Home Run Thief—and He's Known as Spider-Man
Before he runs out to his position in center field for the Athletics, Denzel Clarke writes a message to himself in the palm of his glove. It says: 'I got your back.' He started this ritual in Double-A last season, during a dismal slump at the plate. The words serve as a constant reminder of a promise he made to his pitchers.
