PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Some may think Brett Baty is sitting at a career crossroads of sorts this spring. He’s been to the big leagues before, but he hasn’t stuck, and now he’s got another chance, either as a fill-in for the injured Jeff McNeil at second base, at least for a while, or as a utility man who roams around the diamond for the Mets.
But Baty isn’t viewing this as some kind of make-or-break and maybe that’s how he can take advantage of this opportunity.
“It’s just taking a step back and really taking it all in, appreciating where you are and just trying to get better every single day,” the 25-year-old said.
“Just be where your feet are.”
Baty’s feet are, much of the time, at second base, where he started Monday’s game against the Rays at Clover Park. He is trying to learn the complexities of a position that has a lot more responsibilities than third base, where he’s played for most of his career.
There’s more communication before every pitch. He must learn the nuances of turning a double play and the ways to protect himself while doing it. He’s got to know who’s covering the second-base bag on, say, a comebacker to the pitcher with a man on first. There’s a different set of cutoffs and relays than at third base. He’s got to get familiar with the first baseman and know what situations he might have to dart over to cover that base. And more.
Third base, as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza put it, “is more angles and throwing across the diamond."
“He’s going to be involved in a lot more plays every pitch,” Mendoza added. “There’s only so much that you can replicate just by hitting him ground balls. He needs game action and that’s some of the things that we’re going to be looking at and we’ll use those opportunities for teaching moments.”
So far, so good, at least according to Francisco Lindor, who has been playing with Baty recently, including on Monday. In the fifth inning, Baty started a double play, flipping to Lindor for the relay to first, and the pairing was smooth. Baty also made two solid plays going to his left, including one in the eighth inning where he had to throw to José Butto on the move while the pitcher covered first.
“He looks good,” Lindor said. “He looks like he’s starting to feel comfortable and he looks like he’s embracing the challenge. That’s all you can ask for. He is ready for whatever comes his way.”
Asked to name some folks who’ve helped him, Baty mentioned several, including Yolmer Sánchez, the 2019 AL Gold Glove winner at second base for the White Sox, who was Baty’s teammate at Triple-A Syracuse last year. Others included third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and Lindor.
“We've been doing early work pretty much every day, just trying to get the footwork and stuff down on some double play turns,” Baty said.
