Mets’ Francisco Alvarez thinks he can be ‘even better’ after impressive rookie campaign
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez entered Saturday’s game in the midst of a brutal end of the season slump. The rookie was hitting just .158 with eight extra-base hits and a .523 OPS while striking out 38 times since the beginning of August.
Alvarez had also been held hitless over his last 19 at-bats, until Saturday night, when he broke out in a big way to help New York secure a doubleheader sweep with a 11-4 win over the Phillies.
After Brett Baty drove in the first run of the game with a single, Alvarez stepped in and crushed a Michael Plassmeyer offering 412 feet off the facing of the second-deck in left to make it 3-0 Mets.
An inning later with the bases loaded and two outs, Alvarez again demolished a belt-high Plassmeyer fastball for his second long ball in three innings and first career grand slam.
“It felt great,” he said postgame. “I didn’t know I didn’t hit a grand slam before in the big leagues, but when I got to the dugout someone said to me is that your first one and I said yes, I think.”
The 21-year-old drew a walk in the fifth and came around to score, before striking out in his fourth and final at-bat. He finished 2-for-3 with his fourth-career two homer game, three runs scored, and a career-high six RBI on the night.
After crushing his 24th and 25th home runs Saturday, he now sits just one shy of tying Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for the most hit by a catcher in their age 21 season or younger. He also has 12 doubles, 63 RBI, and a .724 OPS in 122 games.
Alvarez continues to draw nothing but praise from his teammates and coaches.
“His body of work has been very good for a 21-year-old guy,” Buck Showalter said. “He’s certainly been someone I’ve looked forward to interacting with everyday because he’s just a good kid and he’s got a good heart.”
“This kid is really special,” Jose Quintana added. “He has a lot of skills and he cares. He wants to learn every single day and he wants to know everything. He’s really impressive and a really good catcher.”
While it's certainly been an impressive showing in his inaugural campaign, Alvarez feels he can be even better next season and beyond.
“I think I can do better than that,” he said. “I can do better with my batting average, I want to do better with my OPS, I want to draw more walks and have more RBI. I want to do better with my defense too and have better communication with the pitchers.”
