Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza Explains Why His Team Isn’t Hitting

Getty Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza argues with umpire.

The New York Mets fell to 0-4 on the season after losing to the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on April 1. 

This fourth consecutive defeat to start their 2024 campaign is also the third in which the Mets scored 1 run or less throughout the game. In fact, the 8 runs New York has scored across their first four games is the fewest runs tallied by any MLB team this season, according to ESPN stats.

Mets first-year Manager Carlos Mendoza believes that his team’s offensive woes are due to them, “trying to do too much” at the plate. 

“Offensively, trying to do too much as opposed to taking walks (and) creating traffic,” Mendoza told Manny Gómez for NJ.com. “And that’s what happens. You chase, you expand and there’s a lot of weak contact and early outs.” 

Despite the regular season starting less than a week ago, Mendoza must be feeling the pressure. 

Mendoza Suspended After Rhys Hoskins Incident

Mendoza wasn’t in the dugout for the Mets’ 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on March 31.

Instead, he was serving a one-game suspension, which was given to him after Mets reliever Yohan Ramírez appeared to throw a pitch at Brewers infielder Rhys Hoskins during their March 30 game.

Yohan Ramírez gets a standing ovation from the crowd at Citi Field for throwing a 94-mph fastball behind Rhys Hoskins.

And now, after a delay, Ramírez has been ejected.

Ramírez was acting in retaliation toward Hoskins, after Hoskins slid hard into Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil during the 8th inning of their March 29 contest, in order to stop McNeil from turning a double play.

The benches clear between the Mets and Brewers after Jeff McNeil takes exception to a hard slide into second base from Rhys Hoskins

Nobody was ejected after the initial incident, despite both team’s benches being cleared. 

Yet, the MLB fined and suspended both Ramírez and Mendoza once Ramírez threw a pitch behind Hoskins one day later. 

It’s unclear whether Mendoza told Ramírez to throw at Hoskins. Yet, because he went out to argue the ejection after it occurred, that was clearly enough for the MLB to suspend him.

The Mets only scored 1 run in the game Mendoza missed. Then again, they haven’t done much better whenever he’s in the dugout. 

Is Mendoza Already on the Hot Seat?

The Mets made Mendoza their new manager on November 6, 2023, when he signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract. 

Mendoza spent the previous six seasons as an infield coach and bench coach for the New York Yankees. Prior to that, Mendoza had been coaching in the Minor Leagues since 2009.

Across his 13-season professional baseball career, Mendoza was known more for his defensive ability than his hitting prowess. 

The Mets front office surely expected Mendoza to produce more success than his team has shown so far. 

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told SNY in November that, “Carlos’ upbeat, positive personality, his genuine care for people, his baseball knowledge, experience in this city, his sincerity all shone through throughout this process, throughout our time and made him the right person for this job.”

Yet, Mendoza’s positive personality hasn’t resulted in any regular season wins.

The season is still young, and the Mets roster is too talented for them to keep performing this poorly.

But how long will it take before Mendoza’s explanations about his team’s hitting struggles become stale?