Jeff McNeil

Jeff McNeil (born April 8, 1992), nicknamed "Squirrel" or "Flying Squirrel",[1][2][3] is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Jeff McNeil
McNeil in July 2018 at Citi Field
New York Mets – No. 6
Utility player
Born: (1992-04-08) April 8, 1992
Santa Barbara, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 2018, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.319
Home runs30
Runs batted in117
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

McNeil attended Nipomo High School in Nipomo, California. He played baseball, basketball and golf. McNeil played three seasons of high school basketball and averaged 17 points per game as a senior.[4] McNeil focused primarily on his golf career until his disappointing performance in the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship after which his focus shifted to baseball.[4][5][6] Because the high school golf and baseball seasons are both in spring, he did not play high school baseball until his senior year, but was offered a scholarship to play college baseball at Cal State Northridge due to his performance in summer ball.[4][7] He hit .446 as a senior and committed to play at Cal State Northridge.[4]

After Northridge's coach left the school, McNeil changed his commitment to Long Beach State. In 2012, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[8] As a junior in 2013, McNeil had a .348 batting average with 11 strikeouts in 221 at bats; he was named to the All-Big West first team.[4][9]

Career

He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

After signing, McNeil made his professional debut that summer with the Kingsport Mets, hitting .329 in 47 games. He played 2014 with the Savannah Sand Gnats and St. Lucie Mets, hitting .292 with three home runs, 51 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases in 117 games, and 2015 with St. Lucie and Binghamton Mets, slashing .308/.369/.377 with one home run, 40 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 123 games. After the 2015 season, he played in the Arizona Fall League.[10]

In 2016, McNeil began using an unorthodox knobless bat given to him by Mets minor league hitting coordinator Lamar Johnson; he thenceforth began using knobless bats exclusively.[11] He played in only 51 games combined in 2016 and 2017 with Binghamton, St. Lucie and Las Vegas 51s due to numerous injuries.[12] McNeil started 2018 with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and was promoted to Las Vegas during the season.[13][14]

New York Mets

McNeil was promoted to the Major Leagues on July 24, 2018. He recorded his first Major League hit that night at Citi Field against Phil Hughes of the San Diego Padres on the first pitch he saw.[15] He hit his first Major League home run off Tanner Roark of the Washington Nationals on July 31. For the season with the Mets, he batted .329/.381/.471 in 225 at bats. He led all MLB hitters (140 or more plate appearances) in batting average against right-handers, at .345.[16] McNeil received one vote in the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year Award polling, placing him in a three-way tie for sixth place with Harrison Bader and Yoshihisa Hirano.[17]

McNeil developed a reputation early in his Major League career as a "throwback" player notable for his high contact rate and low strikeout rate.[18][19][20]

After playing second base in all but four defensive games during the 2018 season, McNeil spent the majority of 2019 in left field given that the Mets traded for second baseman Robinson Canó during the offseason.[21] On June 30, 2019, McNeil was named to the National League All-Star team, his first selection. At the time of his selection, he led the majors with a .348 batting average.[22] On August 5, 2019, McNeil recorded his 200th career hit in his 599th career at bat, becoming the fastest player in Mets history to 200 career hits.[23] In 2019 he batted .318/.384/.531 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs.[21] Of all Major League batters, he swung at the highest percentage of pitches (59.9%) and the highest percentage of pitches inside the strike zone (85%).[24]

Heading into the 2020 season, MLB Network ranked McNeil the fifth-best third baseman in baseball.[25] In spite of that, McNeil again spent the majority of his games in left field for the Mets. He batted .311/.383/.454 in the pandemic-shortened season.[21] He became the first Mets player since David Wright in 2005–09 to have a batting average of .300 or more in three straight seasons.[26]

Prior to the 2021 season, MLB Network ranked McNeil the second-best second baseman in MLB and the best in the National League.[27]

Personal life

McNeil married his wife Tatiana (née DaSilva) on February 3, 2018 in Nipomo, California.[28] The couple adopted a dog during the 2019 season which became "a social media sensation."[29]

References
  1. "Jeff McNeil making a (nick)name for himself with Mets". Newsday. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  2. Kernan, Kevin (2019-08-04). "Mets' Jeff McNeil may add new nickname as homers keep coming". Nypost.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  3. "New York Mets' Jeff McNeil makes acrobatic catch into White Sox protective netting". Fox News. 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  4. Dominitz, Nathan (June 20, 2014). "NATHAN DOMINITZ: Jeff McNeil takes different road in athletic career". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  5. Farm report: McNeil acing switch from golf
  6. Farm Report: Jeff McNeil a two-sport standout
  7. Mets prospect Jeff McNeil hadn't even played HS baseball before catching attention of ex-scout. Now he's tearing it up at Triple-A
  8. "#1 Jeff McNeil - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  9. Nipomo grad Jeff McNeil has career on track with Mets
  10. Mets sending three players to Arizona Fall League
  11. DiComo, Anthony (August 4, 2018). "Jeff McNeil uses unusual bat with no knob". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  12. Finally healthy, Jeff McNeil shows his potential with 51s
  13. Harper: Jose Reyes is still starting for Mets while Jeff McNeil is hitting .393 in Triple-A, and it's just downright absurd
  14. A suddenly powerful prospect is busting onto Mets radar
  15. Ackert, Kristie. "Ackert: Mets still waiting to decide if Yoenis Cespedes needs surgery on night Jeff McNeil gets first hit in MLB debut". New York Daily News (July 24, 2018). Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  16. Splits Leaderboards | FanGraphs
  17. "2018 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  18. Jaffe, Jay (April 24, 2019). "Jeff McNeil is a Throwback". FanGraphs. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  19. Lupica, Mike (April 18, 2019). "They don't make hitters like Jeff McNeil anymore". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  20. Anderson, R.J. (November 30, 2018). "Robinson Cano trade rumors: Mets won't include prospect Jeff McNeil in potential blockbuster deal with Mariners". CBSSports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  21. "Jeff McNeil Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  22. Puma, Mike (1 July 2019). "Mets All-Stars' late heroics end seven-game losing streak". New York Post. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  23. Amato, Laura (August 6, 2019). "McNeil reaches 200 hits in fewest at-bats in Mets history". Newsday. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  24. "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Plate Discipline Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  25. "Top 10 Right Now: MLB's best at each position". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. February 8, 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  26. "Batting Season & Career Finder". Stathead.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  27. Harrigan, Thomas; Randhawa, Manny (February 1, 2020). "Yanks' hitting 'Machine' is top 2B right now". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  28. "DaMcNeil Wedding". TL Photography. February 10, 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  29. Yomtov, Jesse (March 4, 2020). "Jeff McNeil's dog got her dad's home run ball from a Mets fan". USA TODAY. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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