When the New York Mets re-acquired Kelly Johnson back in June, I didn’t think much of the move, honestly. Yes, bringing Johnson back—after the trade for both he and Juan Uribe in 2015 marked the beginning of the Mets’ remarkable turnaround and subsequent run to the World Series—was both nostalgic and fun. But the veteran infielder just simply wasn’t putting up quality numbers.
Despite being added to a more talented team than the Braves were fielding in Atlanta, there wasn’t much reason to believe that the 34-year-old Johnson would suddenly turn things around.
Then something happened. An event that’s seemingly changed everything.
After watching the transformation of former Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy firsthand at the conclusion of last year, Johnson approached hitting coach Kevin Long at some point after being re-acquired by the team, asking why he couldn’t make the same changes to his approach that Murphy made, according to SNY’s Steve Gelbs.
Since then, Johnson has watched film of Murphy’s batting stance and swing, has moved closer to the plate, and has worked on being more compact to the baseball in order to do more damage at the plate. It seems to have worked.
In 49 games with the Braves earlier this season, Johnson struggled mightily, hitting .215/.273/.289 with one home run, six doubles and 10 RBI. It looked as if his career may have been winding down. Thanks to his revamped swing, though, Johnson has absolutely thrived. He’s hitting .286/.353/.500 with eight home runs, six doubles and 20 RBI in 61 games since his return to Queens. Johnson had 121 at-bats with the Braves earlier this season, while he’s currently at 140 at-bats with the Mets. A nearly identical number of at-bats, with drastically different results.
Prior to joining the Mets, Johnson struggled to hit the ball with much authority. Since making the adjustments at the plate, however, the veteran infielder has increased his coverage of the plate and done major damage with the balls he’s been putting in play.
During his 49 games with the Braves, Johnson’s stance was a bit more upright and he was slightly further away from the plate, which may have affected his ability to make solid contact with any balls on the outside, where he hit .239 on such pitches.
Since coming to the Mets, however, Johnson has implemented a slightly more crouched batting stance and is much closer to the plate than earlier in the season. These adjustments appear to be a big factor in his newfound plate coverage, as he’s currently hitting .466 on pitches on the outside part of the strike zone. The plots below (from BrooksBaseball.com) demonstrate the difference between his plate coverage before and after his move to New York.
In his first two months of the season in Atlanta, Johnson was making hard contact 23.5 percent of the time. Since the start of June, that number has increased to 36.3 percent.
While Johnson is in the midst of a major resurgence, some of that may have been flying under the radar, as he’s served in more of a utility role over the last couple of months. (And, of course, small sample caveats apply.) Even so, he’s made the most of his new role as his four pinch-hit home runs lead the team and are good for the second-most among any player in baseball this season. He’s also recorded five game-winning RBI since re-joining the club.
As his production continues to increase, specifically in clutch situations, his playing time may well do the same; Johnson came through with a two-out, game-winning three-run double in the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Marlins. With Neil Walker’s 2016 season coming to an abrupt end as he has decided to undergo back surgery, Johnson’s number may be called on even more as the Mets continue their push for a return to the postseason.
While I wouldn’t expect Johnson to duplicate Murphy’s success entirely, as the now-Nationals second baseman has turned into one of the best hitters in the league, it’s become clear that this change in approach could be making a big impact. If Johnson can continue his success over the final month of the regular season, perhaps it will be another veteran second baseman who’s unlikely surge in production will help the Mets towards reaching their ultimate goal in October.
One can only hope history repeats itself.
Photo Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports