Eric Chavez is reportedly set to serve as the New York Mets’ co-hitting coach during the 2024 MLB season.
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, Chavez will team with incumbent hitting coach Jeremy Barnes to help guide the Mets’ offense.
Chavez was the Mets’ hitting coach in 2022, but he was moved to bench coach alongside then-manager Buck Showalter last season. That prompted the Mets to hire Barnes as Chavez’s replacement.
Now, under new manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets will have two hitting coaches. Mendoza has yet to announce who will replace Chavez as bench coach, however.
With Chavez as the hitting coach in 2022, the Mets went 101-61, which was their best record since the World Series-winning 1986 team went 108-54.
The Mets were fifth in MLB that season with 772 runs scored, plus they ranked second in team batting average at .259, second in on-base percentage at .332 and had the third-fewest strikeouts with 1,217.
Additionally, superstar first baseman Pete Alonso enjoyed a career year, hitting a personal-best .271 with 40 home runs and a career-high 131 RBI.
Expectations were high for the Mets entering 2023, but they took a huge step backward, going 75-87 and missing the playoffs. They plummeted to 20th in MLB in runs scored with 717 and 25th in batting average at .238.
With Chavez and Barnes joining forces, Mendoza is seemingly hoping that they can guide a lineup led by Alonzo and Francisco Lindor back to the prominence it enjoyed in 2022.
Chavez is best-known for a 17-year playing career that spanned from 1998 to 2014 and saw him play for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks.
His greatest success came in 13 seasons with the A’s, as he was a six-time Gold Glove Award winner at third base and won the American League Silver Slugger Award in 2002.
Although Chavez was never named an All-Star, he hit .280 or better in a season five times, slugged 25 or more home runs six times and drove in 100 or more runs four times.
In 1,615 career MLB games, Chavez slashed .268/.342/.475 with 260 homers, 902 RBI, 816 runs scored and 639 walks.
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