Reputations don't win games, but they do shape our perception of players. They tend to linger, and sometimes, they lag behind one's adjustments, typecasting a contributor in a role they no longer fit.
New York Mets utility man Jeff McNeil is never going to lead the league in exit velocity or home runs. He may never contend for another batting title, either. Instead, in his age-33 season, McNeil is redefining himself and saving his career.
McNeil isn't a slap hitter anymore
On Friday, McNeil pushed the Mets past the New York Yankees with a seventh-inning two-run homer. It was his eighth in 57 games and perhaps his most important.
Jeff McNeil. SECOND DECK. @Mets take the lead! pic.twitter.com/3MT6IqIS7g
— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2025
"I feel like I don’t hit that many home runs in that situation,” McNeil told reporters after the game. “So to be able to do it, I enjoyed that one."
This wasn't a fluky outcome for a hitter who has never cleared 23 home runs, nor was it a happy accident on the way to a .300 batting average. This was intentional, the result of McNeil's biggest adjustment playing itself out under the brightest lights. McNeil is trying to pull the ball in the air, and it's paying dividends.
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The last time McNeil was playing a crucial role in New York's lineup, he ran a .326 average and .353 BABIP, poking holes in (now-illegal) shifts and winning with bat control. He hit nine home runs, generated a 140 wRC+, and finished the year with 5.6 fWAR. Banning the shift was supposed to weaponize McNeil's most obvious strength. Ultimately, it failed him, and when his batted-ball luck plummeted, his lack of power stood out as a glaring weakness that could have reasonably been replaced.
In 2025, McNeil is doubling down on the decision that salvaged his 2024 campaign. An impressive 22.8% of McNeil's batted balls were pulled in the air a season ago, fueling his second-half surge before an untimely injury. This season, that mark has jumped to 25.3%, the highest of his career and the 30th-best mark in baseball.
Doing so optimized McNeil's elite bat-to-ball skills. In hunting the homer, he's giving himself more room for error. He's hitting line drives, the most productive type of batted ball, at a rate synonymous with his best seasons, and trading his ground balls for fly balls (running a career-low GB% and career-high FB%). McNeil has successfully opened the door for more meaningful contact, even without league-average power.
McNeil isn't selling out, either
One of the reasons why McNeil has found so much success in his new approach (132 wRC+) is that he isn't sacrificing much by changing his swing.
Oftentimes, aging veterans making a last-ditch effort to produce will trade contact for power, figuring the extra-base hits will compensate for the swings and misses. Yes, McNeil is hitting just .260, a far cry from his reputation-earning campaigns. But those outs aren't a result of swings and misses.
McNeil's is striking out just 10.1% of the time, a 96th-percentile mark, via Pitcher List. His contact rate, at 86.5%, is similarly elite. McNeil isn't hitting the ball any harder, but he's swapping ground outs and the occasional single for fly balls and more extra-base hits, unlocking newfound upside.
The Mets are watching McNeil fly out to right field more than ever before. It's a deal they are happy to accept.
With each home run, the veteran is erasing the memories of the well-placed grounders that made him an All-Star. He has the same raw power and the same contact skills that got him to New York. Now, McNeil is optimizing those traits to produce and re-establishing himself as one of the best hitters in the sport.
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