The Mets saving grace last year was having a healthy and productive Curtis Granderson. While Mets players seemingly ranged from injured to incompetent in the first half of 2015, he kept hitting. He was seemingly the only player who could hit and keep the Mets afloat offensively. On top of that, he was a finalist for the Gold a Glove Award for rightfielders. As he went, the team went. 

Even with the arrival of Yoenis Cespedes and his incredible hot streak, it was Granderson who drove the Mets offense. From August 1st until the end of the season, he hit .267/.390/.495 with 45 runs, 14 doubles, one triple, 10 homeruns, and 34 RBI. In the stretch run to claim the NL East, Granderson played even better than he had all season. Like with most team MVP’s, as Granderson went, so did the Mets. 

In 2016, the Mets are seemingly falling into the same pattern they did last year. 

Through the first six games of the season, Granderson was 1-24 with a single and six strikeouts. He was hitting an abysmal .042/.179/.042. The Mets were 2-4 and were averaging 2.8 runs per game. After those six games, Granderson has taken off and so have the Mets. 

Over the past 13 games, Granderson had hit .333/.387/.678 with 13 runs, four doubles, two triples, four homeruns, and eight RBI. In that stretch, the Mets have gone 10-3 and are averaging 5.2 runs per game.  

Overall, we can point to many factors for the Mets turnaround. Stellar starting pitching.  Terry Collins batting Michael Conforto third in the lineup.  Cespedes and Neil Walker hitting homeruns. All of these are very important factors as to why the Mets are now winning. Once again, the success of his teammates is overshadowing Granderson’s contributions. 

That’s fine. Granderson is once again on his way to having another big season with the Mets. At the end of the day, he could very well be the team’s MVP for the second straight year. If the Mets perform the way they’re expected, Granderson may very well be in line to recreate his World Series homerun barrage. 

If the Mets do return to the World Series, it’ll be because one again Granderson has led them there.