The Baseball Report: The New York Mets Are On Fire
DJ Sixsmith
Two weeks into the Major League Baseball season, a few things are very clear. Los Angeles Angels pitcher and designated hitter Shoehei Ohtani is the real deal, the New York Mets are the hottest team in baseball and Washington National superstar Bryce Harper is on pace for a historic season. Each week, we'll bring you the top stories from around the league with The Baseball Report.
Meet The Red Hot Mets
Nobody is playing better baseball in the National League than the New York Mets. Under first-year manager Mickey Callaway, the Mets have won six straight games and are tied with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in baseball at 8-1. New York swept division rival Washington over the weekend for the first time since September 2015. The additions of veterans like Adrian Gonzalez and Todd Frazier have been key, as has the Mets pitching staff, which has the second-best ERA in the league. Closer Jeurys Familia has the most saves in baseball with five. Slugger Yoenis Cespedes already has three home runs and recently said that this is the best team he has ever been on, even better than the Mets squad that made the World Series in 2015.
Ohtani Is Here To Stay
Shohei Ohtani is doing things on the diamond that haven't been done in almost 100 years. Ohtani dominated the Oakland Athletics on Sunday with a seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance. The 23-year-old set down the first 19 batters of the game in order and is now 2-0 on the season. Ohtani also has three home runs and is only the third player in MLB history to get two wins as a pitcher and smash three dingers in his team's first 10 games. The last player to do that was Jim Shaw in 1919! The Angels are 8-3 on the young season and 5-0 in games that Ohtani has played. Ohtani is hitting .389 this year and is top five in the league in OPS.
Harper Is Scary Good
Bryce Harper owns the month of April. The Nationals superstar leads the bigs with six home runs and has more long balls than the Rays, Marlins, Dodgers, Royals and Tigers. The 25-year-old also has more home runs than strikeouts and has already been walked 13 times in 10 games. In 127 career games in April, Harper has 38 homers and 101 RBIs. He has a higher career OPS in the month of April than Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. Harper's impending free agency this winter will be a big topic of conversation all season long, but for now the Nats outfielder is keeping the focus on his ridiculous numbers. For more from around the league, check out the video above!