The New York Mets will have to deal with Jon Berti far less going forward, which is something for which the New York Yankees should be grateful. He played for the Miami Marlins, a team that was a rival in the NL East, for all but four of his MLB career. During his term, which started in 2019, he was a major nuisance.
Berti was dealt to the Yankees on Wednesday as a part of a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Rays. After an outstanding season at the plate with a slash line of.294/.344/.405, Berti, who led the league in stolen bases in 2022, will join the Yankees as a terrific utility player.
A much lighter hitter throughout his career with only a .258/.337/.368 slash line in 1550 plate appearances, Mets fans have seen a much different version of him over the years.
Berti heads to the Yankees with a lifetime .301/.363/.429 slash line against the Mets. A nearly 50 point raise in batting average, a lesser one in OBP, but a huge jump in slugging percentage from his career totals, Berti was a nuisance the Mets had to deal with for 46 games. While he only hammered 2 home runs, his 13 doubles are almost twice as many as he had against any other club in his career.
Berti has handled Atlanta Braves pitchers well over the years, too. His 7 doubles, however, doesn’t match the 13 versus the Mets.
Maybe more painful than the bat is how well Berti has done on the bases against the Mets. A known thief with his legs, he has 19 swiped bags against the Amazins. Like the doubles, it’s the highest total he has against any single team.
An example of the kind of pain Berti can create happened on June 18, 2022. Berti singled to leadoff the game and managed to make his way to third on a pair of stolen bases. He’d steal a third bag in the ninth after another leadoff single and eventually come around to make it a 3-2 game in favor of the Mets, forcing Buck Showalter to call upon Edwin Diaz from the bullpen. Diaz would hold on but our blood boiled nonetheless.
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