Mickey Callaway Made a Boneheaded Mistake in Quote About Dom Smith
By Parker White
New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway decided to shake up the lineup for Sunday's contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, putting left fielder Dominic Smith in the leadoff spot.
Why did he do that? According to Callaway, Smith has done good work against pitcher Dakota Hudson. That sounds great, but he's never faced Hudson before.
Mickey said Dom is leading off because "He's one of our best guys against this pitcher.'' Dom Smith has never faced Dakota Hudson
— wallace matthews (@OysterBayBomber) June 16, 2019
Oh, Mickey. I hope he meant that Smith faced Hudson in the minors and did well then, even though he hasn't fared well against ground ball pitchers this season, which Hudson is labeled as.
For the record, I think starting Smith at leadoff is perfectly fine. It's just that Callaway's explanation, like seemingly a lot of his explanations, doesn't make any sense.
— Ryan Boyer (@RyanPBoyer) June 16, 2019
On the whole, it's not crazy to put Smith in the leadoff spot. Coming into Sunday's game, he was slashing .337/.430/.547 with four home runs and 10 RBI over 57 games (86 at-bats).
Smith also made Callaway look like a genius, as he doubled and scored against Hudson in the first inning.