As BT and Sal debated who needs to step up as the clear clubhouse leader of the Mets, BT didn’t seem to be too high on the idea of Brandon Nimmo being the top candidate.
For one, he doesn’t like Nimmo’s shtick of sprinting down to first base after drawing a walk.
“Brandon Nimmo just feels like a fake hustle guy. He just does,” BT said. “What are you, seven [years old], sprinting down to first base? Give me a break. You’re not Pete Rose.
“Hustle? Then steal some bases.”
BT doesn’t see the sprinting having any kind of impact on the game, which makes it come across as self-serving.
“What does it actually do, besides create the visual that you’re playing hard - which he does, I don’t want to be unfair - but in that moment, creating an unrealistic max effort situation…you’re walking. What are we doing?” BT said.
So, if he had to choose who should take on a captain role for the Mets, BT would take Francisco Lindor, despite holding the opinion that Lindor hasn’t brought the production from Cleveland that the Mets were hoping for.
“I think Lindor is the player that everybody goes to,” BT said. “That is the guy, when I look in the dugout, who is the guy I see communicating with the young players after every at-bat? It ain’t Pete, it ain’t Nimmo, it’s Lindor.”