Starling Marte- The Mets Years: (2022 - 2024)
Marte would play eight seasons with the Pirates (2012-2019) hitting .287 with 108 HRs & 420 RBIs in those years. He stole 239 bases, coming in the league's top ten seven of those nine seasons.
Marte also was in the top ten in triples twice, batting once & made an All-Star team. In the outfield he won two Gold Gloves with the Pirates as well.
Trivia: Marte hit a HR off the Astros Dall Keuchel in his first MLB at bat on the first big league pitch he saw. He was the third Pirate in team history to homer in his first at bat. It had not been done since Don Leppert in 1961.
MLB Stolen Base Leader: Marte stole 22 bases with the Marlins & another 25 with
Oakland. Overall, his 47 steals led the majors.
Mets Career: In the off season he signed with the New York Mets as a free agent.
On Opening Day he collected an RBI on a force play in the Mets 5-1 over the Nat's in D.C. The next day, he had an RBI double & two run single in the 7-3 Met win.
On April 15th & 16th he homered in back-to-back games with Arizona at Citi Field driving in five runs in the two contests. On April 22nd, in top of the 10th inning of a 5-5 tie with the Diamondbacks in Arizona, he singled off Mark Melancon to give the Mets what was to be the game winning run.
combined 3-0 shut out in St. Louis. In that game he had an RBI single & was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded. The Mets players would get hit with many pitches on the season, irking their manager, Buck Schowalter. Marte would get plunked 13 times on the season, third most on the team.
On May 1st, he collected his third muti-three RBI game of the season, with a two-run single & ground out RBI in a 10-6 win in Philadelphia. Marte would have five games with three or more RBIs on the season. From May 2nd to May 8th, he had five straight multi- hit games collecting 11 hits.
The Mets came back to tie the game & Marte doubled off Corney Knebel bringing home Brandon Mimmo in what was to be the winning run. Marte had homered off Aaron Nola earlier in the game for his third of the year.
Family Passing: On May 22nd, Starling lost his grandmother who passed almost two years to the day his late wife had died. Upon his return to the Mets he homered off the Rockies German Marquez & dedicated the HR "to loved ones up in heaven".
batted .375 with two HRs. In the month of May he had 11 multi-hit games raining his season average to .286 by June 1st.
Multi- Four RBI Game: On May 30th, Starling had a season best four RBI game in a 13-5 win at Citi Field over the Nationals. Marte also collected three hits with a two run HR off Erik Fedde 7 a two-run single off Andres Machado.
It was his fourth multi-RBI game of three or more runs driven in that season. The next day he hit a two run HR off Patrick Corbin in a 10-0 Mets win over the Nat's.
In July he homered in back-to-back games in a series with the Rangers in Texas.
2022 All Star: At the end of the first half, he was batting .295 with 9 HRs 41 RBIs & 12 stolen bases. Marte was named to his second All Star team but did not play in the AL's 3-2 win at Dodger Stadium.
The Mets entered August with a comfortable 3.5 game lead over the Braves in first place. Marte was batting .301 & would maintain his average above .290 the rest of the season.
Multi- HR Game: On August 17th Marte had his only multi-HR game of the season, as he hit
two in a much-needed win over the Braves in Atlanta. Marte's HRs came off Jake Odorizzi & Kirby Yates for his 13th & 14th of the season. The Mets dropped three of four in that series.
On August 26th he hit his fifth triple of the year driving in two runs in the Mets 7-6 win over the Rockies at Citi Field. Marte would tie Francisco Lindor for second behind Brandon Nimmo on the team in triples. It was the fifth time in his career he reached the 60 RBI mark in a season.
The Mets started September three game up on the Braves but lost three straight games to the Nats & Pirates putting them in a tie.
On September 6th Marte went down with a season ending injury giving the team a big blow. The Mets would get their lead up to 2.5 games but after a series sweep in Atlanta, they finished second & lost out in the NL Wild Card series ending their season.
In the outfield he posted a .995 fielding % making nine assists.
2022 Post Season: Marte returned for the NL Wild Card series to the Padres, going 2-12 stealing two bases.
Multi- Three RBI Games: On April 14th in a 17-6 Mets win in Oakland, Marte collected an RBI double as well as two bases loaded walks for a season high three RBI game. He would match that feat again on July 4th, with a three run HR off Arizona's Zach Davies.
On May 28th, Marte came to bat in the bottom of the 8th inning with the Mets down 4-3 to Cleveland. He hit a two run HR off Trevor Stephan to give the Mets the lead & eventual win. He would have two more muti-RBI games before the month was over but entered June batting just .246.
From July 20th to August 4th, he was out of the line up due to migraines. He returned for just two games before going down the rest of the season with a groin injury. His absence was another reason for the Mets disappointing season.
In 2023 Marte batted .248 with 5 HRs 7 doubles a triple, 38 runs scored a .301 on base 5 & .625 OPS in 86 games played.
Marte stole 24 bases (16th most in the NL) for his ninth season of 20 or more stolen bases. Since 2013 he is the only player to have nine 20 plus stolen base seasons.
In the outfield he led the club with seven assists.
From April 6th to April 23rd, Marte had nine multi-hit games in a 16-game span. He collected 24 hits & batted .348 while hitting three HRs & driving in 11 runs. Starting on April 17th he had three straight multi-RBI games, collecting HRs in two of them.
Multi-Four RBI Game: On April 20th in Los Angeles, he had a season high four RBI game, in a 6-4 win over the Dodgers. In the 4th inning he collected an RBI base hit, then hit a top of the 6th inning three run HR off Ryan Braiser.
In the bottom of the 1st, with the bases loaded he tripled, bringing in three runs & tying up the game. He added an RBI single in the Mets three run 4th inning as well. It was his third straight multi- two hit game & his eighth multi hit game of May.
From June 3rd to June 12th, he had five game hit streak with four multi-hit games & five RBIs. At the end of June, he would go down with a knee injury that kept him out over the next two months. He returned on August 18th & hit safely in five straight games.
Multi- Three RBI Game: On September 14th, in a big loss at Philadelphia, Marte walked with the bases loaded in the 1st inning, then later tripled driving in two runs giving the Mets an early 4-0 lead. The triple tied him with Brandon Nimmo & Tyrone Taylor for the team lead (3).
On September 30th, in the first game of a double header in Atlanta, Marte collected two hits & scored two runs in the Mets amazing 8-7 comeback win getting them into the play offs. After Edwin Diaz blew a three-run lead in the 8th inning, Marte singled with one out in the 9th inning. He scored on Francisco Lindor's HR, the win guaranteed the Mets of a wild card berth.
walk & sacrifice line out scoring Jesse Winker in the 2nd inning. He collected two hits in the Game #2 loss.
In the final clinching Game #3, the Mets entered the top of the 8th down 2-0. Pete Alonso hit a three run HR to put New York ahead 3-2. After Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch & stole second, Marte brought him in with a single to right field. The Mets won the Game 4-2 & advanced to the NLDS.
Family: Starling married Noelia Brazoban & had three children with her. In 2020 she suffered a fatal heart attack awaiting surgery for a broken ankle.
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