Bill Simmons makes major omission

Bill Simmons talking baseball is great for the sport — and sports media as a whole.

He’s shown he’s no Colin Cowherd when talking about Major League Baseball’s postseason (that’s a good thing!), and he’s also made some astute points about the league’s win probability graphics being absolutely absurd. But perhaps he should leave it to ‘Cousin Sal,’ Peter Schrager or Sean Fennessey when it comes to talking about the New York Metropolitans.

Behind the power of friendship, “OMG” and Grimace , the Mets have made a run to the National League Championship Series. On a more serious note, the Mets have been the best team in baseball since June, so none of this magical run is truly that unbelievable anymore; it’s just part of this team’s identity.

But as they have fun being the underdog despite owning one of baseball’s highest payrolls in what was supposed to be a transition year, they’ve done so on the back of their MVP and unofficial captain — Francisco Lindor. The All-Star shortstop has arguably been the best player in baseball since the Mets moved him to the leadoff spot in May after he struggled mightily at the plate to begin the season.

And in just a span of 10 days, he’s had multiple MVP-like moments in leading New York to an unlikely playoff berth and hitting the game-winning Grand Slam to secure a 3-1 NLDS series win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

As incredible as Lindor has been for the Mets down the stretch, it currently pales in comparison to Daniel Murphy’s historic feat during the team’s run to the World Series in 2015 — something that Simmons seemingly forgot.

“I think the difference with this Mets team — and I’m only saying this from afar — versus that 2015 team is the Lindor piece,” said Simmons. “Because you need that guy on offense that you feel like is a superhero. And you didn’t have that guy in 2015.”

A career .296 hitter, Murphy might not be a future Hall of Famer like Lindor, but he put himself into Mets postseason lore with his heater of a performance in ’15. Murphy isn’t a superhero, so to speak, but he was superhuman during New York’s march to an eventual World Series loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Murphy, now an analyst with SNY and perhaps the future of New York’s broadcast booth , hit seven home runs in the 2015 postseason — and homered in six straight games. Not to take anything away from Lindor, but his Grand Slam was his first home run in the postseason (not counting his go-ahead home run vs. the Atlanta Braves in Game 161).

The now-retired second baseman quite literally carried that Mets team on his back to the World Series, only to go 3-for-20 with five walks and zero home runs against Kansas City’s pitching, making a critical error in a Game 4 loss, as well. That’s not to say the Mets lost because of Murphy — they don’t get to their first October Classic since 2000 without him — but he notably cooled down in New York’s final five games of the season.

Simmons is essentially making it seem like this Mets team has already exceeded the 2015 team’s performance—which it hasn’t, at least not yet.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, and Simmons isn’t wrong for being excited about Lindor and this year’s Mets. They’re fun, they’re hot, and they’ve been delivering when it counts.

But before we go crowning them compared to the 2015 squad, let’s pump the brakes a little.

Murphy’s run was legendary, and until this team actually gets to the World Series, those comparisons should come with a side of perspective.

There’s still plenty of baseball left, and as we know, anything can happen in October.

[Bill Simmons]

The post Bill Simmons may need a New York Mets history lesson appeared first on Awful Announcing .