Contrary to what some segments of the fan base may believe, Brandon Nimmo is anything but a fourth outfielder.

So far this season, the Mets have had difficulty getting on the field, let alone finding any type of rhythm. A COVID outbreak among the Nationals postponed the team’s entire opening series in D.C., and inclement weather led to multiple reschedulings on the first homestand in Flushing and subsequent road trip to Colorado.

The erratic schedule has yet to affect Nimmo, who is back to doing what he does best: reaching base by any means necessary. Through his first eight games, the outfielder has been on base 21 times in 36 plate appearances: 13 times via hit and 8 times via walk. He is just the second Met to reach base multiple times in that many games to begin a season, joining David Wright (10 games in 2012). 

That Moneyball Moment

Remember that scene in Moneyball when Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane introduces stat guru Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to the rest of the A’s scouting department? As Beane lays out his plan to recreate slugger Jason Giambi’s production in the aggregate, he continually points to Brand to fill in the out-of-touch scouts on Giambi’s potential replacements. All of the suggested acquisitions — from Jason’s little brother Jeremy Giambi to the over-the-hill David Justice — have a common trait: a high on-base percentage.

Nimmo is precisely the type of player that Beane would have identified as a replacement for Giambi. In fact, he could be described as the ultimate Moneyball player: someone whose playing style lacks finesse, but whose production on paper is undeniable. Those who downplay Nimmo’s contributions see the goofy grin, the career .264 batting average, and the “eyewash” of sprinting to first base on walks as reasons not to take him seriously. And while Nimmo’s awkward gait and indirect routes to fly balls don’t scream “superstar,” he does have one skill that is truly elite.

He gets on base.

Elite Company

Since the start of 2018, Nimmo’s .403 OBP is the fifth-highest among players with at least a thousand plate appearances. The only players with a higher mark in that span are Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Christian Yelich, and Mookie Betts — a collection of MVP winners and likely future Hall of Famers. Nimmo is the obvious outlier in that group, as he is neither a phenom nor a five-tool talent. Another metric, wRC+, rates Nimmo as the game’s 13th-best offensive player over that same stretch. One could describe his game as one-dimensional; fortunately, that dimension is integral to his team’s run scoring output. 

Searle’s Final Say

Many fans were disappointed when the Mets failed to sign George Springer this winter, myself included. Springer, I argued, would have brought home run power, a championship pedigree, and plus defensive value to a team lacking a true center fielder. Though I maintain that Springer would have been a savvy signing, Nimmo’s sizzling start has assuaged most doubts about his offensive capabilities. The base hits come and go for Nimmo, but he will always accumulate enough walks and HBP to be sprinting to first base constantly. As long as he remains an elite tablesetter, Nimmo should be a permanent presence atop the Mets lineup.