Psychos in the outfield? Mets trio embracing new moniker

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- In A.J. Ewing’s recollection, the Mets’ psychopathic brotherhood officially formed last Saturday at Citi Field, when Carson Benge robbed Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers of an extra-base hit, ran into the right-center-field fence, and splayed out on the warning track. As all three outfielders jogged back to the dugout together, Ewing turned to Juan Soto and said, “Yo, that was psycho.”

A day later, Soto made the pronouncement public, noting that Ewing and Benge “call each other ‘psychopath’” for their defensive exploits.

“I’m like, ‘Yeah, you are,’” Soto quipped.

In the eyes of both rookies, it’s the most flattering of epithets. A psychopathic outfielder is one who plays with a sort of controlled recklessness, sprinting, diving and, yes, crashing into fences from time to time.

“I feel like it’s just trying to make every play, whether that be running through a wall or standing easily,” Benge said. “Either way, I just want to make every play and not really care too much what happens to my body.”

So far, the defensive chops that both players displayed as top prospects in the Minors have clearly shown up at the highest level. Entering Wednesday’s play, Benge and Ewing were two of only three healthy Mets regulars featuring a positive outs above average total. (Catcher Luis Torrens was the other.)

It’s easy to see how they shine in that metric. Since his Opening Day callup, Benge has made the extraordinary seem routine, including his grab of Stowers’ fly ball last weekend. Ewing has largely done the same, most recently diving to rob both Cole Young and J.P. Crawford of hits on Monday, and crashing into the Citi Field fence following a catch on Sunday. (After that one, longtime Mets play-by-play man Howie Rose compared Ewing’s outfield play to that of Lenny Dykstra.)

“I take a lot of pride in being able to play that way, just because I know there’s value in everything you do on the baseball field,” Ewing said. “Whether that’s in the box, on defense, running the bases, you’ve got to bring it all 100 percent of the time.”

So who’s more psycho?

“Depends on the day,” Benge said.

“It depends on what you’re talking about, too,” Ewing piped in, turning to his friend and teammate. “I would say in real-life scenarios, you’ve probably got the nod on that.”

Real-life scenarios? Pressed for an example, Ewing flashed a devilish look, grinned and shook his head.

In baseball scenarios, both players agreed, Ewing may be the crazier one due to his propensity for running into fences … not just during games, but before them, too. Prior to Monday’s series opener in Seattle, Ewing was shagging flies in the outfield when Bo Bichette hit one deep over his head. Rather than let the meaningless ball go, as most players would, Ewing sprinted backward, caught it and crashed into the fence. His cap and sunglasses went flying.

“Bo hit the ball, I was like, ‘I need this one,’” Ewing said. “I don’t know why.”

Spoken like the true outfield psychopath that he is.