NEW YORK -- Though he grew up in Texas, Shea Langeliers inherited an affinity for the Mets through his father, Steve, a die-hard supporter whose fandom ran so deep that he named his son after Shea Stadium while also adding the middle name of Ryan after his favorite Met, Nolan Ryan.
Making his first trip to Queens as a big leaguer this week, Citi Field quickly became Shea’s stadium.
Langeliers keyed the A’s offense throughout the three-game set by reaching base safely 11 times, including five times in Thursday’s grueling 7-6 victory over the Mets to clinch Oakland’s seventh series win in its last nine tries.
Having also reached base five times and nearly hitting for the cycle in Tuesday’s series opener, Langeliers became the first A’s catcher since Haywood Sullivan (1961) to reach base five or more times in a game on multiple occasions in the same season.
With seven hits, two walks and two hit-by-pitches, Langeliers was the first A’s player to reach base safely 11 times over a three-game series since Ryan Noda last June against the Pirates.
The last catcher to do it? You would have to go back over 80 years.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, prior to Langeliers, the last time an A’s backstop reached base safely 11 times in a three-game series was 1941, when Frankie Hayes of the Philadelphia Athletics reached 11 times (eight hits, three walks) against the then-Washington Nationals team that relocated to Minneapolis in 1960 and became the Twins.
“It’s a lot of fun getting on base,” Langelier said. “Lately, I’ve just been locking in my pregame routine. I’m seeing the ball well, putting together good at-bats and just building confidence. … Just get a good pitch and put a good swing on it. I’m finding that just keeping it that simple, you’re capable of stacking good days on top of each other.”
Of course, making such history in New York enhances the personal significance for Langeliers.
“It’s really cool,” Langeliers said. “I came here as a fan in 2015 when [the Mets] played the Royals in the World Series with my dad. I got to go to Shea Stadium when I was young. I got my name up on the scoreboard and [I’ve] got a picture of it at home. Being able to play the Mets here was a great experience.”
One of the more powerful catchers in the game, with his 22 homers trailing only Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (26) for the most by a catcher in MLB, Langeliers has demonstrated a more well-rounded approach in recent weeks. He is batting .300 (21-for-70) since the All-Star break with 11 extra-base hits over that stretch.
A 3-for-4 effort on Thursday boosted Langeliers’ batting average this season to .230, his highest mark since April 9.
“Shea’s been great,” said A’s center fielder JJ Bleday, who sparked Thursday’s comeback by launching his first career grand slam in the fourth inning. “I’m happy for him. He works his butt off behind the plate and in the cage. It’s good seeing the success on his side, and it’s been helping us out in getting us wins. If he keeps stacking those days, we’re going to get some wins.”
When the A’s arrived at the visiting clubhouse inside Citi Field on Thursday morning, each player that walked through the entrance to their locker was greeted by a message on a giant whiteboard that read, "The only thing that matters: Win The Series."
For about a month now, few teams have been better at doing just that. After outlasting the Mets in Thursday’s three-hour, 45-minute marathon that went down as the longest nine-inning game in the regular season under the pitch timer, Oakland extended its record since July 1 to 22-14 (.611), the second-best winning percentage in the American League behind the Astros (.622) during that span.
Ten A’s batters tallied at least one hit or walk on Thursday. The bullpen picked up a short outing of 2 2/3 innings by rookie Mitch Spence. Four relievers combined to allow just one run in the final 6 1/3 innings, with flamethrowing All-Star closer Mason Miller closing things out with a scoreless two frames to notch his 18th save.
“It was an incredible team win that took the whole roster,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That was a grind in every way. The job the bullpen did to maintain that score and give the offense a chance. One of the biggest at-bats was obviously the Bleday grand slam. When we took the lead, we felt confident the bullpen was going to hold on.”