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John Buck Off to Incredible Start

By Travis Miller, @AtTravisMiller

John Buck is having quite the start to his season, and Mets fans are rejoicing at the newfound offense from a position that has struggled to produce consistently since Mike Piazza left town.

In all of 2012, Mets catchers hit FIVE homers and drove in 48 runs. Through 10 games, Buck already has SIX homers and is on pace to eclipse the RBI mark by the All-Star break.

The 32-year-old veteran is inevitably going to have his market correction at some point – not that I’d complain if he hit .351 all season, but as a .237 career hitter, I’m just being realistic.

Still, he’s the biggest reason the Mets have the most prolific offense in the National League heading into play on Saturday.

Buck’s grand slam Friday night in Minnesota gave him long balls in four consecutive games, and his 19 total RBIs are the most in history by a player in his first 10 games with a new team.

Mets VP of media relations and Twitter rock star Jay Horwitz, though he may not have coined it, confirmed that John Buck’s home runs even have a name.

While Travis D’Arnaud, the top catching prospect in the majors, is developing at Triple-A, Mets fans can rest easy knowing that Buck will be a more than adequate filler behind the plate.

After being traded twice in the offseason, Buck has quickly found himself right at home at Citi Field, and we’re more than happy to have him here and enjoy these sweet #BuckUp t-shirts.