Wow, Mike Baxter!

Mike Baxter went three-for-four in Sunday’s win against the Blue Jays, just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Baxter has been one of the great surprises for the Mets this season.

Overall Baxter is hitting .390 which is impressive enough, but where he really shines is as a pinch hitter. Baxter is leading all of baseball with eight pinch hits in 17 at bats for a lofty .471 average. Five of those eight hits have been for doubles. He’s also walked four times for a .545 on base percentage and has six pinch-hit RBIs.

Not bad for a guy the Mets got off waivers from the Padres last July.

Baxter is giving the Mets maximum production for the minimum salary. This is why I was critical of the Mets signing veterans like Ronny Cedeno and Scott Hairston for more than $1 million each during the off-season. Give a young guy like Baxter a chance and he can produce just as well, if not better, than any journeyman.

This is one of the feel-good stories for the Mets this season that warrants following.