The Observer., March 21, 2020, Page 55, Image 55

Northeast Oregon TV Weekly
March 22 - 28, 2020 l 19
Sports
BY GEORGE DICKIE
BOXING
McNeil a rising star
for resurgent Mets
Saturday
7:00 p.m. ESPN Artur Beterbiev vs.
Fanlong Meng. Beterbiev (15-0,
15 KOs) takes on Meng (16-0, 10
KOs) in a 12-round light heavy-
weight title bout. (Live)
SHOW Luis Nery vs. Aaron Al-
ameda. Luis Nery (30-2, 24 KOs)
vs. Aaron Alameda (25-0, 13KOs),
WBC junior featherweight elimina-
tor. (Live)
EQUESTRIAN
Sunday
10:30 a.m. FS1 America’s Day at the
Races. (Live)
1:00 p.m. NBCSN Trackside Live!
Racing action from the best race-
tracks across America; expert
analysis. (Live)
Saturday
3:00 p.m. NBCSN Florida Derby.
(Live)
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Saturday
1:00 p.m. ESPN UFC Fight Night:
Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik - Pre-
lims Cody Stamann vs. Raoni
Barcelos, bantamweight bout. From
Nationwide Arena in Columbus,
Ohio. (Live)
4:00 p.m. ESPN UFC Fight Night:
Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik Francis
Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik,
heavyweight bout. From Columbus,
Ohio. (Live)
RUGBY
Saturday
10:30 a.m. NBCSN Premiership
Rugby Gloucester Rugby vs
Bristol Rugby. From Kingsholm
Stadium in Gloucester, England.
(Live)
It’s Spring
Break,
watch out
for kids!
2390 Broadway, Baker City
541-523-5223
On a Mets team full of intriguing young hitters, arguably the most intriguing is Jeff McNeil.
Indeed, in its 27-year-old super utilityman, the Amazin’s have a throwback to another era, a hustler who
plays multiple positions well and a master of bat control who uses the whole field, frustrates shifts and
doesn’t feel that choking up is beneath him. Scouts liken him to a young Pete Rose and say a batting title is
in his future.
But in 2019, his first full season in the bigs, he experienced something of a split year. Prior to the All-Star
break, he led the league in hitting, batting .349 with seven home runs; after it, .276 but with a huge power
surge of 16 homers. In both halves, however, his OPS (a total of on-base and slugging percentage) was
roughly the same: .917 followed by .915. He just took two different routes to the same level of production.
It all added up to an All-Star year for the third year player: a .318 average with 23 homers, 75 RBIs, with
on-base and slugging percentages of .384 and .532 for an OPS of .916.
Likely the Mets’ third baseman this year, he’ll be part of a promising batting order whose big boppers –
Pete Alonso, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto and McNeil – all seemed to blossom at once in 2019, leading
the team on a second-half tear that saw it narrowly miss the postseason. And this year, that youthful squad is
hungry for more as they vie with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and world champion Washington
Nationals in a packed National League East.
McNeil and the Mets can be seen in action Thursday, March 26, when they open their 2020 regular
season at home against the Nationals in a game airing on ESPN.
Kevin Kisner defends his title in the WGC Dell Tech-
nologies Match Play, airing Wednesday through Sun-
day on Golf Channel and NBC.
POSITION: Third base/second
base/outfield
NAME: Jeff McNeil
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6 feet 1
BIRTH DATE: April 8, 1992
inch/195 pounds
BIRTHPLACE: Santa Barbara,
TEAMS: New York Mets
NO.: 6
Calif.
(2018-present)
NICKNAME: Flying squirrel
BATS/THROWS: Left/right
Try the SHIP TO STORE feature at millershomecenter.com
3815 Pocahontas Road, Baker City 541-523-6404
3109 May Lane, La Grande 541-963-3113
Cabinet Shop: 217 Greenwood Street, La Grande 541-963-2613