For Mets' Jeff McNeil, leg problems haven't been a problem lately

As he won a batting title, signed a big contract and resumed his role as a multi-position, top-of-the-order All-Star, Jeff McNeil enjoyed another positive personal development over the past year: He has quietly become one of Buck Showalter’s most reliably available hitters.

Remember those frequent leg problems that plagued him since his days in the lower minor leagues? They haven’t popped up at all lately.

It was last June when McNeil missed five consecutive games with a tight right hamstring. But since then, barely a peep about his lower half — and rarely a game missed.

This year, McNeil is tied with Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor in playing all 48 games for the Mets as they head into a three-game series at the Cubs that begins Tuesday night. Brandon Nimmo, the other member of the core four of this offense, is right behind them at 47.

During the Mets’ four doubleheaders in a stretch of three weeks, McNeil was in the starting lineup for both games each time.

“I get tired, I play a lot of games, I have had a lot of surgeries, so it is something to monitor and watch,” McNeil said. “I couldn’t tell you what’s working and what’s not. Stay on a hamstring program for the most part and make sure my legs are strong.

“I want to be in there every single day. Over 162 games, every day is pretty tough. So you need a day here and there. But it feels good to play every day and help the team.”

McNeil missed time with hamstring issues in 2019 and 2021, totaling three stints on the injured list. But even when he wasn’t officially sidelined, his legs seemed to be a regular concern. He spent time on the bench, usually paired with opaque communication from whoever ran the Mets at the time.

Around this time two years ago, McNeil had “body cramps.” Two months later, leg “fatigue.” Last May, it was “wear and tear” that forced him to sit, Showalter said at the time.

Whether McNeil and the Mets cracked the strength-and-conditioning code is unclear. He mentioned a hamstring-specific training regimen and an offseason program that included lots of running as factors.

Whatever it is, it is working.

“Jeff, Nim, even [Lindor] and Pete — those are your best players. They’re all our best player on a given night. That’s one common denominator of good teams,” Showalter said. “We monitor very closely with the way we do batting practice, and we’ve had X number of rainouts and X number of off days. So when it’s not there, we’ll back off a little bit.

“But right now we’ve been lucky — unlucky with the rain — but with the off days falling where they are, you’re going to play two games, it’s after an off day. As we get into this a little deeper, we’ll be looking for some places to maybe give them a blow.”

To Alonso, as much of a McNeil expert as any Met, the change is psychological as much as it is physical. Known for being extremely intense, McNeil apparently has been more chill behind the scenes, in Alonso’s eyes.

“The biggest thing is how he is mentally. He’s been the most Zen I’ve seen him,” Alonso said. “Compared to years past, he’s in a really good flow state. He’s got a plan, he follows his plan and he doesn’t try to do more. He knows who he is as a player and he’s mastered understanding who he is. That’s why he’s been able to be available for us a lot.”

McNeil still is prone to an occasional on-field angry outburst at, say, making an out. But being able to relax more is something he mentioned in spring training as a possible ripple effect of the financial and professional security afforded by the four-year, $50 million contract he signed in January.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.