He has been such an effective contributor since Day One. I remember when he came up in 2018 and raked ... and he kept going ... and going ... and going. I was totally surprised. Who was this 26-year-old rookie who came from relative obscurity to post such amazing numbers? Shades of Jacob DeGrom!

I was expecting a big swoon in 2019, but he only got better, hitting .318 with 23 home runs, 38 doubles and 83 runs scored. Granted, those 23 home runs are a bit inflated as that was the Year of the Home Run and the league definitely didn't juice the ball or anything. But still, super impressive.

Then 2020 was a great campaign, despite it being stunted. A .311 average. A 130 OPS+. Not bad.

Now, I never expected McNeil to be so good for so long. In my mind, he just didn't profile as a guy who would have extended success in the majors. I thought he got lucky in 2018 and, like I said, I expected a swoon in 2019. He's never been a high-walk, high-OBP guy, nor does he have great power, nor does he have great speed. He's never walked more than 40 times in a big league season. He didn't hit a single home run while at Long Beach State. He hasn't stolen more than 17 bases in a pro campaign, and that was way back in 2014.

So his skill is hitting the ball where they ain't, and even in the minors he was just 'very good' at it—it's not like he was batting .350 every year. His career average in the minors is .312.

Therefore, I didn't expect years worth of success. I thought pitchers would figure him out eventually and he would struggle and drift off into the ether like so many late bloomers before him. The Cubs' Frank Schwindel is one such guy who is following that path.

When he slipped to .251 in 2021, I was disappointed, but not surprised. It was just a matter of time. He'd somehow put off the inevitable, but the inevitable arrived. But not for long. Along came 2022, and the ship was righted.

And all this time he's done it as a man without a position. Is he a second baseman? A left fielder?

I personally saw him play on August 4, 2019 in Pittsburgh. That day, he was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, 4 runs scored and 2 RBI in a 13-2 rout over the Pirates.

In 2021, I wrote him an autograph request through the Mets. I had a hunch I'd never get it back—he was too big a name by then—and I was right. But it's only been a year and some change, never give up.

I was also never too fond of his "Squirrel" appellation, or more accurately, I felt bad that it was attached to him. At the game I went to some people were holding up squirrel stuffed animals and shouting "Squirrel!" It's all in good fun, but at the same time, the guy can't help the way he looks.