The scout behind Mets rookie A.J. Ewing recalls: ‘It took one swing’

As one of A.J. Ewing’s biggest fans in the baseball industry, Joe Raccuia wants to talk about the New York Mets’ most recent call-up but apologizes at the beginning of a conversation.

His voice is weak, so if anything is unclear, ask him to repeat, and he will, he says.

Raccuia, a scout for the Kansas City Royals focusing on hitting development, is recovering in a hospital from a recent stroke. Earlier this year, his son, Joey, died in a car crash at 19 years old.

In a year full of incomprehensible pain, Raccuia said that watching Ewing makes him feel a little better.

“It helps,” Raccuia said Friday by phone.

So Raccuia starts talking. Because the topic is Ewing, he is up for a chat. He talked to another news outlet, too, and he will keep speaking about Ewing for anyone who asks. Raccuia previously worked for the Mets and was Ewing’s signing scout.

When he speaks about Ewing, there is no need to ask him to repeat anything. His words come out clear and strong.

“It took one swing,” Raccuia said.

Seeing the ease of Ewing’s stroke and his quickness to the ball during a game early on in the high school season in 2023, Raccuia said he thought to himself, “Wait a minute here.”

In 2023, Raccuia was a New York Mets area scout in Ohio. At the time, he heard Ewing was the kind of high school player worth a look. Nothing much more. He even arrived late to see Ewing, having traveled from a college game. Then he watched the swing. It was one of the best he had seen in his area.

“I just fell in love with the hitter,” Raccuia said.

Three years later, Ewing keeps winning people over. With the Mets desperate to turn their season around while dealing with injuries throughout their lineup, they called up Ewing this week to provide a spark as their everyday center fielder. The 21-year-old quickly made a positive impression.

Through four games, Ewing’s OPS stands at 1.105.

A handful of Ewing’s tools stand out, including his speed and defense. All of Ewing’s strengths contributed to his fast rise through the Mets’ farm system. However, it was his bat and confidence that captured the Mets’ attention and motivated them to beat out two other teams to get him.

In the 2023 amateur draft, the Mets picked Ewing in the fourth round because they couldn’t afford to wait any longer. On draft day, they considered it a three-team race for Ewing with the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres showing serious interest, league sources said. The Padres did not have a fifth-round pick and were trying to overpay to take him in the sixth round. The Mets ended up signing Ewing for $675,000 (the slot value for the pick was $483,000).

The Mets sent more scouts beyond Raccuia to see Ewing, including Glenn Walker, Mike Ledna and Chris Hervey. Marc Tramuta (now with the Toronto Blue Jays), Tommy Tanous (now with the Colorado Rockies) and Drew Toussaint (Mets amateur scouting director) were among those in leadership positions.

Everyone who traveled to watch Ewing returned with strong reviews. Ewing is 5 foot 10 and 160 pounds. Back then, the Mets were not concerned about his size because he showed enough bat speed and raw power combined with his speed to make them think he’d offer plenty of slugging.

Ewing’s perceived swagger turned off some teams. Mets officials loved that part of his game.

“In some of the interviews, a lot of people are trying to be super cookie cutter and show off the best version of themselves, but I just try to be myself,” Ewing said. “I think I come off as a pretty confident person. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I’m big on being myself.”

For Raccuia, Ewing’s makeup was anything but a deterrent. It was another reason to advocate for him.

After that first game Raccuia scouted, he called Ewing and set up a meeting for the next day. Inside Ewing’s home, Raccuia spoke with him for two hours while Ewing’s mother was in another room. The one-on-one conversation, a rarity for high school players, Raccuia said, revealed Ewing’s maturity.

“His makeup was off the charts,” Raccuia said. “He wanted to win, he had a passion for the game and he wanted to get better.”

Ewing said that he didn’t know of another scout who watched more of his games than Raccuia.

“I kept going back,” Raccuia said.

And he kept pushing.

“He pushed hard for me,” Ewing said. “No one pushed harder for me than him.”