ATLANTA — Yoenis Cespedes, normally the Mets’ most dynamic hitter, is off to an unusual slump this season. Through 20 games, he has a feeble .195 batting average and just four home runs. His 37 strikeouts lead baseball. And, despite leading the 14-6 Mets with 18 R.B.I., including three game-winning hits, he admitted he is “far too lost” at the plate.

He gave a possible reason for the poor start this weekend: not playing enough golf, a hobby beloved by many baseball players. And, yes, he is serious.

“In previous seasons, one of the things I did when I wasn’t going well was to play golf,” he said after a game on Friday in which he struck out four times but still drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th inning. “This year, I’m not playing golf.”

Cespedes made the decision to cut out his golfing habit, in an effort to perhaps prevent injuries. He had become so obsessed with golf, which he first tried shortly after defecting from Cuba in 2011, that he was hoping to become a professional golfer after his baseball days were over.