Good morning, Mets fans!
On Wednesday afternoon, the Cardinals announced that the Mets’ beloved Keith Hernandez has been elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, and he will be honored with an induction ceremony this summer. Hernandez, of course, was drafted by St. Louis and spent the first 10 years of his career there, earning an MVP award, six gold gloves, and two All-Star selections.
Keith was famously traded to the Mets in the summer of 1983, and finished his illustrious career in New York after collecting five Gold Gloves, two top-five MVP finishes, and three more ASG bids. Of course, Hernandez is now a staple of the Mets’ TV booth with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling. Congratulations to Keith on a well-deserved honor.
The Mets play the finale of a four-game set in St. Louis tonight. New York will look to split the series after dropping the first game on Monday and splitting a doubleheader on Wednesday. After a poor showing in the first game of the set 4-1 where Francisco Lindor saw his slump reach the 0-for-25 mark, a sort of “Replace-Mets” lineup, led by Jonathan Villar, Tomas Nido, and Jordan Yamamoto, fought hard to take a well-earned 7-2 win from the Cards. You can read the recap for game one here, and game two here.
Latest Mets News
Luis Rojas said in a press conference that he was made aware of the firings of Chili Davis and Tom Slader ahead of Monday’s game by general manager Zack Scott.
Jacob deGrom is “feeling good,” but will err on the side of caution as he deals with a minor lat injury, and the Mets’ ace will wait a couple of days before he begins to throw again. DeGrom mentioned that he believes this setback is a result of poor mechanics, and you can read more about the latest update on Jake here.
Brandon Nimmo joins J.D. Davis on the injured list, as the team placed the Mets’ leadoff hitter on the 10-day IL after the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Latest MLB News
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday morning that as of May 19, capacity guidelines at both Citi Field and Yankee Stadium will change, depending on whether or not fans are vaccinated. For those with proof of vaccination, social distance requirements will be eliminated. Ryan Finkelstein wrote about the upcoming changes here.
Injuries are up once again this year in baseball, and Ken Rosenthal delves into what the league is and isn’t doing to maintain the health of its star players.
Over in Kansas City, an Angel Hernandez-led debacle baffled and frustrated players and fans after Tuesday’s Indians-Royals game. Anne Rogers and Mandy Bell broke down what happened regarding the wrong call of Salvador Perez’s long single here.
Former Met Ruben Tejada signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Tejada is represented by Prime Times Sports.
Over in Cincinatti, Jay Bruce suffered a fractured thumb, and Reds manager David Bell noted that the slugger will likely be out for several months.
Latest on MMO
Ryan Kolakowski recapped the first of many nights of Mets minor league action. Read about standout performances from several of the farm’s brightest prospects, including Pete Crow-Armstrong, Francisco Álvarez, and Ronny Mauricio.
Kevin Pillar has been productive with the bat since Brandon Nimmo (index finger contusion) went down, and John Flanigan examined Pillar’s hot streak.
It’s early in the season, but we’ve already seen several Mets improve upon their 2020 season. Matt Musico analyzed four Mets’ hot starts and what has gone well for them early in the 2021 campaign.
New hitting coach Hugh Quattlebaum was introduced to the media for the first time, and spoke on how he plans to work with different players on their approach.
Beyond the Blog
Mets Legends Cast: Hosted by Rob Piersall and Mike Rosen, listen to the latest episode where they discuss the retirements of former Mets Jay Bruce and Neil Walker, the Nimmo trade that (thankfully) never happened, and more.
Empire State of Mind: The Empire State of Mind Podcast is excited to bring to you an uncut conversation with Devin Gordon, author of So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin’ True Story of the New York Mets- The Worst Team in Sports.” Gordon has also contributed work for The New York Times Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, GQ, The Atlantic, & The Guardian.
Today brings you part two of this three-part conversation, where host Zachary Grady and Gordon discuss Dom Smith’s push for justice, the comparison to the “big brother” across town, the Wilpon’s free agency misses, the psyche of being successful in New York, the culture under Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson, and Jose Reyes’ legacy with the Mets.
Locked On Mets: On today’s episode, host Ryan Finkelstein breaks down yesterday’s doubleheader split against the St. Louis Cardinals, with the Mets bats finally coming alive again in Game 2. Ryan also discusses the slow start to the season for James McCann and if the Mets should be worried about the four-year commitment they made to him.
On This Date in Mets History
On May 5, 2004, legendary New York backstop Mike Piazza passed Carlton Fisk for the most home runs hit by a catcher with the 352nd of his productive career. The Dodger draftee and Mets legend launched a Jerome Williams fastball 405 feet to the opposite-field in an 8-2 victory over the Giants.
Let’s go Mets!
