Good morning Mets fans! The New York Mets stumbled into the All-Star break with a 40-50 record and little hope for contention for the rest of the year. Despite everything that has gone wrong for the Mets in 2019, Pete Alonso has been one of the few extremely bright spots. He gave Mets fans another thing to celebrate on Monday as he outslugged Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to win the Home Run Derby.

Latest Mets News

The MLB All-Star Game will air on FOX starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Jacob deGrom will be representing the Mets in the Midsummer Classic.

Alonso became the first Met to win the Home Run Derby since Darryl Strawberry in 1986.

Alonso received the $1 million grand prize for winning the Derby, which is nearly double the amount he is currently making in 2019 ($555,000). He also announced that he will be donating $100,000 of the $1 million between the Wounded Warriors Project and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. 

The Mets are offering 80 percent off tickets to all remaining home games following Alonso’s Home Run Derby victory. The flash sale will run through July 12 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic conducted a Q&A with Kevin Burkhardt on satisfaction, the Mets and the difference between MLB and NFL broadcasts.

Ryan Kolakowski of the Tampa Bay Times wrote a piece about Alonso’s knack for hitting in his youth.

Latest MLB News

The All-Star Game will take place in Cleveland, Ohio for the sixth time in All-Star Game history and the first since 1997.

Justin Verlander and Hyun-Jin Ryu will start the All-Star Game for the American League and National League, respectively.

The American League will look for its seventh straight All-Star Game victory and 19th in the last 23 years.

MLB will recognize Carlos Carrasco, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, at the All-Star Game.

Jake Kaplan of The Athletic went to Alex Bregman‘s hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to learn more about the pride and joy of Duke City.

Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun wrote about John Means‘ journey from the edge of retirement in 2018 to the All-Star Game in 2019.

Latest NL East News

The Washington Nationals are nearing a minor league deal with Brad Boxberger according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.

All-Star Game posters featuring Bryce Harper were spotted in Cleveland despite the fact that Harper did not make the All-Star Game this season.

Mike Soroka, Freddie Freeman, and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be representing the Atlanta Braves in the All-Star Game. J.T. Realmuto will be representing the Philadelphia Phillies. Sandy Alcantara will be representing the Miami Marlins. Max Scherzer and Anthony Rendon were both named All-Stars, but neither will be participating in the All-Star Game.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Rob Piersall interviewed former Met minor leaguer Kyle Regnault.

Mojo Hill covered Alonso’s Home Run Derby victory. 

Hill also broke down Zack Wheeler‘s start from Sunday.

Brian Devine listed the top-five home runs from Alonso’s first half.

Ryan Finkelstein wrote about Seth Lugo and Jeff McNeil who were named “MMO’s Players of the Week.”

John Sheridan wrote about the top performers from each of the Mets minor league affiliates.

Sheridan also continued his “3 Up, 3 Down” series following the Mets’ three-game set with the Phillies.

This Day in Mets History

1969: Tom Seaver had his perfect game broken up by Chicago Cubs’ outfielder Jim Qualls, who singled into center field. The near miss, known as “The Imperfect Game,” was one of three performances in which Seaver brought a no-hitter into the ninth with the Mets.

1973: Tug McGraw interrupted Board Chairman M. Donald Grant’s pep talk during a team meeting by shouting “Ya Gotta Believe.” That phrase became the rallying cry for the Mets as they went from the bottom to the top in the National League.

Birthdays: George Stone turns 73.