While everyone has all of their attention on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, which seem to be heating up, the Yankees are still keeping their eyes on the pitching market. The club in the Bronx officially spoke with both top free agent pitchers, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, via Zoom this past week, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. Reportedly, nine team officials including Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone and Matt Blake were on the call, which lasted over an hour.

While this might not have any correlation to the Yankees chance with Soto, it shows that New York is ready in case the slugger decides to jump ship. 

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

New York City FC showed some pictures of the progress being made towards their new stadium in Queens.

Jose Iglesias told Laura Albanese of Newsday that he is very open to a return to the Mets, and will also be dropping a new song in 2025. 

Mets legend Johan Santana was inducted into the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame in the Dominican Republic. Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones were also inducted. 

The Mets received a fourth minor league option for right-handed hurler Max Kranick, per Joel Sherman of the NY Post. 

Frankie Montas’ two-year deal, including a player opt-out after 2025, with the Mets was officially announced by the club. David Stearns commented on the signing: “Throughout his career, Frankie has flashed some of the best stuff in the game. He’ll provide a stabilizing presence to our pitching staff and can contribute on and off the field.”

Latest MLB News

Several industry sources believe that the San Diego Padres are in a strong position to land Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, per Francys Romero. 

RHP Koyo Aoyagi’s 45-day negotiating window with major league teams has begun, after the Hanshin Tigers made his posting official, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The sidearm pitcher posted a 6.2 K/9 and 1.307 WHIP in 114 innings this past season.

Major and minor league player representatives, including former Met Chris Bassitt, were elected by the MLBPA.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that all five Juan Soto contenders, including the Mets, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Dodgers, are still in the mix. He also noted that he will meet with clubs this weekend and we should know his decision by the start of winter meetings on December 9.

On a Bleacher Report live stream, Jon Heyman reported that the Mets are still the favorites to land Pete Alonso. He also noted that getting Soto would in turn help the Mets keep Alonso.

Latest on MMO

Jose Iglesias is open to return to Queens in 2025!

Check out MMO’s free agent profile on a familiar face, Sean Manaea.

Hyeseong Kim of the KBO is being posted for major league clubs. 

On This Date in Mets History

2021: Former Mets manager Gil Hodges is elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The man who lead the Amazins to their first World Series got in on his 35th ballot.

2005: The Mets send prospects Gaby Hernandez and Dante Brinkley to the Florida Marlins and receive catcher Paul Lo Duca in return. His .297 average as a Met is the highest for any catcher in franchise history,

Born On This Date: Cliff Floyd (1972), Al Moran (1938).

The post Morning Briefing: Yankees Speak to Fried, Burnes appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Who needs a glove? David Wright put out that question while providing the greatest defensive highlight of his career during his first full big-league season.

San Diego’s Brian Giles lifted a soft fly ball over Wright’s head in the seventh inning at Petco Park—certain to be a hit into left field. It would’ve been challenging enough to make the catch with a mitt if he could even race back and do that. As he darts back for the ball, he notices the trajectory and where it was headed—leaving him little choice about his next course of action.

“It was over my right shoulder,” Wright said. “I couldn’t reach it with my glove, so I took a stab at it.”

Wright increased the degree of difficulty and reached out with his throwing hand, “as if he were a wide receiver catching a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone” said the New York Times. While falling down, he held on to the ball before landing on the grass in shallow left. It was one of the best grabs you’ll ever see, by a Met or anyone else.

It was such as tremendous effort that even the crowd in San Diego gave Wright a round of applause.

Injured first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, according to the New York Times, said he choked on a sunflower seed while watching it from the bench. “If that’s not the play of the year, I’ll protest,” he said. Both he and Cliff Floyd lobbied ESPN to give Wright an ESPY award.

The Mets lost, 8-3, but that not at all what’s remembered.

“We could have really blown it up if we’d won,” Floyd said.

No ESPY, but David’s snag did win MLB.com’s 2005 This Year in Baseball Play of the Year Award.

Wright’s hitting that season showed the improvement everyone in the organization hoped for. The day after his catch, he tied a personal-high with six RBIs thanks to a three-run homer, a two-run double and a run-scoring single. In all, Wright posted a 140 OPS+ for the year with the first of five 100-plus RBI seasons. But while his offense was a part of outstanding (and all too brief) career, his defensive heroics in San Diego is the lasting memory of the 2005 season.

The post OTD 2005: David Wright’s Barehanded Grab appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

While December 20th is a day New York Mets fans will always remember for David Wright‘s birthday, the organization has also made a couple of impactful acquisitions on this date in franchise history. One was swinging a trade for John Olerud in 1996, and the other was signing Cliff Floyd to a four-year, $26 million deal in 2002.

New York sent Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Olerud, and while the first baseman was only with the Mets for three seasons, he made his mark. He was part of the “Best Infield Ever?” group in 1999, and although his glove was an asset in the field, Olerud made an impact in several different ways with the bat in his hands.

Through 2,018 plate appearances in Queens, Olerud slashed .315/.425/.501 with 63 home runs and 291 RBI. He was very consistent, too — he never finished a year for the Mets with fewer than 19 home runs or 93 RBI. His .315 career average is the best in Mets history, and his .354 average in 1998 is the best single-season mark in franchise history. The 8.1 fWAR he posted during this particular season is also the second-highest mark for a single season, with Wright’s 8.4 fWAR in 2007 being the only one better.

I’ll die on the hill that Olerud never gets as much love as he should, and I’ve got some proof to back it up. During his three-year stint with New York, his 18.3 fWAR was third-highest among first baseman during that stretch. The only ones with more? Jeff Bagwell (22.5) and Mark McGwire (19.9).

25 years ago today, Mets made one of the best trades in team history when they sent Robert Person to Blue Jays for John Olerud.

Olerud hit .315/.425/.501 with 109 doubles, 63 homers, in 3 seasons with the Mets.

His 146 wRC+ is best in team history.

pic.twitter.com/51DIyMddWp

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 20, 2021

Similar to how Olerud’s arrival helped usher in the Mets’ run of competitive baseball in the late 1990s, Floyd helped do that by signing with the club six years later. The 2005 season was a landmark campaign for the left-handed outfielder, as he hit a career-high 34 home runs, along with 85 RBI and a .273/.358/.505 line through 626 plate appearances. It was the only time he played more than 130 games in a season for New York, posting a 124 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR in the process.

While Floyd only suited up for 97 games in 2006, he caught the final out to clinch New York’s first National League East title since 1988, and he played a role in sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS before going down with a season-ending injury on the bases.

12/20/2002 Cliff Floyd signs a four-year, $26 million contract with the Mets. Floyd hit a career-high 34 home runs during the 2005 season. The next year, he hit .444 against the Dodgers in the NLDS. @CliffFloyd30 pic.twitter.com/AmzLJahomD

— This Day in Mets History (@NYMhistory) December 20, 2021

So, it turns out we have much more to celebrate than just the Captain’s birthday when the calendar flips to December 20th, and it’s a pretty significant date in franchise history. That’s especially the case when thinking about the last few times New York put together competitive teams that went deep into the playoffs.

The post OTD in Mets History: Amazins Acquire Potent Left-Handed Bats appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

On July 24, 2016, Mike Piazza became just the second player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a New York Met. Six days later, he further ensured his legacy in Queens. Piazza joined fellow Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, Gil Hodges, and Casey Stengel in having his number retired by the Mets.

Over seven-plus seasons, Piazza compiled 220 home runs and 655 RBIs. He still holds the highest slugging percentage in franchise history, ranks second in OPS, and third in homers. He garnered six All-Star nods and two playoff appearances including a World Series trip in 2000 — all while solidifying his spot as the greatest hitting catcher ever.  

He came to New York on the back-end of a whirlwind eight days that saw him dealt from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Florida Marlins then transferred to the Big Apple to complete one of the best trades this franchise has ever made. His first Mets appearance in May 1998 featured Al Leiter on the mound. He, along with Edgardo Alfonzo, Cliff Floyd, and Piazza’s family, was on hand. 

Despite rain showers, Citi Field was filled for the ceremony which took place 30 minutes prior to the Mets game with the Colorado Rockies. Piazza emerged from the dugout to Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” to a standing ovation.

After an emotional tribute video, it was time for the reveal of the retired No. 31 in the rafters — next to Seaver’s No. 41, Hodges’ No. 14, Stengel’s No. 37, and Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 (retired league-wide). 

“That means I will always be with you,” Piazza said during his heartfelt speech. He addressed the crowd at the center field podium with loved ones and former teammates by his side and chants of “Mike Pi-a-zza” echoing from the stands. 

“With all due respect to Tom Hanks, there is crying in baseball.”

The post OTD in 2016: Mets Retire Mike Piazza’s No. 31 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mike Puma, the longtime New York Mets beat reporter for the New York Post, has seen and heard quite a bit during his time covering the team in some capacity over the last two-plus decades.

During his time with the team, Puma has witnessed a myriad amount of events both on and off the field. From the 2000 Subway World Series; the 2006 season in which the Mets looked to be the best team in the National League; the Wilpon/Bernie Madoff fiasco; making it to the World Series in 2015; to all the personalities and oddities that happened along the way, Puma was along for the ride to detail all of it for his readers.

Taking the reporting he conducted, Puma decided to write a book about his tenure with the Mets titled If These Walls Could Talk: New York Mets: Stories from the New York Mets Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box, released on April 27 of this year.

Triumph Books

The book, published by Triumph Books, peels back the curtain and reveals details from the Met clubhouses over the years. Puma chronicles the highs and lows of the team over the last two decades and intersperses anecdotes he was told from dozens of interviews he conducted with players, coaches and executives while doing research for his book.

From Bobby Valentine feeling he was fired over a comment he made to Fred Wilpon after a coaches’ meeting to Billy Wagner confirming he was the one who stuck the “Know your place, rook” note on Lastings Milledge’s locker to Zack Wheeler being told he couldn’t sit in the dugout with his team during the 2015 National League Division Series, Puma’s book is chock-full of accounts that will make readers laugh, cringe and raise an eyebrow.

Puma does a great job transitioning from the various Mets eras and takes readers along for the ride in reliving some of the best – and worst – moments in team history.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Puma in early May about his just-released book.

MMO: What prompted you to write this book?

Puma: I had never really given serious consideration to writing a book before; it’s very time-consuming, and covering the beat seems like a job and a half sometimes. But two years ago, Triumph Books reached out to me and gauged my interest, and I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to.’ I was kind of lukewarm.

We went back and forth a little bit. Finally, I got to the point where I started thinking about it a little bit more. I was like, Well, I have been around the team since the late nineties, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get another opportunity to write a book. Maybe this is the only chance to do it. They were willing to give me a lot of freedom as far as what direction I wanted to take and how I wanted to do it.

I decided to do it, and that was April 2019. So that’s kind of what prompted it.

MMO: What was the writing process like for you while still covering your beat for the New York Post?

Puma: The first thing was just lining up interviews and people I wanted to talk to from the last two decades. That just took time; that was time-consuming just getting on the same schedule with people and trying to figure out when I could talk to them. I’d say the first six months or so I didn’t do much writing at all; it was just trying to line up the interviews and do the reporting for the book.

I did most of the writing on the project after the 2019 season ended. And then in Spring Training 2020, I got a lot of work done on it too, being down in Florida. It was tough sometimes to try and balance everything, but somehow I pulled it off.

MMO: You peel back the curtain and reveal some great stories from the last two-plus decades. Do you have a favorite anecdote from the book?

Puma: I kind of like the Bobby Valentine story about him thinking he was going to come back as manager after the 2002 season and agreeing to let Jeff Wilpon sit in on the coaches’ meeting. And then [what happened] at the end of the meeting, where Jeff rubbed Valentine the wrong way. Valentine is convinced that that’s what got him fired, and I had never heard that before. I think that one probably stands out.

MMO: The Wilpons are featured prominently in much of the book. With so much fan disdain for the previous ownership, what was your takeaway from some of the stories you shared?

Puma: The Wilpons certainly rubbed some people the wrong way. We know they rubbed the fans the wrong way, and they rubbed some of the players the wrong way, the people with the club.

I think one misconception that I’d like to clear up is – and I see this on Twitter – where people come to me and say that I waited until the Wilpons were gone to write this book. That’s not the case. This book was coming out whether they owned the team or not. When I signed the deal to do the book two years ago, these stories were going to be in the book one way or the other. I didn’t know when I agreed to do the book that they were on the verge of selling the team.

It’s easy for people to look at it like you’re telling these stories when they’re gone. Well, no, these stories were coming out regardless, one way or the other. It just worked out that they’re gone now.

MMO: One of the anecdotes that caught my attention, and I tweeted about, was the Zack Wheeler story. The crux of it was that the Mets would not let Wheeler come and sit in the dugout during the 2015 National League Division Series. Can you expand a bit on that?

Puma: It definitely rubbed him the wrong way at the time. He wanted to come up from Florida during his rehab at the end of 2015 to be with the team in the postseason. He was told no, he couldn’t, and they didn’t want him up there. I think Wheeler half understood that.

The thing that kind of jarred him was he asked if he could have some tickets to sit in the stands and watch in the stands. The Mets came back to him and said no. They told him that if he wanted tickets, he had to buy his own.

I didn’t mention this in the book, but I asked Sandy Alderson about it after the fact, and he claimed that he didn’t know anything about that. I have a suspicion that it was Jeff Wilpon’s call. I asked Wheeler, and he doesn’t know where it came from. I was never able to find out who kind of gave that edict that he had to buy his own tickets. But it probably came from the top.

He said it sat with him for a while, and he eventually got over it. It motivated him to want to get back to the postseason as an active player. I’m sure it’s not the reason he left to go to the Phillies. If the Mets had offered him $120 million as the Phillies did, he’d probably be pitching for the Mets right now. But it’s something that irked him a little bit at the time.

MMO: And you heard about that story after the fact?

Puma: Yeah, this was the summer of 2019 that I talked to Wheeler about it. I told him I was writing the book and we talked about a few different things. It’s just something that popped up in the course of talking with him when I asked him what he remembered about 2015, and about being sidelined at the time. He brought this story to my attention.

MMO: Were there any stories that didn’t make the book for one reason or another?

Puma: No, I think everything I deemed fresh material I put in the book. I don’t think there’s anything in there that I really held back for one reason or another. I wanted the best stuff possible in there.

MMO: You detail your career in the book, and how you eventually got to cover the Mets for the New York Post. For those who haven’t read the book yet, can you talk a bit about your career in journalism?

Puma: I graduated from Fordham in the early nineties. I wanted to do radio and worked at WFUV, the radio station of Fordham, doing basketball games, play-by-play and hosting the one-on-one shows. I wanted to do play-by-play, and I went back home to Waterbury, Connecticut, and started doing some high school football play-by-play, and started doing some production work for ESPN Radio, which had launched at the time.

I got my start in print at the local newspaper in Waterbury, Connecticut, at the Waterbury Republican-American. They were looking for part-time sports clerks, and I didn’t have any writing experience at the time. The sports editor had heard me doing the high school broadcasts and thought I might be good on the staff as somebody that could bring some high school sports perspective to the department. So that’s kind of how I got started, working part-time covering high school sports up in Waterbury, Connecticut.

I moved up to the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, and that’s where I started covering baseball, and that’s kind of where I pick it up [in the book] in that ’98 season. And then I was told the Mets were going to be part of my responsibilities. Then I started covering the Mets and Yankees, not really as a beat, just bouncing back and forth between the two teams when they were home. I went to the New York Post in 2007, kind of backing up on the Mets and Yankees, and I’ve been on the Mets beat since 2010 now.

MMO: Covering both the Yankees and Mets early on, what differences did you encounter as a member of the media between the two clubs?

Puma: The Yankees were more buttoned-down, I would say. They were more of a corporate culture. I thought the Mets were always more fun to be around as far as some of the characters they had back then on those late nineties teams, whether it was Johnny Franco, Al Leiter, Mike Piazza. I guess the best way to describe the Yankees is they were more of a corporate atmosphere where the Mets, I thought, were more fun.

MMO: Are there one or two players that stand out to you from your time covering the Mets that had the best personalities and/or were good to the media?

Puma: I always loved covering Billy Wagner. He was so honest. There’s a quote from Rick Peterson when he said, “If it came into Billy’s mind, it came out of his mouth.” Which is true. He was always great with the media.

The year and a half Jeff Francoeur was on the team, he was a fun guy. He was another guy that was unfiltered and very helpful to the media. Those two pop into my head immediately, and I think both of them won the Good Guy Award that the New York staff of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) gives out every year to the player that’s most helpful to the media.

MMO: Speaking of Wagner, your book confirms that he was the one that stuck the note on Lastings Milledges’ locker in 2006 that read, “Know your place, rook!”

Puma: [Laughs.] I think people, if they didn’t know it, strongly suspected it all these years. But it was the first time Wagner really opened up about the subject. I don’t think he had spoken extensively on the record about it before. I thought it was good in giving his perspective. And then Cliff Floyd jumped in talking about an incident in Philadelphia where he and Milledge were going to get to the ballpark early to work out and show that Milledge was committed. And then Milledge showed up at noon for a one o’clock game, well beyond the reporting time, and looking for his name on the lineup card.

I thought those anecdotes were very good, and Wagner coming forward and talking about it really for the first time added to the book.

MMO: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

Puma: Maybe a little bit of the dysfunction of the Mets in the last two-plus decades. There have been ups and downs, obviously, but I mostly hope they have fun with the book and get to see a little behind the curtain of what players, managers and executives were thinking at the time.

Often, what comes out in real-time is you get a lot of the varnished truth, and as years go by, players are more likely to drop their guard a little bit and give you the unvarnished truth of what happened in certain situations. I kind of hope that this book gives you a look at that.

Follow Mike Puma on Twitter, @NYPost_Mets

The post MMO Exclusive: Mike Puma of the New York Post Discusses His Book appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Opening Day for the 2020 MLB regular season is just over a week away as I type this sentence. Finally. But still, this stoppage in play has allowed us a unique opportunity to look back on recent (and distant) New York Mets history more than we likely ever would’ve in a typical circumstance.

If you can’t tell, I’m trying to find some silver lining here. Is it working?

This has at least been true for me personally. No new Mets baseball has led to me looking back on certain aspects of New York’s 2006 season, which will easily go down as one of my most memorable years as a Mets fan. Just a few examples include Carlos Beltran showing he was worth a record-setting contract, New York’s dominant June road trip, and the glory that was pairing Beltran with Carlos Delgado in the middle of the organization’s lineup.

As we wait for new baseball (that counts, at least) to appear on our TVs, I wanted to take a second to remember something else the 2006 club did, which happened 14 years ago today. I would say the suspense is building, but you already know what I’m going to talk about.

Yes, their historic 11-run outburst against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

These two teams entered the night on two different ends of the spectrum. the Mets owned a 54-37 record and were in the midst of coasting to an NL East title, while the Cubs were already 20 games below .500 with a 35-55 mark. That didn’t stop Chicago from immediately jumping on Orlando Hernandez, chasing him after he allowed five earned runs in just 1.2 innings of work.

New York’s bullpen kept the Cubs offense at bay with 3.1 scoreless innings from Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano. The Mets chipped away with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth before entering that memorable sixth inning while staring at a 5-2 deficit. Then, that’s when the magic happened.

For some context, Baseball-Reference listed the Mets’ odds of winning the game at 15% entering the top of this inning. By the time this historic onslaught was complete, it was all the way up to 99%. The half inning of play lasted 41 minutes and Cubs hurlers threw 70 pitches. They didn’t benefit from the two errors committed behind them, which led to eight of the 11 runs scored being unearned.

Even though Jon Miller had noted multiple times that the wind played a role during this performance, it’s worth noting how many pitches were hit to the opposite field — especially the homers from Cliff Floyd, Beltran, and David Wright.

Obviously, the two grand slams hit in the same inning is what made this moment a historic one. It was the first time a team had done it since Fernando Tatis did it all on his own for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, and it was just the seventh occurrence in MLB history spanning back to 1871. This particular feat hasn’t gotten more common in recent years, either — the next time it happened was in 2015 by the Baltimore Orioles.

If there’s one instance I’d have to pinpoint that perfectly summed up this club, it’d probably be this one. This monstrous comeback wasn’t the least bit surprising, either. The way Willie Randolph‘s club played made us almost expect them to win every single night, which is something they were pretty successful at in 2006.

Seriously, though, this described the 2006 Mets perfectly. The starting pitching struggled, which wasn’t necessarily unordinary considering the rotation’s cumulative 4.67 ERA that season. The bullpen came in to stabilize things, which is something they were really good at doing in ‘o6. Randolph’s relief corps had the lowest ERA (3.28) and highest fWAR (7.0) in the National League, along with leading baseball with 32 wins.

All they had to do was buy time for the offense to pounce at the right moment, which obviously happened. From a wRC+ perspective, New York’s offense wasn’t overly impressive (99), but it was still among the league’s top 10. They did lead baseball with 28.1 fWAR, were seventh in homers (200), and were also seventh in runs scored (834), so the position players knew what the heck they were doing.

As was the case with most big events during this season, I remember watching this happen in real time. I was pumped for Floyd hitting his second homer of the day (he was my favorite Met for the short period of time he was with the club). All I could do was chuckle when Beltran sent his own ball over the wall with two outs (without knowing the historical significance, of course). And then all I could do was sit there in disbelief watching Wright add a two-run dinger for good measure.

What a fun year, and what a fun freakin’ inning to watch. It seemed like anything was possible that year…until it no longer was (single tear).

The post Remembering the Mets’ 11-Run Outburst vs. Cubs in 2006 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

19 years ago today, the New York Mets drafted an 18-year-old from Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia by the name of David Wright. Little did they know at the time, they were getting the eventual best position player in franchise history with the 38th overall pick.

Wright grew up a Mets fan having been only a short distance from their Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk. Here’s what Baseball America had to say about Wright heading into the draft:

Wright has been compared to Michael Cuddyer, a fellow Tidewater product who was the ninth overall pick in the 1997 draft. Both have excellent makeup and work ethic, qualities that endear them to scouts. Their tools are similar, though Wright swings the bat a little better and has better overall mechanics at this age. If Wright were a little bigger and projected better, he’d be a candidate for the first 10 picks. Few players in the country swing the bat as well. Wright has developed more extension with his swing, giving him more power, but he still projects just 20 home runs a year in the big leagues. That’s a marginal output by today’s third-base standards, though he has settled in nicely at the position. He’s at the heart of a strong Georgia Tech recruiting class. College won’t be an issue if he’s drafted in the first 30-50 picks, where he’s projected.

Before we get into the awesomeness of Captain America, let’s dig into how the Mets ended up with the compensatory pick. It all starts with everyone’s favorite Met, Bobby Bonilla.

The Mets originally signed Bonilla in 1991 and he would go on to have three and half solid years with the Mets including two All-Star appearances before he was traded in 1995 to the Orioles. The Mets decided to require Bonilla in November of 1998 when they traded pitcher Mel Rojas to the Dodgers for Bobby.

Bonilla was a disaster in 1999 with the Mets, posting a .579 OPS in only 60 games. Bonilla was under contract with the Mets through the 2000 season for $5.9 million, but the team needed to add pitching to a contending team and ownership wanted financial wiggle room.

Bonilla and his agent offered the Mets a deal that meant they wouldn’t have to pay him his $5.9 million salary for 2000 if they agreed to defer the money. The original $5.9 million would turn into $29.8 million in deferred payments of $1.19 million from 2011 through 2035. Fred Wilpon was okay with paying Bonilla the 8% interest because he believed he was going to make more in his investments with Bernie Madoff.

The financial flexibility allowed the Mets to acquire left-hander starter Mike Hampton from the Houston Astros. Hampton would post a 3.14 ERA in 2000, win the Silver Slugger award, and was named the NLCS MVP.

After the 2000 season, Hampton was in search of a bigger payday and the Rockies gave him that. With the Rockies signing Hampton to an eight-year, $121 million deal, the Mets received a compensation pick in the 2001 draft. That pick was used for David Wright.

Wright hit from the start as a pro, the youngster slashed .300/.391/.458 in 36 games for the rookie level Kingsport Mets. The third baseman struggled a bit in 2002 when his slash line dropped to .266/.367/.401 with the Class-A Capital City Bombers.

The 2003 season would be an important one for Wright, as he hit .270/.369/.459 with 39 doubles, 11 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases for the St. Lucie Mets. He would play in the Arizona Fall League too as he looked to be closing in on the major leagues.

Wright started out like a ball of fire in 2004 with a 1.086 OPS in 60 games for the Double-A Binghamton Mets. It was a quick stop for Wright in Triple-A Norfolk – .967 OPS in 31 games – before he was promoted to the big leagues in July of 2004.

The Virginia native made his Major League debut on July 21, 2004 against the Expos:

1. Jose Reyes – 2B
2. Kazuo Matsui – SS
3. Ty Wigginton – 1B
4. Cliff Floyd – LF
5. Richard Hidalgo – RF
6. Mike Cameron – CF
7. David Wright – 3B
8. Vance Wilson – C
9. Jae Weong Seo – P

All Wright did was hit .293/.332/.525 with 14 home runs in 69 games for the Mets in 2004.

Wright would then finish 19th in MVP voting during his sophomore season, as the Mets went 83-79 after a 91-loss season in 2005. He had 42 doubles, 27 home runs, 102 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and only struck out 113 times compared to 72 walks. But the highlight from his 2005 season was this ridiculous play on August 9:

The post Amazin’ Memories: Mets Draft Future Captain, David Wright appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

When it comes to the New York Mets, the most polarizing uniform in team history may just back the alternate black jersey that was commonly worn in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

It seems that those jerseys are either hated or loved, without much gray area in between, as fans and pundits alike argue if they should be brought back into the fold. When it comes to the players, Pete Alonso has stepped out in front campaigning for the jerseys to return, explaining that they don’t just “want” the black jerseys back, but instead “NEED” them back.

According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, Alonso responded to his question about whether he’d like to wear those jerseys, with a long diatribe about why those jerseys should return sooner rather than later.

“The reason why I love the black uniforms so much, [is] when I think of the New York Mets, I think of Pedro [Martinez], I think of Mike Piazza. I think of Edgardo Alfonzo. I think of Cliff Floyd. David Wright wore the blacks. Carlos Beltrán wore the blacks. I think of so many just electric players that wore the black.”

Alonso’s attachment to those jerseys is similar to a lot of fans that are around the same age as the slugger, who grew up watching those great teams led by Piazza and eventually Wright, who were most known for playing in black.

“When I think of that, I imagine and put in my mind 45,000 people blacked out, screaming down the necks of whoever’s in that opposing dugout. It’s a mentality, and it’s an attitude.” Alonso said.

Having a player of Alonso’s caliber speaking of an edge that can came from wearing those black uniforms is sure to make team officials consider bringing them back.

Then again when it comes to inspiring fear into opponents, Alonso must not have been watching the Mets lose 95 games back in 2003 during the black uniform era, or seen them fail to eclipse 80 wins from 2009 through 2012, before the black jerseys were disbanded for the alternate blue.

Still, if the new team leader thinks the Mets should bring back the black uniforms and he gets his guys to rally around an identity wearing them, maybe it would be wise to listen to the 25-year-old.

“Hopefully, you’re wearing black and it’s a funeral for the other team because we’re going to beat them on Friday,” Alonso said. “It sets a tone. It’s an attitude, and it’s a type of swagger. I feel like that gives people something to really look forward to — show up wearing black and just create this absolute mayhem.”

One thing I can say with certainty about those black uniforms is this. A blue “C” with that white and orange outline will look damn good on Alonso’s shoulder, the same way it did on captain John Franco back in the day.

The post Pete Alonso Hopes to Bring Back Black Uniforms appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning Mets fans! ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez shared a conversation he had with OF Yoenis Cespedes on MLB Network Radio that revealed Cespedes’ personal high expectations and hopes for the 2020 season.

Cespedes told Perez, “I’m ready. I’m going to go out with a bang this year. I’m not just going to hit 40 home runs.”

When Perez told him that means he would have to play in 140+ games, Cespedes told him, “Then I’ll be out there for 140+ games.”

Perez also added that Cespedes told him he could match his home run production to the number on his jersey (52).

Latest Mets News

The Mets have had teams reach out to them about Cespedes’ availability in potential trades following his contract restructuring, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. DiComo also noted that nothing is close, imminent or even likely, but the Mets have had initial conversations with these teams regarding Cespedes.

Despite the fact that the Mets have had trade talks with the Cleveland Indians regarding SS Francisco Lindor and the Pittsburgh Pirates regarding OF Starling Marte, they are not actively pursuing either player according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, RHP Seth Lugo was disappointed after the Mets added RHP Michael Wacha and RHP Rick Porcello in free agency as he believed he had a legitimate chance in spring training to earn the fifth starter spot. However, Lugo is still approaching the situation as if he’s a starter.

“I’m going to come in and show them that I somehow prepared over the offseason for what my goals for spring were and hopefully I can stretch out a little bit, but I understand what’s going on,” Lugo said per Puma. “I’m going to keep working at what I want and that’s the way I’m going to approach it.”

Latest MLB News

The MLBPA filed a grievance against the New York Yankees in an effort to recoup the $26 million due to OF Jacoby Ellsbury, according to Ronald Blum of AP Sports.

The Los Angeles Angels and RHP Julio Teheran agreed to a one-year contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal will be worth $9 million according to Ken Rosenthal.

The Milwaukee Brewers and 1B Justin Smoak agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract, according to Jeff Passan. Smoak’s contract includes a $5.5 million club option for 2021, with a $1 million buyout.

The Chicago White Sox and LHP Gio Gonzalez agreed to a one-year contract, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Heyman also reported that the Kansas City Royals and 3B Maikel Franco agreed to a one-year contract. Franco will receive $2.95 million in guarantees and up to $1.05 million in incentives.

Latest NL East News

The Washington Nationals announced their 2020 MiLB coaching staff.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com answered Atlanta Braves fans’ questions which ranged from asking about LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, to whether the Braves will trade prospects, to what the team’s bullpen plans are, to who the Opening Day starter will be in 2020.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Michael Mayer listed and wrote about the Mets’ top-10 defensive plays of the decade.

Matt Musico wrote about why the Mets’ current bullpen mindset is frustrating.

Dilip Sridhar listed and wrote about five pitchers who could find similar success in the bullpen as LHP Drew Pomeranz did with the Brewers last season.

Tim Ryder wrote an “MLB Rumor Roundup.”

This Day in Mets History

2002: The Mets and OF Cliff Floyd agreed to a four-year, $26 million contract. Floyd hit .268/.354/.478 with 81 home runs and 273 RBIs in 1,643 at-bats across 468 games while in Queens.

2011: The Mets announced that they would not operate a Rookie League team in the Gulf Coast League for 2012. The team operated eight minor league teams instead in 2012 due to continued financial troubles.

Birthdays: RHP Erik Goeddel turns 31 and 3B David Wright turns 37.

The post Morning Briefing: Yoenis Cespedes Sets His Goals High For 2020 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.