We’ve been keeping you up to date on the World Baseball Classic as it happened. Earlier this month, we even shared some of the greatest Mets WBC moments. Now that the tournament’s over, we want to share our favorite moment from this WBC (and we’re not sharing our least favorite moment – because no one wants to relive that).

Matt Mancuso

It’s difficult to pick just one favorite. Who could forget Matt Harvey‘s espresso-fueled run, Randy Arozaonrea’s unreal home-run grab & pose, or Munetaka Murakami‘s walk-off double to clinch Japan a spot in the final? That being said, If I was forced to pick a favorite, I would center on Mike Trout‘s final at-bat against Shohei Ohtani.

The WBC final was full of contagious excitement, wracked nerves, and certainly a one-of-a-kind wonder, terms that could, in essence, describe the last three weeks of WBC activity. In a single at-bat, the ninth inning of the USA-Japan matchup had all the storylines.

In a tense, one-run game, which of the two global baseball conglomerates would win out?

How is Ohtani doing this?

How will the world’s best hitter (Mike Trout) fare against the world’s greatest player?

In the end, Ohtani’s insane pitch selection bested Trout, with Japan coming away victorious with their first WBC win since 2009.

Robby Waldrop

Favorite WBC moment had to be Trea Turner’s grand slam. Even though he’s usually been a rival, I’ve always enjoyed watching him play and he was on fire for most of the WBC. That homer was one of those get out of your seat and yell moments, and it was at such a huge time in the game and the tournament, so that was the highlight for me.

John Sheridan

My favorite moment was the Jeff McNeil walk in the top of the ninth against Shohei Ohtani. The focus of that inning was all on Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Mike Trout with the world anticipating the Ohtani-Trout matchup. McNeil was the guy who was a former 12th round pick. He was available multiple times in the Rule 5 draft, but no one wanted him. He plays a brand of baseball thought to go out of style long ago.

Of all the players to be on Team USA, he was the least likely. And yet, he stared down Ohtani, the best player in the game. over a seven-pitch plate appearance to draw a lead-off walk.

This is what McNeil has always been about. He was completely overlooked and a complete afterthought in that inning. And yet, he was the one who came up big with a walk giving his team a chance to win.

Yes, there were far bigger moments in this tournament. In fact, the biggest was two batters away. However, I’m a Mets fan who respects and loves McNeil for everything he’s accomplished and for him being everything good about not just baseball, but sports in general.

Mathias Altman-Kurosaki

As a Japanese-American, seeing both of my nations battle it out for a championship was amazing. The showdown between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout was my favorite moment of the tournament –  it was everything I could’ve dreamed of. It was straight power on power with the game on the line, which made it super exciting to watch, and I hope that we get to see a rematch in a future WBC.

Johnluke Chaparro

Easily my favorite moment personally, was when Team Puerto Rico defeated (Edwin Diaz injury aside) the Dominican Republic. As a Puerto Rican, we have a rivalry with the Dominican Republic so it was nice to jump on them, especially with the Lindor inside the parker, and knock them out of the tournament.

Dan Quiñones

The amazing thing about this WBC is it felt like it had an incredible moment on a nightly basis. If I had to pick one moment, my favorite would probably be Lindor’s little league home run. Being a Puerto Rican Met fan, the excitement of seeing the ball get by Julio Rodriguez and seeing Lindor fly around the bases was incredible, especially with it coming in an elimination game against the early WBC favorite in the Dominican Republic. The energy in the crowd that night was the best of the entire tournament in my opinion. Seeing the passion from the players and the crowd when Lindor slid into home is something that you rarely see. While the Game 7 feel definitely added to the moment, I would love to see that kind of passion more often in MLB games.

Christian De Block

The 2023 World Baseball Classic was a wonderful tournament, capped off by an entertaining championship game between Japan and the United States. For me though, my favorite moment came during USA’s win over Venezuela in the quarterfinals. Trea Turner’s grand slam to put USA ahead in the top of the eighth inning was one of the coolest moments of the tournament. The passion he showed as he rounded the bases gave me a different kind of goosebumps that doesn’t come around too often. It felt like I was almost in the stadium, witnessing that moment in person as a fan. It would have been great to see the United States win the championship, but the WBC as a whole drew a lot of new people to the sport.

El lanzador nicaragüense, Duque Hebbert, tuvo una excelente actuación frente a República Dominicana en el #WorldBaseballClassic

El joven de 21 años ponchó a Julio Rodríguez, Juan Soto y Rafael Devers. Horas después fue firmado por los Tigres de Detroit.pic.twitter.com/9zoZPUJzSA

— Meridiano (@MeridianoTV) March 14, 2023

Michael Mayer

The 2023 WBC was filled with great moments from the Czech Republic winning a game, Australia surprising everyone with their couple of wins, Matt Harvey and Mike Piazza leading Italy to the quarterfinals, and all the great games in the final week of the tournament, but there are two things that really stood out to me.

The first one was the crazy, fun atmospheres that were seen throughout the tournament which allowed you to dream about how Major League Baseball games could be more fun.

Select folks have called the WBC meaningless, but it was anything but that for young pitcher Duque Hebbert. The Nicaraguan reliever struck out Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Rafael Devers in the same inning and before he left the park, Hebbert was signed by the Detroit Tigers. The 21-year-old will pitch in affiliated ball for the first time this season after showing off his talent in the WBC. That’s exactly what this tournament is all about.

Michelle Ioannou

There was something pretty poetic about seeing two of the biggest names in MLB right now ending the WBC, wasn’t there?

The post MMO Roundtable: Favorite 2023 WBC Moment appeared first on Metsmerized.

With the year coming to an end, it’s time to take a look back at 2022. The Mets season may not have entirely gone as we had planned for, but it was still filled with some memorable moments. What were your favorites? Here are ours.

John Sheridan

My favorite has been this offseason, the greatest in Mets history. The team re-signed Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo to record deals.

They brought in Justin Verlander, José Quintana, Kodai Senga, Omar Narváez, and hopefully Carlos Correa. They’ve also made important subtractions, including losing James McCann.

In everything Steve Cohen has done, he’s moving the Mets forward towards winning a World Series. Correct that. Not just one, multiple. This may soon rival the 1980’s as the best time to be a Mets fan.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Rich Sparago

My favorite Mets moment was Thursday, May 5 at Philadelphia. The Mets were behind 7-1 going into the 9th inning, and rallied for 7 runs to win the game. It was early in the season, when there already had been a few signs that this team was special. This comeback win sent a message that this was a never-day-die team, that had the makeup of a winner.

We all know that things did not end as we had hoped, but the 2022 Mets gave us the best regular season since 1986. It was a fun six months, and while there were other magic moments (like the June 5 extra innings win at LAD), the May 5 comeback gave me my biggest thrill of the year.

Michael Garaffa

There were a ton of incredible Mets moments in 2022, so it really is hard to pick just one. However, there was one day in 2022 that had me happier than I have been in years, and that was when the Mets won Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres.

That was the first Mets Postseason win since 2015, and to experience that as an adult was something special. The last time the Mets won a Postseason game I was a freshman in high school. Now, I was able to enjoy it even more and appreciate what it really meant. That game, albeit fruitless, gave me hope that the Mets really had a chance to win that series.

Dan Quiñones

Aug. 7 – deGrom’s first start back at Citi Field

Obviously it’s a bit harder for Mets fans to think fondly of Jacob deGrom these days, but his first start back at Citi Field against Atlanta was one of the best moments of the year for the Mets.

The Mets did an amazing job holding their NL East lead over the Braves without him. Seeing deGrom not only beat the Braves but dominate them made me as optimistic as ever that this team had what it took to win it all.

Unfortunately, we all know it didn’t work out that way, and deGrom left for a team that nearly lost 100 games last season, but I’m not ready to ignore all the great memories he gave us. That day was one of the best.

Andrew Steele-Davis

I’ve mentioned this in another roundtable but my favorite Met Moment of 2022 has to be July 9, the day the Mets retired Keith Hernandez‘s jersey. It was a long overdue honor for one of the best players to have ever played in Queens, and it proved to be a special, special day at Citi Field. With the sun blazing and with a sell-out crowd, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Mets greats turned out in full force to pay tribute to Hernandez.

It was a ceremony that was executed perfectly by the organization, and it was the biggest reminder yet that the Cohens remain committed to celebrating this franchise’s storied past. Something that wasn’t always evident under the Wilpons. Hernandez was a true master of his craft and the whole day was a fitting tribute to a player who gave everything he had while in a Mets uniform. And the day got a perfect finale in the form of a dramatic walk-off win over the Miami Marlins in extra innings. For those lucky enough to be at Citi Field that day, they will probably agree that Hernandez getting his jersey retired belongs as one of the top Mets Moments of 2022.

The post MMO Roundtable: Favorite Mets Moments of 2022 appeared first on Metsmerized.

Good morning, Mets fans!

As free agency begins today, Michael Mayer reports that Odds Checker has the Mets as the early non-Astros favorite to land Justin Verlander. Verlander has a $25 million player option for 2023 that he could opt out of to entertain free agency. Even if he does plan to re-sign with the Astros, it would make sense for him to opt-out of his contract and test his market value.

Verlander had an 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA in 175 innings pitched last season and he is a nominee to win the AL Cy Young award. If Jacob deGrom does not return to the Mets, Justin Verlander would certainly be a fine replacement.

Now, it is time for the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

The five-year, $102 million contract between the Mets and Edwin Díaz became official yesterday. Chris Bello has more on the story.

The Mets have declined their end of a mutual option with reliever Mychal Givens, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Mets also claimed Tayler Saucedo off waivers from the Blue Jays. The left-handed reliever had a 5.40 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in his 28 1/3 MLB innings. Chris Bello has more on these stories.

Joel Sherman mentions a potential reunion between Michael Conforto and the Mets in this New York Post article.

Latest MLB News

The MLBPA reports that 10 additional players became XX(B) free agents yesterday.

Zach Meisel of The Athletic reports that José Ramírez had his thumb surgery this morning and it went as expected. Additionally, he will resume baseball activities in 6-8 weeks. The Guardians also traded minor league infielder Jose Fermin to the Cardinals in exchange for cash.

During a press conference yesterday, the Houston Astros said that Dusty Baker has agreed to a one-year deal with the club for 2023.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Orioles declined Jordan Lyles $11M option yesterday.

Jerry Dipoto, president of the Seattle Mariners, said that Chris Flexen drew plenty of trade interest at the deadline and continues to be asked about. According to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, it is likely that Flexen could be moved in a package of players to get a position player.

The Detroit Tigers report that Daz Cameron was claimed off waivers by Baltimore and Josh Lester cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. Additionally, the 40-man roster is now at 35.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the MLB plans to have the Automated Ball/Strike (ABS) technology in all 30 AAA parks in 2023.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that The Tampa Bay Rays outrighted right-handed reliever Nick Anderson. He is on waivers, and the other 29 teams can add him to their major league roster. If he clears waivers, he will remain in the Rays’ minor league system.

Paul Goldschmidt won the NL Hank Aaron Award and Aaron Judge won the AL Hank Aaron Award.

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that Blake Treinen might not be a part of the Dodgers bullpen in 2023.

Latest on MMO

John Sheridan writes that Keith Hernandez is more Hall of Fame worthy than Don Mattingly.

Jacob Resnick examines rule five decisions ahead of the protection deadline.

Nick Rucco has a free-agent profile on Noah Syndergaard.

On This Date in Mets History

1965: Future Met Willie Mays wins NL MVP.

1971: Future Met Joe Torre wins NL MVP.

Birthdays: Shawn Green (50), Butch Huskey (51), Junior Noboa (58), Kenny Rogers (58), Mike Vail (61)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Are Non-Astros Betting Favorite To Get Verlander appeared first on Metsmerized.