Good morning, Mets fans!

Opening Day this year was historic from a fan engagement standpoint. According to MLB Communications, Opening Day was watched for 172 million minutes by MLB.TV viewers, the most watched day in MLB.TV history by 42%. Additionally, online merchandise sales on Opening Day were the highest ever by 10% and social media views were up 83% from Opening Day 2022. Ben Cafardo of ESPN noted that MLB Opening Night on ESPN had 20% more viewers than last year’s MLB Opening Night and was the most watched cable program on March 30.

The Mets lost their first game of the season on Friday, 2-1 to the Marlins. The team will look to rebound as they take on Miami again on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Latest Mets News

Ronny Mauricio was listed in Baseball America‘s list of seven prospects primed to bounce back in 2023.

The Mets tweeted about their new $15 ticket program geared towards college students. Eligible individuals can text “COLLEGE” to 48593 to get notified when these tickets are available.

Pitching prospect Joel Díaz had Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2023 season. Díaz is just 19 years old and is ranked as MMO’s own Michael Mayer as the No. 11 prospect in the Mets’ system.

Latest MLB News

The MLB Players Association released an official statement demonstrating minor league players’ overwhelming support for their first collective bargaining agreemenet.

Per MLB, 269 players on Opening Day rosters were born outside of the United States which is third highest total ever. The Dominican Republic ranked first on the list with 104.

Gary Sánchez signed a minor league deal with the Giants on Friday. According to Anthony Rieber of Newsday, Sánchez nearly signed a deal with a different team recently but the team backed out due to reduced revenue from the collapse of TV RSNs.

Latest on MMO

Ariel Cohen shared Average Total Cost (ATC) projections for Mets players this year.

Michael Mayer looked at the Syracuse Mets’ roster as their season gets underway.

Alexis Farinacci recapped the Mets’ loss to the Marlins on Friday.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Daniel Murphy (38), Willie Montañez (75)

The post Morning Briefing: MLB Boasts Historic Opening Day Numbers appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Good morning, Mets fans!

Katie Hughes Martin of ESPN reports that the Mets vs. Cardinals game on Monday afternoon was its most watched spring training broadcast since a primetime Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants game in 2016, with an average of 423,000 viewers and 475,000 at its peak. The game was ESPN’s first spring training broadcast since 2021, and viewership on Monday was up 44% compared to then.

Now, it is time for the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

Tim Healey of Newsday reports that there was a Mets fan behind the Mets’ dugout Monday in Jupiter who was relentlessly cheering them on all afternoon, often the only voice emerging from the crowd. You could hear him from anywhere in the stands. Buck Showalter gave him a lineup card after the game and said “he deserved it” in his postgame interview.

David Laurilla of FanGraphs interviewed Mets prospect Grant Hartwig.

Francisco Lindor‘s hair will look different multiple times this month for the WBC and then for Opening Day. Lindor went further during an interview with SNY and said, “If I ever go bald, I’m going to maximize the hell out of my hair.”

Abbey Mastracco of New York Daily News reports that Bear, a black lab training with K9s for Warriors named after “Polar Bear” Pete Alonso, was on hand to help shag balls as the Mets took batting practice ahead of their Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros.

Latest MLB News

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Padres have agreed to a deal with Rougned Odor. It’s a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training.

Michael Clair of MLB.com covers the captivating nature of Czech Republic’s WBC team in his latest article.

Latest on MMO

Dan Quiñones recaps the Mets’ 8-4 win against the Marlins yesterday.

John Sheridan talks about Baseball America ranking the Mets as the fifth best farm system.

Brian Wright writes about Mets legends in other uniforms that people may have forgotten about.

Colby Morris reports on Jose Butto‘s new cutter.

On This Date in Mets History

2013: Johan Santana faced MLB hitters for the first time after anterior capsule surgery in September 2010. Santana threw forty pitches against David Wright, Daniel Murphy, and Ike Davis. Afterwards, he concluded (along with the medical staff) that he would be ready for opening day.

Birthdays: Michael Conforto (30), Ramon Castro (47), Tony Castillo (60)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Draw Large Spring Training Viewership Numbers appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

In this weekly feature for MMO, I’m going to look back at the previous week’s games and share some interesting data and information that I’ve collected through various websites such as Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, and Baseball Savant. It’ll be a mixture of facts, stats, and analytics.

Let’s get into the seven days between September 18 and September 24.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Pirates vs. Mets

Jacob deGrom struck out 13 without allowing a walk over five innings pitched in the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s the fifth time in deGrom’s career that he’s struck out 13+ without allowing a walk. He’s tied with Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer for the sixth-most such games in major league history.

Sunday’s start was the 40th consecutive start for Jacob deGrom where he allowed no more than 3 earned runs. That’s the longest such streak since the ER became an official stat in both leagues in 1913 (excluding openers). He passed Jim Scott who held the previous record of 39 starts from 1913-1914.

Joely Rodríguez tossed two scoreless innings without allowing a walk or hit with five strikeouts. Rodríguez became the first left-handed Mets reliever to pitch two+ scoreless innings with at least five strikeouts since Chasen Shreve on August 17, 2020.

Joely Rodríguez struck out nine batters and did not allow a hit, walk, or run over his last three appearances. It’s just the third time in franchise history that a reliever did not allow any hits, walks, or runs while striking out 9+ over a three-game span, joining Armando Benítez (9/29/1999-10/1/1999) and Braden Looper (6/19/2004-6/23/2004). Rodríguez is the first lefty to do so.

Four Mets pitchers (deGrom, Seth Lugo, Joely Rodríguez, and Trevor May) combined to strike out 20 batters without allowing a walk. It’s the fifth time since at least 1901 that a club has struck out 20+ without issuing a walk in a nine-inning game.

Monday, September 19, 2022

Mets vs. Brewers

Max Scherzer tossed six perfect innings with nine strikeouts in his first start back from the IL in the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s the 42nd time in Scherzer’s career that he’s struck out 9+ without walking any. That’s the most such games by a pitcher in major league history. Randy Johnson is second with 41.

Max Scherzer has posted a 2.15 ERA over his first 21 starts with the Mets. That’s the lowest ERA by a Mets pitcher in his first 21 starts with the club.

Scherzer picked up his 200th career win. He recorded 200 career wins with 101 losses (99 games over. 500). According to Elias, only five pitchers in the modern era have had their 200th career win come with fewer losses on their résumé: Pedro Martínez (200-84); Juan Marichal (200-97); Whitey Ford (200-79); Lefty Grove (200-83); Grover Cleveland Alexander (200-96).

Brandon Nimmo recorded his 7th triple of the season, and 23rd of his major league career. He tied Ángel Pagán for the 11th-most triples in Mets history.

Pete Alonso hit a 3-run home run in the fourth to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. It was Alonso’s 20th road homer of the season, and the third time in his career that he’s hit 20+ homers on the road. The only other Met with at least three seasons with 20+ road homers is Mike Piazza (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).

Francisco Lindor recorded his fifth triple of the season with an RBI three-bagger in the sixth. He became the first Met with 20+ doubles, 20+ homers, 5+ triples, and 15+ stolen bases in a season since Carlos Beltrán in 2008.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Mets vs. Brewers

Francisco Lindor hit a game-winning grand slam with his go-ahead blast in the seventh to give the Mets a 7-4 lead. It was Lindor’s 25th homer of the season, becoming the first shortstop with 20+ doubles, 25+ homers, 5+ triples, and 15+ stolen bases since Trevor Story in 2019.

Pete Alonso drove in three runs with a 3-run homer in the sixth, giving him 121 RBI on the season. He became the first Mets hitter with multiple seasons of 120+ RBI.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Mets vs. Brewers

Luis Guillorme got hit-by-a-pitch with one out in the ninth inning in the Brewers’ 6-0 shutout over the Mets. That HBP set a modern single-season record for a team, moving them past the 2021 Cincinnati Reds (105).

Friday, September 23, 2022

Mets vs. Athletics

Jeff McNeil went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored in the Mets’ 9-2 win in the opening game of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. It was McNeil’s 43rd career 3+ hit game, tying him with Rusty Staub for the 19th-most such games in Mets history.

Chris Bassitt tossed eight innings of two-run ball with two strikeouts to pick up his 15th win of the season. It was the first time a Mets’ starter went at least eight innings while recording no more than two strikeouts since Bartolo Colon on September 5, 2015.

Eduardo Escobar hit his first career grand slam with his blast in the fifth. It was Escobar’s 157th career homer, which tied Álex González for the 16th-most home runs hit by a Venezuelan-born player.

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Mets vs. Athletics

Jacob deGrom allowed four runs to score in the bottom of the first. It was the first time in deGrom’s career that he allowed four runs to score in the first inning of any start.

Francisco Lindor drove in his 100th run of the season with a sac-fly in the first. Lindor is the first Puerto-Rican-born shortstop to record 100+ RBI in a season.

Lindor and Pete Alonso are the first pair of Mets teammates with 100+ RBI in the same season since the club had three on the 2008 club (Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Carlos Beltrán).

Pete Alonso’s 2-run home run in the first inning was his 82nd career road homer. That broke a tie with Dave Kingman and gave Alonso sole possession of the 6th-most road homers in club history. Darryl Strawberry leads with 129.

The post Mets by the Numbers: DeGrom’s Streak Ends appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In this weekly feature for MMO, I’m going to look back at the previous week’s games and share some interesting data and information that I’ve collected through various websites such as Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, and Baseball Savant. It’ll be a mixture of facts, stats, and analytics.

Let’s get into the seven days between September 11 and September 17.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Mets vs. Marlins

Tomás Nido went 3-for-4 with a double, homer, walk, and three RBI in the Mets’ 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins in the rubber game of the series. Nido became the first Mets catcher to reach base safely at least four times (without reaching on error) and record 2+ extra-base hits since Wilson Ramos on September 11, 2020.

Brandon Nimmo hit his 14th home run of the season with a 3-run shot in the second inning. Nimmo’s homer had an exit velocity of 107.6 mph, which is his hardest-hit homer this season.

Taijuan Walker tossed seven innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks. It’s the first time Walker has struck out double-digit batters without issuing a walk and allowing no more than one run since September 13, 2016.

Jeff McNeil went 3-for-4 with a walk, stolen base, and RBI in the win. It was McNeil’s 42nd career 3+ hit game, tying Tommie Agee for the 20th-most such games in franchise history.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Cubs vs. Mets

Francisco Lindor homered in the ninth inning in the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the opening game of the three-game series. It was Lindor’s 23rd homer of the season, tying Asdrúbal Cabrera (2016) for the most single-season homers by a Mets shortstop.

Mychal Givens tossed two scoreless innings and struck out five batters in relief. It was the first time a Mets reliever tossed two scoreless innings with 5+ strikeouts in an appearance since Seth Lugo on September 13, 2018.

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Cubs vs. Mets

Jacob deGrom tossed six innings of 3-run ball with 10 strikeouts in the Mets’ 4-1 loss. That was deGrom’s 39th consecutive start of allowing no more than 3 ER. That tied Jim Scott (1913-1914) for the most such starts since the ER became official in both leagues in 1913 (excluding openers).

Through eight starts this season, Jacob deGrom has struck out 73 batters while walking just four. Only three pitchers have struck out 70+ batters while walking fewer than 5 in their first eight games of a season: Clayton Kershaw (2016), Gerrit Cole (2021), and deGrom.

Jacob deGrom recorded 10 swings and misses on both his 4-seam fastball and slider. It was the first time deGrom had recorded double-digit whiffs on both of those pitches in a start since April 23, 2021.

Pete Alonso hit his 34th home run of the season with a solo shot in the ninth. It was also Alonso’s 140th career home run. He tied Mark Teixeira for the 4th-most homers hit in a player’s first four big league seasons. Only Ralph Kiner (168), Albert Pujols (160) and Eddie Mathews (153) have hit more.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Cubs vs. Mets

Trevor Williams tossed 4.1 innings in relief with eight strikeouts in the Mets’ 6-3 loss. Only three Mets pitchers have struck out 8+ batters in relief: Tug McGraw (three times), Ray Sadecki, and Williams.

Pete Alonso hit his 35th home run of the season with a solo shot in the eighth. It’s the third time in Alonso’s career that he’s hit 35 or more homers in a season. He joins Dave Kingman, Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, and Mike Piazza as the only Mets to hit 35+ homers three times in a season with the club.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Pirates vs. Mets

Francisco Lindor hit his 24th homer of the season in the Mets’ 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opening game of a four-game series. He set a new Mets record for the most single-season homers by a shortstop.

Francisco Lindor drove in two runs in the win, setting a new career high in RBI with 94. His previous best was 92 RBI in 2018.

Seth Lugo struck out the side in the seventh on 13 pitches. His third strikeout was the 500th of his major league career, becoming the 27th different Mets pitcher to record 500+ strikeouts with the club.

Carlos Carrasco started and struck out 11 over six innings pitched. Carrasco recorded 14 swings and misses against his changeup; that’s the most changeup whiffs Carrasco has recorded in a start for his major league career.

The Mets won their 90th game of the season. Buck Showalter joined only Davey Johnson (1984) as the only two managers in Mets history to lead their teams to 90+ wins in their first season with the club.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Pirates vs. Mets

Edwin Díaz earned his 30th save of the season with 1.2 scoreless innings in the Mets’ 4-3 win. Díaz became the fifth Mets pitcher to post multiple seasons of 30+ saves.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Pirates vs. Mets

Pete Alonso went 1-for-4 with a double, walk, and RBI in the Mets’ 5-1 win. It was Alonso’s 25th double of the season to go along with 35 homers. It’s the third time in four seasons that Alonso has posted 25+ doubles and 35+ homers. The only other player to record 25+ doubles and 35+ homers in three of his first four big league seasons is Albert Pujols.

With eight strikeouts, Chris Bassitt set a new career high with 163. His previous best was 159 in 2021.

The Mets were hit by four pitches in the win (Mark Canha; Brandon Nimmo; Jeff McNeil, twice). The Mets eclipsed the 100 hit-by-pitch mark, becoming the sixth team in the the modern era to post 100 HBPs in a single season.

Adam Ottavino lowered his season ERA to 2.01 with his 0.2 scoreless innings pitched. Ottavino’s 2.01 ERA is the fourth-lowest by a Mets pitcher in their first 59 games with the club.

The post Mets by the Numbers: Showalter Joins Davey Johnson appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Check out what Matt wrote…

Prior to Rick Down being fired as the team’s batting coach, the Mets hit .268 as a team, .252 with runners in scoring position, while they have reached base roughly 33 percent of their plate appearances.

The post Mets Numbers Tell The Story appeared first on Metsmerized Online.