His statistics minus context would have guaranteed him election on the first ballot. A 143 OPS+, a career .308 batting average, six seasons with at least 100 RBIs, plus 427 home runs. Impressive numbers made more so because of where he played on the field. The unofficial title of “Greatest Hitting Catcher” was deservedly given to Mike Piazza as his career concluded and as he...
Another affiliate’s season has come to an end, with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies finishing 2024 on a high note. Not only did they win their series, but they received exemplary performances from Nolan McLean, who was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, and Ryan Clifford, whose OPS for the week was over 1.200. Syracuse is now the lone affiliate whose season is still ongoing, and they...
It does not get much better than this, as Opening Day for the New York Mets is finally here. The team is set to begin its season against the Miami Marlins, a team they were 13-6 against in 2022. The Mets will be looking to find similar success against a newly-constructed Marlins team, as general manager Kim Ng looks to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot in the coming years. The...
The 2023 MLB season starts in just about 48 hours. We’ll have a handful of prediction posts over the next couple of days, and we’ll start with the MVP, Cy Young and Rookies of the Year awards. Nate Mendelson NL MVP: Trea Turner AL MVP: José Ramírez NL Cy Young: Spencer Strider AL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom NL Rookie of the Year: Jordan Walker AL Rookie of the Year: Masataka Yoshida James...
The Mets have largely already made the big roster decisions ahead of 2023 Opening Day. Brett Baty will start the year in Triple-A, as will Mark Vientos, and Darin Ruf was designated for assignment. The last couple weeks, I did roster projections for the first day of the season, but doing another one of those feels pretty cheap. The Mets will head into the season with Luis Guillorme, Tommy Pham,...
Entering training camp, David Peterson and Tylor Megill were suppose to by vying for the sixth rotation spot. However, due to the injury suffered by José Quintana, the battle between Peterson and Megill quickly became for the fifth and final rotation spot. With the regular season just five day away, it is clear who should get that spot. The no-brainer choice is David Peterson. The 27-year-old...
I stepped in for Sal to host the latest MMO Weekly with executive editor Mike Mayer. In this episode, Mike and I talked about: The World Baseball Classic and how great it is for baseball The flip side, where Edwin Díaz’s injury will affect the Mets and how the bullpen may operate this season Brett Baty vs. Eduardo Escobar on Opening Day (and throughout the season) Does Darin Ruf have a...
The Mets 2021 draft was nothing short of incredible. After an initial panic by fans after failing to offer Kumar Rocker a contract, all Mets faithful should be ecstatic about how the draft class is shaping up as they navigate their way up the MiLB ladder towards the MLB summit. While this piece focuses on the pitchers slated for Double-A to start the 2023 season, it is worth mentioning that RHP...
This Fan Shot was written by former MMO writer Satish Ram. As a once famed British professional wrestler used to take delight in saying, I am afraid I have some bad news to dole out to some of the fanbase—and that might be a common theme throughout this piece. The World Baseball Classic is the singular best thing for the game of baseball right now. I want to run that by you all again: there is...
Move over Godzilla, there’s a new monster in Japan. Rōki Sasaki—known as the Monster of Reiwa—is the next phenom pitcher to come out of Japan. The 21-year-old has dominated the 2023 World Baseball Classic, displaying his freakish stuff for the entire world to see. Sasaki’s brilliance began in pool play against the Czech Republic, where he struck out eight and allowed an unearned run...
Lots of focus has been placed on the Mets construction of a new massive scoreboard that appears to be done, but the team has also been working on a project in right-center field that will move the fence by about eight feet. The Mets announced on Tuesday afternoon the fence was being moved in to accommodate The Cadillac Club at Payson’s. From the Mets press release: The Cadillac Club at Payson’s...
One more week of spring training games and the regular season is here. The Mets were busy this past offseason, let’s see how some of their acquisitions have done so far this spring. Position Players Tim Locastro Tim Locastro has been the best story to come through Mets spring training this season. The 30-year-old outfielder has seemingly found his bat and has been a menace throughout the...
