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Juan Soto is a special player. But how special IS he and is he, or anybody for that matter, worth the amount of money being paid to have him play in a New York Mets uniform?
The experts say that he is a “generational” talent. And that tag is not handed out too often. Soto came up with the Washington Nationals organization. The same organization that produced Steven Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Two others whom were considered, at the time, “generational” players.
Just an aside…do the Nationals have the best scouting department or are they just lucky enough to draft these talented kids and then, in turn, unlucky enough to have to rid themselves of them because they just can’t, or won’t, pay them?
Moving on…is one player worth the monies Soto will be receiving? And for how long will he be worth that money?
New York Mets fans are clamoring for the signing of Juan Soto, the biggest bat available on the free agent market. And the fans have gotten their way before and it hasn’t always worked out so well. To wit, three of the biggest free agent hauls made by the Mets turned out to be the biggest targets of their scorn.
Let’s take a look at the three biggest mistakes the Mets made going after the biggest target on the free agent market.
Down the stretch of the 2024 season, New York Mets fans not only watched the scoreboard for the division and wild card races, hoping teams would lose, but there were also those who were doing the scoreboard watching hoping a team would win…the Chicago White Sox.
The 1962 inaugural season of the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club would be an effort in futility, a passion of love, and a symbol of baseball romance. That season of the “lovable losers” has been referenced often, and is viewed upon with reverence. How many times can you say that - that a losing team is revered?
New York Mets fans don’t have a lot to hang their hats on throughout their history, aside from Tom Seaver, 1969, and 1986, so why would they want to be stripped of a legacy where they didn’t even have to win to be cheered?
The 2024 White Sox made the 1962 Mets relevant again. And those 1962 Mets lost again…62 years later…as the White Sox set the record for most games lost with 121.
But was it truly the worst season in Major League Baseball history? Let’s take a look.
Overachieving. The New York Mets were not expected to be contenders. But they somehow came back from the dead and surged to a berth in the National League Championship Series against the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Nobody could have predicted that after starting off at 0-5 and stumbling and bumbling to 11 games under .500 early on, that the Mets would actually finish 16 games OVER .500 with 89 wins.
So where do they go from here?
So now that the MLB trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, New York Mets fans no longer have to worry about whether Pete Alonso will remain a Met…at least for now. And, for that matter, was it really the right decision.
I absolutely love Pete Alonso. I know he was a Florida Gator and as a University of Miami Hurricane, I should despise him. But there is something so endearing about Alonso…his hustle…his passion for the game…his passion for the New York Mets. Sorry Mike Rosenthal…and the rest of you Gator Haters…I like him.
Opening Day usually brings optimism. It’s a new and fresh start. Every team is in the same position...no wins and no losses. But the New York Mets have a fan base that has needs, wants, and desires. And a relentless need for criticism.
The comments on the threads of social media are filled with complaints and derogatory remarks about the Mets management and ownership. The new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, has been more maligned in his few months on the job with the Mets than he was in the eight years he spent at the helm of the Milwaukee Brewers. Hey…welcome to New York City David! Steve Cohen was already aware of what he was getting into…I mean…he was already in it and watched while the Wilpons were being hung in effigy.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
