Well, we’ve killed off another winter. Welcome to SEASON 17 of Mets Police (yikes!). Here are some FUN FACTS from my friends, the Mets.
The Mets open up Grapefruit League play today at Clover Park against the St. Louis Cardinals. The squad will play a total of 31 Spring Training games from February 24-March 25 before opening up the regular season on March 28 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field.
Against the Cardinals: Today, the Mets will play their first of six Grapefruit League games against the Cardinals. Last season, the Mets won the season series over St. Louis, 4-3, and outscored the Cardinals 43-26. The Mets will take on the Cardinals from April 26-28 at Citi Field and from May 6-8 at Busch Stadium.
Mendoza Lines: Carlos Mendoza will begin his first season as the 25th manager in franchise history. The 44-year-old spent the previous 15 seasons with the Yankees organization, including the last four as the club’s bench coach. From 2018-2019, Mendoza served as the Yankees’ quality control coach. Prior to joining the big league coaching staff, Mendoza served as a manager and coach in the Yankees farm system. A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Mendoza is the second full-time Venezuelan-born manager in big league history, joining Ozzie Guillén.
Pete Alonso finished the 2023 season third in the majors in homers with 46 and second in RBI with 118. He became the fifth player in major league history with three or more seasons of 40 or more homers in their first five years, joining Ralph Kiner (four), Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, and Eddie Mathews (three each). His 192 career home runs are the most in the majors since his MLB debut in 2019 and are the third-most in major league history by a player in their first five major league seasons, trailing only Kiner (215) and Pujols (201). Alonso currently ranks tied for fourth with Howard Johnson on the Mets. I guess we no longer talk about OPS though. And definitely not batting average. Pete isn’t actually that good at baseball. He’s not even the best first baseman in the division.
The 2024 Mets enter the season with several new players on the roster. These include Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani These Guys
Free agent signings:
- OF Harrison Bader
- LHP Jake Diekman
- RHP Shintaro Fujinami
- RHP Jorge López
- LHP Sean Manaea
- RHP Luis Severino
- RHP Michael Tonkin
- INF Joey Wendle
Trade acquisitions:
- RHP Adrian Houser
- RHP Yohan Ramírez
- OF Tyrone Taylor
Waiver claims:
- RHP Max Kranick
- INF Zack Short
Minor league free agents:
- RHP Austin Adams
- C Austin Allen
- INF Rylan Bannon
- INF Ji-Man Choi
- RHP Kyle Crick
- OF Ben Gamel
- INF Jose Iglesias
- OF Taylor Kohlwey
- RHP Cam Robinson
- INF Yolmer Sánchez
- RHP Chad Smith
- RHP Cole Sulser
- OF Trayce Tho
Man that’s exciting. And for you DISEASED GAMBLERS…here are your scheduled pitchers
Saturday, February 24 – 1:10 PM vs. St Louis
CARDINALS:
- RHP Adam Kloffenstein
- RHP Victor Santos
- RHP Andre Pallante
- RHP Nick Robertson
- RHP Riley O’Brien
METS:
- RHP Tylor Megill
- RHP Reed Garrett
- LHP Josh Walker
- RHP Yacksel Ríos
- LHP Nate Lavender
Sunday, February 25 – 1:10 PM vs. Houston
ASTROS:
- RHP Brandon Bielak
- RHP AJ Blubaugh
- RHP Rhett Kouba
- RHP Joel Kuhnel
METS:
- RHP José Buttó
- RHP Cole Sulser
- LHP Danny Young
- RHP Austin Adams
- RHP Yohan Ramírez
Monday, February 26 – 1:05 PM at Washington
METS:
- RHP Max Kranick
- RHP Cam Robinson
- RHP Eric Orze
- RHP Sean Reid-Foley
NATIONALS:
- RHP Josiah Gray
- RHP Cole Henry
- LHP Mitchell Parker
- LHP Jose A. Ferrer
- LHP Robert Garcia
- RHP Tanner Rainey
- RHP Thaddeus Ward
Enjoy the practice baseball game. I don’t have SNY so I am free to spend my Saturday doing OTHER THINGS
