Author: Shannon Shark @metspolice

October 1985. Marty McFly has just returned from his first adventure through time, and life is finally feeling normal again. That is, until the familiar roar of the DeLorean engine shakes his suburban street. Out steps Doc Brown, wide-eyed and frantic as ever.

DOC: “Marty! There’s no time to waste! We have to go to the future—2025!”

MARTY: “Whoa, Doc, slow down! The future? Didn’t we just fix everything? What’s the problem now?”

DOC: “The Mets, Marty. The Mets are a disaster!”

MARTY: “The Mets? Doc, you’re kidding. They’re solid!  They’re even more popular than the Yankees!  1985 was a great season—they barely missed the playoffs! And 1986? I’ve got a real good feeling about next year. These new owners, the Wilpons—they seem like they’ve got their act together  They really fixed up Shea, added Diamondvision. and they’ve rebuilt the farm system, not to mention bringing in big time superstars like Gary Carter!”

DOC: “Marty, you don’t understand. The Wilpons may seem fine now, but trust me—they’re going to steer the Mets into an iceberg of incompetence that lasts for decades. Bad trades, bad contracts, bizarre management decisions—it’s an unrelenting carnival of misery.”

MARTY: “Okay, Doc, but how bad can it be? You’re talking about a team that just won 98 games this season!”

DOC: “Oh, it gets worse. Much worse. By the early 2000s, they’re the laughingstock of the league. And then—when all hope seems lost—a billionaire  buys the team in 2020!”

MARTY: “That’s great! Problem solved, right?”

DOC: “No, Marty! The billionaire talks a big game—says he’s going to spend money on free agents and promises the fans a championship within five years—but by 2025, it’s clear he’s all talk.  He never actually signs any of them!  He’s just using the Mets to open a casino!   Instead of a dynasty, the Mets are stuck in mediocrity! And that’s not even the worst part…”

MARTY: “What’s the worst part?”

DOC: “In 2025, a terrible event occurs that sends the Mets—and their fans—into a spiral of existential despair.”

MARTY: “What happens?”

DOC:  The man has no restraint! By 2025, after failing to sign a man named Ohtani and then a man named Soto, he’s so desperate to save face with fans that he makes a critical mistake—he signs Pete Alonso to a ten-year contract extension!”

MARTY: Who’s Pete Alonso?

DOC: Picture Dave Kingman with better PR.  By 2025, Alonso’s best years are behind him. His production plummets, his strikeout rate soars, and his contract becomes an albatross the likes of which Mets fans haven’t seen since Bobby Bonilla Day!”

MARTY: “Bonilla Day?”

DOC: “You don’t want to know. Trust me.”

MARTY: “Alright, fine. But how are we supposed to stop this rich guy from signing Alonso? We can’t just walk into his office and say, ‘Hey, don’t do that!’

DOC: “Ah, but that’s where the genius of the plan comes in! We don’t stop him directly. We go to the source—his chief analytics officer, This kid is a numbers wizard. If we can convince him to project Alonso’s long-term decline more aggressively, he’ll persuade the billionaire to walk away from the deal!”

MARTY: “So, the future of the Mets depends on an analytics nerd?”

DOC: “Precisely, Marty!  That and the Grimace.

MARTY:  The Grimace?  Like, from McDonald’s?

DOC:  I told you the future for Mets fans is terrible Marty.  We need to stop the Alonso signing from happening, and ensure the stats nerd has the data to kill the deal before it’s too late!”

MARTY: “Alright, Doc, I’m in. But one question—what happens if we fail?”

DOC:  “If we fail, Marty, the Mets will be stuck paying $30 million a year for a first baseman who can’t hit .220. The fans revolt. Mr. Met grows a beard. Citi Field becomes a ghost town. It’s a disaster! The fans are already desperate Marty!  They think winning the third wild card was a successful season!

MARTY:  What’s a wild card?

With the flux capacitor charged, Marty and Doc jump into the DeLorean, set a course for 2025, and speed off into the future. Their mission: save the Mets from themselves, one overhyped contract at a time.

The Mets understand the value of a good park!  Imagine if someone suggested giving away Juniper Valley Park to a billionaire to open a casino.  The thought of that is insane isn’t it?  Why would someone give a park to a billionaire to open a casino.  A park should be a park, and my friends the Mets understand that!

AMAZIN’ METS FOUNDATION, NYC PARKS, AND LANDTEK RENOVATE FIELD #1 AT JUNIPER VALLEY PARK

Amazin’ Mets Foundation contributes over $430,000 to transform the field for the community

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FLUSHING, N.Y., November 7, 2024 – The Amazin’ Mets Foundation contributed over $430,000 to renovate Field #1 at Juniper Valley Park in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The LandTek Group led the renovations.

The renovations compliment the Amazin’ Mets Foundation’s commitment to supporting youth baseball initiatives, including Sandlot Stars and baseball and softball clinics. The Amazin’ Mets Foundation has supported several neighborhood field renovations, including Flushing Meadows Corona Park Fields #10 and #11.

“The Amazin’ Mets Foundation is committed to expanding access to the sport of baseball. This is about more than updating infrastructure – it’s about supporting our neighbors and creating opportunities to play and grow,” said Alex Cohen, President of the Amazin’ Mets Foundation. “We are proud to sponsor the renovation of Field #1 at Juniper Valley Park.”

Led by The LandTek Group, construction was completed in October 2024. Enhancements to Field #1 feature installation of a new irrigation and drainage system, a full infield renovation, and the addition of new fencing and concrete work.

“These refurbished baseball and softball fields at Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Juniper Valley Park provide the perfect place for our young Queens athletes to pitch, slide, bat, and root each other on while playing the sport they love,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Thank you to the Amazin’ Mets Foundation for funding these projects, and providing updated space where ballplayers can build community, practice teamwork, and build character through competition and fun on the field of play.”

Since its inception in 2021, the Amazin’ Mets Foundation has funded over $13 million in grants to over 180 organizations in the community, including the communities surrounding affiliate teams. To read more about the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, its programs, and upcoming events, and to learn about ways to give back, visit AmazinMetsFoundation.org.

Last night’s time of game: 3:42.

I don’t know when the game ended, I can estimate 11:47pm EDT because I was long gone.

I’m one of the casuals.  A lapsed baseball fan who started watching MLB on September 30th this year (and I plan to skip the first 6 months next year because the current playoff format is absurd.)

Last night I gave the game “one more inning” at 5-0 because the Dodgers have some actual star players that are fun to watch, and I was rewarded with a fun inning.

Then I did some mental math.  Once again, it was the 6th inning and 10pm.  Like I did the night before, I decided I didn’t want to chase the game until midnight so I turned it off.  The game is still too slowly paced to sit there for two more hours playing on my phone waiting for something to happen,

Sometime around 4am I woke up and checked my phone, saw the score, and went back to bed.  That’s my engagement with the sport these days.

This was baseball’s big chance.  The TV numbers were up from the downs and they will have a nice story to tell, but what happens when the World Series ISN’T Yankees Dodgers.

I don’t think baseball has learned a thing.   The biggest moments happen too late.  The games are 4 hours long.

They will tell a story about how great a season this was, and sure it was less horrible than recent seasons, but I am not sure Baseball Is Back, I think a sexy match-up just hid the problems,.

 

Last night I woke up around 11:15 or so.  The TV was on.  Seems the Yankees were playing the Dodgers in the World Series.  It was the 9th inning.

I had missed three innings or so.  It was 4-0, I think, and 11:15, so I turned it off.

Baseball likes to play its biggest events when the most likely fans are passing out in recliners.

There’s nothing new here, as this has been going on for decades now – but here’s the thing – notice how the sport is far less popular than it used to be.  When you’re getting bigger audiences in Japan than the US, it’s time to question those “8pm” starts – and when did last night ACTUALLY start?  8:20?

This was the best opportunity baseball has had in 20 years.  They blew this one too.

You can “old man yells at cloud” me all you want – but this old man has disposable income, and the generations after the old man don’t care about baseball.

Behold! A gateway to your own past if you wish. All that you knew has been altered.

As Mets fans we have been blessed to have this current dynasty after all those years in the desert.  This team is stocked, and as exciting as the recent run of championships has been, I think the future is just as bright.  Let’s take a look at the three key moves that have led to this run, and how close the Mets were to being stupid and missing out on all this fun!

November 2015: Mookie Betts for Matt Harvey

Coming off the 2015 World Series run, this was a bold move, that incredibly, laughably,  fans at the time hated.

Matt had given up his arm to the Mets, and the Mets knew it.  The Red Sox were desperate for pitching, and wound up getting completely fleeced.  The Mets knew they had enough pitching in Syndergaard,  deGrom, Matz and Bartolo Colon and they sure  didn’t miss the 4 games Harvey won in Boston.  Harvey bounced around to Anaheim, Oakland and Baltimore, and we have one of the All Time Mets.

A decade later, with #50 destined to hang in the Citi Field rafters some day, it’s hard to imagine life without the Most Popular Met.

March 2022:  The Mets sign Freddie Freeman

Another bold move.   This one  reminded me of Hundley and Piazza.  In Todd Hundley, the Mets had a fan favorite slugger who came around when the team was down.  But when an even better player became available in Mike Piazza, it was a no-brainer to upgrade the decision.

Similarly, as loved as Pete Alonso was, it was a no-brainer to go get an MVP caliber player to play first base when one was available, and Freddie’s  2023 MVP season proved the Mets were right.

It’s a shame that the DH wasn’t around for 2022, or Pete could have stayed…and the Mets did “sell low” that March, not getting all that much back for Pete, but in the end, how can you be mad about taking the Braves best player away and getting an MVP and a few World Series runs out of it? (Not to mention the monkey getting off Buck Showalter’s back for never winning a ring.)

In the past, the Mets would have listened to the fans and held on to Pete, and they’d probably be scraping by for a wild card.

Steve Cohen goes all-in on Ohtani

This is something that wouldn’t have happened under the Wilpons.  We were told that Ohtani wanted to play on the west coast, or that he didn’t like the cold (is NYC THAT cold?  (It is 67 right now in Tokyo as I write this).  There was no way Ohtani would come to New York, so why even bother checking to see if that was true.  A builtin excuse for the Stupid Cheap Wilpons.

Steve was having none of that, and this was the dream of Uncle Steve come to life.  Our beloved billionaire owner picked up the phone himself, and blew Ohtani away with a deal that man couldn’t refuse.  Now, baseball’s brightest star is in Queens, and it’s been great for the sport, not to mention another World Series run this October and this great Subway Series we are having.  $900,000,000 in deferred salary sounds like a lot, but the franchise will easily appreciate by that much in the meantime.  Steve knows you have to spend money to make money, and spend money he did.

The Stupid Cheap Wilpons would never have done that, and we’d likely be sitting home watching the Dodgers or someone in the World Series.

What a great time to be a Mets fan!

Time has resumed its shape. All is as it was before. Many such journeys are possible….let me be your guide.