Wright leads Mets' top 10 HRs of the 2010s

NEW YORK -- Early this decade, it was difficult for anyone to hit home runs at Citi Field, as the Mets’ new ballpark developed its pitcher-friendly reputation. Moved-in fences and more prodigious power hitters eventually shifted that narrative, leading to some of the most memorable homers in the club’s history.

Of the Mets’ Top 10 home runs of the 2010s, seven occurred at Citi Field. Here’s a look at the full list as the decade draws to a close:

1. A World Series homer to remember
Oct. 30, 2015

David Wright waited nearly his entire career to make the World Series after making his debut in 2004. His chance finally came in 2015, two months after returning from the disabled list. After losing the first two games of the Series, the Mets trailed Game 3, 1-0, in the first inning when Wright clubbed a two-run homer off Yordano Ventura. It ranks among the most significant highlights of his career.

2. There is crying in baseball
July 31, 2015

Two days before the 2015 Trade Deadline, Wilmer Flores cemented his status as a cult hero by crying on the field when he thought the team had traded him. That deal ended up falling through, and just days later, Flores celebrated by hitting a walk-off home run, grabbing the “Mets” script on his jersey as he neared the huddle of teammates waiting for him at home plate. The walk-off sparked a three-game sweep of the Nationals, which moved the Mets permanently into first place in the NL East.

3. Survive and advance
Oct. 15, 2015

If Daniel Murphy’s National League Division Series Game 1 home run off Clayton Kershaw was significant, his Game 5 shot was colossal. Trailing early, the Mets kept it close thanks to Jacob deGrom, who gutted his way through six innings, and Travis d’Arnaud, whose sacrifice fly tied the game in the fourth. Two innings later, Murphy pulled a Zack Greinke fastball just inside of the right-field foul pole to give the Mets the lead they would need to advance to the NL Championship Series.

4. Welcome back, Cap
Aug. 24, 2015

When doctors diagnosed Wright with spinal stenosis in May 2015, it seemed possible that his career was finished. Months of physical therapy and rehab, however, put Wright in position to return in mid-August. He greeted the team with a delivery of cookies at the team hotel in Philadelphia, and then crushed an Adam Morgan fastball into the second deck in left to prove -- as the Mets prepared for postseason play -- that he was again going to be a factor.

5. Asdrúbal puts Mets on an October course
Sept. 22, 2016

Until 2016, the Mets had made the postseason in consecutive years only once in their history. In late September, they found themselves in a three-way tie for the NL’s second Wild Card spot, then in a tumultuous, back-and-forth game against the Phillies at Citi Field. In the bottom of the 11th, Asdrúbal Cabrera hit a walk-off, three-run homer, flipping his bat high in the air with both hands. The celebration was so dramatic that the Mets immortalized it with a bobblehead the following season.

6. Pete Alonso’s record-breaker
Sept. 28, 2019

The presumptive NL Rookie of the Year throughout the second half of 2019, Alonso badly wanted to break Aaron Judge’s Major League rookie record of 52 home runs but was running out of season as the Mets entered their final three-game series against the Braves. On that Friday night, Alonso homered to draw even with Judge. Then on Saturday, with his family and friends in attendance, Alonso crushed his record-breaker off Mike Foltynewicz, grinning the entire way around the bases.

7. Down go the Nationals
Sept. 8, 2015

By mid-September 2015, the Mets simply needed to avoid collapse to sew up their first NL East title in nine years. Facing the Nationals team that was chasing them in the standings, the Mets rallied for six runs off three relievers to tie the game in the seventh, prompting Washington to ask closer Jonathan Papelbon for six outs. Papelbon retired his first two batters before serving up a go-ahead homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The Mets won again the following night, sweeping the Nats to effectively clinch the division.

8. Yoenis Céspedes keys Mets’ rout
Oct. 12, 2015

While the Mets received contributions up-and-down their roster in the second half of 2015, no one was more impactful than Céspedes, their marquee Trade Deadline addition who homered 17 times in a 31-game stretch in August and September. In Game 3 of the NLDS, the Mets were already leading, 7-3, when Céspedes came to the plate with two men on base. He crushed a three-run homer to the second deck off Alex Wood to turn the game into a blowout.

9. Dominic Smith sends the Mets home happy
Sept. 29, 2019

The Mets had fallen out of contention by the final Sunday of the 2019 regular season, playing a Braves team already locked into the postseason. Still, as the day turned into night and the teams entered extra innings, drama filled Citi Field. In the 11th, manager Mickey Callaway finally put Smith, who had missed the previous two months due to a stress fracture in his foot, in a game for the first time since July. Smith responded with a walk-off, three-run homer to finish the Mets’ season.

10. (tie) Three walk-off grand slams
Jordany Valdespin: April 24, 2013
Ike Davis: April 5, 2014
José Bautista: July 6, 2018

Three times in the 2010s, the Mets walked off with grand slams, though none of them occurred in playoff seasons. The most memorable was probably Valdespin, who hit the Mets’ first walk-off granny in 22 years when he achieved the feat against the Dodgers in 2013. Less than a year later, Davis hit a walk-off slam against the Reds. Then, in 2018, Bautista did it against the Rays.