The Top 10 Mets moments of 2019
NEW YORK -- From Pete Alonso’s record-breaking feats to a pair of improbable winning streaks, the Mets’ 2019 campaign was not without its share of dramatics. Below are the 10 most memorable moments from the season:
1. Home-run history
Sept. 28 vs. Braves
To cap the most spectacular rookie year in Mets history, Alonso hit his 53rd home run on the season’s penultimate night to set a Major League rookie record in a 3-0 win. After tying Aaron Judge’s mark the night before, Alonso crushed his record-breaker to right-center field off Mike Foltynewicz, saying afterward that he was “overcome with emotion.”
2. Todd for the tie
Aug. 9 vs. Nationals
Trailing by three runs in the ninth and putting pressure on the Nationals in the National League Wild Card race, the Mets rallied off closer Sean Doolittle in a 7-6 win to spark a raucous Citi Field crowd. Todd Frazier hooked a three-run homer around the left-field foul pole to tie it, setting the stage for some additional dramatics to come.
3. Shirtless wonder
Aug. 9 vs. Nationals
Shortly after Frazier’s homer, Michael Conforto hit a walk-off single to cap a 7-6 victory. As Conforto bounced around the infield, screaming and celebrating, Alonso wrapped him in a bear hug and ripped off his jersey in what became one of the enduring images of the Mets’ season. The win was the Mets’ 14th in 15 games.
4. Worth the wait
Sept. 29 vs. Braves
Sidelined since July 27 due to a stress fracture in his foot, Dominic Smith worked hard enough to defy his doctors’ expectations and return from the injured list during the final week of September. But manager Mickey Callaway, wanting to give Alonso as much playing time as possible down the stretch, did not use Smith in a game until the 11th inning of the Mets’ season finale. Smith responded with a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, ending the Mets’ season with a 7-6 win.
5. Davis does it
Aug. 21 vs. Indians
The hottest team in baseball stayed scorching hot, when the Mets -- fresh off winning 15 of 16 -- came from behind against the Indians to stretch another winning streak to four. After the Mets fell into a one-run hole in the top of the 10th inning, J.D. Davis one-hopped a single off the left-field fence in the bottom of the frame to seal a 4-3 victory. It was the first walk-off hit of Davis’ career.
6. Pete goes deep (57 times)
July 8, Home Run Derby
Alonso displayed his home run prowess on a national stage in Cleveland, where he toppled Carlos Santana, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in succession to become the first Mets player, and the second Major League rookie, to win the Home Run Derby outright. As a capper, Alonso donated 10 percent of his $1 million grand prize to nonprofit organizations.
7. Thor drops the hammer
May 2 vs. Reds
Noah Syndergaard did not simply beat the Reds in this early-season weekday matinee, he beat them single-handedly -- homering in a 1-0 shutout. What Syndergaard accomplished was about three times rarer than a perfect game; he became only the seventh pitcher in Major League history to throw a 1-0 shutout and provide the game’s only run with a homer.
8. Back-to-back to tie the game
Aug. 10 vs. Nationals
The Mets’ eighth straight win in August, a 4-3 victory over the Nationals, accelerated their momentum as they climbed back into the NL Wild Card race. It started with Wilson Ramos -- on his 32nd birthday, no less -- and Davis hitting back-to-back fourth-inning homers off Patrick Corbin to tie the game. (And from this game, there was plenty more to come.)
9. Clutch power from an unlikely source
Aug. 10 vs. Nationals
Light-hitting backup infielder Luis Guillorme may not have been the most obvious candidate to belt a game-tying pinch-hit home run in the Mets’ aforementioned 4-3 win over the Nats, but he was perhaps the most fitting -- considering what was happening at the time in Flushing. Winners of seven straight, the Mets were receiving contributions from all corners of their roster -- including Guillorme, who had never hit a Major League home run. His first tied the game in the eighth inning, before Davis hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly later in the frame to put the Mets in front for good.
10. Canó hits three home runs
July 23 vs. Padres
Until this year, Robinson Canó’s decorated career included plenty of multihomer games, but never a three-homer night. That changed when he busted out of a season-long power slump against the Padres, going deep three times against the Padres in a 5-2 win at Citi Field. As San Diego starter Chris Paddack put it, “We got beat by one guy.”