All is well again as Cohen promises Mets’ black jerseys
Pete Alonso may soon see his vision for Friday Night Blackouts come to life. Mets owner Steve Cohen announced the Mets black jerseys will return to Citi Field in the 2021 season for a limited number of games, “with absolute certainty.” The jerseys will also be sold at the stadium this year, Cohen said in a Youtube Q&A with Wayne Randazzo on Monday night.
The crisp black uniforms, worn by the club as alternates from 1998-2011, were a red-hot topic surrounding the Mets throughout the offseason.
Alonso had been banging the drum for the return of the black jerseys since last season. During this spring camp, he said he envisions fans packing out Citi Field in black, with the music blaring and the crowd screaming. The first baseman said the jerseys remind him of Mets favorites, citing Mike Piazza, Pedro
Martinez, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and other players who rocked the unis. The uniform became a staple of the franchise during the Mets’ playoff runs in 1999 and 2000.
Other Mets players, including Marcus Stroman, Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis soon joined Alonso and voiced support for their comeback. Though, the black jersey encore doesn’t come without controversy. Radio broadcaster Howie Rose has long wanted the conversation to be put to bed.
Mets colors, blue and orange, were born out of an homage to the Dodgers and Giants, respectively, Rose has referenced as his central point of opposition. In 1962, the franchise’s inaugural season, the National League returned to New York for the first time since 1957 and the colors represented a simple way to celebrate the moment.
Rose last year tweeted: “Allow me to repeat. Black is NOT a Mets color. Tradition is sacrosanct. Carry on.”
BULLPEN STILL SUSPECT
Despite the improvements Cohen’s Mets made to their roster
overall, the eight-man bullpen they’ll carry into the regular season emits more speculation than optimism.
One NL executive said the Mets didn’t do enough this offseason to quell those concerns.
“It’s a definite question mark in my opinion,” the exec told the Daily News.
Reliever Robert Gsellman is the final piece in the Mets Opening Day bullpen and manager Luis Rojas confirmed Monday the right-hander will make the trip to Washington with the team. Joining him: Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Aaron Loup, Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances, Miguel Castro and Jacob Barnes.
Gsellman posted a 5.00 ERA over nine innings and six relief appearances this spring. He struggled in 2020 (9.64 ERA across 14 innings) as the team asked him to shift from the bullpen to the rotation in the wake of multiple injuries and Marcus Stroman’s decision to opt out. Gsellman’s season was cut short in September when he broke a rib. He has a 4.67 career ERA and 1.422 WHIP across five seasons in the big leagues.
The Mets picked Gsellman “as of now,” Rojas said, over veteran Mike Montgomery (who was released on Sunday) for that final bullpen spot because they like his ability to throw multiple innings. Rojas also complimented Gsellman’s pitches, or “stuff,” this spring, but the skipper implied Gsellman is on a short leash.