GOOD, BAD AND
Top 10 moments of an Amazin’ season that really had a
It was the best of times and the worst of times. The 2021 Mets season was a temperamental, hair-raising rollercoaster ride that resulted in the same old outcome: missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year. But, in true lovable loser fashion, the Mets provided fans with dozens of memorable moments throughout MLB’s second pandemic season. We didn’t even have space to include hitting coach Donnie Stevenson in this list that looks back at a year that featured plenty of promise and far too many lows. Here are the Top 10 moments of the Mets 2021 season.
1. DEGROM’S MAGNIFICENT FIRST HALF
When Jacob deGrom was on the mound in 2021, he was untouchable. 1.08 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 146 strikeouts and seven wins in 15 starts over 92 innings. He brought a sell-out crowd and raucous energy to Citi Field. Every five days he rubbed elbows with Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, Pedro Martinez and more of the greatest pitchers that baseball has ever seen. DeGrom’s third Cy Young award in four years was his to lose. But his body had other plans. At age 33, deGrom sustained injury after injury until finally, he was shut down for the entire second half. The 2021 season is deGrom’s biggest ‘What if?’ year, and his recent injuries bring the future of his longevity into question.
2. THUMBS DOWN FOR FANS
Javy Baez sure left an impact during his two-month Mets tenure before he signed a six-year deal with the Tigers this offseason. In one of the most bizarre postgame interviews fans will ever see, following a Mets win no less, Baez explained to reporters that he and a few other players were celebrating base hits and home runs by putting their thumbs down — for the fans — once they reached base. Francisco Lindor was among others who joined in on the thumbs down. It was their way of “booing” Mets fans. Team president Sandy Alderson admonished players for doing the thumbs-down gesture and the next day Baez and Lindor were trotted out of the clubhouse to apologize. Just another day in Queens.
3. RAT-RACCOON FIASCO
It’s a comical debacle that will always be attached to Lindor’s 10year contract in Queens. Following a heated tussle between Lindor and Jeff McNeil during an early-May game against the Diamondbacks, the infielders made up a story about seeing a New York City rat, or a raccoon, in the Mets tunnel to cover up what looked like a fight between the teammates. We later learned that Lindor and McNeil were apparently disagreeing about shifting. The double play partners must get on the same page to avoid tripping over themselves again, and the arrival of manager Buck Showalter is expected to fix that problem.
4. COHEN’S TWEETS… ESPECIALLY THIS ONE
Mets fans found out early in Steve Cohen’s ownership that he’d use his Twitter account for everything from getting involved in a GameStop controversy, leaking a reporter’s source, asking fans to play GM, apologizing for the weather, teasing the arrival of black jerseys, fighting with Steven Matz’s agent, announcing the Buck Showalter hire, and so much more. But the one Cohen tweet that stands out is when he called out his hitters for being unproductive at the plate. In just 26 words, amid a humiliating August collapse, the team’s owner said the Mets clearly were not one of the best teams in the league. Ouch. Tough love from the boss.
5. LINDOR’S 3-HOMER GAME AGAINST THE YANKEES
Crosstown rivals in pennant races. Pimping home runs. Taunting. Rowdy crowd. Emotions running high. Trolling. Longest nine-inning game in Subway Series history. Lindor’s three-homer game against the Yankees had it all as he carried the Mets to a dramatic mid-September Subway Series win. It was undoubtedly Lindor’s signature moment in his first year in Flushing and a necessary sigh of relief for the shortstop against the backdrop of a deeply underwhelming offensive season. The Mets need more of that from Lindor in 2022 and beyond.
6. ACTING GM SCOTT GETS ARRESTED FOR DWI
As if the Mets’ on-field downfall wasn’t bad enough, then-acting GM Zack Scott was arrested for