BY MARK HALPERN AND MIKE RIFKIN
The New York Mets have underachieved this season. They lost some of their biggest players to free agency before Mets fans had a chance to think about next year. The biggest being Pete Alonso, who was affectionately as “The Polar Bear” went to the Baltimore Orioles for a 5 year deal and is now known as “the Orange Bear” but, is also having a great last two months as Baltimore pushes to make one of the last of the three wild card spots to head to the playoffs. A series of injuries were a big point of the Mets season, and that caused a fire sales at the trade deadline. It’s been a tough season for Mets fans, but here at the end of the season are a couple stories to pay attention to.
Francisco Lindor, who many fans believe should be named the captain of the team. He dosen’t make excuses about his poor play or others, he is heavily critical of himself and not to mention has empathy towards his teammates and wants them to succeed. Lindor is approaching a big Milestone and after Saturday’s game against the Yankees. His two home runs on Saturday put him one shy of #300. A milestone like this is a positive story Mets fans have been needing. Over the past month Lindor has returned to the player Met fans are used to seeing. The other thing he has found is his smile. He has been injuried, slumping, making errors (so unusual) and just being off. For the first time this year I truly believe that Lindor is 100% healthy. Which is a good sign for 2027.
The other major story that is brewing is the outstanding play of Rookie Carson Benge on offense and defense. Benge made the opening day roster and it got off to a slow start. But that was a blip on the radar, as Benge has probably been the most consistent Met. Benge has become a fan favorite because of how great a defender he is, he has been outstanding with the ground he covers and has an absolute bazooka of an arm. Pete Alonso won Rookie of The Year in 2019, Carson Benge might not have the 50+ Home Run power like Alonso but, Benge is hitting for a higher average and his OBP is slightly lower than Alonso. But his Defense is far beyond what Alonso’s was (also different position) but, with his arm strength (which was a nice surprise for fans) but, his 10 outfield assists put him near the top of the league. Let that sink in for a minute, not top of the rookie class we are talking in the league itself and that’s hard to do with the talent that is in the outfield amongst the 30 Major League teams. If Benge keeps this level of play up over the rest of September, Mets Fans will have two huge stories to vault them into next year. What Benge, Lindor and some of the other Mets have done is establish a new core of players, that’ll hopefully translate into a better 2027.
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