A Swing to Remember

Morning Dose: Thursday, April 3

☀️ Good Morning:

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve surely seen the classic VHS movie A Year to Remember about the ‘86 Mets.

I grew up watching that video, over and over again. It never got old. It still isn’t.

I bring it up this morning because yesterday’s win was what I like to call, A Year to Remember win.

It’s one of those select regular-season games that would find a spot in the season-review movie if this team somehow wins a World Series.

A turning point game that appeared as if it could represent all of the ugliness of a slow start (with piss-poor hitting), before revealing itself as a signature win.

That ‘86 team stumbled out of the gate to a 2–3 start, before embarking on an 11-game winning streak. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this current-day bunch as a juggernaut like that squad, but we will roll with the good vibes after a gut-check win.

The 2025 Mets were five outs away from losing another game in which the offense was a complete no-show. Five outs away from putting a serious damper on the Home Opener on Friday. Five outs away from the tabloids and talk shows spending the next 48 hours talking about a disappointing 2–4 start.

Instead, Carlos Mendoza’s group did what they needed to do on the road, playing .500 baseball, and Pete Alonso will receive a heroes welcome at Citi Field, for everything he has done before this season, and for his latest dramatics on Wednesday.

👀OUT OF TOWN: The Braves lost again. Clinging to a 5-3 lead in the eighth, manager Brian Snitker went to his closer for a five-out save that quickly evaporated. Shohei Ohtani delivered the nail in the coffin with a walk-off homer on his bobblehead night to keep the Dodgers undefeated. NOTE: No team that has started the season 0-7 has advanced to the playoffs.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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It took one swing for Pete Alonso to change his narrative among the fanbase last October. For a while, it felt like that would be the lasting image of the Polar Bear in a Mets’ uniform.

Luckily, he is ready to treat fans to a lot more.

A Tyrone Taylor groundout to leadoff the eighth put the odds at 4% the Mets would win this game. Trailing 4–1, it felt like 10–1 the way the offense has been swinging the bats.

Back-to-back singles by Luis Torrens (more on him in a bit) and Francisco Lindor put the game in Juan Soto’s hands, who decided to hand the baton to Pete.

THE KEY for Alonso is his patient approach, forcing opposing pitchers to finely locate their stuff or give him a pitch he can handle over the plate. With two doubles (at > 110 MPH) already on the ledger, Alonso stepped to the plate against Calvin Faucher with a chance to tie the game, or at least make it closer, and he wasn’t going to sit down without a fight.

The home run makes the highlights, but it was the eight pitches before it that are worth celebrating. Alonso swung the bat six times before his last swing sent the ball over the center-field wall. He earned a 2–2 count with a keen eye, taking a fastball inside that would have been tough for him to extend his arms and drive. And then he played defense, fouling off two cutters away and a sweeper that should have led to a strikeout, but he kept alive.

You could say that sweeper would have been ball four, but by keeping himself in the battle in a moment the Mets needed him in the battle, he allowed himself to take another swing that turned into this: