☀️ Good Morning:
I still remember Mike Piazza’s first game as a Met like it was yesterday.
Shea Stadium was dressed in May sunshine. Al Leiter started the game (and finished it). The Mets had won four of five (about to be a lot more).
Piazza wore a reflector on his catcher’s mask, which is fairly common now, but first caught my eye in that game. In the good ol’ days, before we had social media and cell phones to distract us between every pitch, we searched for any added detail to bring us closer to the action.
I remember his first hit. A rope into the gap to drive in a run and land him on third base.
This was Mike freaking Piazza! And he just hit a double for the New York Mets!
I am of the generation of fans who grew up playing with blocks on wall-to-wall carpeting in the glow of SportsChannel and WOR telecasts. I was too young to appreciate Darryl or Doc in their prime. Tom Seaver was but a bedtime story.
So when Mike Piazza arrived in Queens, it was my first real taste of a bona fide superstar playing on my favorite team. It was a defining moment for the organization and my experience as a fan.
On a day that is already unlike any other in baseball, we are treated to a new franchise-altering moment: the debut of Juan Soto as a Met.
Today doesn’t just mark the beginning of a new season. It is the beginning of an era that can only be measured in championships. That (and over $800 million) is why Soto is here.
☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!
The 2025 season has arrived!
And it has brought with it plenty of exciting roster stories.
Whole Foods Star
He deserves to be more than a mascot, but forgive me on this day for saying, Move over Grimace, a Whole Foods star is in the house!
Hayden Senger will start the season as the backup catcher to Luis Torrens. The 27-year-old didn’t hit much this spring, but he is considered an “elite defensive catcher” who has an uncanny ability to block pitches behind the plate and keep baserunners honest. The Mets have an open 40-man roster spot, allowing them to easily add Senger to the roster.
ICYMI: If this catcher makes Mets ... will he give up job at Whole Foods? by Anthony DiComo, MLB
Asked if he would return to Whole Foods next winter, Senger replied, “Still up in the air,” he said. “I’ve got to tell my boss.”
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