The Metropolitan: The final countdown
Lindor updates, Opening Day Eve & all the latest news
Good Morning,
Today we’ll chat with Mets radio voice Wayne Randazzo about the coming season, his call of Alonso’s 53rd homer, and working with Howie Rose.
But we start with the news.
⏰ Catch me up in 60(ish) seconds…
DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY: 1
⏳ DEADLINE: We have reached the tipping point in the Francisco Lindor negotiations. If the superstar shortstop holds firm to his asking price, reportedly around 12-years, $385 million, while refusing to negotiate past Opening Day (tomorrow), it appears he will enter the season without an extension. The Mets are still reportedly holding firm at their 10-year, $325 million offer.
MORE THAN BETTS: The Mets’ offer to Lindor contains no deferrals, according to Jon Heyman. This is significant because it means the offered contract is worth more than Mookie Betts’ 12-year, $365MM extension, which the MLBPA values at $307MM because it includes $115MM of deferrals through 2032 (reducing its net present value). One pathway to a compromise between the Mets/Lindor would have been to change the deferral structure, but it appears that it is already the most favorable it can be for Lindor.
BRIDGING THE GAP? Heyman notes that Lindor is still seeking $385 million with no deferrals. Could another pathway to compromise be to raise the Mets’ offer from $325 million to, say, $360 million — but add deferrals, like Betts agreed to? This would boost the total number for Lindor, while keeping the “real” value similar to where it is now.
“PAY HIM”: Teammate Pete Alonso — who is set to make around $675,000 this season — told reporters yesterday, “I hope they pay him $400 million and he's worth every penny of what he decides […] I’ve always known he was an unbelievable player. But the amount of intangibles that the man has is special.”
MAD: While about 1/3 of Mets fans are indifferent to the whole thing, in a recent poll conducted by Mets Fix on Twitter, 34% said they would be mad at Lindor if a deal is not reached. Only 11.4% percent would be mad at the Mets.
TWEET TWEET: Meanwhile, Steve Cohen keeps tweeting his way through the negotiations:
🔬 PITCHING LAB: Under Cohen, the Mets are investing heavily in their player development program, including plans for a “pitching lab” in Port St. Lucie, per The Athletic:
A lab decked out with mounds that provide ground-force feedback, portable Trackman and/or Rapsodo cameras for pitch-tracking data like vertical and horizontal break, and Edgertronic cameras that show in super slow-motion the way a ball comes off a pitcher’s hand. DeLunas mentioned spring 2022 as the goal, with the possibility of the lab being partially ready for the instructional league this fall.
🗣 RETURNING: The Mets are bringing back RHP Tommy Hunter on a minor league deal and he will head to their alternate site, according to SNY’s Jacob Resnick. Hunter, 34, was released ahead of his opt-out deadline last week, but perhaps found a cool market for a major league deal.
👩⚕️ PROMOTION: Dr. Kathryn McElheny has been promoted to Head Team Physician. Dr. David Altchek will continue in his role as the team’s Medical Director.
🤦♀️ TURN ON YOUR RADIOS: ESPN announced Alex Rodriguez will call tomorrow’s Mets’ opener, along with Matt Vasgersian and Buster Olney. SNY will carry 90-minutes of pregame festivities and a postgame show. Fans are advised to sync their radios with their televisions to hear good ol’ Howie and Wayne (more with him in a bit) on WCBS 880.
🍎 PITCHING PROBABLES: You know the season is close when we have pitching probables more than one day ahead of time. Of course, Jacob deGrom will get the ball for the opener in DC on Thursday; manager Luis Rojas announced Marcus Stroman will pitch the second game on Saturday, followed by David Peterson and Taijuan Walker, with the team skipping the 5th starter to bring deGrom back next Tuesday.
🚕 TAXI SQUAD: As part of the COVID protocols, teams can bring a taxi squad with them on the road. The Mets will bring RHP Trevor Hildenberger, LHP Stephen Tarpley, INF Jose Peraza, OF Mallex Smith, and C Caleb Joseph on their first road trip to Washington.
😷 FAN PROTOCOLS: The Mets announced all Citi Field guests must wear a face covering at the ballpark except when actively eating/drinking at your ticketed seats. You can read more about the stadium’s safety protocols here.
📚 March 31, 1998: In the longest scoreless opener in National League history, Mets pinch-hitter Alberto Castillo singles with two outs and the bases loaded to give the Mets a 1-0, 14-inning victory over the Phillies.
Q&A with Mets radio voice Wayne Randazzo
👨🦱 By Blake Zeff
For all their suffering over the years, Mets fans are widely known to have tremendous fortune when it comes to their broadcasting teams, both on TV and radio. In the radio booth, 36-year old Wayne Randazzo joined the legendary Howie Rose for the 2019 season, and has quickly settled in as another essential, popular member of the team, also filling in occasionally on TV for Gary Cohen.
We spoke with Wayne about what it’s like to call an iconic baseball moment, how he made himself a Mets expert after growing up a Cubs fan, and what Howie’s really like behind the scenes. The following transcript is edited for brevity and clarity.
I was surprised to learn you grew up a Cubs fan. What was it like having to learn a whole new franchise and culture? Did you do a ton of research?
It's a good question. I grew up in Chicago and was a Cubs fan, and a big one, too. I watched every game and went to as many as I could, the Cubs conventions and all that stuff. So I was a very big Cubs fan but I was just a huge baseball fan. The Cubs were on WGN nationwide, but the Mets were still on their superstation on WOR channel 9 so I saw a lot of Mets games with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver.
I was well aware of the Mets and the good players they had at that time -- Hojo, Kevin McReynolds, Ron Darling, Doc, Sid Fernandez and all those guys... David Cone.
Also, sitting next to Howie and being around Gary, those are two Mets historians that have a wealth of knowledge, and have seen almost literally every game. One trick I did is that in my note file that I keep, I wrote something about every season in Mets history and put in their record, manager, new players they had acquired, and some of the team leaders. Just to kind of give myself that knowledge.
The notebook is a great idea. I might keep one just for fun, myself.
It's funny, I'm just the kind of person that, even though I'm there, I do it at the end of the season now, too. So for 2020, once the season ended I put in all the things that happened in 2020 just to have a log of it. So I have every single season the Mets have ever played.
Do you still find yourself rooting for the Cubs sometimes?
You know, I'm still happy when the Cubs win. When they won the World Series, it was such a big deal. It had been so long. I thought more about my grandfather, who lived an entire life and never got to see them win the World Series. And Ron Santo, who was similar in age to my grandfather, and was all about the Cubs history and the organization -- having grown up in it, playing for them and then being a broadcaster. Harry Carey -- the Cubs never even won during his lifetime. So my thoughts went there. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the Cubs and they will always be my hometown team, the one I learned baseball watching, and going to Wrigley Field. That will never go away.
In your short time as a radio voice of the Mets, you’ve already gotten to call an iconic moment in 2019, when Pete Alonso broke the home run rookie record. Your call is the one they always play, even when they show the video. Obviously, you knew going to “the office” that day that Pete might break the record. How did you prepare for it? Were there a couple of words in your mind that you had ready?
I do think about these things and you do wish to get calls like that. I mean those are the great moments in team history or baseball history that you hope to be a part of -- and I'm really fortunate that it happened in one of my innings, because I share the play-by-play and Howie does a few more innings than I do, so the chances weren't great that I was going to end up with that call. It was a bunch of things kind of coming together. First off, I remember very fondly the home run race of 1998 and watching Sosa and McGwire hit seemingly historic home runs all the time, so I thought about what I liked about those home run calls and some of the historic home runs within a season that I've heard before.
Also, Pete had recently broken the franchise record for home runs in a season, and I called that one and went over it with Howie. I don't always go over things with Howie, but I thought for that moment, I wanted to get his opinion about it, and he gave me a couple things to think about for next time a home run or something like that happened. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait very long for that to occur. A few weeks later, Pete broke the rookie home run record and I had a better idea of what I wanted to do with it.
The words I wanted to say right away were the number 53 and “rookie home run king.” I wanted to make sure I said those two things right off the bat, and I was able to as soon as that ball went out. I believe I said after it was gone, “Number 53” and something like, “Pete Alonso stands alone as baseball's rookie home run king.”
I was also focused, on Howie's suggestion, on the field and what Pete was doing, and who he was hugging, what the reaction was when he got to home plate and all that stuff you couldn't really script, or think about. Just kind of calling what you see.
After his legendary “Matteau!” call, Howie famously thought he had blown it and was initially embarrassed and depressed about it. When you heard yourself do this call, how did it feel?
I was satisfied with it. Because when he hit the 42nd home run I didn't think my call was great, and that's why I asked Howie what he had thought of it. So, I knew that I had hit the elements this time. You never really know what the home run is going to look like. He could have bashed it into the upper deck. This one in particular was a pretty high hit ball, wasn't necessarily far, though. Billy Hamilton went back and got close to it. It was definitely over the fence, but it was not something that was 20 rows deep, either. So you kind of have to set the moment, and maybe this ball is going to get caught, and maybe it's going to be the record-breaking homer. So you just kind of have to wait to see what happens and you react how you react. With Howie’s “Matteau” call, just the excitement of that moment and what the Rangers were working toward... you know Howie just kind of reacted, and it turns out to be one of the greatest calls in New York sports history and probably his crowning achievement as far as an individual call is concerned.
Since you mentioned Howie, I’m curious what you knew about him before working with him. And did anything surprise you about him?
It's funny, but not being from New York and being from a big city myself with its own historic announcers, Howie was not an intimidating figure to me. I felt like at the beginning, I was able to work alongside him and talk to him as just another person and not this iconic figure in the city. I had known that he was with the Mets a long time and I knew his hockey background. When I was in the minor leagues, I'd listen around the majors some nights just to hear some announcers that I liked, just to pick some things up, and the Mets were routinely on my list. I put Howie on, so he was certainly on my radar as someone who was one of the best in baseball already. But coming from Chicago, he wasn't this walking legend to me that I know he is to a lot of New York sports fans, so I think that eased me in a little bit. I wasn't afraid to be around him or ask him things, and his nature probably wouldn't allow for that anyway, even if I was.
He's a self-deprecating person, doesn't take himself too seriously, and he really enjoys mentoring a younger broadcaster. I think he really remembers and admires how Marv Albert and others had mentored him and given him advice. And he loves being able to do that. He's an incredible partner, but even more so, a mentor, and someone that has really helped me along as an announcer in a way that I don't think anyone else could have. I was very fortunate to land into the seat next to him.
As Opening Day approaches, what are you most looking forward to seeing this season from the Mets? Is there a specific player or aspect of the team that you're curious to see how it works out?
I hope that this season they can be more consistent. I think they're going to hit a lot. I think they will pitch enough, and I hope that their defense is good enough, although I think that is still an issue for them to be competitive. I just would like to see them be in the running all year, and not put themselves in a big hole early, or not have a bad month that kicks them out.
I'm very excited to see Francisco Lindor play every day. I think Mets fans have started to see it in spring training, but I think when the trade first happened, I don't think Mets fans really knew how great this guy is, and how incredible of a baseball player and what a game changer he is for the Mets. And I think that spring training helped that along already, but when we watch him play every day, I think Mets fans are going to fall in love with Francisco.
⚾️ Former Met Adrian Gonzalez announced on Tuesday that he has signed with the expansion Guadalajara Mariachis of the Mexican League.
⚾️ Former Met Todd Frazier will remain with the Pirates at their alternate training site, per Jason Mackey.
⚾️ An MRI reaffirmed that Toronto outfielder George Springer is progressing from a Grade 2 oblique strain, but is still unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.
🔗 ‘Brainstorming’ a solution to Mets’ contract showdown with Francisco Lindor, by Joel Sherman, NY Post: “Once the Mets soared beyond $300 million with an offer that would take Lindor into his late 30s, they were signaling that they were casting aside a lot of history (and logic) in their desire to do a deal. Thus, if it is a deal both sides want, then how about 11 years at $341 million with two club options — the first for $25 million, the second for $19 million.”
🔗 Bobby Valentine Talks Mets, the Shift and His Baseball Life, by Rob Piersall, MetsMerized Online: “Former Mets’ manager and SNY analyst Bobby Valentine joined executive editor Rob Piersall and social media coordinator Jack Ramsey earlier this month to talk about his days as a player, skipper of the Mets, the black jerseys, how to attack the shift and everything in between.”
🔗 Polar Bear Plate Discipline: Is Pete Alonso Waking Up? by Derek Reifer, Mets Analytics: “When we think about plate discipline, we often can fall victim to thinking inside the box (no pun intended) – swing at the balls in the strike zone, don’t swing at the ones outside the strike zone. It may seem strange, but if Pete can prove to pitchers he’s again willing to crush those upper zone pitches, even those out of the strike zone, everything else could start to fall into place.”
🔗 3 Mets prospects to know in 2021, by Tim Healey, Newsday: “The Mets’ farm system is considered middling overall, but they have a clear top tier of about eight prospects whom they strongly preferred not to trade — and indeed did not trade — during the offseason. Most of their best minor-leaguers are at the lower levels, years away from impacting the major-league team, but here is a closer look at a few of them.”
And we leave you with Jacob deGrom talking about his lofty career goals…
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Actively eating or drinking ? Does that mean all the people pretending to do so, sitting or standing just holding food or drink, will be warned ? And eventually tossed ?