The Replacements
Morning Dose: Wednesday, April 8
☀️ Good Morning:
It was the spring of 1995.
Friends was still Must See TV and Madonna still topped the charts, when replacement players filled spring training complexes across Florida.
Names like Alex Coghlan and Marty Wagnon, guys who sounded more like they worked the night shift at your local grocery store than belonged on the back of a big-league jersey, were suddenly filling in for Bobby Bonilla and Bret Saberhagen.
These were not the usual underdog stories baseball fans love, when some overlooked player forces his way into the picture and becomes part of the fabric of a season. These were stand-ins, dropped into camp during the chaos of the strike, reminders of how broken the sport had become.
You can take yourself back to this time with the video below. Trust me, it’s worth watching the WOR intro that highlights “Tommy’s Dodgers vs Dallas’ Mets.”
Who knows, maybe we will find ourselves in a similar place this time next season as the players and owners barrel towards another labor dispute.
For now, “replacement players” has taken on a much more positive meaning.
Carlos Mendoza keeps turning to his bench for help, and the bench continues to deliver. Since Juan Soto went down with a calf injury, the Mets are a perfect 4–0, finding ways to win games with contributions from every hidden corner of the organization.
On Tuesday, that meant Jared Young hitting a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the eighth and Ronny Mauricio, called up earlier in the day to act as a warm body on the bench, turning his first at-bat of the season into a walk-off hit.
The vibes are immaculate at Citi.
It might look like a Spring Training or Replacement squad when #0 and #88 are celebrating, but it’s your 2026 New York Mets.
📲 METS FIX SITE: We have another 4:00 PM start today. Make sure you check out the Mets Fix scorebug, where we’ve added new features to help you follow along live from your desk at work.
📰 ABOVE THE FOLD
COMEBACK KIDS
Baseball is a routine sport. You have to get up and perform everyday. Over 162 games, the details can start to blend together. Each plate appearance disappearing before the next.
That’s why moments like Tuesday matter.
