Mets: Who will step up and become the next Captain America?

Who will become the next captain of the New York Mets?

It has been four years since David Wright has made a significant contribution to the New York Mets and when he left the team at the end of 2018, so did the captain’s title. Now the Mets are in search for the next leader of the team even if it is not in an official capacity.

Over the Mets 58 years of existence, they have had a total of four captains, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, John Franco, and of course David Wright.

The Mets don’t name captains all that often but there are always top leaders in the clubhouse that have their voice rise above everyone else’s and grab the attention of the locker room.

So, who could those players be going forward?

The Metropolitans have a good young core of players going forward. That core consists of Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Jacob deGrom. That group is made of young leaders on the team and more than likely the next captain will be from that group…or will it?

There are many factors that go into being a captain of a team, especially for the Mets. That player has to have the respect of the players and has to be a regular starter that can impact the game on a regular basis. Being a part-time player or a player that has suspect numbers may not necessarily be able to command a room as captain because they are not in the trenches each and every game.

In addition, a captain has to have a leader personality in which they want to lead and lead by example.

With that being said there are five players that could be the next captain on the New York Mets, but which one, if any, will make the best one going forward.

Pete Alonso

The recent baseball pause has players itching to get back onto the field and compete for a championship and there has been no one more vocal about their excitement to play baseball than Pete Alonso.

He wrote a letter to Mets fans about how he misses baseball so much and how when it resumes the team is going to be playing with so much excitement and drive that anything is possible.

If the fans had a say in who the next Mets captain was it would be Pete Alonso. He is unlike anything the Mets ever had in terms of his ability coupled with his personality.

If Alonso was going into his 4th or 5th season he would have as close to a slam dunk case as anyone around, but Alonso has only been in the big leagues for one season and that hurts his case a little.

Alonso had an incredible rookie season, no one is taking that away from him but before everyone crowns him the second coming let’s see if he can repeat his performances and if he can keep the same attitude when he is slumping.

Part of what made David Wright such a great leader was that even when he was in a rut he owned it and tried to help the team in any way he could even if it meant sitting on the bench for a few games.

Pete Alonso has a very strong case for Mets captain but not right now. In the future, when he signs his extension with the Mets, and he has been around the league more then he could make as good of a captain as any of the four past ones.

Michael Conforto

Many people forget about Michael Conforto sometime because he has been injured with some freak injuries or because he has been overshadowed by players like Alonso but make no mistake, Conforto is the real deal and a very good leader.

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, and some are quieter than others.

Conforto has been part of some big moments with this team over the last five years including some big hits in 2015 as a rookie.

Michael Conforto is very reminiscent of David Wright in the sense that Wright was not the loudest voice or biggest personality those titles go to the likes of Jose Reyes others.

Wright was a quiet kid from Virginia that grew into the role of captain and he never told people what to do he led by example, which sometimes is more effective.

Conforto is a lead by example kind of guy and the young players like a Pete Alonso or a Dominic Smith look up to him.

A lot of times its more so the behind the scenes guy that is the reason for success and Conforto is that type of guy. He has been around for a while and he has the numbers to back him up and maybe one day he is named the captain of this team.

The missing piece with Conforto is finally putting it all together and having one massive MVP type season where he is healthy and consistently dominant the whole year.

If he can put that together and he and the Mets can come together on a long-term deal, we may be looking at the next David Wright and I would take that to the bank if I could.