Five Mets moments that made fans fall in love with current players

Noah Syndergaard: Game 3 of the 2015 World Series

Just a couple of weeks after deGrom’s ace-worthy attitude blossomed against the Dodgers, Noah Syndergaard endeared himself to Mets fans everywhere with one attention-getting pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. Syndergaard had an outstanding rookie season in 2015, going 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA, 166 strikeouts in 150 innings, a razor-thin WHIP of 1.047, and a 4th place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

By the time the Mets got to Game 3 of the Fall Classic, they were in an 0-2 hole with the series shifting back to Queens. It was do-or-die time, and the tall rookie pitcher was on the mound against the stacked Royals lineup. Alcides Escobar stepped into the batter’s box shortly after 8:00 pm eastern time, having hit an inside-the-park home run a few days prior to kick off the World Series in rather chaotic fashion. Syndergaard’s first pitch to Escobar sailed high.

So high, in fact, that it flew straight over Escobar’s head and smacked the wall behind home plate. Escobar sat down by home plate, looking perturbed, while his teammate Mike Moustakas barked at Syndergaard from the Royals’ dugout. The Citi Field faithful roared with appreciation, and the game was underway. The Mets ended up winning Game 3, the only game they won in the 2015 series.

Syndergaard defended his daring decision in a postgame interview, famously inviting any member of the Royals who disagreed with his approach to come have a friendly chat with him on the mound.

https://twitter.com/SNYtv/status/1318658249713856513

The Mets may not have won it all against the Royals that October, but Syndergaard certainly earned his stripes that day.

Pete Alonso: The on-field debut of new Mets mantra “LFGM”

Pete Alonso worked in many memorable moments into his magical rookie season in 2019, but he really started worming his way into the hearts of Mets fans when he tweeted his famous “LFGM” message in late July. The phrase went viral on Mets Twitter and all over social media, with fans quickly adopting “LFGM” into their own vernacular.

A few days later, the Mets were playing a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins on August 5. Alonso hit a go-ahead home run in the 7th inning in the second game of the twin bill, which put the Mets ahead for good en route to a two-game sweep. After the game, he was interviewed by Steve Gelbs, who asked him about the phrase he had coined. Alonso responded by, for the first time, uttering “LFGM” out loud in front of the Flushing Faithful.

I was at this game, and fans immediately began chanting “LFGM!” all the way out of the stadium and onto the train platforms after the game. Alonso was still just a rookie at that point, a couple dozen home runs away from making history, but he had already demonstrated a fiery leadership that Mets fans had not seen from a young player in quite some time.

Since that day, Alonso has continued to both preach and practice the #LFGM lifestyle at every turn. He works hard, hypes up the fanbase with every word he tweets, and has arguably the rawest power of anyone on the Mets. Alonso is everything you could want in a franchise player, and his rise to stardom all started with four simple letters.

J.D. Davis: Walk-off against the Indians + epic postgame interview

Alonso may have had the postgame spotlight on August 5, 2019, but just a couple of weeks later his teammate J.D. Davis would snatch that spotlight away from the Polar Bear for a night. On August 21, the Mets were facing the Cleveland Indians at home, still solidly in contention for a Wild Card spot. In the bottom of the 10th inning, the game was tied at three apiece. The Mets had runners on first and second with two outs. J.D. Davis, who had been a bench player for much of the season but had hit very well at Citi Field, stepped up to the plate.

He grinded out a long at-bat against Indians closer Brad Hand and finally hammered a 3-2 breaking ball into the left field corner for a hit. Michael Conforto scored from second base, and the Mets players poured out of the dugout to celebrate the victory while fans went wild in the stands. It was the first walk-off hit of Davis’s young career, and the biggest hit he’d had in a Mets uniform to date.

Afterward, he had a memorable on-field interview with Gelbs as the newly-crowned “star of the game.” It started with a Gatorade shower and ended with an amped-up message to all Mets fans in attendance. It was, quite frankly, the most exciting postgame interview that I had ever seen from a Mets player.

Mets fans already knew that Davis was a likable guy before this interview, but he truly became “one of us” that day. He gained his New York swagger by raising his volume to a level not often seen in regular season postgame interviews. That memorable interview may have single-handedly led to co-starring on SNY’s web series “The Cookie Club,” alongside another Mets player known for a 2019 walk-off.

Dominic Smith: Season-ending walk-off sends the Mets home happy

Dominic Smith started off 2019 in danger of losing a roster spot to his friend and fellow first baseman Pete Alonso. Both competed for the starting job in spring training, with Alonso ultimately winning out, but Smith traveled north with the team and made the most of his bench player status.

He began starting in left field and got his batting average up over .280, with a respectable OPS close to .900, when all of a sudden his season was halted. In late July, Smith was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left foot, which sidelined him until late September. He could not contribute on the field for much of the Mets’ thrilling second-half run, but he did rebrand himself as “biggest Mets cheerleader” during that time. Smith’s jubilant scoot out to center field on his “LFGM” scooter to celebrate Michael Conforto’s walk-off hit on August 9 perfectly summed up his enthusiasm.

By September 29, the Mets were eliminated from postseason contention, Alonso had already broken the rookie home run record, and the Amazins were staring at a two-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the season’s final game. Smith came into the game replacing Alonso in the top of the 11th inning, the same frame where the Braves hit back-to-back home runs to take a 6-4 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Luis Guillorme got the action started with a single off of Braves lefty (and Mets fan favorite) Jerry Blevins. A couple of batters later, Wilson Ramos singled. Smith stepped up with two on and two out. As Gary Cohen reminded the TV audience, it was his first MLB at-bat in over two months. I’ll let Cohen tell us the rest.

With one of the most emphatic pen slams ever recorded, Cohen perfectly encapsulated the excitement of every Mets fan who might have forgotten about Smith until that moment. One mammoth left-handed swing later, Smith reminded us all that he was far too talented to play second fiddle to Alonso any longer.

After delighting Mets fans with his hilarious quips on “The Cookie Club,” Smith followed up that walk-off home run with a monster season in 2020. Hopefully, the walk-off was merely a preview of more clutch hits to come.

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All five of these players are among my favorite Mets players ever. They play with heart, flair, and fervent competitiveness. There are plenty of other recent and current quality players who have had success with the Amazins, but not every good player has as distinct a “signature moment” as these five players have had for the orange and blue.