NY Mets: 5 best moments from an entertaining 2021 season

Put a bow on it. The 2021 New York Mets season is finished.

The season didn’t go quite as planned. The first season under Steve Cohen was, if nothing else, entertaining. There were doses of controversy and some notable quotables along the way. However angry you got this year, we can all agree there were some memorable moments—some good and some bad.

Thanks for stopping by. Dry away your tears today and join us for a look back at the five best moments of the season.

5) NY Mets top moment: Reader’s choice!

Full discretion: I couldn’t pick five moments from this Mets season worth landing on this list. Isn’t that sad?

Don’t get me wrong. There were a lot of candidates. I even asked fellow Rising Apple writers for some of their favorite choices. After digging deep into my heart, I couldn’t justify putting any of them up on this list because of other circumstances.

A few of those candidates include the return of the black jerseys, the Mets’ win against the Miami Marlins in the aftermath of the thumbs-down fiasco, and Kevin Pillar’s clutch home run versus the San Francisco Giants.

There’s a problem with these moments. They all took place as the team was falling apart. None quite measure up to these other wonderful moments from the Mets season.

For good measure, we can add the Hall of Fame induction of Edgardo Alfonzo, Ron Darling, and Jon Matlack to the mix. While we’re at it, why not Jerry Koosman’s jersey retirement?

I’ll leave the fifth option up to you to decide. I’ll handle the rest.

4) NY Mets top moment: Pete Alonso wins the Home Run Derby again

Will anyone ever defeat Pete Alonso at the Home Run Derby? Now a two-time winner in two consecutive derbies, it’s beginning to look like the self-proclaimed “best slugger in baseball” truly is.

Alonso did a lot of superb things for the Mets this year. He was easily their most consistent hitter and managed to stay relatively healthy outside of one short IL stint. At the plate, he was about as monstrous as we all expected.

Meanwhile, his defense also improved. Kudos to him!

But none of those moments Alonso had at the plate or in the field in a regular season game compared to the night when he owned Coors Field. Bobbing his head through the tournament, Alonso changed the storyline one July evening. He won the Home Run Derby quite handily.

In round one, Alonso beat Salvador Perez with 35 home runs. Round two included 16 dingers and a defeat of Juan Soto. In the finals, the Polar Bear stopped at 23 home runs when he took the victory away from Trey Mancini. He finished each round with the most home runs of any participant.

A big Mets moment this year, I don’t rank it as high as some others because we have seen this before and it made no difference in the standings. As an individual moment, however, I’m sure Alonso ranks this latest Home Run Derby win among his favorite MLB accomplishments.

3) NY Mets top moment: Francisco Lindor swats three home runs against the Yankees

The shining moment of Francisco Lindor’s first season with the Mets came in September. In the finale against the New York Yankees after an emotional September 11th ceremony one day prior, the two Big Apple clubs battled it out on Sunday Night Baseball.

Lindor had yet to have his “signature moment” for the Mets but for at least the 2021 season, he had one in store for us all.

Lindor blasted not one, not two, but three home runs in this winning effort from the Mets.

It all started in the second inning with a three-run shot off of Clarke Schmidt. In the bottom of the sixth, with Wandy Peralta now on the mound, Lindor hit number two on the day. This time it was a solo shot to help increase the team’s lead to 6-4.

The most dramatic home run of all from Lindor’s bat occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out. Chad Green delivered a 2-0 pitch that Lindor took yard. Best of all, it helped the Mets pull back ahead 7-6. This score would hold and for a few hours it felt as if the Mets had climbed back into the playoff race again.

A three-home run game in September is always huge for a Mets player. Doing it against the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball makes it even more memorable.

1) NY Mets top moment: Every bench mob walk-off or game-leading at-bat

Is it cheating to put more than one moment as the number one? It probably is. It’s like saying all of your children are your favorite. Who are you kidding? At least one is your least favorite.

The Mets bench mob captured our hearts in 2021. Not all of their brilliance came in walk-off or game-leading moments, but those were definitely the biggest.

Off the top of my head, there was the Tomas Nido go-ahead home run against the Atlanta Braves. We had Patrick Mazeika making his presence known with walk-off fielder’s choices and walks to go along with go-ahead sacrifice flies. Has there ever been a more unique set of game-winning circumstances? Brandon Drury was a late addition with his walk-off hit and subsequent refusal to get stripped on the field.

Others who passed through, like Jose Peraza and Billy McKinney, also shined for a period of time. When things were seemingly rockiest, the team managed to stay alive.

Beyond those bench mob attendees, we have the performance given by Jonathan Villar and Kevin Pillar this year. Acquired this offseason to be leaders on the second-string, each played their way into a more prominent role with the club. Villar, especially, put together some huge hits for the Mets.

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Which other Mets moments were your favorite this season? Before you answer, let me put on a helmet and await a barrage of “seeing it end” comments to come.