3 Mets players who became fan favorites in 2022
![Aug 21, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets left fielder Mark Canha (19) celebrates](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5099,h_2868,x_0,y_148/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/3/01gbk6jmdvsvj4qw1y1w.jpg)
The New York Mets are enjoying one of the best seasons in franchise history, sitting at over 30 games above .500 and fighting off the defending champion Braves for first in the NL East.
They've done this behind some elite starting pitching and timely hitting. The brand of baseball the Mets have played has been very fun to watch.
In the modern game, teams often try to hit as many home runs as possible while the Mets have been winning with a small ball approach, just trying to put the ball in play as much as possible.
Guys like Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom are of course beloved by the fans but what's made this season even more special is the births of new Mets fan obsessions. There are players who have won the hearts of Mets fans everywhere for plenty of different reasons. It could be a song, it could be a player's appearance, and it could even be something as simple as an Instagram account.
1) NY Mets players who became fan favorites in 2022: Daniel Vogelbach
At the trade deadline, the Mets acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Pirates in exchange for Colin Holderman. While some fans wanted a bigger name to fill the DH spot like J.D. Martinez or Trey Mancini, Vogelbach has done an excellent job in this role against right-handed pitching.
For years now Vogelbach has raked against righties and as a Met, he got off to a fast start. In his first 18 games as a Met, he had a .986 OPS and the Mets went 15-3 in those games.
Vogelbach has provided great protection for Pete Alonso, something he had been missing for most of the season thanks to the struggles of the other players the Mets tried at DH before acquiring Vogelbach.
His play has been really solid, but what's won the hearts of Mets fans is his appearance and even a fun walk-up song. Vogelbach is 6'0" and 270 pounds which makes him very Bartolo Colon-like. Mets fans gushed over Vogelbach after seeing him run the bases.
On Women's Day at Citi Field during a game a couple of weeks ago, many Mets players changed their walk-up songs to be ones written by women for the game. When Vogelbach chose "Milkshake" by Kelis as his song, it went viral.
Vogelbach gets cheered at the same level as guys like Alonso and Lindor when he steps up to the plate and it's really awesome to see.
2) NY Mets players who became fan favorites in 2022: Edwin Diaz
Edwin Diaz's tenure as a Met has included many ups and downs. It started worse than anyone could imagine, with the former Mariner posting a 5.56 ERA and seemingly blowing every key save. After producing that poor of a debut season with a new team, especially this one, Diaz was going to have a lot of work to do in order to win the fans back.
Slowly but steadily, Edwin started showing Mets fans why they traded him. He had back-to-back solid seasons in 2020 and 2021, but fans still were calling for him to be traded.
theIn the 2020 season, Diaz turned back to his old entrance song that he used in Seattle, "Narco" by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet. Since that switch, he's been the guy the Mets wanted to trade for.
He started winning the fans back in 2021 thanks to the song, but it didn't completely catch fire because he wasn't quite as dominant as he was in his 57-save season in 2018.
This season has been a completely different story. Diaz has been a better version of that all-star pitcher and has turned into the best closer in the game. He's struck out an absurd 17.4/9 with a legitimate shot at breaking the K/9 record set by Aroldis Chapman of 17.7/9.
When the trumpets come on, the opponent knows it's game over. The crowd gets very loud, they cheer on Diaz with every pitch. I won't say it's quite the treatment Jacob deGrom gets, but it's very close.
Not only has the song won over Mets fans, but it also seems to have caught onto just about any sports fan. Every time he comes into a game videos of the entrance go viral on social media.
Watching Diaz this season has been an absolute pleasure and thanks to his song and dominant performance, he's completely won the fans back to the point where if he is not re-signed this offseason, I'm convinced Twitter will blow up.
3) NY Mets players who became fan favorites in 2022: Mark Canha
This offseason, the Mets signed former all-stars Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, and Eduardo Escobar to lucrative deals. They traded for 2021 all-star Chris Bassitt. Adam Ottavino was probably the most under-the-radar signing who's exceeded expectations but Mark Canha is a very close second.
The Mets signed Canha to a two-year $26 million dollar deal. From the start, he won me over with his at-bats. Even when he wasn't hitting for power, he worked pitchers with professional at-bats every time up. He was literally the right-handed version of Brandon Nimmo.
When playing in Oakland, you don't hear very much about players and their personalities, especially in New York. I had no idea how much of a competitor Chris Bassitt is. I also had no idea how awesome of a guy Mark Canha is.
His Instagram account (@bigleaguefoodie) won fans over instantly once it was discovered. Canha's love of food can resonate with just about anyone.
His play of late combined with his personality has made fans fall in love. Canha seems to be the guy coming up with every single clutch hit. I genuinely have no idea where this team would be without him.
Canha made an impression on Sunday Night Baseball when he told a story about the origins of his last name and he's even SNY's kidcaster's favorite player.
It's been awesome to see Mark Canha thrive in the New York market and I can't wait to see how he plays down the stretch.
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