Next year the Mets should honor the 2015 team and embrace any awkwardness of it

The New York Mets deserve an A+ for the way they’ve continually honored the past. Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry finally have their numbers retired. We should expect David Wright’s to join them with Gary Carter as a possibility as well.

A break from number retirements for a year wouldn’t be such a bad thing in 2025. Instead, honoring the 2015 team in its ten-year anniversary a couple of times seems much more appropriate.

Ten years already. It seems like only yesterday. Still a beloved team and for an entire generation the only one to win a National League pennant, the Mets shouldn’t be afraid to face any awkwardness which may follow in paying tribute to one of only five seasons where the team made it to the World Series.

The Mets and their players from the 2015 team have had some bitter endings

Although the ownership has changed as have many other members of the front office, what the Mets represent in the eyes of some of these ex-players likely hasn’t. The too-crazy-for-Hollywood ending to Yoenis Cespedes’ time with the club. Jacob deGrom seemingly fleeing the Mets for the Texas Rangers even more recently. Wilmer Flores being non-tendered. Everything which followed with Matt Harvey. Noah Syndergaard trolling the team. There isn’t a shortage of weird storylines to come out from any sort of reunion.

Plenty of members of the 2015 World Series roster remain active in MLB. Some aren’t playing this year—deGrom as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and Syndergaard because he was never signed. Depending on when and if some former players revisit Citi Field at all in 2025 could feed into which types of events the organization could plan.

The decade since the Mets made their memorable run to the World Series has been a wild one without much success. Unbelievably, they’ve won only one playoff game since Syndergaard beat the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. deGrom’s victory against the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round of 2022 is it.

Some of those soured relationships are on the mend. Daniel Murphy has rejoined the Mets in a variety of ways. Appearing on Spring Training broadcasts and the team’s representative in a home run derby against 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers villain Chase Utley, his return to the Amazins in any capacity is great to see. The team let him go after the powerful postseason he put together for them. After years apart, the organization has welcomed him back and he has accepted.

Plenty of now retired members of the beloved 2015 Mets should be in the house for any sort of celebration. Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon, and manager Terry Collins are three of those important pieces who’ll get nothing but cheers. Harvey coming back would have equally as large of an ovation. Fans never got to properly say goodbye to him.

We can’t always count on the Mets to compete for a title. Under Steve Cohen, we can rely on them to do the right thing when it comes to former players. And next year, awkward or not, it should involve some colorful members of the 2015 team back at the ball yard.