The wild and chaotic Mets season that never happened

Now almost a full four years removed from the start of the 2020 pandemic, it’s amazing how much life has changed and yet stayed the same. That first week in March was chaotic. Finding something as simple as rice in the grocery store was a challenge. Getting any New York Mets baseball at all while the world remained shut down is an accomplishment that seemed impossible at the time.

When looking at recent Mets history, it’s easy to pass over the 2020 season. Not only was it quick, it also happened to be unproductive.

What if we got a full 162 games instead of just 60? Things may have gone better. For sure, they would have gotten wild.

The 2020 Mets season was destined to be a wild and destructive one

The personalities on the 2020 Mets were big. Noah Syndergaard’s Tommy John Surgery eliminated him from playing, but hanging around an inferior team would have made for some off-the-field stories. Another guy who didn’t play that year but was on the roster, Marcus Stroman, has never been shy about voicing how he feels either.

A season which saw Pete Alonso undergo a sophomore slump and Dominic Smith receive MVP consideration would have been a leading story on the field. Was it truly the baseballs in 2019 that made Alonso the most prolific power hitter in franchise history? A huge year out of Michael Conforto would have had fans begging for a contract extension. The sudden surge in Robinson Cano for the length of a full season could have brought back some believers who would have been gravely disappointed to learn in November it was all a fraud.

The 2020 Mets weren’t much different from the 2019 club. Yoenis Cespedes was thought to be one of the bigger potential contributors they had back. However, after just 8 games, he opted out. Without the pandemic, he wouldn’t have had this option.

Todd Frazier even came back at the trade deadline. Just in case you weren’t already in enough Twitter beefs with other guys on the roster, Brodie Van Wagenen brought back a third known for blocking fans online.

Not everything about the 2020 Mets would have been painful. Jacob deGrom had another Cy Young pursuit on his mind. Instead, it went to Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds. deGrom’s third straight Cy Young victory would have done little to help the ball club, though. The duo of Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha weren’t good in the small sample we did receive. Steven Matz completely fell apart while Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman failed to re-enter the conversation as potential starters in the future.

All of this would have taken place under rookie manager Luis Rojas who, in 2021, led a team with some internal conflict. Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil didn’t get along. The acquisition of Javier Baez turned into the ultimate slap in the face to the fans when he and Lindor were the alleged masterminds of giving the fans the thumbs down. What chaos would have taken place in 2020 that assembled group?

Media and fan scrutiny just wasn’t there. The world had bigger issues than Billy Hamilton’s base running or relief pitcher Jared Hughes comically falling over while chasing a groundball—something he made fun of himself.

In a flash, the 2020 season was over. Considering the names and circumstances, it could have been one of the wilder years in recent history.