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A $340 Million Mishap as Mets Miss Postseason

BQE Admin on October 2, 2025

Young arms, Minor League championships turn heads towards future

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

With the second-highest payroll in the Majors, the New York Mets missed the postseason in what can only be considered an abject failure. Despite a roster ripe with talent and the team’s red hot start that saw them lead the National League at multiple points, the season came to a close with a 4-0 loss in Miami.

The Mets finished level with Cincinnati, both holding 83-79 records, but the Reds earned the tiebreaker with a 4-2 record against New York to clinch the final Wild Card spot in the NL. As Francisco Lindor grounded into a season-ending double play, Mets players shared looks of dismay, disbelief, and shock that their 2025 campaign had come to a premature halt.

As any division rival should, the Marlins clearly took pride in playing spoiler. Miami played New York very well all season long, winning the season series 7-6. They were victorious in 5 of the 7 games played against New York in the back half of the season, only finishing 4 games behind the Mets with a payroll roughly one fifth the size.

“Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology. You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part,” said owner Steve Cohen in a somber statement. “We are all feeling raw emotions today. I know how much time and effort you have put into this team. The result was unacceptable. Your emotions tell me how much you care and continues to motivate the organization to do better.”

A notable point in the Mets downfall was the lack of improvement following the trade deadline. While the acquisitions of Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers gave New York one of the best bullpens in MLB on paper, Helsley panned out as one of the club’s worst ever deadline pickups, with Rogers failing to find consistency.

Additionally, Cedric Mullins provided little improvement in CF despite an injury to Tyrone Taylor. He struggled to make an impact despite providing adequate defense in the outfield.

New Mets star Juan Soto acknowledged this season’s failure but remained optimistic about the future. He put together his first ever 30/30 season, leading the National League in stolen bases with 38 (tied with Oneil Cruz). He finished just two stolen bases shy of a 40/40 campaign, setting a new career high with 42 homers in 2025.

Another bright spot this year was the young pitching. Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat showed tremendous potential for the future, as pitching depth was a clear weakness all season long. Whether all three begin the 2026 season in the Majors remains to be seen, but all were up for the challenge as they tried to push New York into October baseball.

Mets Minor League affiliates also celebrated success this year. In the past few weeks, both the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies claimed league championships. Despite the MLB team coming up short, there is a good deal of talent awaiting their chance to prove themselves at the game’s highest level.

Yankees to Host Mets on 25th Anniversary of 9/11

BQE Admin on September 9, 2025

Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

The Mets and Yankees will meet in the Bronx on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 next season, five years after doing so for the first timez.

With the 2026 MLB schedule released at the end of August, the 9/11 memorial game is one of the most eyecatching matchups of the year. The two New York teams will face off in a high-intensity series that will take place during the final stretch of next season’s playoff race.

The 2021 meeting was the first time both took the field together in New York. It was an emotional affair featuring hundreds of FDNY, NYPD, EMT, and Department of Sanitation workers, survivors of the attacks, and of course the first responder baseball caps worn every year by both the Mets and Yankees on the anniversary of the attacks. Both teams stepped onto the field to shake hands and exchange pleasantries before the first pitch.

The game itself was an electric one, featuring an early 5-0 Yankee lead, a daring Mets comeback, and late lead changes. Two 8th inning runs gave the Yankees a 8-7 win, an important victory as they went on to claim the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Next year’s matchup will be the first in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Citi Field edition of the Subway Series will take place from May 15 to the 17.

Alonso Passes Strawberry as Mets All-Time Home Run Leader

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

There’s finally company atop the New York Mets all-time HR leaderboard. On Sunday, Pete Alonso launched home run #252 in orange and blue to draw level with the great Darryl Strawberry.

Straw’s swatted 335 homers over his career, with the first 252 as a Met. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1983 and made the All-Star Game in each of his next 7 seasons in Queens.

“The Polar Bear” had a similar start to his career, winning the 2019 NL ROY with a MLB record 53 homers as a first-year player. Alonso cleared the 40-HR mark in three different seasons, something Strawberry never did in his 17-year career (Strawberry hit 39 in 1988 and finished 2nd in MVP voting). Alonso was also recently named an All-Star for the 5th time in his career, coming up with a clutch 3-run homer in Atlanta last month.

Since Alonso first made the big league roster in 2019, he has led MLB with 679 RBI. Only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber have hit more homers in that span, with 269 and 254 respectively.

As a consistent power and RBI threat, Alonso has cemented himself as a vital piece of the Mets lineup and will have rightfully earned the title of club HR leader the next time he clears the outfield wall.

Unfortunately the current season has taken a turn and Alonso’s next contract is still looming. Pete and the Mets agreed to a 2-year/$54M contract after lengthy negotiations last offseason, but it’s expected that Alonso will utilize his player option to test Free Agency once more.

Under his current contract, only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is earning more at first base. Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, and Freddie Freeman are all earning between $25M and $27M a year on long-term deals, painting a picture for Alonso’s contract hopes for his age 31 season and beyond.

Whether or not Alonso will be a Met for life is yet to be seen, but regardless he’s etched his name into New York baseball lore. 

Perhaps someday Alonso’s #20 will hang near #18 above the left field stands at Citi Field. For now, Alonso will look to help turn the current Mets season around as they hunt another playoff run.

Editor’s Note: This article was published on Tuesday afternoon before the Mets vs Braves game. Pete Alonso would go on to hit HR #253 and #254 to become the standalone franchise leader.

JJ: “New York Baseball Midseason Report Cards”

BQE Admin on July 18, 2025

By John Jastremski

We have officially reached the midway point of the 2025 NY Baseball season. All things considered, it’s a good thing that if the season were to end today, the Mets and the Yankees would both be a part of the postseason.  The bad news is that both would be lined up to play in the Best of 3 Wild Card Round. 

So at the halfway point of the season, step into the grading room of Professor Jastremski of the Newhouse School. He knew plenty about getting A’s in broadcasting and history classes. Math and Science classes, eh not so much. Let’s give some grades for both teams, shall we? 

Pete Alonso: A

Pete’s first half has been arguably the best half of his big league career. He’s gotten a ton of big hits and it appears he’s bet on himself in a much better way than he did in 2024. 

Max Fried: A

I’ve always had an appreciation of Fried from a distance watching him with the Atlanta Braves, but he’s been even better than advertised in his first year pitching in pinstripes. His significance and importance to the 2025 Yankees went up exponentially after Gerrit Cole was lost for the season. Fried has been every bit the ace the Yankees have needed. 

Clay Holmes: B+ 

The Mets have dealt with a whole lot of adversity in their rotation throughout the first half of this season. One of the major questions in the rotation has been anything but for the first half of this year. Clay Holmes transitioned into being a starter for the first time in his big league career and I had serious reservations about whether or not he was up for the challenge. Holmes has done a very nice job taking the ball every 5th day. The only reason he didn’t earn himself an A is due to his inability to go deep into games. 

Paul Goldschmidt: B 

The Yankees found themselves in a spot in 2024 where first base was an absolute black hole. Paul Goldschmidt has provided much needed stability both offensively and defensively to 1st base. He’s been an absolute pro’s pro. 

Mark Vientos: D 

I had high hopes for the Mets breakout star from 2024. There is no way to sugar coat it, Vientos first half has been an absolute flop. He’s lost playing time, he’s been injured and he hasn’t performed both at the plate and in the field. Perhaps the past few games in Kansas City will be the turning point of getting his season and full season grade back on track. 

Anthony Volpe: D 

The most disappointing Yankees performer by a significant margin, If you take out Volpe’s March/April stats, the numbers of futility are even more alarming. He seems to have no plan at the plate, his confidence is shot and now his defense at shortstop which was supposed to be a strength has become a massive liability. 

The Yankees have a shortstop problem until I see reasons otherwise… 

New York Mets: A-

The Mets have weathered a whole lot of storms especially from a pitching standpoint so far this first half. They are a half game out of first place and will be a major player at the trade deadline. The team is exactly on track to where I thought they’d be preseason. 

New York Yankees: B+ 

The only reason the Yankees didn’t earn themselves an A grade for the first half is due to what happened over the final 4 weeks of June and into July where a massive division lead turned into a minor deficit. The Yankees lineup has exceeded my expectations in the absence of Juan Soto, but can they upgrade a few key spots over the next few weeks to win a very congested AL East…

JJ: “A Polar Bear Reunion That Was “Met” To Be…”

BQE Admin on June 13, 2025

By: John Jastremski

It’s amazing to see how a player’s narrative can evolve in a city and within a fan base. 

If you go back to Pete Alonso’s rookie year in 2019, he won over the city and the Mets fans with relative ease. 

From day one in the big leagues, Alonso has been a bonafide slugging machine. 

He set a rookie home run record, won a couple of Home Run Derby’s and seemed destined to be a Met for life. 

However, if you turn back the clock to last September or even this past winter, there were a couple of moments where it was easy to imagine the divorce between the Mets and Pete Alonso. 

Last September, it was performance related. Pete Alonso was not playing up to his usual standard in a contract year. 

Maybe he was pressing, maybe it was just a down season, but the final month of the year in a very intense playoff race, it felt like Alonso was playing his last few games as a Met. 

Despite the incredible contributions that Pete Alonso made to the Mets over the years, I think a good chunk of Mets fans would have been OK saying goodbye in the offseason until a certain swing of the bat in Milwaukee changed the fortunes of the Mets and Alonso’s season. 

Pete Alonso’s underwhelming 2024 regular season was all forgotten after hitting one of the most dramatic home runs in Met history against Devin Williams.  

After a home run like that, a moment like that, how could you let Alonso go? 

Well, the winter time put that narrative to the test. 

The Mets signed Juan Soto from the Yankees and did not exactly prioritize Pete’s return. 

The month of January rolled on, Pete Alonso remained unsigned and it felt like the interest was not necessarily there in Mets land. 

Steve Cohen and specifically Mets GM David Stearns faced a lot of backlash from angry Mets fans at the team’s fan fest in January regarding the negotiations and lack of progress. 

The week of the Super Bowl, the Mets fans got the result they desired. Alonso back in Queens, but on a short term deal. 

Well, after the whirlwind of 2024, it’s fair to acknowledge the Mets should thank their lucky stars that Pete ended up back with the team. 

Alonso has been an incredible offensive force and is arguably having the best start to a season he has ever had. 

This is a player who is going to be negotiating from a position of strength at the end of this offseason, but it’s obvious the Alonso/Mets partnership is a must. 

The Mets need his power in the middle of the order. 

Alonso is on his way to becoming the franchise’s all time home run leader and if he stays long term, imagine this; Pete Alonso has a chance to become the best Mets home grown position player ever. 

Darryl Strawberry and David Wright hold that mantle for now, but neither featured the necessary longevity.   

Strawberry due to his departure and issues off the field. David Wright’s back and body got the best of him. 

Alonso’s power should age decently in the next few years and this should be a no-brainer for the Mets down the road. 

Make Pete Alonso a Met for life. 

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY. 

JJ: “As Subway Series Dawns, The Soto Sub Plot Emerges…”

BQE Admin on May 14, 2025

By: John Jastremski

It’s truly understood that New York City has a major case of Mid May Knicks fever. 

When you are one game away from the Conference Finals, that is to be expected. 

However, the first installment of the Subway Series awaits on Friday night and the anticipation has been building since last December. 

Juan Soto will make his return to Yankee Stadium for the first time wearing Orange and Blue. 

After a year in which Yankees fans showered him with love, praise and admiration, the tone on Friday night will be drastically different. 

Imagine the jeers that David Ortiz and Jose Altuve have received from the Bronx faithful over the last few seasons, well I think that hostility towards Soto will be even worse.

Juan Soto chose the Mets, you can’t imagine the Yankee faithful are particularly happy about that. 

It will get lost in the Soto subplot, but the first month plus of the season heading into the Subway Series has been rather glass half full for both teams. 

The Mets through 42 games are double digit games over .500 and in first place in the NL East, and that’s without Juan Soto contributing much through the month of April. 

It was only a matter of time before Soto joined the party and he has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters through the early portion of May. 

In Yankee land, despite some pot holes along the way, the boys from the Bronx lead the AL East at 24-17. 

Aaron Judge hasn’t missed a beat even without Juan Soto hitting in front of him and is on a triple crown pace.

And despite the Yankee pitching staff suffering a whole lot of adversity, newly acquired Max Fried has been everything you could hope for and then some leading the staff. 

In fact, it makes you wonder in Yankee land. Where would this team be if they hadn’t signed the lefty in the offseason. 

It’s mid may so I would be careful with rash judgements either way regarding the result of this 3 game series, but to have an October like feel to this weekend is rather exciting. 

As if we needed any more excitement right about now in the Big City…

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York after every Knicks Playoff or Subway Series Game on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY.

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