The Apple Showcase: Mets Have Talent... and Character, Too
Multi-faceted goodness emanating out of Flushing
Enjoy our next installment of The Apple Showcase from Kyle S!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this offseason, you know the Mets brought in oodles of talent through the likes of Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann, Trevor May, and others. But can we talk about how this team is full of great character guys too?
While the talent on this team is discussed frequently, and rightfully so, the team chemistry and character seem to get overlooked. Let’s dig in deeper.
Pete Alonso overcame childhood bullying about his weight and shape. In school, he continuously wrote about his aspirations of becoming a major league baseball player only to have one professor comment that it wasn’t realistic.
The list goes on. But Alonso used his doubters as motivation. Fast forward to 2019 when he broke the single-season rookie home run record and it’s clear he proved his doubters wrong.
But it wasn’t just about proving people wrong. After winning the 2019 Home Run Derby, Alonso donated $50,000 to each of the Wounded Warriors Foundation and to Tunnel to Towers from his $1,000,000 prize, nearly double his major league salary that year.
Fellow first baseman, Dominic Smith, won the hearts of Mets fans after an emotional press conference speaking out about racial injustice that still exists and how “it just shows the hate in people’s hearts.”
Alonso, acknowledging he will never understand what it’s like to be discriminated against based on skin color, said he wants to be an ally against discrimination.
Michael Conforto, a leader on this Mets team both on and off the field, has also expressed his support in the fight against injustice and inequality.
For anyone following Marcus Stroman on social media, you know he’s also been very active in speaking out against these issues that still exist in our society. But he also shares positivity in other ways through encouragement and inspiration to his followers.
New additions Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, and James McCann have all shown leadership qualities early in spring training, molding in with fellow teammates as if they’ve known each other for years.
Lindor has been praised for coaching his fellow infielders while McCann opened eyes early on in how he was one of the first players to reach out to his pitchers.
Carrasco has had a positive outlook on the upcoming season and on life after overcoming leukemia the past two seasons, despite the recent hamstring injury.
David Peterson’s experiences overcoming childhood adversity were recently brought to light (Anthony DiComo of MLB.com had a terrific write-up this week), losing his father unexpectedly at a young age.
The leadership of the veteran pitchers on this team, especially Jacob deGrom and Stroman, has not gone unnoticed either. Both were seen mentoring young prospect Matt Allan. And every time Jake and Stro take the mound this spring training, you can feel the love and passion they have for baseball with the big smiles on their faces throughout the game.
Talented team? Yes. Great character team? You bet. Intriguing combination, for sure.
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