We Forgot These Four Mets Items On Our Baseball Bingo Card

The New York Mets were full of surprises this season, and most of them weren’t good. If you had any of these items on the Mets version of your baseball bingo card, feel free to pat yourself on the back, and be sure to buy a lottery ticket or take a day off and head on out to the track.

Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor getting the same injury

We knew going in that the outfielder and shortstop aren’t getting any younger, so their days as iron men had to end sooner or later.

But did anyone have them getting the same injury? Both Mets stars suffered different versions of the same leg injury, which left us with a series of running updates on calves that had nothing to do with bovine health. The hand of fate seemed to be seriously involved here, but this was probably the most significant factor in the Mets tumbling down the standings into the basement of the AL East. 

“Fastball Freddy” failing with his fastball

The one sure thing among all the offseason moves the Mets made was that starter Freddy Peralta would at least be good after the trade New York made to acquire him from the Milwaukee Brewers. But Peralta proceeded to turn into one of the worst starters in the league, which still feels unfathomable. The Tampa Bay Rays quickly fixed Peralta after trading for him at the deadline in the Mets’ fire sale, which is probably the most Mets outcome of all.  

The rise and (slight) fall of A.J. Ewing

We had an inkling that outfielder Carson Benge might be a star after his Opening Day breakout game, but no one expected Ewing to step into a starring role in the outfield as well. Ewing stumbled in the middle of the season as he started chasing pitches out of the zone, but he showed enough in September to tell us that he’s at least for real as a starter. 

The bullpen being a strength after the deadline

The Mets had a great bullpen in the first half of the season, and then they traded everyone. That should have led to a disaster in the second half, but instead the Mets inserted a series of retread relievers who became plug-and-play options. Several looked like keepers going forward, although these things tend to change from year to year, so all bets are off there. But if you had Kodai Senga getting eight saves down the stretch, consider yourself genuinely clairvoyant, and by all means feel free to insert additional items as needed.