Mets Morning News: Seaver gets his statue

Meet the Mets

The Mets enjoyed their first day off of the season yesterday. They lead off today’s slate of games with their home opener against the Diamondbacks at 1:10 PM, with Chris Bassitt scheduled to face Zach Davies.

In even more exciting news, the Mets will unveil their long-awaited Tom Seaver statue, which will sit outside in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda near the old Home Run apple.

MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day today—all players will wear the number 42 to commemorate Robinson.

The Mets will also dedicate their press box to longtime PR man Jay Horowitz on Sunday.

After spending the first week of the season on the taxi squad, outfielder Nick Plummer made his triple-A Syracuse debut last night in Columbus.

Amongst other notes, Tim Britton shared some thoughts about Drew Smith’s recent relief success.

The Post declared the Mets the biggest winners of the offseason, a declaration that most certainly, absolutely, unquestionably does not come way too soon.

Tim Healy shared a story on the team’s OBP juggernaut Mark Canha.

Contributor emeritus Jeffrey Pasternostro shared an article about Francisco Álvarez and the tricky game of determining a prospect’s readiness.

Around the National League East

YouTube and MLB revealed the first part of their weekly game schedule, with the first game a May 5th matchup between the Nationals and the Rockies in Denver.

The Pirates beat the Nationals 9-4 last night in Pittsburgh.

The Marlins beat the Phillies 4-3 last night in Miami.

The Padres eeked by the Braves 12-1 last night in San Diego. Top prospect C.J. Abrams homered in his first Petco Park plate appearance.

Around Major League Baseball

The Pirates and Bryan Reynolds agreed on a two-year, $13.5 million deal to avoid arbitration until 2024.

The Guardians made José Ramirez’s seven-year, $141 million extension official yesterday. The new contract comes with a full no-trade clause and a significant raise for 2022.

Jarred Kelenic laced a 114 mph home run as the Mariners beat the White Sox 5-1 yesterday in Chicago.

Shohei Ohtani gave up six runs in 3.2 innings as the Rangers beat the Angels 10-5 last night in Arlington.

MLB has determined that the head-to-head record will serve as the primary tiebreaker should two or more teams share a playoff position at the end of the season. This eliminates the possibility of a Game 163.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian and Chris fawned over the Mets’ 5-2 start on the latest episode of Amazin’ Avenue Audio (The Podcast).

Dave wrote some nice things about Tylor Megill.

This Date in Mets’ History

Tom Seaver pitched the first ten innings of what was then the longest game in franchise history on this date in 1968, a 24-inning affair against the Houston Astros that the Mets lost 1-0.

MLB also celebrated its first Jackie Robinson Day at Shea Stadium on this date 25 years ago.