As the month of April, the first full month of the Major League Baseball season, slowly comes to a close, the star-studded teams are showing out early. Some of the most successful teams in the first month of the MLB season have been the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants,Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. But as of Wednesday’s games, the New York Mets hold the best record in baseball.
After their three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets have an 18-7 overall record. They are currently on a seven-game winning streak, having completed a perfect seven-game homestand hosting the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia at Citi Field. Winning all three games against Philadelphia was huge for New York, leaving the second-place Phillies a full five games behind.
In New York’s 12 games at Citi Field, they hold a 12-1 record, the best starting home record in team history. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have both gotten off to firing starts and are already playing like MVP candidates.
“I said it right off the rip in spring: This is a really tight-knit group because there’s so many guys here from the year before,” said Alonso. “We have experience together, we have continuity, and then the guys that were added — not just talent-wise, but personality-wise — they just kind of jelled right in. It’s like we’ve been playing together for years. It’s a really special group.”
Having the richest owner in baseball, New York’s roster is going to be filled with talent and stars, which is exactly what Steve Cohen has sought to build in Queens. However, this Mets team has already proven to have depth that goes beyond their most well-known names. One of those pieces is center fielder Tyrone Taylor who was on deck Wednesday afternoon before Starling Marte notched the walk-off single for the Mets to complete the sweep of Philadelphia. Taylor had also made his mark on the series with his defense as he had an 8-3 double play on Tuesday night and was getting on base consistently for the entirety of the series. Marte was one of three pinch hitters who singled in the late innings for New York, showing that their lineup is dangerous from top to bottom, even with guys who get their chances later in the game. Juan Soto will also eventually come out of his slump and be the generational player that we all know he is.
The strength of New York’s pitching and the depth of their bullpen has also been a prime point of their recent game. While none of their five highest-paid players are pitchers, their pitching staff is currently the best in the majors with a 2.34 ERA. Kodia Senga, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning have been dominating the games thus far. New York’s starters have allowed just five home runs all season while every other team’s rotation has allowed at least 10. All of this is happening while Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are still sidelined with injuries as they have been since the spring. New York’s bullpen has also held down the fort, allowing limited runs, especially Wednesday afternoon when their five relievers held Philadelphia without an earned run.
New York’s owner Steve Cohen has been taking his thoughts and excitement to social media after the team’s latest victories to connect with fans.
“We need to keep riding this wave,” Cohen wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There will be mean [reversion] at some point but there is something special happening at Citi Field. So much fun.”