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New York Mets Season Begins Tonight In A Royal World Series Matchup

By
Jeremy Fialkow
-

Mets baseball is back in action, as they head to Kansas City to embark upon a long and exciting 2016 season.

  • New York Mets (0-0)
  • Kansas City Royal (0-0)
  • MLB, 8:37 PM on ESPN, Full Preview
  • Kaufman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Today’s the day.

Baseball is back in action on this glorious Sunday – the best Sunday of 2016 thus far (Sorry, Roger Goodell).

The Pirates and Cardinals technically opened the Major League season early today, but everyone knows the main event is tonight, a rematch between the World Champion Kansas City Royals and the National League Pennant winning New York Mets.

RELATED: This New York Mets Hype Video Is Simply Amazin’ (Video)

Opening Night: 

Expect the Mets and start Matt Harvey to put on a show in KC tonight.

Why? Well, history says so.

New York is nearly indestructible on opening day. Since 2001, the Mets are 15-11 when beginning the season on the road, and have won six of their past eight.

Overall, the Mets boast a beautiful 35-11 record on Opening Day, dating back to 1970, winning eight of their last 10.

Per ESPN’s Adam Rubin, their .648 winning percentage on the first day of baseball is tops all-time. Kansas City, on the other hand, are losers of six of their past seven openers.

History Made: 

This matchup is the first time in club history the Metropolitans will open a season against an American League team, much less in an American League ballpark.

Also, The Captain, David Wright, becomes the Met with the most starts on Opening Day with 12, surpassing The Franchise, Tom Seaver and Bud Harrelson.

Not to mention, Wright carries a .356 average with four homers and 11 RBI on the season’s first game.

Bringing the Heat: 

Who doesn’t know about the row of flame-throwing aces the Mets can toss on the mound in a every day.

Still, did you know the Royals can throw some heat as well.

Per ESPN, these two teams threw the most fastball at 95 mph or higher in 2015.

The Mets, #1 with 3,674 pitches. The Royals were in a distant second with 1,722.

A Real Lineup: 

Back on July 23rd, the Mets three and four hitters in the lineup were John Mayberry Jr and Eric Campbell.

These days, there are major leaguers galore for New York. The embarrassment of riches following a stunning roster-remodel now has talented, powerful catcher Travis d’Arnaud hitting in the eight-hole.

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Big Apple Debut:

Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, 100% of the new-look middle-infield, are making their debut in a Mets uniform tonight.

Walker, the second baseman, came over in a trade for former pitcher Jon Niese.

Cabrera, a shortstop, was inked to a 2-year, $18 million deal this offseason.

Ace in the Hole:

Not quite a secret, but All-Star righty Matt Harvey is pretty talented, and the Mets are going to unleash him without the innings-limit BS of last year. He’ll be on the mound for New York tonight opposite Edinson Volquez.

You may remember, these two matched up against one other in last year’s Fall Classic Game 5 finale.

It’s the first Opening Day start for the Dark Knight, who returned last season from Tommy John’s surgery with his signature mid-high 90s heat, and a 2.71 ERA.

Still, his 15 runs allowed in 8 1/3 innings of work doing Grapefruit League play are concerning.

Time for Matt to step up and get his head in the game.

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Jeremy Fialkow
Jeremy Fialkow was born and raised in Miami, FLA, but currently studies at the University of Maryland. When he's not studying hard, he can be found supporting his sometimes hopeless NY teams: Knicks, Mets, Jets, and Isles. Your sympathy is appreciated.

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