“Opening day. All you have to do is say the words and you feel the shutters thrown wide, the room air out, the light pour in. In baseball, no other day is so pure with possibility. No scores yet, no losses, no blame or disappointment. No hangover, at least until the game’s over.” -Mary Schmich
The New York Mets have the opportunity to avenge their Fall Classic defeat on Sunday night with a matchup against the Kansas City Royals.
The beauty of Opening Day is exemplified by the quote above: past successes or failures aren’t indicative of a team’s chances.
For the Amazin’s, Opening Day is the perfect chance to eradicate any past shortcomings.
Here are some stats to help you get a grasp of where the team stands:
Via @ESPNStatsInfo:
Most Pitches 96+ mph last season:
Noah Syndergaard 1,361
Gerrit Cole 1,189
Yordano Ventura 1,073
Matt Harvey 1,054— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) April 3, 2016
Facing Kansas City tonight for the Metropolitan’s is Matt Harvey, who was given the nod to make his first Opening Day start over the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom.
While deGrom will be forced to miss at least the first weekend due to personal matters, Syndergaard would’ve been a solid pick as well: he was hitting 96+ MPH on nearly every fastball this Spring.
First ever Opening Day games: Eric Campbell, Michael Conforto, Steven Matz, Kevin Plawecki, Hansel Robles and Noah Syndergaard. #Mets
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) April 3, 2016
Terry Collins released his 25-man roster this week, and Eric Campbell was listed, which came as a surprise to many. Also of note: Hansel Robles will miss the first two games after getting handed a suspension for throwing near the head of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cameron Rupp last season, while Syndergaard, Plawecki and Conforto are all top prospects who found their way to Flushing in 2015.
David Wright will be in the Mets Opening Day lineup for the 12th time. That's a franchise record.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) April 3, 2016
That’s a lot of games for the captain. Will be intersting to see how he copes with Spinal Stenosis and a deteriorating throwing arm.
Matt Harvey has a 0.93 ERA in 8 career interleague starts, 58 1/3 IP. Best ERA in interleague history with a min. 30 IP. #Mets
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) April 3, 2016
Matt Harvey has a 2.04 ERA in 22 career no-decisions, the lowest ERA in no-decisions for any pitcher in the last century. #Mets
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) April 3, 2016
Both are mind-boggling statistics, although the Mets should have a much improved offense in ’16.
Matt Harvey will be the 24th different OD starter for the #Mets. Most recent:
2011: Pelfrey
2012: Santana
2013: Niese
2014: Gee
2015: Colon— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 3, 2016
Only one remains on the team: Bartolo Colon, who took a discount to return to New York.
[graphiq id=”bbcbmXkMDhb” title=”Bartolo Colon Career ERA and Wins” width=”600″ height=”403″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/bbcbmXkMDhb” link=”http://baseball-players.pointafter.com/l/3131/Bartolo-Colon” link_text=”Bartolo Colon Career ERA and Wins | PointAfter”]
