Another baseball season has rolled around the corner, but some things are still the same. Ask a New York Mets fan, and they’ll tell you the feeling of losing is nothing new. Every year, it feels like the same spiel over and over again. The season inevitably starts with hope and excitement for what the team can bring, then it eventually dwindles as the season wears on. Being a Mets fan isn’t for the weak— especially when sharing a city with the New York Yankees.
Opening day had the Mets on the road against the Houston Astros. Tensions were high, and the crowd was excited to bring baseball back in the first official game of the season. Mets fans were particularly excited to show off one new addition to the team, as well as appreciate the key veterans. Considered one of the best hitters in baseball, prior Yankees player Juan Soto made his Mets debut, which plenty were eager to see. Would he be the shining light the Mets needed in order to clinch victories? In his first at-bat, Soto hit a ground ball to right-center field that earned him a single. In usual Mets fashion, the luck seemed to end there. He ended the game 1-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout in the ninth inning with runners on first and third. The Mets lost against the Astros 3-1.
Along with Soto, still having the team’s biggest hitters, like Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo, fans thought the batting averages would carry the team, but it’s been the pitchers who’ve been doing the heavy lifting. While it’s still very early in the season, the hitting has been inconsistent, and there’s a reliance on the bullpen to take care of things. The Mets’ pitching rotation shows promise with starters like Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Clay Homes. Senga made his 2025 season debut against the Miami Marlins, striking out eight batters in five innings. The Mets weren’t able to stay afloat, however, and lost the game 4-2, which goes to show how pitching can only take a team so far if they don’t have the hitting to back it up. Peterson is also a contender this season, with an ERA of 2.90 last year. He faced off against the Marlins as well this season, and pitched for six innings, striking out nine batters, which lent a hand to only the second Mets victory of the season, with a score of 10-4.
As of April 1, the Mets had a batting average of .185, which is considered very low, and signifies that the team is struggling to get on base. More specifically, it means their players are getting less than two hits for every ten times they come up to bat— so, not great at all. If this continues like it has in previous seasons, they’ll be caught in slumps with little to no rewards for the team. They need to do more than rely on just a few players like Soto or Alonso to get the team through the season.
Last year, the Mets lost the first five games of the season, which fans weren’t happy with. They made a comeback in the end, however, by advancing to the National League Championship Series (NLCS), only to be stopped six games in by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Will the team get their act together and be a worthy opponent? The Mets’ slogan is, “Ya gotta believe,” after all.