Carroll’s Column: An Amazin’ Day for the Mets Alumni Classic

Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports

NEW YORK, NY — An Amazin’ Day filled with great moments and interactions took place in Queens this past Saturday with the Mets successfully hosting the 2025 Alumni Classic. 

The Mets honored their past and present Queens homes on Saturday as they held an old-timers’ game consisting of players who either called Shea Stadium or Citi Field home during their careers. The game ended after two-and-one-half innings with a 2-2 draw. Frankly, it was more entertaining than what Mets fans have witnessed from the varsity over the last three months. 

The 2025 Mets Alumni Classic was a homecoming for Whitestone native and Archbishop Molloy High School native Mike Baxter. He is best remembered for saving Johan Santana’s no-hitter on June 1, 2012, when he slammed into the left field wall to catch a line drive. 

Baxter still has family in Queens, but he has made his home for years in Nashville where he had been the baseball coach at Vanderbilt University. He recently switched careers and is now a stockbroker and financial planner with Wells Fargo in Nashville. Baxter told me he had spoken with former Mets first baseman Mark Johnson who became an equities trader on Wall Street after hanging up his spikes. “I am not at his level yet!” he laughed.   

Another longtime Nashville resident, RA Dickey, who won the Cy Young Award in 2012. He told me he is an advisor to a syndicate which is trying to land a Major League Baseball expansion team in Music City. “I feel optimistic about our chances,” he said and added he was worried about competition from Charlotte, NC, but no group from there has materialized so far.

Infielder Edgardo Alfonzo made his home in Douglaston when he played for the Mets. He relocated to Miami because he alternates between a roving coach in the Mets minor league system and their Dominican Republic baseball academy. He was disappointed to learn of the closing in recent years of legendary neighborhood restaurants like Aunt Bella’s and the Scobee Diner. 

Another former Mets infielder, Josh Satin, has been developing residential real estate in Los Angeles. I joked with him that New York City real estate might drop in value after the November mayoral election. “I think I am going to stick to building in Southern California!” he responded.  

Satin’s old teammates, Ike Davis and Dillon Gee, are also in real estate development. Davis has created recreational vehicle parks in the west, while Gee has done the same for student dormitories in his native Texas. 

Jacob deGrom, now a member of the Texas Rangers, made his first return to Citi Field after leaving the team as a free agent following the 2022 season. He was deeply appreciative of both the video tribute the Mets gave him before he took the mound Friday night, and the cheers from the Flushing faithful.  

When I asked him if he looks forward to playing in a Mets alumni game, he replied, “Absolutely, but I plan on pitching until I am seventy!” 

Many of the Shea Stadium Mets alums still look like they can play. John Maine, who was always thin, has not put on a pound since he hung up his spikes. He was aware of the current Mets’ starting pitching woes, and I kidded that beleaguered Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, might offer him a contract if he pitched well in the alumni game. “Tell him I need a couple of months of throwing to stretch out my arm so I can give him six innings,” he chuckled. 

More from the Mets Alumni Classic

Nearly all the former Mets players were happy to see the fans and talk with the press. There was one exception, however, which did not surprise me. I saw a veteran sportswriter from a daily newspaper try to get a word in with onetime Mets phenom pitcher Matt Harvey as he was leaving the field following pregame warmups. When the reporter quickly returned, I asked him if he was able to chat with the “Dark Knight.” “He told me he was not speaking with the press today,” the scribe replied. Harvey is still the same Mr. Congeniality he was during his playing days. 

Two humorous moments during the game were Bobby Valentine reenacting his most famous moment as Mets manager by arranging to get tossed from the game by the home plate umpire and return to the dugout wearing a cheap facial disguise, and MLB official scorer Howie Karpin booming “E-2!” into the press box microphone when catcher Josh Thole muffed a pop-up in front of home plate.

The Mets Alumni Classic was one of the brightest days in what has been an up, and mostly down, season for our Flushing heroes. The one organizational failure of the day was that the gates did not open in time for the fans to watch the Mets alumni take batting practice.

They would have loved to have seen 57-year-old Mike Piazza still easily clear the wall with his blasts just as he did when he played in Queens from 1998 through 2005. 

“11 Days in September” documentary out on Mets YouTube Channel

The Mets debuted a documentary, “11 Days in September,” on their YouTube channel to commemorate the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Mets players who were on the 2001 team as John Franco, Al Leiter, Todd Zeile, and Mike Piazza share detailed recollections of 9/11, and as well as those fateful days immediately following the attack. There is also footage of Mets manager Bobby Valentine and Mets players packing food and supplies to first responders at Ground Zero as well as their visit to Ground Zero on September 15, 2001. A surprising revelation was that the federal and city officials were intending to use Shea Stadium and the ice rink at Flushing Meadows Park as morgues. 

“11 Days in September” is the best baseball documentary related to 9/11 since HBO’s “Nine Innings from Ground Zero” which was released in 2004. The problem with “Nine Innings from Ground Zero” was that it focused primarily on the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. The Mets were an after thought. “11 Days in September” sets the record straight. 

SNY launches new documentary “Canyon of Heroes”

The Mets cable home, SNY, also launched a new documentary, “Canyon of Heroes,” which looks at the parades given to champions in lower Manhattan. It is fun to relive the ticker tape parades given to both the 1969 and 1986 Mets and to that 1990s Yankees dynasty which won four World Series. 

To their credit, the producers also recall the 1987 Super Bowl champion New York Giants team which did not get a parade up Broadway from Battery Park because then New York City mayor Ed Koch was miffed the team had left the Big Apple for the Meadowlands. “Canyon of Heroes” however ignores the 2021 Major League Soccer champion New York City Football Club which had to settle for a City Hall ceremony instead of getting the big parade. 

Week 2 of the 2025 Regular Season: Bills blowout Jets at MetLife 

It seemed as if the entire population of western New York State descended on MetLife Stadium Sunday to cheer for the Buffalo Bills in their game with the New York Jets. There was little doubt which team would win the game because the Bills are one of the NFL’s elite teams and the Jets are America’s 1 PM team. Superstar Bills QB Josh Allen joked with the media during the week that he is not used to playing so early on Sunday afternoon.    

Any hope Jets fans had that the Bills would be a bit sleepy at 1PM disappeared quickly when the Jets quickly punted on their first possession. The game story was dictated the first time the Bills were on offense. Faced with a third down-and-long situation, Josh Allen scrambled for a thirty-five-yard run. They would quickly score a touchdown a few minutes later.    

Bills running back James Cook kept picking up first downs on the Jets’ porous defense to keep drives going which meant the Jets offense was off the field far more than it was on it. Jets QB Justin Fields, who was impressive in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, looked like the erratic QB he has been throughout his NFL career.   

If things were not bad enough, the Jets beat themselves with numerous penalties such as roughing the passer and defensive holding when it looked like they had finally stopped the Bills on third down. The Bills’ offense controlled the ball so well in their 30-10 win over the Jets that their punter, Cameron Johnston, could have gone to a Broadway matinee and he would not have been missed. 

Tony Richardson partners with Pepsi-Cola to host meet-and-greet with fans prior to Bills-Jets

Prior to the game, Pepsi-Cola held a meet-and-greet for fans with former Jets running back and Long Island City resident Tony Richardson to promote its reformulated Pepsi Zero Sugar. Pepsi executives selected the Bills-Jets game because Bills QB Josh Allen is a key endorser for their “Pepsi Tailgating” marketing campaign aimed at NFL fans. Sports fans have historically been resistant to zero-calorie soft drinks because of the aftertaste which Pepsi Zero Sugar has minimized.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.