(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Those who don’t pay attention to the details would say that the New York Mets don’t have anything left to play for in 2023.
They are wrong, though.
First of all, they should always go all out because fans pay a ticket to go watch them.
Second, the future of the franchise is starting to take shape in the here and now: these games that might appear “meaningless” after the team traded Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Tommy Pham, David Robertson, Dominic Leone, and Mark Canha, but they are excellent to foster the development of young, hungry players that want to be part of what will come.
Francisco Alvarez is one of those players.
The rookie catcher has had an amazing season to this point from a statistical standpoint: he is slashing a cool .231/.295/.487 with 21 home runs so far.
His work behind the plate has been amazing, too, and his baseball smarts are off the charts.
Take a look at what happened here, via SNY.
“This kid is just on top of it”
Francisco Alvarez recognizing the pitch clock winding down played a huge part in helping Phil Bickford lock down the save for the Mets last night pic.twitter.com/rNkyWrjq6M
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 10, 2023
“‘This kid is just on top of it.’ Francisco Alvarez recognizing the pitch clock winding down played a huge part in helping Phil Bickford lock down the save for the Mets last night,” SNY Mets tweeted with a video of the play.
If Alvarez hadn’t noticed the clock, asked for time, and sprinted to the mound, a ball would have been charged to the count.
These things are awfully important.
He had the awareness to notice the situation and do what was needed to fix the problem.
His closer thanked him, as he could complete the save aided by a pitcher’s count of 1-2.
The Mets have a great piece for the future in Alvarez.
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