More Than Mets The Eye

HOWARD SIMMONS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

There he is. A rookie. A homegrown Mets baseball player. A guy who swung on a 2-0 pitch, connected, and hit his first MLB walk-off hit today to sweep the Miami Marlins.  

You may not know him, but his name is Kirk Nieuwenhuis. In fact, you may not be familiar with a lot of the names in the starting line up for the NY Mets, aside from David Wright and Ike Davis. But I suggest people start to learn the names of these young men, as they are on their way to becoming great ball players. 

It is highly notable that every single player who started today for the Mets was  homegrown from the Mets' farm system (with Reyes in the lead-off spot for the Marlins, when the game began, there were 10 homegrown Mets players on the field). This is a true testament to the work the organization and its scouts have been doing over the past several years. 

Down 2-1 going into the bottom on the 9th, the team not so much rallied, as they demonstrated patience and poise, as they allowed closer Heath Bell to derail himself. Bell's inability to find control led to four walks, ultimately walking in the tying run after a 13-pitch at bat against Justin Turner. 

Through the first 19 games of the season, the Mets team has shown they may be better than people gave them credit for. I still believe this long season will have ups and downs, but this team's make-up is scrappier than ever. Series such as this will leave people astonished, as they wonder is there more to the Mets than meets the eye?