I’m a big fan of The Athletic and encourage any die-hard sports fan to become a member. And Mets fans are in for a treat, as not only do they have two writers devoted to coverage of the team, both Tim Britton and Will Sammon are excellent. That being said, they did a reader survey that left me a little cold. My opinion was that neither the questions nor the answers were great. Here’s a link to the questionnaire — https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe48j4bGvgXOIF_u6UjFzMEY7a3V3sEDFkVn2jsRloTHPw7Pw/formResponse
But in case that doesn’t work, you can see the questions and answers below. In italics are my thoughts:
Mets Fan Survey 2024
What was your favorite moment of the 2023 season?
Umm…Opening Day?
The West Coast trip in April
Five straight one-run wins in May
The comeback in Arizona as part of a July winning streak
…when it ended
My favorite was the game where Francisco Alvarez hit a three-run homer in the ninth to send it to extra innings and then Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the 10th to win it. I don’t link that with other one-run wins.
When did you check out of the 2023 season?
I gave up during June
I gave up at the trade deadline
I watched until the bitter end
Third choice for me.
How would you describe your level of disappointment in the 2023 season?
I’ve never been more disappointed in the Mets
It felt just like the end of 2022…and 2021…
Given they were never in it, the disappointment faded
I’m optimistic about the reset around youth
I was pretty disappointed but not at the level to say I’ve never been more disappointed.
Who or what do you blame most for the 2023 season?
The front office, for not building a better, deeper team
Buck Showalter, for not getting the most out of the talent
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, for not being their best
The core position players for underperforming
All the players. No one had a better than expected year
How on earth could you not list injuries as a reason?!? Add Jose Quintana and Edwin Diaz to Scherzer and Verlander.
Do you think the Mets were right to fire Buck Showalter?
Yes
Yes, but David Stearns should have waited a day to do it in person
No
This requires a much-more nuanced answer than just a yes or no.
What lesson should the Mets learn from 2023? Sorry, but you can only choose one.
They need to be younger
They need to be deeper
They need more pitching
They need more hitting
It’s dangerous to extrapolate too much from a single baseball season
I answered the last one but this really can’t be answered with one single item.
How would you grade David Stearns’ first offseason as president of baseball operations?
A
B+
B
C+
C
F
For me it’s between a C and an F. My answer was C
How do you feel about the hiring of Carlos Mendoza as manager?
Excited
Indifferent
Disappointed
My answer was Indifferent
What do you think of the Mets’ relatively quiet offseason so far?
It’s actually more aggressive than I expected
It’s exactly what I expected, given the trade deadline
It’s less aggressive than I expected
It’s unacceptably quiet
My answer was the second one but it’s not “exactly what I expected.” Rather, I didn’t know what to expect but the way that it’s worked out seems like an expected outcome, given what was said and done earlier.
If you could make one more move this winter, what would it be?
Sign a top-of-the-rotation starter, like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery
Sign a long-term deal for an established bat, like Cody Bellinger or Matt Chapman
Sign a short-term deal with a DH, like Jorge Soler or J.D. Martinez
Sign another reliever for the back of the bullpen, like Matt Moore or Phil Maton
How do you answer this question? Any of the first three choices completely goes against everything they’ve done this offseason.
Do you have a strong preference among the free-agent DH options?
Jorge Soler
J.D. Martinez
Justin Turner
Any of the above
I’m happy with the in-house options
I went with the last choice, although if they listed Joc Pederson, I would have went with him
If you could turn back time and make the Mets more aggressive on a free agent who’s already signed this winter, whom would it be?
Shohei Ohtani
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Sonny Gray
Eduardo Rodriguez
Josh Hader
Jung-Hoo Lee
Teoscar Hernandez
Other:
I answered other and wrote in mentioning that with the Mets’ approach this offseason, none of their examples made sense. So I answered – Brent Suter?
Which free-agent acquisition are you most excited for?
Harrison Bader
Sean Manaea
Luis Severino
The Mad Max “That’s bait” meme
I don’t know the meme so I went with Manaea
How do you want the Mets to approach a long-term contract for Pete Alonso?
Pay whatever it takes to make him a Met for life
Offer him market value and hope he takes it
Trade him for what you can get now, before the season
Trade him for what you can get at the deadline, if the team isn’t contending
None of these answers fits my approach, which is to look to sign him for a deal that goes no longer than his age-34 season. My answer was to trade him now, figuring he would bring back more now than at the trade deadline.
If Pete Alonso is not a Met in 2025, how would you feel?
Devastated
Mildly disappointed
Happy to move on
I picked the middle answer
How would you grade Steve Cohen as an owner over the first three-plus seasons?
A
B+
B
C+
C
F
I did not see this question or the seven that follow it when I did my survey. I would have given him a C
How should the Mets handle third base in 2024?
Let Brett Baty sink or swim
Let Baty start early, but be quick to move on
Platoon Baty with Mark Vientos
Is it too late to sign Matt Chapman?
My answer is to give Baty first crack, not necessarily give him a full year to stink up the joint.
How should the Mets handle designated hitter in 2024?
Let Mark Vientos sink or swim
See what you have in DJ Stewart
Platoon Stewart with Vientos
Is it too late to sign someone else?
I’d like to see Vientos get the majority of the time at DH, assuming he isn’t needed at 3B
Which prospect are you most excited to see in the majors?
Luisangel Acuña
Ryan Clifford
Drew Gilbert
Kevin Parada
Christian Scott
Jett Williams
Easily, Williams. It’s not particularly close.
Who is your favorite current Met?
Pete Alonso
Francisco Alvarez
Edwin Diaz
Francisco Lindor
Starling Marte
Jeff McNeil
Brandon Nimmo
Kodai Senga
Other:
Nimmo
Who are you most confident will have a bounceback season in 2024?
Brett Baty
Jeff McNeil
Starling Marte
McNeil
How confident are you that the Mets are headed in the right direction?
Least confident
1
2
3
4
5
Most confident
This is tough to answer. I’m very confident with where they’re headed in 2026. I’m less so for 2025 and even less so for 2024.
How does that compare to how you felt one year ago?
I’m significantly more confident now
I’m mildly more confident now
I feel about the same
I’m mildly less confident now
I’m significantly less confident now
Definitely less confident, although not significantly less.
How many games do the Mets have to win in the 2024 regular season for you to consider it a success?
76
82
Whatever it takes to get a wild card
Whatever it takes to win the NL East
The only successful season is one that ends with a title
Now back to ones that I answered. My choice here is Wild Card. But that’s assuming they don’t trade Williams for a piece needed.
How do you feel about the Mets’ decision to retire No. 16 for Dwight Gooden and No. 18 Darryl Strawberry this season?
Elated. I’ve got my tickets already
I’d have done it for Gooden but not Strawberry
I’d have done it for Strawberry but not Gooden
It’s fine with me
I preferred stricter standards
I answered fine with me but I really don’t care one bit.
Who should have his number retired next?
No. 5 David Wright
No. 7 Ed Kranepool
No. 8 Gary Carter
No. 15 Carlos Beltran
No. 45 John Franco
Enough with the number retirements
I answered the last one. I’d prefer the focus be on doing what needs to be done to win a World Series. But I recognize that this is important to others.
About how many Mets games do you watch per season?
All 162
140+
100+
About half
50+
I devour the box scores instead
I’d like to watch all 162 but other obligations get in the way. I answered 140+, which feels like the right answer.
Funny how I like Nimmo as well. Steady Eddie should have his number retired while he’s still alive. He played 17 years with the Mets. I wish I would feel more for Doc and Daryl, but I don’t. They got us a title, but flamed out on what sure looked like HOF careers, and as Mets! Disappointment is part of what being a Mets fan is and we wear it proud. Bravo for not bothering to answer the questions with so many options that could be correct, or not. Didn’t see a question about uniform changes, but I guess they are using some of the unspent millions from not getting a strong DH, to make the boys look more dapper. And the Athletic is great. I get it as part of my NYTimes subscription but would have subscribed if it wasn’t included. It’s that good.
Brian, some feedback:
Yesterday, I had problems also with the third page and gave up after three or four attempts, but I went into the comments this morning seeing what people wrote and it appears that we need to use the scroll bar on the third page to get to all the questions and then hit submit. I did and it worked.
Tim Britton is leaving his Mets part to become more of a national writer. This was written in the comments of an article and Sammon confirmed it.
The survey seems skewed to not be overly negative. I don’t know the Mad Max meme either but I don’t think I’ll even remember doing this survey by Sunday, so…