The unofficial holiday known as Christmas in July is on Monday. The struggling Mets offense got a surprise in the form of a big, cheery man the day before the celebration.
No, Daniel Vogelbach doesn’t have a thick white beard, but what he does have seems to have helped the first-place Mets regain some of their spirit. After joining the team on Friday after being acquired from Pittsburgh, Vogelbach reached base twice and appeared to inspire the Mets during an 8-5 victory over San Diego on Sunday night.
The Mets had a difficult start to the game against Padres starter Joe Musgrove, who went the first four innings without allowing a single. With an eight-pitch at-bat to start the fifth, Vogelbach became the first player in blue and orange to reach base. Mark Canha’s double to left field moved the 270-pound Vogelbach, one of baseball’s statistically slowest players, from first to third. In the inning, both runners would be left on base.
Despite failing, the flame seemed to have been lit since the Mets scored some much overdue runs an inning later.
In the sixth inning, Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor both reached base, laying the groundwork for Pete Alonso’s 25th home run of the year. Alonso would total four runs batted in, tripling in the sixth to bring Marte home once more and taking the league lead with 82 runs.
After Alonso’s home run, Vogelbach would score again by working a one-out walk. Luis Guillorme’s bloop single to shallow left field later in the inning allowed Vogelbach, who had advanced to second base, to score.
Given that Vogelbach had more experience playing against Musgrove than the majority of the rest of the lineup, it truly speaks to his talent. Prior to Sunday, in seven at-bats against Musgrove, Vogelbach had failed to get a hit, with four of those contests ending in strikeouts. Showalter was aware of their previous interactions, but he also understood how crucial it was to give him at-bats after trading for him.
Being embraced by the fans during a nationally televised primetime game at Citi Field, Vogelbach said, was one of the most exciting games he had ever played. Sunday’s at-bat for Vogelbach was appropriately timed to the song “I Love My Homies.” After seeing a portion of his first series in his new house and observing enormous crowds, Vogelbach is now getting ready to take part in his first-ever Subway Series. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Yankees will visit Citi Field, and Vogelbach will take part in this rivalry for the first time.
