Laura Albanese: Bo Bichette can see a future with the Mets after up-and-down first season
The Mets’ Bo Bichette is greeted in the dugout after his solo home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Sept. 20. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The stands were nearly empty for Sunday’s funeral dirge at Nationals Park.
The worst team in the National League East was playing the second-worst team in the National League East under a dingy sky and a ceaseless mist – a game so meaningless, heavier rain would have probably erased it from existence.
When it was over, the players dutifully collected their belongings and went home for good. They had played their 162 games and their seasons had reached their merciful end. None of it seemed like a good time.
But before the game, when Bo Bichette is asked if he can envision a future with a Mets team that this year was among the worst in baseball, he smiles and says yes.
“The last couple of months have been really fun,” he told Newsday. “It’s been enjoyable.”
Bichette represents one of the Mets' biggest questions this offseason, and his response represented the seismic shift that has occurred in the clubhouse during one of this franchise’s darkest periods.
A lifelong Blue Jay, Bichette uprooted everything when he chose to sign with the Mets – a three-year, $126 million deal with a player opt-out after this season.
Bichette, though, started out slow and was transparent with his struggles: Adapting to New York was harder than anticipated, and his then-dormant offense wasn’t helping matters. He occasionally noted that the swan-diving Mets lacked an identity, and he outwardly grappled with their collective shortcomings.
He didn’t seem happy – enough that it was fair to expect him to walk out the door the minute the season ended. Sure, it would be tough to find a deal better than the $42 million the Mets owe him next year, but his contract included a hefty signing bonus, and this year’s free-agent class is a weak one.
But then something changed.
“I think I had a similar story for myself as for the team,” he said. “The first couple of months were not fun. It was tough. It was a long couple of months, but I think I’m proud of the way I handled it. I’m proud of the way I found myself. I think there’s a ton of growth in that situation – in becoming more comfortable in who I am.”
He doesn’t say that he’s planning to opt in – “I’ll start figuring that out when the game is over,” he said. But he follows with this: “I’ve just been really focused on making sure that this organization, this team is set up to be in a better place for next season. That’s really where my mind has been.”
Bichette is talking about the future, and it sounds like a future he wants to be a part of.
“We’re definitely closer,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s one reason why a team plays [well], but getting to know each other, becoming closer, caring about each other more definitely helps everybody go out there and play better. You feel like you’re playing not only for yourself but for the rest of the guys.”
It’s no secret that he’s taken to the kids – A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge have both sung Bichette’s praises, largely unprompted, and Ewing mentions him when he notes that “over the past couple of months, this team has kind of turned into more of a family.”
“These guys aren’t just my teammates, they’re my best friends,” Ewing told Newsday Sunday. “Bo [is] one of those guys that I’ve really gotten close with, and Marcus [Semien], [Juan] Soto and [Francisco] Lindor…
With Bichette, “it’s a friendship. But I go to him for a lot of advice as well. He’s been helping me every step of the way.”
Bichette is only 28, but like Ewing, he made his debut at 21. This, though, is his first real crack at helping others like he was helped all those years ago, and he likes the role.
“It’s my first run at being the older guy and helping talented kids try to be the best version of themselves,” he said. “It’s been really fulfilling to me to be honest, and they’ve helped me as much as I’ve helped them…They play the game with freedom. They’re excited to be here. I think the longer you’re in this game, the more you need to be reminded of that.”
It was the worst of circumstances, but still, Bichette was reminded. And that might just be enough to make him stick around.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
