JT Realmuto played hero for the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the 2022 World Series against the Houston Astros, as his solo home run in the tenth inning ended up being the game-winning score for the Phillies. Philadelphia is clearly happy they signed Realmuto in free agency back in 2020, but it almost didn't end up working out that way for the Phillies.
After being traded to the Phillies prior to the 2019 season, Realmuto hit free agency, and received a ton of interest due to him being one of the top catchers in the league. Among the teams interested were the New York Mets, but they ended up walking away from Realmuto, allowing him to go back to Philadelphia. With the Phils in the World Series, Realmuto opened up on being left at the altar by the Mets.
“I wish I knew. They didn’t even try. They didn’t even really try. They called me right when the offseason started and said, ‘Hey, we want you to be a part of the Mets organization.’ I said, great, works for me. I have no problem — there were all these reports about ‘JT Realmuto doesn’t want to play in New York.’ I never said that one time. I told them, yeah, absolutely, I would love to talk, get to know everybody in the organization. I didn’t hear from them for a month after that. Not a word.” JT Realmuto, Newsday
Considering how Realmuto just won the Phillies Game 1 of the World Series, they are surely thrilled that the Mets decided to pass up on him in free agency. The Mets got virtually no production from their catcher position this season, so they likely regret passing up the opportunity to sign Realmuto. But that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes, and now Realmuto will focus on helping Philadelphia jump out to a quick 2-0 series lead against the Astros in Game 2 on Friday night.
Follow Us
Subscribe
