On Thursday, the New York Mets faced off against the Miami Marlins in what seemed to be a normal game, until a controversial finish.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with one out and the bases loaded, the game was tied at two. Mets slugger Michael Conforto had the opportunity to win the game. All Conforto has to do was get a hit (or even a sacrifice fly) off Marlins’ acting closer Anthony Bass. A Mets victory was looming, but Conforto soon found himself in a 1-2 count. All Bass had to do was get another strike to get the second out.

Bass threw an 84 mph slider to the upper-left of the strike zone. Conforto began to swing at the pitch and it appeared that he struck out. However, the umpire called it a hit-by-pitch. The hit-by-pitch call allowed New York to secure a 3-2 win.

Everybody, including the SNY Mets broadcasters, thought that it was a strikeout and were baffled by the call. The broadcasters then realized that Conforto made no effort to move from the pitch and intentionally got hit to win the game.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly immediately charged out of the dugout to argue with the home plate umpire Ron Kulpa to review the play. The umpire crew decided to review the play, and after 58 seconds of review, the call still stood.

While the umpires were reviewing the play, the broadcasters were replaying the final pitch, and they agreed it was a strikeout. The slowed-down replay showed Conforto sticking his elbow out to get the win.

After the game, Conforto spoke to the media about the controversial finish. “A win’s a win,” he said. “It’s over, but I’d like to use the bat next time for sure,” the outfielder added.

Spring training will look a lot different this year for the New York Mets and Major League Baseball. The Mets announced that their revised 2021 Spring Training Grapefruit League schedule will begin on Monday, March 1. Spring training was originally slated to begin on February 27. A scaled-back schedule, COVID-19 precautions throughout Clover Park and an 80% reduction in available seats will make for a completely different atmosphere at this year’s spring training.

The Mets will open their 24-game exhibition season against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida on March 1. The team’s spring training home opener will take place on Tuesday, March 2 against the Houston Astros at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.

New York’s shortened Grapefruit League season will consist of six games each against the Marlins, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Astros.

Mets pitchers and catchers are expected to report for spring training Wednesday, February 17, according to the team’s website. Fans will not be allowed to attend practices due to COVID-19 concerns, but officials would not say if fans would be permitted to wait outside gates and the players’ parking lot for autographs.

Ticket prices range from $15-$35. Capacity at Clover Park will be limited to 20% (approximately 1,400 fans) to maintain social distancing. Tickets will be available in pods ranging in size from 1-6 seats. When purchasing a pod of seats, all seats in the designated area must be purchased together. All seating pods will be at least six feet from any other seating pod.

NEW YORK METS SPRING TRAINING TICKET DEALS HERE!

Single-game ticket sales for spring training season-ticket holders begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 16. Single-game ticket sales for New York Mets season-ticket holders and St. Lucie Mets season-ticket holders begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 18.

Single-game tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 20.

Fans will be excited to see some new and familiar faces. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has been invited back to spring training by the Mets. Tebow has been invited to major league spring training each of the past four years, but has hit just .151 in 34 games. He connected for his first and only home run last spring.

Although Tebow is a fan favorite, nobody is expecting him to make the major league roster. However, New York’s faithful will be treated to Francisco Lindor’s first action as a New York Met. The former Cleveland Indians shortstop is expected to help New York become a true contender in the National League. Fans will also be treated to an appearance by fellow newcomer Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is slated to be New York’s second ace (behind Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom). Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, and the rest of your favorite Mets will be in Florida for spring training.

Clover Park will meet MLB, local health department and CDC guidelines to ensure all players and fans are safe. Fans will be required to wear masks that cover their nose and mouth at all times other than when eating or drinking at their ticketed seat. Hand sanitizer stations and social distancing markers have been installed throughout Clover Park and staff will continually disinfect and sanitize restrooms and common areas.

Although this spring training will look remarkably different from previous years, there hasn’t been this much excitement surrounding the state of the Mets’ franchise since they represented the National League in the 2015 World Series.

Spring Training begins March 1 and if you are a Mets fan, this may be the perfect time to book a trip to Florida and watch your favorite team compete.

NEW YORK METS SPRING TRAINING TICKET DEALS HERE!

The Mets suffered a major loss on Thursday, as outfielder Michael Conforto exited the team’s home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a dislocated left shoulder.

Michael Conforto injury news

Conforto’s injury came in the fifth inning on a pitch from Arizona starter Robbie Ray. The 24-year-old All-Star swung and missed, and as Conforto let go of the bat with his right hand, his right arm over-extended behind his back and he fell to the ground at Citi Field.

The outfielder was carried off the field by trainer Ray Ramirez and replaced by Brandon Nimmo. 

Conforto is hitting .279/.384/.555 with 20 doubles, 27 homers, 68 RBI and 72 runs this campaign, his breakout season.

This would thus likely be the outfielder’s second trip to the disabled list this season, and the 23rd time this year the Mets have had to place a player on the DL.

Earlier this week, the Mets lost starting left-hander Steven Matz to season-ending elbow surgery. The team announced Thursday that Zach Wheeler — who hadn’t pitched in a month due to a stress reaction in his arm — was shut down for the rest of the season after making his return from 2015 Tommy John surgery.

Entering Thursday, the Mets had lost five of their previous seven games.

The Mets (55-70, 4th in National League East) are effectively eliminated from this year’s playoffs. They next travel to Washington, D.C. on Friday night for a four-game series against the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm EST.

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 01: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets scores on a Yoenis Cespedes double in the first inning agaoinst the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The first two months of baseball have been dominated by one name in New York – Aaron Judge. And this flurry of discussion around the 25-year-old, 6 foot 7 inches, 282 pound, home run monster is certainly deserved. In 149 at bats, Judge has clobbered 15 homers, knocked in 30 runs, and is hitting for an impressive .315 average. Beyond his statistics, he looks like a video game character, dwarfing his opponents as he moves like a regular sized uber-athlete around the field in number 99. He has blocked the spotlight for all other New York baseball players thus far.

But a few boroughs over, Michael Conforto, the Mets’ 24-year-old, regular sized outfielder, is hitting just as well as Judge, and saving his team from the brinks of death while doing it.

Judge has been named king – a section of seats have been designated for the California native in Yankee Stadium, titled “The Judge’s Chambers,” and he is now getting comparisons the the last Yankee great, Derek Jeter.

Conforto, on the other hand, while certainly has been praised for his season, he also certainly hasn’t been called the next David Wright and there aren’t any seats at Citi Field named after him. But Conforto’s and Judge’s hitting statistics are nearly identical.

Runs Scored: Judge, 36, Conforto, 35

Hits: Judge, 47, Conforto, 46

Home Runs: Judge, 15, Conforto, 13

Average: Judge, .315, Conforto, .336

OPS: Judge, 1.098, Conforto, 1.123

And the statistics aren’t where the similarities end. Both Judge and Conforto had dreadful campaigns in 2016 and neither were expected to hit as well as they have hit this go around in 2017. They are both fairly quiet players, embedded with the old-timer’s baseball attitude, not in tune with the flashy, social-media friendly, bat-flip throwing, attitude of today’s players.

Still, Judge has gotten all of the attention and all of the shine.

But here’s the thing: Conforto shouldn’t get the shine just because he’s hitting as well as Judge. Instead, pundits and fans alike should start to focus on what is turning into a historical hitting race in America’s greatest baseball city. If both Judge and Conforto continue on their individual warpaths at the plate, the end result will be far greater than the sum of its parts.

Because the Mets are slowly squandering away the season, it is unlikely a true Mets-Yankees rivalry will be back in fashion any time soon but Judge and Conforto can give us the next best thing – a tit-for-tat game of horse, filled with cracking wooden bats under the summer’s heat, and with crowds of baseball fans cheering from the Bronx to Queens as one player hits a home run right after the other.

The Fourth of July was not the only holiday being celebrated this past weekend in the Greater New York City area.

Friday July 1 marked a lesser-known holiday that New York Mets fans wish never existed.

Still stumped?

It’s Bobby Bonilla Day!

OPINION: Mets Should Attempt To Extend Cespedes Via Bonilla-Like Contract

BOBBY BONILLA CONTRACT BREAKDOWN

Every July 1 until 2035, Bonilla collects over $1 million from the Metropolitans as a result of the contract he restructured with New York’s front office back in 1998.

Eager to clear their books of the $5.9 million the Mets owed Bobby Bo toward the end of his playing career, New York inked the six-time All-Star to a 25-year deal that began in 2011, which pays Bonilla $1,193, 248.20 every July.

Now, on week day after Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes became the first player to hit a home run into the third deck at Citi Field, New York might want to consider revisiting a sore spot in their financial history.

Cespedes is currently signed to a three-year, $75 million contract with New York through 2018, according to spotrac.com.

But the Cuban slugger can opt-out after the 2016 season, if he chooses, reopening the floodgates of free agency.

YOENIS CESPEDES 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

Now is the time for the Sandy Alderson, John Ricco and J.P. Ricciardi to get creative.

Let’s not forget that no one expected Cespedes to resign with the Mets after 2015 and yet, there he is, with his neon green arm band, smoking cigarettes in between innings at Citi Field once again.

With David Wright’s career, or at least his offense production, now over and Michael Conforto in Las Vegas attempting to rediscover his swing, New York doesn’t have any other viable options to plug into the middle of the order for the next five years.

Calm down everybody, Conforto will be back, but his ceiling is 30 homers and 100 runs batted in. And that’s his ceiling.

Cespedes is on a conservative pace to hit 37 HRs, drive in 105 runs and score 100 runs in 2016, all while showcasing elite arm strength from either center or left field. All this coming a year after he had 35 HRs, 105 RBI and 101 runs scored split between the Mets and Detroit Tigers in 2015.

Sure, Lucas Duda could return from his back injury and hit 30 homers and drive in 100 next season, just as easily as he could miss 50 games due to various injuries. Cespedes is the closest thing the Mets have to a sure bet.

What’s more, he WANTS to stay here.

“From my first day when I came here last season after the trade, that very first day … the fans showed incredible support, my teammates were so welcoming, as well as the full Mets organization,” Cespedes told reporters after signing with New York.

“I think that’s what encouraged me to make the decision to come back.”

Alderson spoke for all Mets fans when he told reporters, “It was a big relief for me.”

Now Alderson, who is currently battling cancer, will be faced with the same quandary at the close of 2016 when Cespedes will decide whether or not to opt out.

But what Bobby Bonilla, of all people, has taught New York’s front office can be used as a valuable lesson.

Just spit-balling here: Let’s say the Mets offer Cespedes $3 million per year, for 25 years, beginning in 2025.

Now 30, Cespedes’ career will likely be winding down, if not over by then, and he can still land an extremely lucrative contract in 2019 after his current deal with the Mets expires.

Of course, this is assuming that ‘La Potencia’ would forego his player option after the current season in order to remain with the Mets.

A 25-year, $75 million contract could offer Cespedes long-term stability, while paying immediate dividends for both parties on the field.

“It’s not always about the amount of money being offered. It’s about wanting to be in a place you want to play in, that you’re happy in,” Cespedes said through a translator back in February. “As you can see, this is just what happened in that case.”

It will take drastic measures to keep Cespedes in a Mets uniform.

But what everyone wants to paint as the worst contract in franchise history might be the Mets best bet to retain ‘The Power.’