The New York Mets recently made a change at manager with the firing of Carlos Mendoza, but they continue to make brutal mistakes in what’s been a disastrous season. And those mistakes came as soon as the first batter they faced in Monday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Toronto’s George Springer hit a looping line drive that New York star left fielder Juan Soto read poorly and played even worse.
What looked like maybe an out, and at worst a single, turned into a little league home run for Springer. The ball went under Soto’s glove all the way to the wall, and rookie center fielder A.J. Ewing went to pick the ball up before fumbling it away. By the time Soto chased the ball down, Springer was on his way home to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
Just when you think it can’t get worse for the 2026 New York Mets…
Gary Cohen: “A comedy of errors in the Mets’ outfield!”
Ron Darling: “Holy 2015 World Series! I mean, my goodness!” ⚾️😬🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/SDLZaG3PTb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 30, 2026
“A comedy of errors in the Mets’ outfield!” SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen. “Soto got too close to it, and it bounced by him! And when Ewing came over to try to pick it up, he fumbled it, and Springer went all the way around to score!”
“Holy 2015 World Series!” Mets color commentator Ron Darling said. “I mean, my goodness!”
Ron Darling from the top rope 😭 pic.twitter.com/GSm1Pqr44o
— Fountain Ghoul (@FountainGhoul) June 30, 2026
“One of the things you have to keep in mind when you play on the turf is that if you do not make the catch, it’s really hard to stop, and the bounce is always going to be much different than it would be on the grass field,” Darling explained. “So, he was trying to make a great play. He realized that he couldn’t get it. And at that point, that ball is going to bounce a lot higher than it will on the grass turf, and it eludes him.”
“You’ve got to get your body in front of that, don’t you?” Cohen said.
“Right,” Darling responded. “And you’re right, then the comedy of errors started after he missed this. So, when you come in like this, it’s really hard to reverse and get back there. So, Ewing comes over, and he’s going to help him, but he looks up, and then the ball jumps out of his glove.”
That was scored a triple for Springer and an error on Ewing for allowing Springer to score, which is a very generous home-team scoring decision on a basic single.
Soto, 27, is in the second year of a mammoth 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets. And while his bat remains elite with a .975 OPS that ranks second in Major League Baseball, the Mets certainly would like him to perform more adequately defensively if he’s going to play the outfield instead of DH.
Fittingly, the Mets lost by one run, 2-1. So, that play was essentially the difference.
New York falls to 35-50 with the loss and has a record that’s better than only the lowly Colorado Rockies. This is while the Mets have the second-highest payroll in baseball.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.