This Week in Mets Quotes: Your 2021 New York Mets

“It was emotional. It meant a lot. Getting traded over here, I had high expectations and wanted to contribute more down the stretch than I did. But to get one last start at home here in front of these great fans, it meant a lot.” -Rich Hill [MLB]

“I know there’s a lot of good things going on here. I’m not one to politick or vouch for myself to come back or wherever I’ve been, but I know that there’s a lot of special things that are going to happen here. It would be something that I would truly look forward to.” -Rich Hill [MLB]

“New York is everything for me. If I go tomorrow and sign with another team, I’m never going to forget New York. This is the team that gave me the opportunity to see my dream come [true]. I have so much love for everything in New York. It’s my home.” -Jeurys Familia [MLB]

“I think I’m a really good first baseman with potential to win a Gold Glove, and I think I would be selling myself short to label myself as a [DH].” -Pete Alonso [MLB]

“If I need to DH maybe one day or if someone needs to rotate in, that’s fine. But I’m a first baseman. I don’t think I’ll ever think of myself as a DH. And I think that as I continue to progress, I’m going to be able to win not just one Gold Glove, I feel like I’m going to win multiple in my career. And this is only my third year. I’m just going to continue getting better.” -Pete Alonso [MLB]

“I’ve been a starter my whole life, and then the last few years being in the ‘pen, throwing multiple innings feels more natural to me.” -Seth Lugo [MLB]

“I think there’s a noise thing in New York that is tough to ignore at times. There’s a little bit of an extra load put on your leaders to be accountable for everything all the time, and I think we’re finding ways to navigate that a little bit. We took some big stumbles this year with some guys that haven’t experienced it before and I think that moving forward, that stuff is going to be handled a lot more efficiently from our direction because, at the end of the day, everyone claims they just want us to go out and win and that’s all that matters. And in order to do that, guys got to focus on only playing ball and not talking about a bunch of stuff that just doesn’t matter.” -Trevor May [North Jersey]

“[Robinson Cano] probably has to apologize. I am assuming that is what he is going to do when he comes back and just talk to the group and address the group and just be sincere and honest with himself and with us.” -Francisco Lindor [New York Post]

“I admire Robbie because he really helped my development as a big leaguer and also understanding how New York works. He treated me like a big leaguer from Day 1 and he was basically like another coach. Personally and professionally he helped me so much and I respect that, especially from a guy who has won a championship [with the Yankees], and has had success, not just in New York … He’s a great teammate.” -Pete Alonso [New York Post]

“There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered, and for me personally I want to be able to get the team over the edge,” Alonso said before the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Braves. “I want to be one of those cornerstone guys that’s on the field dog-piling and champagne showering at Citi Field. I want to be that, and personally, I have been consistent, but there’s so many different areas I can improve on and get better and I think for me I want to keep going up.” -Pete Alonso [New York Post]

“Thankfully, that’s not my job to decide or figure out [offseason moves] but I know we do have the potential with the people in that locker room to win a championship. I know that. If you look on paper, our roster before this year is absolutely stacked. Now we have an addition of Javy Baez and Noah [Syndergaard] is finally back healthy, which is awesome, and Jake [deGrom] is going to have a great offseason and be healthy for next year, so absolutely — I think we can win a championship. It’s just a matter of getting the most out of ourselves, not just as individually but as a team.” -Pete Alonso [New York Post]

“Any time you finish a season, what you really have to do is reevaluate each player and try to decide who they really are. That would be true in a season where the player underperforms. It might be a season in which a player overperforms. You really have to do an evaluation of what, predictably, will happen in the future.” -Sandy Alderson [MLB]

“I feel a little bit of disappointment in that, because I enjoy these guys so much,” Nimmo said, acknowledging the inevitability of change. “I felt the same way as everyone else that this team was going to be built to win here. Obviously, that didn’t happen.” -Brando Nimmo [MLB]

“I wouldn’t say [it was a] good [season]. There were a lot of ups and downs in the road, but it was kind of a little bit weird for me, I didn’t have a regular spring training … just get ready for the next year and come in ready.” -Carlos Carrasco [New York Post]

“I definitely think I was able to showcase that I was healthy. Now it’s time to get back to the old Noah.” -Noah Syndergaard [Newsday]

“I want to share such heartfelt gratitude to so many in the Mets organization for not only the last two seasons as manager, but for the last 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said in a statement. “In each and every position I held, striving for excellence was our daily mission. I will always hold the relationships and friendships, developed over the years, dear to my heart, and am forever grateful to have been able to wear the Mets uniform for so long.” -Luis Rojas [MLB]

SiteBot FacePalm of the Year

“Unfortunately Jake is passed his prime. His results were great, but he missed half of season and many starts were cut short now at 33 with arm issues heading into off season he is a question mark and takes up over 30 million a season of the payroll” -Mettle