The New York Mets made the postseason for the first time since 2022 after finishing with a record of 89-73 and coming in second place in the National League East.
With an offseason that saw the team acquire the top free agent Juan Soto from the New York Yankees, Mets fans are likely excited for the 2025 season.
The offseason has seen many players change teams, and the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced.
Ichiro Suzuki missed a unanimous induction by one vote, and former Mets GM Steve Phillips revealed a regret about Suzuki from 2001.
“Some level of regret that I couldn’t convince ownership for a couple million more dollars,” Phillips said via MLB Network on ‘X.’
.@StevePhillipsGM and the Mets were in the mix for Ichiro when he was posted prior to the 2001 season
pic.twitter.com/il5J8g530T
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 26, 2025
Phillips revealed that the Mets could have possibly acquired Suzuki in 2001 if he had gotten a couple more million dollars from ownership as the team had around $11 million and Suzuki signed for around $13 million.
While it is clear how great of a career Suzuki had in Seattle, Phillips wonders what his career could have looked like if he had gone to New York instead.
Suzuki was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee after an amazing career that included playing 19 seasons for three different teams.
Some career stats for Suzuki include a .311 batting average with 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, 1,080 stolen bases, and a .757 OPS.
Suzuki had over 200 hits in each of his first 10 seasons in the MLB, and he won the Most Valuable Player Award along with the Rookie of the Year Award in 2001 with the Mariners.
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