Fastball

New York Mets' Catcher Joins Pair of Hall of Famers in Home Run History

The New York Mets rolled over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night as catcher Francisco Alvarez hit a home run which paired him with some Hall of Famers in league history.

Brady Farkas

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) hits a two run home run in the third inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on June 26.
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) hits a two run home run in the third inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on June 26. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Mets rolled the New York Yankees 12-2 on Wednesday night to take the second of two games against their crosstown rivals.

The Mets, who were thought to be sure sellers at the looming trade deadline, have now gotten back to .500 at 39-39 for the season. Given the nature of the National League standings, they are now just 1.5 games back of a wild card spot in the National League.

Mets' catcher Francisco Alvarez hit a home run in the win, which was his fourth of the season. He went 3-for-3 and is now hitting .313 through 96 at-bats. He had an injury which slowed him earlier this season, limiting his overall production.

However that home run put him in a special group in baseball history.

Per @OptaSTATS on social media:

Francisco Alvarez of the @Mets hit his 30th career home run tonight at 22 years and 220 days old.

The only catchers in MLB history to reach 30 career home runs at a younger age are Johnny Bench (21y, 242d) and Ivan Rodriguez (22y, 213d).

That's great company for Alvarez to be in considering that both Bench and Rodriguez are in the Hall of Fame.

Alvarez made a cameo in the big leagues at the end of 2022 but really made his mark in 2023, hitting 25 home runs.

The Mets will be back in action on Friday night when they take on the surging Houston Astros at Citi Field. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET as Ronel Blanco (HOU) goes up against Jose Quintana (NYM).

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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