WATCH: New Marlin Hits His First HR of Spring Training, Mets Fans React Poorly
The Miami Marlins and New York Mets faced off in a Spring Training game on Monday afternoon in an early NL East matchup. The two teams have faced each other twice already in 2024, with each team taking a matchup.
The scoring was opened by a new Marlins acquisition, who hit a solo home run off of a Mets starter.
Tim Anderson hit his first home run of Spring Training and first as a Marlin in the top of the second inning when facing off with Mets' Taylor Megill.
Tim Anderson with his first #SpringTraining home run as a Marlin! pic.twitter.com/7gqwgXgmWD
— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2024
Whenever he stepped back into the batter's box for his next at-bat, the score still 1-0, fans showered him with chants of "overrated."
Mets fans LOUDLY chanting "overrated" at Tim Anderson pic.twitter.com/4cHMDjc2JT
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 11, 2024
Anderson and the Mets have not had much experience with each other, as Anderson has only faced off with them six times during his career in the regular season. Moreso than a personal attack, this was a 'welcome to the division' for a player who has been in the headlines a lot over the last couple of years (for both good and not-so-good reasons).
As for the Marlins, Anderson hasn't been much of a power hitter as of late, with just seven home runs in the last two seasons. From 2017 to 2021, though, he averaged around 16 home runs per season. An increase in his power would be a welcome site for his new club.
Anderson is reaching his age 31 season. He doesn't have the same hype as he did when he was tearing up the ball a couple of years ago, but definitely still has the potential to make an impact this season.
Senior Writer Also: Contributing Writer for Braves Today and recent graduate of the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication! You can reach him on X: @DillySanders