Jun 13, 2017; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) reacts after leaving the game against the Chicago Cubs during the second inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Brad Penner
Zack Wheeler will finally be at a Mets postseason game on Saturday. It's been a long time coming.
The Mets acquired Wheeler as a prospect in the July 2011 trade that sent Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants. He would pitch in parts of five seasons for the Mets, posting a 3.77 ERA across 126 starts. He flashed his frontline potential as a starter, but didn't truly achieve it on a regular basis until joining the Phillies in 2020.
One of the things that halted Wheeler's development as a Met was that he underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2015. Between recovery and a setback, Wheeler didn't pitch for the Mets at all in 2015 or 2016, and posted a 5.21 ERA across 17 starts in 2017.
Perhaps the most frustrating part for Wheeler is that he missed New York's run to the World Series in 2015, where they eventually lost to the Kansas City Royals in five games.
He told long-time Mets beat writer Mike Puma for his book that he asked the Mets to let him be with the team during the postseason run. Not only did they say no to that, but the Mets wouldn't even comp Wheeler for tickets to sit in the stands and watch the game:
Mike Puma’s book “If These Walls Could Talk: New York Mets” is out today. I got an advance copy (great read!) and thought this passage was pretty ridiculous.
The #Mets wouldn’t let Wheeler join his teammates for the postseason in 2015. @Metsmerized pic.twitter.com/BQTZQiqGct
Granted, the Mets were owned by the Wilpon family when this took place. It's hard to imagine that current owner Steve Cohen — and really, the organization as a whole — would be this cheap and distant to a player that at the time still had a chance to be a big part of the franchise's long-term future. It's almost as if they were punishing him for being injured, which is beyond bizarre.
Wheeler had to wait longer than he had hoped for, but he's experienced two deep postseason runs with the Phillies so far. Between 2022 and 2023, Wheeler has established himself as one of this era's best postseason pitchers, posting a 2.42 ERA and 0.73 WHIP across 63 1/3 innings pitched in October.
He'll have a chance to add to that resume Saturday, when he takes the mound for Game 1 of the NLDS, set to square off with the team that once told him to buy his own tickets if he wanted to be in attendance for the postseason.
