PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- That’s close to a wrap from Port St. Lucie, where the Mets have two more games this weekend before capping things across the state with a final Grapefruit League exhibition in Tampa. The Mets still have a few t’s to cross and i’s to dot on their roster, but -- outside of Kodai Senga’s right shoulder injury -- they’ve had a reasonably straightforward camp.
Before we bid our final adieus to Florida’s Treasure Coast, I wanted to take this time to highlight some of our coverage. Here’s a sampling of my favorite spring stories:
Francisco Alvarez’s language-learning journey
When Alvarez first arrived in the United States as a teenager, he was so intimidated by the language barrier that he couldn’t even give his own order at Chipotle. He has since set his mind to learning English and has become so proficient that, for the first time, he’s comfortable conducting interviews in his second language.
“It’s like every single year he comes back, he’s better and better and better,” said longtime teammate Brett Baty. “Even my parents have noticed that, too. They’ve been here. He’ll go up to them and he’ll talk to them in English. They’ll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, his English is so much better.’”
Darryl Strawberry’s new mission
The Mets legend, who will have his jersey number retired at Citi Field this summer, opened up about his work as a public speaker at maximum-security prisons across the country.
“I get a chance to speak with a lot of broken people, hurting people, because once upon a time, that was me,” Strawberry said.
Shortly after visiting Port St. Lucie, Strawberry had to put his mission on hold due to a heart attack. But he was discharged from the hospital days later and is back in excellent spirits, with plans to continue his ministry work as soon as he’s able.
