By Sunday 
The Mets’ Secret Weapon Isn’t a Player—It’s a 20-Pound Sledgehammer
When the Mets walked into Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers, no one expected the heaviest hype man on the roster to be… a literal sledgehammer.
Yes, seriously. A 20-pound, metal-headed, hardware-store sledgehammer is now part of the on-deck ritual in Queens. And if you’re wondering what it’s doing there—well, so is the rest of the baseball world. But the Mets? They’re loving it.
Pete Alonso’s Wild Spring Training Toy
According to the SNY broadcast, the sledgehammer was born out of spring training antics. Pete Alonso, the Mets’ power-hitting polar bear, apparently brought it in as a kind of workout tool or personal hype prop. Harmless fun at first. Then, as these things often go with baseball rituals, it took on a life of its own.
Fast forward to this week, and outfielder Brandon Nimmo was spotted taking hacks with the hammer in the on-deck circle against L.A. That’s right—between practice swings, he was casually tossing around a sledgehammer like Thor himself.
“There’s Nothing in the Rulebook…”
The best part? This whole thing only made it to the field because Alonso and Nimmo had one of those “Wait a minute…” moments over the weekend and realized, “There’s nothing in the rulebook that says we can’t.”
So naturally, they did.
Now, while there’s zero competitive advantage to lugging a sledgehammer to the plate, the vibe boost? Immaculate. It’s the kind of weird, slightly unhinged team bonding move that turns into legend if the team goes on a tear. And hey—baseball is nothing without superstition and swagger.
Tough Guy Gimmick or Dugout Gold?
Sure, some folks are going to say this is all performative—like those shirtless warmups college football teams do in the snow to show how “tough” they are. And they might be right. But also… it kind of rules?
Swinging a sledgehammer in front of 40,000 fans feels like the baseball version of walking out to “The Undertaker” theme. It’s gritty. It’s weird. It’s entertaining as hell.
What’s Next?
No word yet on whether MLB will intervene, but unless it becomes a safety issue, it looks like the Mets are all-in on the hammer. And let’s be honest—if it helps this team channel some chaos and rally around something, fans probably won’t care if they start taking BP with chainsaws (please don’t, though).
In a season where every edge matters, sometimes the real weapon isn’t a hot bat or a new pitch—it’s attitude. And for the Mets, nothing says attitude quite like swinging a 20-pound hammer before stepping into the box.
So, here’s to the newest member of the Mets’ roster: forged in steel, feared by opposing bullpens, and impossible to ignore.
Thor would be proud.