A crowd of friends and family waited outside the Mets clubhouse to congratulate Chris Bassitt on his dominant Mets debut.
When the hugs and handshakes were finished and Bassitt disappeared behind the door to shower, the excited supporters shouted in an R-rated manner down the hallways a promise that Saturday was just a small taste of big things ahead for Bassitt with the Mets.
How could anyone argue after watching Bassitt scatter three hits and a walk while striking out eight over six scoreless innings to fuel a 5-0 victory against the Nationals?
“I think I’m pretty damn good at reading someone’s swing and just trying to toy with that,” Bassitt said. “I know I’m not the most power pitcher, so I try to keep everyone off balance and try to add a pitch every year. So far, it’s kind of worked.”
What if Chris Bassitt isn’t merely the reliable No. 3 starter the Mets craved to slot in behind pair of Cy Young Award winners Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer and ahead of back-of-the-rotation question marks Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker? The possibilities are endless if the All-Star acquired from the Oakland Athletics is just scratching the surface of his own dominance.
NEW YORK SPORTS THIS WEEK 