Mets' Jeff McNeil Believes Adopting A Puppy Will Help Him Hit More Home Runs

The Mets defeated the Pirates on Friday, 6-3, thanks in part to a three-run homer that Jeff McNeil hit in the bottom of the third inning.

As that tweet implies, there was something particularly special about that dinger as it was apparently inspired by a small canine friend McNeil met before the game. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News said that during warmups, the Mets player saw a play pen filled with four puppies, and fell in love with one in particular. McNeil ended up calling his wife via FaceTime to ask permission to bring the little fella home.

Though he had to wait until at least after the game for a decision to be made, McNeil’s thoughts had already been taken over by the pupper. In fact, just the thought of making that dog part of his family apparently excited him enough to slug his 10th homer of the season. What made the moment even sweeter for him was that he believed he could use the dinger as proof that the puppy would help improve his game.

“Puppy equals dingers” is a pretty strong case to make, especially when the evidence is so irrefutable.

Of course, because we are talking about the Mets here, this whole experience wouldn’t be complete without something tarnishing the moment, which is where manager Mickey Callaway comes in. As McNeil was pleading on the phone for permission to adopt, Callaway decided to make a joke at the expense of his player with a sense of humor you’d probably expect from a guy who kicked a reporter out of the clubhouse for daring to ask questions about the team.

“A real man wouldn’t need to ask his wife for approval,” Callaway said and flashed a large grin to the group of people huddled by the puppies.

Maybe keep that guy away from all things good and pure.