NEW YORK -- About four hours before Jonah Tong was set to make his Major League debut, a stadium worker stationed outside the Mets’ clubhouse busied himself by watching a television segment about the team’s newest pitcher. When the camera cut to a close-up of Tong’s face, the worker shook his head.
“He’s a freaking child,” he said. “And they’re gonna put him on the bump tonight.”
To underestimate Tong based on his baby-faced appearance, of course, would be folly. Tong made it to Citi Field on Friday night for a reason. He blazed his path to Queens by leveraging his mid-90s fastball, a Vulcan changeup that’s become his best secondary pitch and an overhand curveball that he tends to locate where he wants.
With those weapons at his disposal, Tong kept the Marlins at arm’s length for most of a 19-9 blowout win in his debut. Given the benefit of record-setting offensive support, Tong challenged Miami’s hitters with a fastball that outfielder Troy Johnston compared to that of Brewers sensation Jacob Misiorowski. Tong recorded his first strikeout on a well-placed 12-6 curveball in the third inning, then froze another batter on a 96 mph heater.
Tong fanned two more in the fourth and six in total, striking out his final batter on a 95.4 mph fastball that catcher Luis Torrens framed near the bottom of the zone. He became just the second Mets rookie aged 22 or younger to go five-plus innings with one or zero earned runs in his debut, joining Dwight Gooden.
“That’s everything I ever dreamed of as a kid growing up,” Tong said. “To see it unfold like that, it’s insane. That’s the only word that can really describe it.”
Throughout the proceedings, the Mets’ offense went above and beyond to keep Tong’s debut stress-free, supporting him with their highest run total ever in a home game, and the second-highest backing for an MLB rookie in his debut. Juan Soto homered. Brandon Nimmo did so twice. Torrens went deep before (unsuccessfully) moonlighting as a pitcher in the ninth.
Although New York’s defense wasn’t as kind to Tong, committing a pair of errors that led to three unearned runs in the fifth, Tong had more than enough wiggle room to endure such troubles. He departed with an eight-run lead, having allowed four runs (one earned). He did not walk a batter.
“He can help us a ton,” Torrens later said through an interpreter. “Just the type of arm that he has, I think he’s the type of pitcher that, for the next month of the season -- and beyond in the playoffs, God willing -- he’s one of those impact arms that can help us a lot.”
Under any circumstances, the debut of Tong -- the Mets’ fourth-ranked prospect and No. 44 in baseball, per MLB Pipeline -- would have been noteworthy. It resonated even more given the Mets’ rotation need, their improved play of late and the emergence of another rookie, Nolan McLean, whose success through three starts fueled visions of what Tong could become.
By the time the younger prospect actually arrived on Friday, a packed house at Citi was more than ready to greet him. When the scoreboard cut to a video of Tong warming for his start, the sold-out crowd of 42,112 gave him a standing ovation.
Once the bullpen gate finally opened and Tong stepped through it, a cameraman shadowed him across the field. Above them, a fan had hung a Canadian flag to honor the Ontario native. Others rocked out to Nickelback songs blaring through the PA system.
Few if any of them knew who Tong was 18 months ago, when he first became a curiosity in low-Minors circles. People from all corners of the industry suddenly wanted to know more about the kid who threw like Tim Lincecum and looked like his stunt double. As Tong’s successes piled up and continued into this season, pleas for his debut grew in fervor.
After Tong finally received the call, he said, he called his mother and cried for an hour. Tong’s gregariousness and openness are qualities seldom found in ballplayers to this extreme. He welled up when talking about the ticket stub he planned to give to his dad. Nimmo called Tong “just an extremely nice kid,” which wouldn’t matter much if he were not also such a standout pitcher.
“You see the [fan] reaction,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re going to feed off that. We feel it.”
If Tong continues to succeed in this quest, he and McLean can raise the ceiling for this team. The Mets are going to give them that chance. Following Tong’s debut, Mendoza said the team will temporarily shift into a six-man rotation, allowing Tong to keep pitching without forcing out anyone else.
Relayed that news late Friday evening, Tong responded with typical earnestness.
“Sweet,” he said, breaking into a grin. “I’ll take it one day at a time, but that’s awesome to hear.”