Mets provided fans with a week to remember forever

This is a five-day span that will be talked about in franchise lore for decades to come.

“What a week, huh?” Liz Lemon, Tina Fey’s iconic 30 Rock lead, uttered this memorable phrase to Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy on Season 4, Episode 2 of the hit NBC comedy.

In so many ways, Mets fans can relate. Though where Liz uttered this phrase with a sense of exasperation and disbelief, Mets fans can say so it with utter jubilation and, well, disbelief. I guess we’re not so different.

This week has been so much “Go go go!” with non-stop twists, turns, action, and stress—for the players, coaches, and fans—that it’s worth taking a step back to remember just what happened in a five-day span—yes, it’s only been five days.

• Sunday, September 29: The Mets, after getting shut out 6-0 but getting help from the Arizona Diamonbacks losing the night before, entered play with a magic number of two. With the Brewers content to look ahead to the playoffs, the Mets easily beat them 5-0, thanks in large part to the two Franciscos, to guarantee they would need just one win on Monday’s rescheduled doubleheader.
• Monday, September 30: The Mets delivered what we thought would be the most memorable game we would experience this year, though that honor didn’t even last the week. The Mets trailed the Braves 3-0 in the eighth when they put up a six-spot to grab the lead. After a bullpen implosion in the bottom half of the frame, Francisco Lindor, bad back and all, delivered a career-defining home run with one out in the ninth to punch the team’s ticket into October.
• Tuesday, October 1: The Mets proved the season was no fluke as they jumped all over the Brewers en route to an 8-4 win. It was a complete team effort, and the team’s five-run frame put the game out of reach for Milwaukee.
• Wednesday, October 2: The Mets jumped in front 1-0 in the first and 3-1 in the second, but they proceeded to go 2-for-11 with RISP. In the eighth, Phil Maton imploded, allowing two home runs, as the Mets fell to force a do-or-die Game 3.
• Thursday, October 3: What more needs to be said about this one? The Mets’ offense continued where it left off on Wednesday, mustering just two hits through eight despite José Quintana’s excellent pitching. After José Buttó surrendered back-to-back homers in the seventh, all hoped seemed lost until Pete Alonso provided the “most memorable home run of his career”, as Howie Rose accurately put it, and one of the greatest moments in team history. The Mets closed out the Brewers from there.

*Phew*

It’s hard to overstate just how special this week is. To put two home runs and wins of that magnitude together, let alone by one team, let alone by the team’s two most recognizable names, let alone at this exactly juncture of the season, truly takes your breath away. That’s not being hyperbolic. When I was younger, I used to watch highlights of the 1986 Mets run and watch the likes of Game 6 against the Astros or Games 6 and 7 against the Red Sox and wonder how fans survived the experience in real time. In winning the way they did, the team provided us of a slightly-younger generation two signature moments that future generations of fans will watch and wonder the same thing.

The Mets have made a special habit of winning in the most unbelievable fashion in 2024. The Mets don’t feel quite as talented as some of MLB’s heavy hitters, but they have put the baseball world on notice. The team’s season has been written off by pundits and fans—I won’t deny that I was already thinking ahead to 2025 in the eighth inning last night—and yet, in just this week alone, they have put together two improbable rallies when the offense seemed to be mailing it in. Again, I repeat as much for myself as I do for everyone else because I cannot believe it happened, but these two wins happened a mere four days apart. Look at these two charts from the incomparable Sarah Langs:

That’s what makes baseball special. All hope can seem lost, and then everything is beautiful. The Mets delivered us a gift. It’s a week we can share with friends and family, kids and grandkids and future generations for years to come. And there will be more baseball to enjoy. For days? For weeks? For the rest of the month? Who’s to say. But this Mets team has etched itself forever in the franchise’s 63-year history with a week for the ages. And future fans will hear about it forever.

Remember that Lemon’s quote is always paired with Donaghy’s retort: “Lemon, it’s Wednesday.” Well Mets fans, to amend it for current circumstances, “It’s Friday”. The weeks’ not over yet. The Mets play the Phillies tomorrow in the NLDS. Maybe the Mets have one last bit of magic in them before the week turns.

At this point, anything is possible with this team.