A magical season is not over yet
The New York Mets lost their first game of the season, which doesn’t happen often. And then they lost their next four, dropping to 0-5. To put that in perspective, the 2024 Chicago White Sox—by some measures the worst team in baseball history—got a win before the Mets did.
And it didn’t get much better from there. The Mets went 9-19 in May, and after losing their first two games in June found themselves 11 games below .500. The only impediment to the bottom of the division standings was the Marlins, with the Philadelphia Phillies 16.5 games ahead and the Atlanta Braves 10 ahead. The team that beat the Mets on June 2 was the Arizona Diamondbacks. More on them later.
It would have been easy to check out then, because the Mets did not look very good. So, what happened since?
- Pride month.
- Grimace.
- Candelita, the Latin pop sensation.
- An All-Star snub.
- A postgame concert.
- August walkoffs.
- September pitching.
- Lindor.
- Lindor.
- Lindor.
So, about those Diamondbacks. The Mets played them again in late August, looking for a series win in the rubber game on the 29th. Lindor homered, Pete Alonso homered, Edwin Díaz saved the game. It was a pretty good Mets game! And one that turned out more crucial than expected, as it was the game that gave the Mets the season series and the tiebreaker over the defending National League champions.
The Mets were three games behind the Braves at that point—and three games out of a playoff spot—with just over a month to play. A nice little comeback! A fun little season! But the playoffs? Were they even worth talking about??
Because, you know, the history. The fear. The doubt. The Braves. But as Candelita says, “Todo lo malo, échalo pa’llá.”
All the bad stuff, throw it away.
Fast-forward to Monday. Five straight hits. Brandon Nimmo’s home run. Lindor’s majesty. Edwin Diaz’s demand. And a long-overdue on-field celebration.
“From 0-5 to OMG,” announced Gary Cohen when Monday’s game ended. With any luck, the Mets will put it on a banner.