The wild ride that was the 2024 New York Mets has come to an end. After falling to the Dodgers 10-5 in Game Six of the NLCS, the Mets were eliminated 4-2. It was a disappointing end to a truly magical season. Many thought that this was a team of destiny. That everything was breaking their way and nothing was going to stop them from winning their first World Series since 1986. It’s something nobody expected going into the season.
However just because it didn’t end the way we wanted, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great season. To quote Dr.Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” 2024 will go down as one of the best seasons in Mets history. It’s right up there with the World Series years, as well as any other deep playoff run. So instead of dwelling on the shortcomings let’s remember the good times. What made the 2024 season so special?
Unexpected Regular Season
With how this team started the fact they even made the postseason is a miracle. They started the season 0-5 getting swept by the Brewers and losing two out of three to the Tigers. The ballpark was empty and many were expecting it to be yet another loss season. However, for the rest of April, the Mets would rebound and hover around .500.
But then May rolled around. Any goodwill the team had built with the fanbase was gone as the wheels seemed to come off. The Mets went 9-19, dropping their record to eleven games under .500. However what made it worse is the Mets blew five games in the ninth inning. As mentioned before this club was dead. Nobody thought they would be competitive by the trade deadline, let alone make a playoff run.
All the frustration came to a head on May 30th. In a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers, Jorge Lopez was ejected, and out of frustration threw his glove into the stands. Then just when you thought things couldn’t get more embarrassing, Lopez said he was on the worst team in baseball. He didn’t say it once, but multiple times. For many, myself included, this was rock bottom. This was the moment many gave up an accepted it was a lost season.
Signs of Things Changing
Despite how bad things were in May, there were signs that things were about to turn around. The first one was moving Francisco Lindor to the leadoff spot. Before moving up in the lineup, Lindor was in one of the worst slumps of his career. However, after being moved to the leadoff spot, Lindor would go on to have one of the best offensive seasons a Met has had. He slashed .303/.374/.552 for a .926 OPS with 26 home runs and 71 RBIs. Lindor also cemented himself as this team captain, and after the Lopez incident, Lindor called a team meeting to inspire confidence in this club.
The Mets called up two important players during May as well. That being Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias. Vientos had been one of the club’s top prospects. However, he was always an afterthought due to guys like Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio. After this season, that’s no longer the case. Vientos slashed .266/.322/.516 for a .837 OPS with 27 home runs and 71 RBIs. Iglesias’s impact was less expected. After signing a minor league contract the Mets called him up. He would go on to slash .337/.381/.448 good for a .830 OPS with four home runs and 26 RBIs. However, that wasn’t his biggest impact.
#OMG was a hit and a half yesterday after the New York Mets victory
— Daniel de Malas (@daniel_malas) June 29, 2024
🇨🇺 Jose Iglesias could have been (not confirmed) the 1st player EVER to play a game and perform a concert on the same day and venue
Candelita rocks!!! #LFGM pic.twitter.com/6UfMAzwLKS
Iglesias became Mets fans’ favorite Latin Pop Singer. Iglesias released “OMG” and it quickly rose to the top of the charts. It wasn’t just a hit on the charts, it was also a hit with the Mets clubhouse. The team would play the song every time they won. Which lead to the on-field concert seen in the tweet above. “OMG” quickly became to rallying cry for the team and something that was played after the Mets would hit a home run and held up a sign.
Our Purple King
However, the real turning point of the season didn’t come from something a player did. It instead came from a first pitch from the most unlikely of candidates.
Grimace threw out the first pitch tonight at Citi Field 🟣 pic.twitter.com/9i9vEWpDxz
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 12, 2024
That’s right Grimace, the purple monster mascot from Mcdonalds threw out the first pitch on June 12th. This was done as a promotional bit to celebrate Grimace’s birthday. However, after Grimace’s pitch something changed with this Mets team. They went on a seven-game winning streak. Mets fans began praising Grimace, saying that he was the reason they were winning. Now rational people saw this as a funny joke, and that the Mets would eventually come down to Earth.
However, that come-down never happened. Since Grimace threw out the first pitch, the Mets became one of the best teams in baseball. They went 51-36 after that first pitch. A complete 180 from where the team was at the end of May. Causing many to see Grimace as the one who saved the season. Thus you couldn’t go to a Mets game without seeing our Purple King.
Glory to Grimace#LGM #LFGM pic.twitter.com/yUCvpf5jKf
— Matthew Searle (@searlebaseball) October 20, 2024
The Mets even gave him a throne.
The location of Grimace's commemorative seat at Citi Field pic.twitter.com/IANrX2gm91
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 16, 2024
At the end of the season the Mets were battling for a Wild Card spot, and what transpired would go down as some of the craziest days in Mets history.
The Craziest Nine Days in Mets History
Entering the final week of the season, the Mets were sitting in the final Wild Card spot, two games up on the Atlanta Braves. The only problem was they were playing the Braves in a three-game series in Atlanta. A house of horrors for the Mets. To make things more complicated Hurricane Helene was set to hit Georiga during the series. So there were doubts that this all-important series wasn’t even going to be played.
After a disastrous game one, which saw the Mets fall 5-1, the storm hit causing the games to be canceled. They would be made up in a doubleheader on Monday after what was scheduled to be the last game of the season. But this gave the Mets the chance to clinched the Wild Card, against the Brewers, a team already in the postseason with nothing to play for.
But in typical Mets fashion, they would lose two out of three being unable to clinch in Milwaukee. With the Diamondbacks also struggling, it set up wins and in situations for both clubs. Win one game of the doubleheader and you were heading to the postseason.
A Game of Twists and Turns
If there is one game that embodies the entire 2024 season, it’s game 161 against the Atlanta Braves. For the first seven innings the Braves dominated. They were up 3-0 and pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach was making the Mets hitters look silly. It looked like it’ll be another chapter in the long history of the Braves embarrassing the Mets.
Then the 8th inning rolled around. Francisco Alvarez hit a double to get the Mets on the board. Then a couple of batters later, Lindor drove Alvarez in putting the Mets down by one. The next at-bat Igeliasis tied the game, and Vientos put then a head on a sac fly. The Mets seemed to put the finale nail in the coffin when Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run homer putting the Mets up 6-3.
But a shakey inning from Edwin Diaz allowed the Braves to score four runs and re-take a 7-6 lead. Again it seemed like another chapter in the Mets’ miserable history against the Braves. In the bottom of the ninth Starling Marte’s single. Then Lindor came up and proved why he’s the Mets MVP.
Francisco Lindor with the most important Mets homer in recent memory. You can't make this stuff up.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 30, 2024
"M-V-P!" chants at Truist Park.
(This is a real update. You're not dreaming it.)
Mets 8, Braves 7, top nine. pic.twitter.com/eoYxELqVIW
That would end up being the final nail in the Braves’ coffin, as they won the game and punched their ticket to the playoffs. Setting up with a matchup against the Brewers.
Alonso Cements Himself As a Mets Legend
It was a quick turnaround as the next day the Mets played their first game of the playoffs. The Mets would win Game One with ease. However, they would blow Game Two setting up a winner-take-all Game Three. The second time in wild-card round history the third game had to be played.
Even though Jose Quintana pitched six innings and didn’t give up a run, the Mets were still three outs away from the magic being over. After the Brewers hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh, it felt like the magic had run out. Then after getting two men up in the ninth Pete Alonso stepped up. Despite Alonso having the worst season of his career and being in a month-long slump. Every Mets fan quickly forgot that when the ball left Pete’s bat.
The great @HowieRose calls Pete Alonso’s ninth inning home run that sent the Mets to the NLDS against the Phillies and eliminated the Brewers: pic.twitter.com/nJLSHATGsJ
— MLB Clutch Moments And Walk Offs (@MLBWalk_Offs) October 4, 2024
After scoring an insurance run, the Mets would get an easy three outs to send them to the NLDS, against their division rivals Phillies.
Dominating The Phillies
For the first time in their history, the Mets and Phillies would face off in a playoff series. It didn’t start the way the Mets hoped as in the bottom of the first of Game One, Kyle Schwarber hit a home run to jump out to a quick 1-0 lead. However, the Mets kept the Phillies in check, and then in the 8th inning, the magic struck again. They scored five runs and would go on to take Game One. Despite leading most of the Game Two, they would fall making the series tied going back to Citi Field.
A rowdy crowd was on hand for Game Three, in the first home game of the postseason. It was also the first home game in 16 days for the Mets. The wait was well worth it, as behind a dominant outing from Sean Manaea the Mets would crush the Phillies 7-2.
Game Four would not come as easy for the Mets. Despite loading the bases in the first two innings, the Mets failed to get on the board. Then the Phillies scored putting the Mets down 1-0. However, just when fans thought the series would be heading back to Philly, the Mets would load the bases with their MVP stepping up to the plate.
Howie Rose calls Francisco Lindor's Grand Slam with the actual volume of the crowd. #LGM pic.twitter.com/yCRPJ6yagM
— In Mets We Trust (@InMetsWeTrust) October 10, 2024
People thought the home run against the Braves would be the moment everyone remembers. Instead, it will be the grand slam that would send the Mets to the NLCS.
The Future
Although the NLCS didn’t go away as the Mets wanted, it doesn’t take away from the season and the bright future ahead. The Mets have close to 200 million coming off the books, as well as young prospects knocking on the doorsteps. Plus their core is officially set. Lindor and Nimmo are locked up for the long term and Vientos seems like a budding superstar. With guys like Steve Cohen, David Streans, and Carlos Mendoza running things, it feels like the Mets are on the verge of something special.
Regardless of the future, nothing will take away from how magically the 2024 season was. From all the memes like Seymour Weinner, The Rally Pimp, Grimace, The “Hauk Tuah” Girl, and the Playoff Pumpkin. To the complete 180, this team did from May to June, it’s hard not to see this year as an absolute positive. But if this 2200-word retrospective doesn’t convince you, maybe Howie Rose will be enough to convince you.
As always, Howie Rose articulates what we're all feeling to a tee. What a ride for the 2024 Mets. pic.twitter.com/BODHwFBEz4
— jack (@Jolly_Olive) October 21, 2024
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