Coming into their 62nd MLB season this year, the New York Mets had little to no expectations. They had not made it past the wild card round in nine years and were expected to have another underwhelming, mediocre season like Mets fans were used to seeing over the past two decades. Mets fans are known for their unwavering loyalty, sticking by their team’s side throughout hard times, making occasional successes for the Mets a huge deal. One Mets fan is beloved DHS English teacher of six years, Ms. Nesi. “My whole family, we’ve always been Mets fans. We’ve had season tickets to the Mets for twenty years,” Nesi explained. Testimonies like this capture the devotion Mets fans have even when they do not necessarily have much to root for.
During the 2023 season, the Mets had finished the season at a very mediocre 75-87 record, missing the playoffs by nearly a dozen games. To make things worse, after another disappointing season, the Mets fired infamous four-time MLB manager of the year Buck Showalter and replaced him with former Yankees Bench coach Carlos Mendoza. The Mets had clinged onto their two superstars in first baseman Pete Alonso, nicknamed the “Polar Bear,” and shortstop Franciso Lindor to carry the team as they had for the past several years. Despite being one of the best hitting duos in the league, Alonso and Lindor had no one around them to help their cause. This was especially true with their bullpen, as the Mets lost to two time Cy Young Award winning pitcher, Jacob DeGrom, to free agency in 2022. Even worse, the Mets traded legendary all-time pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who combined for six Cy Young Awards, to separate teams in return for young prospects and tens of millions of dollars. The Mets’ pitching game had fans nationwide concerned about what this year would look like. “Coming into this past season, I was not super confident in how we were gonna do,” Nesi admitted.
Entering September, the Mets were 70-64. They were already doing better than most would expect. The Polar Bear and Lindor were playing great as usual, and the Mets saw great contributions in the hitting game from designated hitter J.D. Martinez, second baseman Jeff McNeil, left fielder Brandon Nimmo, and third baseman Mari Vientos. The bullpen remained streaky though with pitchers Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, and Jose Quintana sharing drastic peaks and valleys all throughout the season. The Mets would stand no chance at winning their division, with the Philadelphia Phillies being the second team in the MLB while sharing the NL East division with the Mets. This meant that the Mets would likely have to claw for the last playoff spot, which they would. On the last day of the regular season, the Mets were faced with a very clear ultimatum: Win one of the two games in a doubleheader against their longtime rivals Atlanta Braves, and they make the playoffs. If they lose both games though, their season is over, and Mets fans do not see their team make the playoffs once again.
In the first game of the doubleheader, known as the “Game of the Year,” the Braves lead 3-0 after 7 innings, but the Mets scored six runs during the top of the 8th, claiming a 6-3 lead finished off by a home run from Brandon Nimmo. However, the Braves scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th after a devastating double from Ozzie Albies, to claim a 7-6 lead. When it seemed like all was lost, in the top of the 9th, Francisco Lindor had the play of his career. He slammed a clutch 2-run homer to put the Mets in front 8-7, which was the final score. The New York Mets, against all odds, were going back to the MLB Playoffs. “This was so exciting… I remember, like, yelling out a scream and texting my family and we were so excited,” Nesi reminisced. Finishing the season with a record of 89-73, the Mets would have the sixth and final playoff spot in the National League, leaving a very difficult road ahead.
The Mets would kick off their postseason campaign in a best of three National League Wild Card Series (NLWCS), as the sixth seed facing off against the favored third seed, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets would take Game 1 with a score of 8-4, maintaining control throughout the game and scoring five runs in the fifth inning. The Brewers bounced back in Game 2, scoring three runs which included two home runs in the eighth inning for the Mets to fall 5-3. The events of Game 3 though, would go down in Mets history forever. Playing in Milwaukee, the Mets were down 2-0 in the ninth inning, just a few outs away from being sent home. It seemed as if all was lost, and the Brewers’ stadium was going wild. Lindor and Nimmo managed to get on base, hoping to get a miracle from the Polar Bear, who was making his way up to the batter’s box. History happened, a three run homer to single handedly save the Mets’ season.
After seven seasons of ups and downs with the Mets, Pete Alonso submitted himself into MLB history and New York Mets lore forever with the biggest play the franchise had seen since their last championship in 1986. “That was actually so wild and so exciting…I remember hearing my father screaming out the biggest scream of joy I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Nesi excitedly said. The Polar Bear became the first player in MLB history to hit a go-ahead home run while the team was trailing in the ninth inning or later in a winner-take-all playoff game. Another RBI came soon after from right fielder Starling Marte, and Mets would win the game 4-2, advancing to the divisional round against all odds to face a familiar foe.
The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies were fierce division rivals in the National League East and faced each other thirteen times in the regular season, with the Phillies beating the Mets by a slim margin in the regular season of seven games to six. Everyone knew that this would be a must-watch series for the National League Divisional Series (NLDS) which would be a best out of five games series. The Philadelphia Phillies were the second seeded team, the Mets sixth, and the Phillies had the second most wins in the entire MLB season. The first two games would be played in Philadelphia, with a shocking game one upset, as the Mets would score five runs in the eighth inning to win 6-2. Once again, the Mets were as clutch as could be, making something special happen when it mattered the most. With a walk-off RBI by Nick Castellanos of the Phillies, the Mets would heartbreakingly lose Game 2 7-6. With Games 3 and 4 now being played back in New York, and not wanting something like Game 2 to happen again, the Mets dominated all throughout Game 3, with a controlling 7-2 win.
The Mets would be tested in Game 4. It was a pitching duel, with the bullpens of both teams playing amazing without any weaknesses. The Mets found themselves down 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the bases were loaded after a few consecutive hits, and Francisco Lindor made his way up to home plate. With the Phillies’ bullpen playing flawlessly, and a Game 5 being played back in Philadelphia, it was now or never for the Mets to send themselves to the National League Championship Series (NLCS). The theme of making it happen when it mattered the most, and the “Next Man Up” mentality the Mets have had all season would find itself at a decision point once again. Lindor delivered as perfectly as one could imagine, a grand slam to give the Mets a 4-1 lead. The Mets bullpen sealed the deal, the Phillies could do nothing but strike out as the Mets would win the series 3-1. Now onto the NLCS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, popularly dubbed the best team in baseball, only one remained to MLB fans worldwide: How long could the Mets’ miracle postseason run last?
The Los Angeles Dodgers were projected to win the World Series before the 2024 MLB season began, and maintained that presence all through the regular season and the playoffs. One would assume that the Mets would have to fall off at some point, and that it would have to be against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best of seven series to determine who would win the National League Pennant and go to the World Series. However, who could truly underestimate the Mets as they already proved everyone wrong three times? They made the playoffs, defeated the Brewers, and knocked off the Phillies against all odds, so who would one be to say that the Mets could not pull off another upset? Nonetheless, this upset would be more difficult than the other three combined. Games 1 and 2 would be played in LA. In Game 1, the Mets’ exhausted bullpen got absolutely dismantled with barely anyone on the Mets able to get a hit, losing 9-0. Game 2 was completely different, however, as the Mets came out hot to a 6-0 lead after a grand slam by Mark Vientos, which the Mets would hold on to, winning 7-3. With the series tied at one, and the next three games being played back in New York, it seemed like the Mets really had a shot at going to the World Series. They would just have to take care of things back at home.
Things did not work out as planned, as the Mets got torn apart 8-0 in Game 3 and once again 10-2 in Game 4. The Dodgers’ front four hitters, Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Herandez, Freedie Freeman, and Mookie Betts were way too powerful and too much for the Mets’ deprived bullpen to handle. Dodgers pitchers Gavin Stone and Tyler Glasnow were at the top of their game, easily striking out the best hitters on the Mets.
Not wanting to have their season ended at home, the Mets pulled out a controlling 12-6 win while facing elimination to send the series back to Los Angeles. Game 5 represented this series. The Mets fought hard, and did everything in their power to put up a good fight to the Dodgers, but could not keep on the offensive or defensive end, and with nothing left to give, lost 10-5. The Dodgers won the series in six games, and would go on to beat the Yankees in five games to win their eighth World Series. Nesi summed up the experience of Mets fans during this series, “We were just happy to be there…and I remember watching the last game against the Dodgers…and I already know how this is gonna go.”
Despite coming up just short in the end, the Mets had an incredible season. They shocked the baseball world three times, captured everyone’s hearts, and earned the respect of baseball fans of all teams. The Mets have shown the world what they are capable of, and appear to have an incredibly promising future. Lindor and the Polar show no signs of slowing down, and players around them such as Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez are rapidly developing. Most of all, the Mets have a determination and mentality to make it happen that is unmatched in all of baseball. So let’s all be thankful for all of the amazing memories this October has brought, and look ahead to the bright future the Mets have in store.
