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The Mets are a good team

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On opening day, I checked in with my neighbor across the street to see how he was feeling about the upcoming baseball season. T is the biggest Cubs fan I’ve ever met, and he’s not even from Chicago. Big Cubs logo flag flying over his garage. Rarely seen outdoors without a Cubs hat on. He has a vanity license plate broadcasting his fandom to the state of New Mexico, too.

“The Mets are a good team,” T said, acknowledging the orange interlocking N.Y. on my own cap. His voice sounded sincere.

I was a baseball fan as a kid, and just got more casual about it after moving from New York as a teen, discovering new interests, following other sports. I got back into baseball hard this year, though, listening to almost every Mets broadcast each week through the spring, summer, and now October. It’s true: the recent rule changes in the MLB have made the game better, overall.

I’ve had a tumultuous few years. In one year of the global pandemic I lost six family members. Including my own dad. Then my daughter was born. A few months later, I started a new job. And several months into that, I moved to another city, state, and time zone. No new changes, please has been my mantra for the last year.

Following baseball–specifically the New York Mets–gave me a reprieve from the pressures as a worker and a parent, for a couple hours every night. I was not actively avoiding or running from those responsibilities. Just enjoying the sounds of the bat, the crowd, and Howie Rose’s play-by-play and random trivia.

My highlights of the season were Luis Torrens’ game-winning double play in the London series; sweeping all four games against the Yankees; and of course the first game of the last double-header against the Braves in Atlanta. There were some low, low points this season, chief among them Jorge López getting ejected from the May 29th game and getting tossed by the Mets the next day.

In my narrative of the season, it was Francisco Lindor’s called players-only meeting that catalyzed the turnaround in June, and made this postseason appearance possible. Lindor will be my MVP for this year, and its a shame he wasn’t selected to play in the All-Star Game. The Mets were fun to watch in the regular season, and were fun in the postseason too. I didn’t want them to have to face the L.A. Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, but the Mets put up a fight, making that series last 6 games. Well, it’s only 157 days until Opening Day 2025. Ya Gotta Believe!

Tipping my Mets cap to everyone who enhanced my enjoyment of this year’s unforgettable baseball season:

  • Rookie manager Carlos Mendoza. There were plenty of moments I questioned what he was doing, but often he was doing the right thing. This guy is playing chess.
  • The entire roster of guys, but especially Franciscos Alvarez and Lindor, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, José “Candelita” Iglesias, Sean Manaea, Edwin Díaz, and Mark Vientos. Lots of positive energy on this year’s team.
  • Allison, Maggie, and Linda from A Pod of Their Own.
  • Samantha and Ashley (in Syracuse!) from Why Am I a Mets Fan?
  • Jane, Lauren, and Stephen from the Batting Around podcast (to keep up with the rest of MLB).
  • Seymour Weiner, who kinda kicked off this season of vibes.
  • 💜 Grimace!
  • Devin Gordon, whose book I finally read.
  • Howie Rose and Keith Raad on 880 AM.
  • Gary, Keith, and Ron on SNY.