By Tomas McDermott & Max Pollio
The Offseason Recap
The 2023 MLB season ended on a sour note for Mets faithful, after signing future hall of famer Justin Verlander, Japanese phenom Kodai Senga, and extending franchise cornerstones like Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz, the team had much to be excited for entering 2023. However, a season ending injury to closer Edwin Diaz, as well as inconsistencies amongst the teams' stars, such as Max Scherzer, and the aformentioned Verlander, forced the team to sell at the deadline, resulting in the team limping their way into the offseason.
Following the disappointment that was the 2023 season for the Mets, billionaire owner Steve Cohen decided to spend his money more conservatively in the offseason. New team president of baseball operations David Stearns made a few splashes in a busy market of free agents to improve the team. Signings included pitchers Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, as well as designated hitter JD Martinez, and new manager Carlos Mendoza.
With a solid offseason in the books and a promising team that had potential to be playoff bound, Mets faithful once again had a sense of hope in their ball club
The Regular Season Recap
The Mets began their season in immediate distress, as they started out 0-5 and fans already turning on stars like Francisco Lindor, and Pete Alonso. In the 8th inning, playing the Detroit Tigers at Citi Field on April 4th, Mets announcer Gary Cohen gave a now infamous quote. “Nobody in the ballpark. 0-5. Hitless through 7. It feels like rock bottom.” Pete Alonso, a free agent in the offseason, then hit a home run to win that game 2-1. The Mets then went streaking, soon improving their record to 12-8. The Mets ended April with a record of 15-14, a solid showing to start the season.
What proceeded in May was a complete, utter collapse. A record of 9-19 in the month, one of the worst months in franchise history, which included multiple terrible collapses by the bullpen late into games. The elephant in the room finally took center stage, as superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor’s slumping took the majority of the blame. For 34 million dollars per year, he batted .197 in March and April. His slumping continued for the first half of May as well, which prompted Mendoza to implement new lineup changes, which moved Lindor to the leadoff spot, which played a crucial role as the season went on. What then proceeded in Queens was complete embarrassment. Jorge Lopez, a free agent acquisition for the Mets, blew a lead to the Dodgers on May 29th. He then had a mental breakdown, screaming at the 3rd base umpire and throwing his glove into the crowd. The Mets’ record after that day was 22-33, 11 games under .500, and 4th in the NL East. Yet again, the Mets reached rock bottom.
Lindor called a team meeting hours after the incident with Lopez, intending to bring the team together, and address their issues with a turnaround in mind with plenty of baseball left to be played in the season. The Mets played well following the meeting, including a sweep of the Nationals and split a 2 game series with the Phillies in London. But on June 12th, something special happened. Grimace, the McDonald's mascot, threw out a first pitch at Citi Field, and the purple blob became a rallying point for the Mets, as they won their next 7 games. The Mets continued to surge in June, with Lindor emerging once again, as he hit .290 with an .871 OPS in the month, returning to form. Mark Vientos, a third baseman prospect, got called up in May after not making the team in spring training, and he showed up, hitting 7 home runs and an .888 OPS. But the true hero for the Mets was 35 year old second baseman Jose Iglesias. The Latin veteran was called up in May, and he released a song called OMG on June 28th, which the Mets played after every win for the rest of the season. He even performed a live concert following a Mets win over the Astros, as the Mets returned to an above .500 record, at 40-39.
The Grimace, OMG Mets continued to streak in July and August. With Iglesias batting .400 at one point in the season, Lindor returning to MVP caliber form, and Vientos continuing to slug his way to a 27 home run season, despite missing the first quarter of the season. The Mets even won the Subway Series against the Yankees, with a combined record of 4-0. The pitching staff rebounded after a mediocre first half of the season, with starters Manaea, Severino, and even David Peterson, who had a 1.86 ERA through 38.2 innings in August.
As the MLB season neared its end for 2024, the Mets had some work to do down the stretch. To finish August, Lindor went out for a week with a lower back injury. Despite this, the Mets went on a 9 game winning streak entering September. On September 1st, the Mets were 1 game back of the 3rd wildcard spot, which guaranteed playoffs baseball for Queens. At the season’s finale the Mets were set to play a 3 game series in Atlanta against the Braves, winning 2 out of 3 of those games guaranteed playoff baseball. However, due to Hurricane Helene, the games got postponed to a doubleheader on the last day of the regular season. Winning just 1 game would clinch the postseason for the first time since 2022, and the magical story in Flushing could continue. Down by 1 run in the top of the 9th in game 1, Lindor came to the plate, and hit a 2 run homer to give the Mets the lead, which was a magical moment unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before in the sport. Edwin Diaz closed out the game in the 9th, and all of a sudden, after starting the season 0-5, and then 22-33, with all the controversies and memes coming out of the season, the Mets were heading to Milwaukee to play in the Wild Card series.
Mets Wild Card Game 1
The day after the Mets clinched the postseason in Atlanta, they turned right back around to play the Milwaukee Brewers in a best of 3 Wild Card series. Severino was on the bump for the Mets, and he got into trouble early, giving up 2 runs in the first to a William Contreras single and a Rhys Hoskins hit by pitch. The Mets responded with haste as trade deadline acquisition Jesse Winker tripled in 2 runs to tie it. This back-and-forth affair continued as the Brewers took a 4-3 lead into the 5th inning, and Severino’s day start came to an end. But the Mets wouldn’t back down, as some small ball singles from Iglesias, Vientos, and Martinez drove in a 5 run 5th inning, to take the lead, and keep it, at a final score of Mets 8, Brewers 4.
Mets Wild Card Game 2
Ol’ reliable Sean Manaea was pitching for game 2. A win here, and the Mets were on to the NLDS to face the NL East division winners, the Phillies. The Mets came out guns blazing, as they scored 3 runs in the first 2 innings, but the Brew Crew countered with a Jackson Chourio solo shot in the 2nd to make the Mets’ lead 3-1. The game remained stale besides a Blake Perkins sacrifice fly in the 5th to cut the Mets lead to just 1 run. However, the crucial flaw was that the Mets’ bullpen crumbled in the 8th. As high leverage reliever Phil Maton allowed 2 home runs to Chourio and Garrett Mitchell, to blow the lead, as the Mets lost, 5-3.
Mets Wild Card Game 3
It was make or break for the Metropolitans. Win, and the season stays alive. Lose, and a magical Mets season would end on a sour note. Jose Quintana was on the mound for game 3, and he was dominant, allowing just 4 hits while striking out 5 through 6 innings. However, Brewers starter Tobias Myers was even better, allowing a mere 2 hits in his 5 spectacular innings. It would come down to which bullpen would crack first, and based off last night, odds weren’t in the Mets’ favor. Jose Butto, a breakout reliever with a great season for the Mets in 2024, gave up back-to-back home runs to Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick to presumably put the Mets in their grave, as the Brewers led 2-0. The top of the order came up for the Mets in the 9th, 3 outs away from elimination. Lindor had an amazing at bat to reach base with a walk, Vientos then struck out, and Nimmo advanced Lindor to third with a single of his own, to make it runners at the corners with one out, and the go head run came to the plate.
Devin Williams was pitching for the Brewers, one of the best closers in the game, his stuff could make anyone look silly at the plate, and up to the bat was Pete Alonso. Alonso had a tough season, through putting immense pressure on himself to perform, as he was costing himself millions of dollars in free agency due to his underperformance in 2024. Just 1 year ago he was one of the most prolific power hitters in baseball, but nowadays, he hadn’t hit a homer in nearly 3 weeks and has been slumping since September began. The first pitch of the at bat was a breaking ball right down the middle. That was a pitch we had seen Alonso pummel in previous years, but now, that seemed like an afterthought in Alonso’s biggest slump of his career. Pete was patient, taking 3 pitches outside of the zone to make it a 3-1 count, drawing a walk could extend the inning, and the bases would be loaded.
Mendoza said in an interview the day prior that Pete was one swing away from breaking out, and that he had full confidence in his slugger. The next pitch was a changeup out in the zone, and Alonso swung. Letting out a battle cry the moment the ball came off the bat, the ball carried all the way over the fence in right field. Pete Alonso had gone deep!!!!!!! Peterson hung on to the lead in the 9th, and in the most magical turn of events, the Mets went from the brink of elimination, to taking one more step forward to basking in World Series glory.
Mets NLDS Game 1
The stage was set for a NL East showdown in the divisional series, as the Mets took on the Phillies. Kodai Senga took the mound for the Mets, a name that’s made appearances few and far between in 2024. After getting injured before Spring Training, Senga didn’t pitch until July, where he injured his calf in his very first start back, so this would be his first start since July. A possible hangover from Pete Alonso’s heroics 2 days prior were affecting the team, as slugger Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff solo dinger against Senga. The game remained stagnant, with neither pitching staff allowing a run until the 8th inning, where the Mets broke loose in Philly. Singles from Nimmo, Vientos, and Martinez, as well as sac flys from Alonso and Marte gave the Mets a 5-1 lead!!!! The bullpen was shaky in the 9th, but they got the job done and hung on to a 6-2 opening win.
Mets NLDS Game 2
Severino was on the mound for a crucial game 2. If the Mets could secure a win, then all they needed to do was win 1 of the next 3 potential games to clinch an NLCS spot. Sevy shut down the Phils early on, not allowing a run until the 6th. Dingers from Alonso and Vientos gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. The Phils responded with runs of their own, as Nick Castellanos and 2-time MVP Bryce Harper both hit home runs in the 6th to tie it at 3-3. The Mets then wasted no time, as Nimmo hit a solo shot to retake the lead at 4-3 in the 7th. But the Phillies wasted no time answering back with yet another punch, as a series of hits capped off with a Bryson Stott tripled regained the leads for the Phillies in the 8th, with a score of 6-4. In the top of the 9th, with the Mets down to their last 2 outs, Lindor found himself on base with a single, and Mark Vientos stepped up to the plate. To this point, Swaggy V, as some fans call him, had been having an incredible postseason, but with his next swing, he made it even better. Vientos scorched a 3-2 fastball up in the zone, that just got over the left field wall for a 2 run homer!!! Sadly, Mets fans coudnt rejoice for long, as Tylor Megill gave up a walk-off hit to Castellanos in the bottom of the 9th, to send the series back to Queens tied 1-1.
Mets NLDS Game 3
At last, the Mets would return home to Flushing, as they had yet to play a home game in over 2 weeks up to this point. Once again, emerging ace Sean Manaea would start a crucial game 3. This game was as easy as a playoff game could be, as Alonso and Winker tacked on early with solo dingers to make it a 2-0 ballgame in the 4th. Manaea was superb, allowing just 1 run in 7 brilliant innings, which included 6 strikeouts. The Mets coasted the rest of the way to a 7-2 victory.
Mets NLDS Game 4
In the potential final game of the NLDS series, the Mets needed just one more win to be within 4 games of the World Series. Jose Quintana had the start for the Mets, and he pitched great, despite getting into some trouble in the 4th. A walk by Harper and a double by Castellanos put a runner on 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. Vientos then misplayed an infield hit by Alec Bohm, which allowed Harper to score from third, and so the Phillies took a 1-0 lead. In the 6th, the Mets had some life on offense. Martinez singled to centerfield, followed by a Starling Marte hit by pitch, and a walk drawn by Tyrone Taylor. Alvarez then grounded out, which brought up Lindor. Carlos Estevez, a pitcher capable of throwing 100 mph, took the mound for Philly. Lindor saw 3 straight fastballs, 2 of them at 100 mph. On the 4th pitch he saw, Lindor pounced on it, hitting another fastball from Estevez 398 feet into let center field for a grand slam! Lindor had outdone himself from his homer in Atlanta just 2 weeks ago, and the MVP chants were on in Citi Field, as the crowd was going absolutely bonkers. The bullpen shut it down late in the game, highlighted by Edwin Diaz striking out Kyle Schwarber, to put an end to the Phillies season. Final score: Mets 4, Phillies 1, and the Mets were going the NLCS for the first time since 2015.
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