Mets reflect on improbable journey to NL wild-card berth: 'I've never seen a more resilient group'

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Sep 30, 2024

Published in Baseball

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ATLANTA — Few expected the Mets to be in this position last summer when they traded away Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and every other player they weren’t committed to past 2023. The Mets were left for dead when they fell to 11 games under .500 in late May, and left without an ace all season.

The odds weren’t great this season, and yet the Mets defied them all to clinch a wild-card playoff spot Monday at Truist Park in Atlanta, a place where the Mets have historically played some of their worst baseball, against a tough Braves team that knows how to win when it matters.

“Nobody outside of this clubhouse thought back in April that we were going to make the playoffs, that we had any shot,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “We were able to go out and go through some really, really tough times and find ourselves on the other side, pull ourselves up and really rally together, have each other’s backs. And it culminated in this ...

“The job is not done, but we’re sure going to enjoy this.”

The odds aren’t usually stacked against a team with the richest owner in North American sports and a payroll upwards of $300 million, but these are the Mets we’re talking about here. Sometimes the adversity is self-inflicted.

It was self-inflicted on May 29, when the Mets dropped to 22-33 on the season after being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was the night reliever Jorge Lopez tossed his glove into the Citi Field stands after being ejected, and a debacle about his actions and how he handled himself ensued.

But that night proved to be pivotal. The Mets held a players-only meeting to put a stop to the skid. They opened up the floor to anyone who wanted to talk without judgment and discussed what was working, what wasn’t and ideas they had to fix the issues.

“The biggest thing that we point to is that meeting,” Nimmo said. “When we had that meeting and addressed the elephant in the room, we were able to hold each other accountable and start to play like we were 12 years old again, going out and having fun.”

The Mets took the pressure off of themselves and kept it off. They didn’t just talk about improving, they took steps to do so and the results soon came.

“There were so many, so many games and things that happened off the field, but they kept going,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The way they held each other accountable, and their willingness to get better day in and day out — it wasn’t enough what we were doing [at the start of the season]. And you’ve got to give them credit because they went out and did it.”

Then came the London Series in June and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The team needed the change of scenery and all that came along with the two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

With their goal of bringing fun back to their game, the London Series games provided a prime opportunity to embrace a unique atmosphere and enjoy it with their families as well.

“London was a huge turning point,” Pete Alonso said. “It’s just been so unreal since that trip.”

Even as the Mets started winning, there was adversity. They lost two of their best relievers to elbow surgery. Closer Edwin Diaz, who had finally returned after missing 2023 with a knee injury, was ineffective, then injured, then suspended for sticky stuff during a prime-time ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game.

Ace Kodai Senga made his long-awaited return from the injured list, only to go down with a season-ending calf strain less than six innings into his first outing. Jeff McNeil finally started hitting like he did in 2022, only for a pitch to break his wrist in September.

And yet, the Mets still rallied.

They rallied around Jose Iglesias and “OMG,” and they rallied around each other. Even the fans rallied around the oddball characters that kept appearing as the Mets kept winning.

The many mascots that defined a season — the Rally Pimp, Glizzy Iggy and, of course, Grimace — were nowhere to be found Monday with the Mets deep in enemy territory. The first game of an unlikely doubleheader, the Mets looked cooked. First, they couldn’t hit Spencer Schwellenbach. They managed to hit the bullpen and took a lead in the top of the eighth, only to see the Braves overtake them again.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” owner Steve Cohen said. “A total roller coaster. I mean, I was in tears in the eighth inning when we went ahead.”

Once again, the Mets rallied. Francisco Lindor and his injured back managed to lift a ball over the fence with Iglesias — the infielder who started the season in Triple-A — already on base. Like they had all season, the Mets picked themselves up and dusted themselves off when they needed to.

“They never quit,” Cohen said. “I’ve never seen a more resilient group. They believed in themselves when a lot of people didn’t. They kept going and proved it. You’ve just got to admire that.”