By Eddie Castro
In the beginning of the 2024 season for the Mets, it felt like it would be a long season as the team came out the gates with a 0-5 (wins-to-losses) and 24-34 as they approached the Summer. The month of May featured the team lose games in heart-breaking fashion due to sloppy defense and a cold offense. During that span, the Mets had the third worse record in the National League.
There were even moments that saw the team get showered with boos during home games. The Campaign truly felt like it would be yet another disappointing one. It got so bad that a friend of mine who’s a lifetime Met fan told me he would turn the game off halfway through and be stuck watching Lifetime movies with his wife. It sure felt like him and many other Met fans were going through it during the Spring. There were two big turnarounds that uplifted the Mets as the month of June approached.
The arrival of a particular purple mascot from McDonalds that we all know as Grimace who threw out the ceremonial first pitch during a home game and a tweak of the lineup by Manager Carlos Mendoza appeared to have woken up the team. He (Mendoza) would insert his superstar second baseman Francisco Lindor into the leadoff spot.
The veteran shortstop Jose Iglesias made his presence known both on and off the field with a batting average of .337. Not to mention he dropped the hit single “OMG” which became an internet sensation as well as a breath of fresh air in the teams’ clubhouse.
We also cannot forget the rookie campaign of third baseman Mark Vientos. After getting the callup from AAA, Vientos proved he belonged in the Majors batting .266 with 27 home runs and 71 RBIs. His impressive season would continue in the postseason adding five more homers and 14 RBIs during the teams’ magical playoff run.
On the pitching side of things, the Mets suffered a roadblock when their ace pitcher Kodai Senga. Senga was sidelined due to a shoulder strain to his pitching elbow. He returned in late July only to go down again with a high-grade calf strain.
Luckily, the pitching staff was able to pick up the loss of Senga with contributions from Sean Manaea and Luis Severino. After an 8-year stint with the Oakland Athletics, Manaea would play for two other teams before having arguably his best season as a pro with New York this season. His teammate Severino had the same journey-like story as spent 8 seasons with the crosstown rival Yankees before signing a deal with the Mets this past off-season.
Although Severino may not be the elite talent he used to be, his playoff experience loomed large for the Mets as he was able to help them reach the NLCS (National League Championship Series).
The big question for the Mets is how do they improve for next year after what many call an underachieving yet, impressive season? With the richest owner in the MLB, Steve Cohen, I think it is almost a foregone conclusion to say the Mets will be very active in the free agent market especially when it comes to a player by the name of Juan Soto. Cohen has gone on record in
saying he is willing to do “Whatever it takes” to put a championship team on the field. If the Mets can somehow lure a top tier player to Queens, it will for sure place the team as a serious Championship contender in the National League and a scary team to watch in all of baseball.
(Sports Notes:) Although it was this past Monday, on behalf of myself and everyone here at
Our Time Press, we would like to wish all the Veterans a Happy Veterans Day! We thank you for you sacrifice and service. (NBA Basketball) The battle of New York continues as the Knicks visit the Barclays Center to battle Cam Thomas and the Brooklyn Nets in the first of four meeting this year.