As a lifelong Mets fan, I have been accustomed to a series of misadventures: on-field failures, disappointing seasons, poor front-office decisions, media fire storms, misrun ownership…you know…The Mets. It’s safe to say that the organization has not surrounded itself with much positivity for a long time. Aside from 2015, there are very few times I have experienced unadulterated joy while watching my favorite team. There have been very few stretches of good fortune and voodoo magic that have blessed a Mets team. There have been very few instances that made me go OMG. That is until the 2024 New York Metropolitans entered the scene.
Coming into the season, the Mets did not have high expectations. The year prior, they traded away two future-hall-of-fame pitchers and fired a future hall-of-fame manager, essentially punting on their immediate future. After a disastrous 2023 campaign, the Mets were in need of a new organizational direction.
When Steve Cohen bought the Mets in 2020, his vision for the organization was to be the “Dodgers of the East Coast.” This meant building sustainable success through drafting, development, intelligent front-office decisions, and deep pockets to sign superstar-caliber players. To accomplish this, he needed the right guy at the helm. In steps David Stearns. Stearns, previously the President of Baseball Operations with the Milwaukee Brewers, had a proven track record of building a competitive baseball team year after year. His architect-like savviness combined with Steve Cohen’s checkbook appeared to be a match made in heaven from the start.
They hired Carlos Mendoza, the long-time Yankees bench coach, as their new manager. Mendoza was highly regarded around the league already, but no one ever truly knows what they’re getting in a first-year manager. I think it’s safe to say that decision worked out quite well. After trading away Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander last season, filling in the rotation was a must. They signed two veteran starting pitchers on short-term, low-risk contracts in Sean Manea and Luis Severino. They then signed Harrison Bader on a one-year deal and traded for Tyrone Taylor to bolster their outfield defense. In what was a very underrated move at the time, the Mets signed Jose Iglesias to a one-year minor league contract. Lastly, right before opening day, 36-year-old J.D. Martinez was signed to a one-year deal as well. With spring training completed, chalk lines being painted, and tickets being sold, the 2024 season was underway.
The Mets opened their campaign at home, only to be rudely greeted and swept by the visiting Brewers. A couple of games later during a daytime doubleheader, Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen uttered a simple sentence that every Mets fan was feeling: “0-5, nobody in the ballpark, scoreless through seven-–it feels like rock bottom.” Well, the bottom continued to drop. The team bounced back with a decent April, only to be followed by an ABYSMAL May. Their superstar shortstop, Francisco Lindor, had yet to find himself at the plate. Starting pitching was inconsistent, the bullpen was unreliable, and the team was finding new and innovative ways to lose each and every night. On May 29th, the ballclub fell to 11 games under .500 at 22-33. On this Wednesday night, after being swept by the Dodgers at home, followed by the infamous “Jose Lopez glove incident,” Francisco Lindor called a players-only meeting. The captain challenged himself and the rest of his team to look themselves in the mirror. If the 2024 Mets had any shot of being a winning ballclub, every player needed to fully buy-in and start acting like it. This closed-door meeting turned out to be a pivotal turning point that flipped the script on the season’s story.
Shortly after this meeting took place, Carlos Mendoza decided hit Lindor leadoff, which kickstarted his MVP candidacy. Mark Vientos was presented with a full-time playing role and never looked back. Starting pitching began producing quality start after quality start. The bullpen, although fragile at times, did what it needed to do to close out games. Jose Iglesias released a #1 hit single that ignited the organization and fanbase with its energy. Not to mention that he was playing very good baseball in the midst of the hoopla. Oh yeah, and then there was Grimace.
In a matter of weeks, the 2024 New York Mets shifted from a laughing stock to the hottest, most fun team to watch in baseball. They had quite the ground to make up if they wanted to sniff the playoffs but were never deterred. In fact, from mid-June until the end of the season, the Mets possessed the best record in baseball. Go figure. David Stearns and the front office made subtle yet key moves at the trade deadline to bolster the club. Acquiring Jesse Winker, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Paul Blackburn, and a couple of others turned out to be exactly what the roster needed. Only a few games later, Winker, a former mets-fan foe, had his signature moment after hitting a walk-off home run against the Orioles in mid-August.
While it became a team effort to win each and every night, anyone with a set of eyes could see that the Mets were being carried by Francisco Lindor. Between stellar defense, elite baserunning, and clutch hitting, he made a game-changing play every single night. The bigger the moment became, the better he played. His steady demeanor and MVP-like play carried the Mets until Monday, September 30th in Atlanta.
Originally scheduled for the week prior, the Mets were faced with a high-stakes doubleheader in Atlanta the day before the wild card round was scheduled to begin. Both New York and Atlanta had an identical fortune: win one game and you are in. However, each team certainly preferred to win game one and rest its starters in the second. The Braves were in control for most of game one, leading 3-0 late. In the 8th inning, the Mets blitzed Atlanta with an offensive explosion, capped by a Brandon Nimmo three-run home run. The excitement faded away quickly, as the Braves struck back to reclaim the lead from Edwin Diaz. In the top of the 9th, down by one with a runner on first, up stepped Lindor. Throughout the last few months, when it mattered most, it always seemed like the weight rested on his shoulders. More often than not, the man delivered. A two-run blast put the Mets in front again. Diaz, stretched to the max in the bottom half, closed the door and cemented the 2024 New York Mets a spot in the playoffs.
The ride certainly didn’t stop there. The Mets headed to Milwaukee for a best-of-three wildcard round. The day after clinching a playoff berth and popping champagne in Atlanta, they came out hot and stomped the Brewers in game one. Milwaukee responded with a late-inning comeback in game two to send it to a winner-take-all game three. Scoreless for the first half of the deciding game, the Brewers struck first with back-to-back solo shots in the 7th inning. Their fans could sniff a series win. That all changed in the top of the 9th, with one out, two runners on, down by two. Up came Pete Alonso, in what could have been his final at-bat in a Mets uniform. Fans had criticized Pete all season for his lack of production in clutch situations. This was his chance to quiet all of that noise with one swing. And boy, the silence was deafening. Smacking it just over the outstretched arm of Sal Frelick in right field, big Pete jolted the Mets into the next round.
The divisional series matched New York up with the familiar foe Philadelphia Phillies. This was surprisingly the first ever playoff matchup between the two franchises. The number one seeded Phillies possessed home-field advantage in the best-of-five series. Game one turned out to be a classic late-inning rally by the never-say-die Mets. Game two almost brought de-ja-vue again, but the Phillies prevailed via a walk-off RBI from Nick Castellanos. The Mets took care of businesses in game three at Citi Field in a lopsided victory. Game four was a tightly contested contest until Francisco Lindor, putting the team on his back yet again, pummeled a middle-away fastball to right center field for a go-ahead grand slam. The Mets were moving on to the Championship series.
Beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game series was a tall order for any team, especially the Mets. On paper, the Dodgers had a clear advantage in terms of talent, depth, and championship experience. New York provided its best effort but ended up losing the series in six games. Each game was decided rather decisively one way or another, but the 2024 World Series Champions proved to be too much for the Mets to handle. The wild ride that was the New York Mets’ 2024 season had come to an end.
Even though this team fell short of immortality, they will be remembered in the hearts of Mets fans forever. Their grit, determination, joyous positivity, comradery, and never-say-die attitude was endeared by millions. What started as a very unpromising and disappointing season turned into one of the most memorable in franchise history.
As they now head into the offseason, several question marks surround them. Will they re-sign Pete Alonso? Will they win the Juan Soto sweepstakes? Corbin Burns? Sean Manea? The list can go on. While these unknowns remain for the time being, there is still plenty to be optimistic about. They have a great foundation, promising ballplayers in the system, a steady hand at the helm, and the richest owner in baseball. While it is always disappointing to be staring down a trip to the World Series and fall short, I would consider the season a massive success. There were plenty of ups, plenty of downs, and plenty of celebrations. For once in my lifetime, they weren’t the “same old Mets.” It wasn’t the smoothest of rides, but boy was it fun.
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