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The New York Mets, who began the 2024 season 0-5 and were 11 games under .500 in May, advanced to the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies, taking out their NL East rivals in four games.
The Mets’ run to the NLCS has been improbable not only because of where the team began the season but also because of the various gimmicks that have seemingly propelled them along the way. In the Spring, the club hosted World War II veteran Seymour Weiner as their “Veteran of the Game,” which then to a $1 hot dog game in honor of Weiner.
Seymour Wiener is the Mets Veteran of the Game. Baseball is so back pic.twitter.com/jNGoCRvuYi
— Dylan Hornik (@_Hornik_) March 29, 2024
Then there was “OMG,” the Latin pop single by their veteran utility infielder Jose Iglesias, who was contemplating retirement in the offseason — Iglesias is also a musical artist under the name Candelita — and began the year in the minor leagues. The song has since become the anthem of the season, with a Pitbull-featuring remix set to release tomorrow.
Most of all, though, there’s been Grimace, who has become a ubiquitous presence at Citi Field since throwing out the first pitch at a June 12 game. Literally, as a purple seat in his (its?) honor has been installed in the outfield. After Grimace threw out the first pitch, the Mets went on a 7-0 run, and since then, have been the best team in the sport. The Mets have been so good since being Grimace’d, in fact, that the underlying stats behind their run are genuinely mindblowing.
Since Grimace threw out the first pitch on June 12, the Mets have posted a 66-38 record, the best in the sport. They’re also 8-1 at home since the Grimace seat was installed at Citi Field, 4-0 with Grimace in attendance, and 2-0 since Grimace got his own train on the NYC Subway.
The New York Mets are:
66-38 since Grimace threw out the first pitch
8-1 at home since the Grimace seat was installed at Citi Field
4-0 with Grimace in attendance
2-0 since Grimace got his own train on the NYC Subway pic.twitter.com/1rjsaSx1YP— Brian Swane (@BrianSwane) October 10, 2024
With the win over the Phillies in the NLDS, the Mets will either take on the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres in the NLCS, which begins on Sunday, October 13.