There are even slivers of optimism if you know where, and how, to look. So go ahead and ask me about Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, our pair of recent M.V.P. vote-getters, and how they’re still very much in their prime. Or do get me started on our three electric rookies — Nolan McLean, a pitcher who bends the ball like no one I’ve ever seen, and the speedy outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing — or ask me why I’m apparently the only Mets fan left who thinks Carlos Mendoza is a really good manager (I do!).
Now here comes the tricky part: Being a Mets fan isn’t just about enduring losses that unfold in spectacularly creative ways — such as, just recently, allowing the rare inside-the-park grand slam. It’s also, very occasionally, once in a very long while, about watching the team succeed in spectacularly creative ways, too.
Look at the 1969 Miracle Mets. Or the 1973 last-to-first Mets. Or the 1986 Buckner ground ball Mets. Or the 2024 Mets — just two years ago! — whose season was essentially over on June 1, before the team suddenly transformed into baseball’s best squad, made the playoffs and had a postseason run for the ages.
I know it looks bad for the Mets right now, but even as I write this, we’re only a (sizable) handful of games out of a playoff spot — and it’s still just Memorial Day weekend! In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re going to make the playoffs and, after that, who knows? Yes, the Dodgers look tough, but I’ve seen the Mets pull off crazier upsets — and, if you’re as old as me, so have you.
What if this turns into another one of those miracle seasons when the left-for-dead Mets make a spirited and delirious late-season charge? Maybe, just maybe, the terrible start to this year is simply the perfect opening chapter to yet another improbable Mets triumph, one that will end with our first World Series title since 1986. Mets fans don’t need your sympathy! We’re always just a few days, a few games, a few lucky bounces away from turning this whole season around.
