Mason Katz ‘26
EE Staff Writer
The New York Mets have been on fire ever since the second half of the season. They didn’t start out this way though, throughout the first 57 games they started the season 24-33 and fans believed they were at rock bottom.
Players were struggling to hit and get on base and the losses kept piling on. That was until the Mets called up Jose Iglesias on May 31st from AAA and everyone found out about his hit song; “OMG”. The struggling Mets began to heat up. Home Runs and wins kept coming and they introduced a new tradition. After every home run hit at home, Citi Field would blast the hit song ‘OMG” by Candelita and hold up a huge sign.
From May 30th to the current day, the Mets have the best record of that game span. 57 wins and 33 losses. After the all star break their season took an even bigger turn. With trade deadline acquisitions of Jesse Winker for Washington, Paul Blackburn from Oakland, Phil Maton from Tampa, Ryan Stanek from Seattle, and Huascar Brazoban from Miami. These players made an immediate impact on their pitching staff and their winning.
Mark Vientos. A young star in the rising has been key to the Mets winning this season. Vientos was called up on May 15th and immediately made an impact. Hitting a walk-off homerun against the Cardinals.
Brett Baty, the Mets top prospect, struggled throughout the beginning of the year and was sent down to AAA. Mark Vientos has taken over the hot corner and has been on fire. As of September 13th Vientos is batting .276 with 24 home runs, 62 RBI’s and an OPS of .872.
Another player to their key success is none other than Fransisco Lindor. Lindor has not only been an elite level player, he’s a top player in the whole league. Fighting for MVP vs Shohei Ohtani, he has definitely made his case. Lindor is batting .268 with 31 home runs, 85 RBI’s, and has an OPS of .831. Also not to mention his over thirty game hitting streak which is a key leader in the Mets eight game winning streak. Without his elite level performance the Mets would not be where they are currently.
To spin back to Jose Iglesias, Jose is a long time MLB vet with over fourteen years played. He played for six different organizations including the Red Sox, Tigers, Reds, Orioles, Angles, Rockies, and currently the Mets. The 34 year old is a one time all star and has a career batting average of .281. A solid career he has accomplished over his time served. Jose is batting .317 with 3 homeruns and an OPS of .812. With a season ending injury to 2nd baseman Jeff Mcneil, Iglesias looks to take over the everyday starting spot with the Mets playoff push.
As of September 16th the Mets are tied for the third wild card spot with a record of 81 wins and 68 losses. A tight finish for the three N.L Wild Card spots continues as the season concludes with the Mets, Braves, Diamondbacks, and Padres all fighting for the three spots.
Currently, the Braves are tied with the Mets, while both are three and a half back of the Padres, and two games back of the Diamondbacks.
The conclusion of the last month of regular season baseball should be quite fun and interesting. As October postseason baseball arrives, fans become more involved and teams show how truly much they love their fanbase. Players lock in and turn on their jets. It should be an exciting rest of September baseball.
Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports