If you were to try to convince someone to be a Mets fan right now, it would be awfully hard. The team is in a bit of a rut, as they find themselves either unable to score enough runs to support their pitchers, unable to hold leads late into games, or sometimes even the ugly combination of both. Believe it or not, there are still plenty of reasons to root for this team, despite how desperate times may seem. Whether you are a fan looking for a new team to follow, or a Mets fan looking for any kind of reassurance, I hope to give you some positives that come with rooting for this team.
The Nicest Smile in Baseball
That’s right, the New York Mets boast the nicest smile in all of major league baseball, and it is not Mr. Met’s. Brandon Nimmo, the loveable kid from Wyoming, is having the time of his life while making the most of his time in the big leagues. Nimmo is currently crushing it at the plate, batting .287 at the time that this was written, while managing to get a walk seemingly every game. He’s gaining a lot of traction with write-in votes for the All-Star Game, which hopefully adds to the gleeful grin that Mets fans get to see nightly.
Awesome Stadium
Citi Field is nearly ten years old already, and it still possesses the same excitement that it did when it first opened. With tributes to Ebbets Field in the shell of the stadium, and great vantage points from most seating areas, the stadium itself looks nice to the eyes. In addition, the food at the stadium is fantastic, and it usually rotates so you can expand your palate. Possibly the best part about the stadium is hearing from New York Yankee fans that our stadium is better than theirs.
The Best National League Pitcher
Jacob deGrom, the best pitcher in the National League, just happens to be the ace of this staff. At thirty years old, deGrom is having the best season of his career so far. At 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA, deGrom’s pitching has been absolutely unhittable this season. After coming in with little to no fanfare during his rookie campaign in 2014, he went on to win the National League Rookie of the year that season as a 26 year old. If he keeps up the way that he is pitching, he very well could add a Cy Young award to his trophy case.
We aren’t the Yankees
Undoubtedly the most hated franchise in all of sports, the Yankees are always billed as the “big brother” of the Mets. While they have certainly been around longer than the Mets, a large contingent of the city pulls for the team from Queens. It pains me to say that right now the Yankees look to have set themselves up well for the long run, and the Mets, not so much. There will be better days ahead however, and one day the city will be reclaimed from the Evil Empire.
You forgot that they have the coolest song.
You also forgot that Yankee fans heads are bigger than Mr. Mets.
Let’s face it, it’s simply an addiction. A life sentence if you will.
A life sentence if you will.
+1
The only reason is because it is family, from which you cannot separate.
Because otherwise this is the news:
“New York has won just one series — one — since the start of May. Since the Mets were 12-2, they’ve gone 2-13-4 in individual series. They have to play at a 101-win pace the rest of the season to get into likely postseason position, and there is simply no reason to believe them capable of anything resembling that. Which is why, when you’re the manager, you don’t focus on the record.”
Tim Britton, The Athletic
Makes you wonder what part of “the middle” Alderson and his goon squads see.
Despising the Wilpons can’t stop me from loving the Mets.
I’m also impressed with Wheeler, Matz, and Lugo now, and am pulling for them to keep improving!
And I’m looking forward to seeing Alonso, Gimenez, and Peterson in the future!
The Yanks have 27 or so Trophies????…. and those two clowns on Radio–Hard Pass!!!!!
I admire your theme and the story line. The guys have lost so may games in the last five weeks I {and of course the team}have forgot what the post game celebration looks like.
Yet during all these losses with a bit of push and then shove most of these games could have been victories. If only our savior was playing left field instead of jogging around the block, things might be a whole lot different. June 2015 wasn’t that much better from where we are now.
And about the Yankees: I was out last night and their game was on the tv. I looked up and then looked away like it was the solar eclipse.
I’ve easily attended over 1,000 Mets games over my lifetime. I start with that only to attempt to explain that I am not exactly known as a casual fan.
More and more, though, I find it easier to detach when the team becomes uninteresting. Alderson makes detachment pretty simple with his gift for building teams that are not only bad but bland and boring. I got through all the stages (taking me close to 60 years) to finally the acceptance that it is all just entertainment. I don’t believe I should search for reasons to watch, it is up to the providers of the content to provide it. I don’t go out of my way to watch bad movies or TV shows.
Not knocking this post at all, it’s the type I would have written myself many times in prior years. I get it, and if you knew my family background you would understand how much I do get it. But I guess I’ve just finally had it with blind loyalty. Also, those from my family that lived and died with this team are all in the ground now, I’m sure that is part of it. They have been replaced by no one, as like a lot of families my heirs are more interested in just about any other sport. Baseball is more and more a game of the past.
I have much respect for those who still care deeply about the team win or lose, you are much better men and women than I am these days. Too many other things to do some days and time is a real commodity. Every year I hope for a meaningful season that will hold my interest until October and hopefully longer. It’s year eight of this regime and they have provided all of two. Right now I’m bracing myself for another fire sale that seems inevitable within a month making this bad product even worse.
Every time they do these dumps the message to me is “we don’t care about you.”
Message received.
you should put that on some stationary and send to:
Mr Sandy Alderson, GM
New York National League Baseball Club
123-01 Roosevelt Ave
Flushing, NY 11368
Being a fan is a real strange phenomenon. It penetrates our deepest psyche, and sears itself into our identity. Myself included, we stay loyal to this entertainment business like no other product short of the standard vices.
You make excellent points. Despite being middle-aged, I fancy myself open-minded and adaptable. However, I don’t care for the current way the game is being played.
I caught some portions of the game tonight. Despite the classiness of deGrom, battling without his best command, the Mets were simply dreadful. Both execution, and more importantly approach, were just horrendous, depressing, and unwatchable. I have been a fan since 1972, through the brutal late 70s, early 90s, the Art Howe years, the Madoff disaster. Right now, despite a shiny new manager and top flight starter, they are a bottom 5 team with a $20 million player that can’t play and a $30 million player that doesn’t want to.
Alderson did take the team to a World Series, but overall, for various reasons, his approach overall has failed.
We are stuck with the lousy Wilpons forever. Like IDraft, i will keep more of a distant, less vested, and find better use of my time. The internet provides me with a way to keep connected with less time watching games.
My hope is that they make a major regime change. Can the Wilpons identify and land an excellent up and comer that can really build a system that can produce more quality players. Unlikely, but that is really the only hope.
I have been a Mets fan for 49 years. More pain than glory, but there is always hope. There has to be hope. That’s all we have.
We know that there will be a fire sale. Familia and Cabrera will go. Who knows who else will go ? I will bet that deGrom and Syndergaard won’t go now.
It is getting to the put up or shut up time for Alderson. Even if you hate the Yankees, you have to respect the Steinbrenners. They want to win. What would George do if his team played like this for the better part of a year and a half? He would first explode, then he would make some big changes. He would probably fire Alderson as well. George had a burning desire to win. The Wilpons don’t have that.
As a fan, I am sick of Alderson and his garage sale moves. It’s time for some very big changes.