Mets’ Amazin’ Reinvention

The New York Mets have been on an amazin’ run that has, after yesterday’s victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, taken them to the National League Championship Series. Having beaten the 93-win Milwaukee Brewers, champions of the National League Central, and the 95-win Phillies (who won the National League pennant in 2022 and came within a game of another pennant last year), winners of the NL East, they could face the NL West champion Dodgers in the NLCS. Beating the Dodgers would be a tall order. On the whole, in the regular season, the Mets were 9–16 against the three division champs.

This, for a team that was 13 games under .500 on June 2 (after which they posted the best record in baseball) and 17.5 games out of first place on June 11. On June 12, the McDonald’s mascot Grimace threw out the first pitch at a game at Citi Field, becoming in the process an inadvertent talisman for Mets fans the remainder of the season. One now sees fans in Grimace costumes at the games.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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The New York Mets have been on an amazin’ run that has, after yesterday’s victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, taken them to the National League Championship Series. Having beaten the 93-win Milwaukee Brewers, champions of the National League Central, and the 95-win Phillies (who won the National League pennant in 2022 and came within a game of another pennant last year), winners of the NL East, they could face the NL West champion Dodgers in the NLCS. Beating the Dodgers would be a tall order. On the whole, in the regular season, the Mets were 9–16 against the three division champs.

This, for a team that was 13 games under .500 on June 2 (after which they posted the best record in baseball) and 17.5 games out of first place on June 11. On June 12, the McDonald’s mascot Grimace threw out the first pitch at a game at Citi Field, becoming in the process an inadvertent talisman for Mets fans the remainder of the season. One now sees fans in Grimace costumes at the games.