NEW YORK (AP) — OMG! Look who’s headed to the National League Championship Series.
From their playoff pumpkin to the purple Grimace seat and that catchy pop song by infielder Jose Iglesias, the merry New York Mets are riding a wave of good-luck charms and infectious camaraderie to unexpected October success.
“Through all the craziness, madness, and ups and downs, this game is, at the end of the day, it’s supposed to be fun,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “What’s the point if you’re not having fun? That’s a part of the culture here.
"We’re not afraid to embrace the fun part of the game. It’s not just business. The game is a lot more than just trying to win or lose. You’re trying to enjoy the ride with the group that you’re with.”
Alonso jumped right into the fray in late September when he and his wife scooped up his small “playoff pumpkin,” as he called it, while visiting a Wisconsin farm when the Mets were playing the Brewers.
The lucky squash was on display during a wild clubhouse celebration in Milwaukee last week following the All-Star slugger's go-ahead homer in the ninth inning that saved New York’s season in the Wild Card Series clincher.
Next, the wild-card Mets took down rival Philadelphia in their Division Series to reach the NLCS for the first time in nine years — eliciting tears and raw emotions Wednesday night from longtime outfielder Brandon Nimmo, rookie manager Carlos Mendoza and other members of a close-knit team as they choked up a bit when describing it all.
They'll face the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-seven set beginning Sunday on the West Coast.
Quite a surprise for a New York team that opened 22-33 in what was supposed to be a transition season under Mendoza and first-year president of baseball operations David Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan in Manhattan.
But it's hardly just Alonso having all this fun.
After home runs, smiling Mets players pose in the dugout for group photos holding a blue and orange “OMG” sign — team colors, of course — in a nod to the name of Iglesias' hit song as it plays over the Citi Field sound system.
“Right now the Mets are playing really good baseball. They’re hot," Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos said. “From watching them play in the beginning of the year, in April and May, and watching Jose Iglesias be able to, I don’t know, unify them, and get the city to buy into something bigger, is nothing short of incredible.”
In that same vein, the starting pitchers have taken to wearing entirely unnecessary eye black when not on the mound — and writing on it the uniform number of that day's starter to show unity and support.
“Just another good-luck charm, I guess," Sean Manaea said Monday before beating the Phillies with a Game 3 gem the following day. “I don’t know. It just started last week in Atlanta. The last week has been crazy so we’ve just been sticking with it.”
And when a starter comes out of the game after a solid outing, they all gather in a rugby huddle on the bench to jump up and down, arms wrapped around each other.
“We’re just feeding off each other and just having a fun time doing it,” Manaea said.
Dugout props for celebrating homers — things like rubber swords or funny hats — have exploded across MLB the past few seasons. But there's no doubt, the Mets lead the league in silly bits and inside jokes. Center fielder Harrison Bader recently referred to the team as a “traveling circus."
One that comes complete with a cartoonish mascot, too.
Fans flipped when Grimace, the kid-friendly McDonald’s character, threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms in his pear-shaped purple costume with a baseball glove on backwards — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory coincided with the start of a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own.
The club has pulled out all the stops since, with Grimace riding the subway to Game 3 against the Phillies — about three weeks after a commemorative purple seat was installed at Citi Field to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
“The reason why we have all this stuff like, whether it be Grimace, the pumpkin, not just us in the clubhouse — the fans have embraced it as well. Fans have had a lot of fun, from what it seems like,” Alonso said. “When you have that connection between the guys in the clubhouse and people watching, like, it’s electric.”
Does it really contribute to winning, though?
“Listen, the team that sticks together the most and the team that is the most connected,” Bader said, “those are the teams that tend to go the farthest.”
Perhaps most important, none of the lighthearted gimmicks have distracted the Mets down the stretch or during a pressure-packed postseason.
“I think it’s hard to explain. We've got a lot going on. But we’ve got to keep the main thing the main thing, which is you've got to go out there and play baseball,” Mendoza said. “You’ve got to go out there and execute. You’ve got to prepare. If they continue to find ways to keep it loose, to keep it fun in the locker room, I’m all for it."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
