Reese Kaplan -- Win or Lose, It's Been a Helluva 2024 Ride

As the Mets enter this crucial be-all-or-end-all series in Philadelphia it seems like these three games will determine whether or not the likelihood of October baseball is solidified or very nearly eliminated.  The team historically has not fared too well against the Phillies and now when they need to be at their very best they have experienced multiple games in a row when hitting other than one inning has pretty much disappeared.  

What that means is that even if each of the chosen starting pitchers throws an absolute gem, a club with a team batting average of just .246 may not even match what last year’s horror show did in terms of home runs and RBIs for the full season.  Somehow thinking about the 7 point increase in batting average from 2023 will not make for a warm and wonderful winter.

So what should fans, media and the Mets senior management make of what they have accomplished thus far in 2024?  Well, if in May you said that by mid September the club would find itself at 80-66 (on this off day), 14 games over .500 and in second place ahead of the Atlanta Braves, trailing the Philadelphia Phillies by single digits, well, there’s pretty much no one who was sober would have taken that bet.

Obviously it’s what the players do on the field that determines the outcomes of games.  Where would this team be without the efforts of Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, sometimes starter Jose Iglesias, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, most-of-the-time Luis Severino, Jose Butto, Dedniel Nunez and the apparently recently reborn Edwin Diaz?  

When you consider the flip side of players performing under their career norms, it is pretty amazing to be where they stand right now.  Take a look at the backs of the baseball cards for Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Harrison Bader, Starling Marte, J.D. Martinez, Francisco Alvarez, Jose Quintana, the rest of the bullpen and the rest of the bench.  They’re not exactly vying for All Star status. 

Then there is the front office that quickly demonstrated that they are not afraid to make changes when things are not working as expected.  That attitude is refreshing and unknown in Mets circles.  How long did the team endure AAAA’s best or MLB’s worst rather than acknowledge that a change was needed? 

As players came, players went, injuries happened, slumps occurred and the W’s were increasingly difficult to find, rookie manager Carlos Mendoza seems to have proven why for so long he was brought in by many other teams as a prospective skipper.  His attitude seems to be steadfast and unflappable win or lose.  He’s had to coach players about what’s necessary to win ballgames beyond specific batting skills, glove techniques, base thefts and stellar pitching.  

No, what he’s seemed to do best in 2024 was build a club that actually plays not like a group of 26 men coincidentally wearing the same wardrobe on a daily basis, but who work together like a team to support one another at the plate, in the field and on the mound.  That whole OMG thing could not have happened under previous Mets managers this side of Bobby Valentine who was at least as engaged with team chemistry as he was with his won/loss record.  Not even future Hall of Famer Buck Showalter seemed to motivate the club the same way.

So while we have no input on what needs to be done for the remaining 15 games yet to be played, it’s probably time now to stand with our friends and family to celebrate the turnaround that has already happened even if the postseason does not.  

It is a credit to the players, the front office and the manager.  We saw what losing looked like earlier this year and for all of 2023.  What’s strange and unpredictable are the feelings generated by winning.  I think we can get used to it.