The Mets lost. How is the baseball world viewing it?
Let’s break down what the perception of the Mets is by the baseball world.
The perception of the Mets Pre-Steve Cohen:
The Mets have been called many things since I was born. A winner is not one of them. Their time under the Wilpon’s had been characterized by dysfunction and failure. Twitter coins these moments of Mets misery as “#lolMets” moments. These moments range from on the field performances to off the field issues. Just for fun let's name a few.
- The obvious on the field one is the ’07 collapse. I was too young to remember the details, but if you are any older than I am you still feel the pain of that season.
- Lucas Duda getting food poisoning from the Citi Field Shake Shack
- Jason Vargas famously threatening a reporter in the clubhouse
- Mickey Callaway allowing the Mets to bat out of order (really the whole Mickey era)
The perception of this organization by fans of all teams, including the Mets is overall negative. They can’t quite seem to get it right. Mets fans could not get away from the seemingly cursed organization. Every time they gave the fans hope it was quickly ripped away.
The Wilpon’s were incompetent owners who got trapped by the Madoff scandal. Their unwillingness to spend left fans scratching their heads. Signing anyone in the offseason was a plus.
Then comes 2015. After 9 years without a playoff appearance, the Mets were hot in 2015. Led by their pitching staff anchored by Matt Harvey. Sandy Alderson and the Wilpon’s got their guy right at the 4 pm deadline. Yoenis Cespedes was a New York Met. But even then, Sandy tried to ruin it by saying Cespedes was a square peg in a round hole.
You all know the story. Cespedes proceeded to go on a tear and carry this team all the way to a WS appearance. Despite the loss, the fans had hope. Was the perception changing? Were the Mets good now?
Injuries and little improvement led to a Wild Card appearance in 2016. The Mets were, in fact, not good. Several disappointing seasons followed as did the #lolmets narratives.
Here comes Steve Cohen:
September 14, 2020. The day it all changed (well seemingly). Steve Cohen and his unlimited money agreed to buy the New York Mets. Fans rejoiced. The wait was over. The Wilpon’s were gone. The Mets finally had a competent owner who wanted to win.
The perception from baseball fans, however, remained the same. All fans heard was this was the same old Mets. Nothing matters until you get a ring. The Mets will Met forever. Fans of other teams love to hate the Mets.
Executives within baseball had a very different perspective on the new Mets under Steve Cohen. They were afraid. Steve put his foot down and made his presence known when the Mets acquired Francisco Lindor from Cleveland. Even then, it took until the 11th hour to sign him to a monstrous deal worth $341 million. Just $1 million more than Tatis. The perception from within baseball was the Mets are here to stay.
Despite the spending, Mets fans still could not win. It shifted to people saying the Mets buy wins and the Mets will still Met. They were right in 2021, the Mets were not very good after their second half collapse. Steve went on another spending spree in the winter of 2021.
That brings us to 2022. The Mets were good, no doubt about that. Even when they win, it’s always in embarrassing fashion. Losing to the Padres in the Wild Card series was bad. Max Scherzer getting lit up in game 1 was worse. Getting 1 hit in game 3 was the final straw.
How will Steve and Billy Eppler bounce back? That remains to be seen. It is going to take more than spending to change the fan’s perspective of this organization. It will take wins. Wins solve all your problems.
The culture within the organization has shifted but the only way to change the #lolMets mantra is sustained success, player development, moving in silence and ultimately a World Series title.
