Last Wednesday, October 5, the New York Mets lost their shot at the wild card spot in the National League Division Series, effectively ending their season. In last year’s World Series, the team fell short of the championship title by three games, and the year before that, they didn’t even make it to the postseason. As a Mets fan, I’m used to disappointment. For the rest of the baseball world, the Mets are a joke, never failing to mess up an opportunity to win. Immediately following Wednesday’s defeat, I started to receive mocking texts from friends and family. To quote a few: “It’s a sad day in Mudville,” “Lmk if you’re drowning in your tears, I’m a lifeguard,” and, “Numb to the pain yet?” Even though fans like me maintained a glimmer of hope up until the bottom of the ninth, there wasn’t a doubt in the minds of every other viewer that the Giants would take the win in the wild card game. Everyone tends to remember only the Mets’ failures, creating the negative stereotype that surrounds them, but the team has earned the name “Miracle Mets” for a reason — every now and then, they manage to shock the world with an incredible winning streak, and Mets fans everywhere rejoice.
The team’s fan base is unlike any other because of all the rises and falls we jointly experience throughout each season. We don’t hesitate to engage in every level of interaction, from screaming and chanting in the stands of Citi Field together to exchanging nods on the sidewalk, and I can say confidently that I have never failed to approach someone wearing Mets gear and say, “Nice shirt,” or “Nice hat.” The rest of the MLB fandom may think that Mets fans don’t exist, but the team held the single-season attendance record for New York baseball for 29 years straight, and our Choate community itself is filled with the fans who pack those stands: Shade Mazer ’19, Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18, Lauren Canna ’18, Jake MacKenzie ’17, James Deakin ’17, Mr. David Loeb, Ms. Judi Williams, and Mr. Michael Velez, to list a few. I’ve met and conversed with people like these around campus solely on the basis of support for the Mets as common ground. It’s easy to be a Red Sox or Yankees fan when they’re always winning, but committing to the Mets takes serious dedication and loyalty capable of bonding fans even outside the stadium.
My die-hard Mets fan of a dad has been taking me to games since I was old enough to wear my own baseball glove, but one of the most memorable that I’ve ever been to was a 2015 home matchup against the Miami Marlins with now 42-year old pitcher Bartolo Colón at the mound. Colón has always been the laughingstock of the stadium while at bat, but that day I witnessed one of his rare successes behind the plate: he hit a sac fly and ran so hard that his helmet fell off, batting in an RBI to tie the game that the Mets ultimately won. Just like the Mets as a whole, Colón may be ridiculed for his reputation, but he has his shining seconds of fame. Moments like this, from Johan Santana’s no-hitter in 2012 to outfielder Juan Lagares’s 2014 Gold Glove award, keep our fandom filled with hope for the team we love, and the willingness to wind up with a broken heart after nearly every final inning makes a great win that much sweeter.
I’m aware that my team will never be consistently the best in the NL or in people’s minds, but being a Mets fan is about more than just celebrating the wins. We’re a devoted following that sticks together throughout the highs and lows for a team that deserves more credit than it receives, and I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other fan base.
