This is a guest piece by Scott Rogowsky. Rogowski is a comedian and former host of HQ Trivia. He is a lifelong New York Mets fan. You can follow him at X. @ScottRogowsky
It's my fault that the Mets lost.
In Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night, starting pitcher Sean Manaea did not lose as he allowed five earned runs through the first two innings. They didn't lose as the bullpen gave up five more points in the final six frames. They did not lose, as their offense went 2-for-9 with 13 men on base and runners in scoring position. The Dodgers didn't lose because they were simply “too good.”
The Mets lost Game 6 because I bought a ticket for Game 7.
To all the fans: I'm sorry. I let a grimace catch me. I couldn't take Candelita off repeat. I got hooked on the Big Mozz Sauce and convinced myself that this team would “keep winning more for Seymour.” When the Hyundai-backed, wall-backed, 7-line Amazens surprised me again Friday night with a 12-6 thumping at Citi Field, I hopped on StubHub and watched Dodger Stadium's Upper Decker. Caught two people. Because what I believed was true. A reversal of all reversals for a magical Mets team that has kept coming back, coming back, coming back and coming back…
But Shea Bridge was too far away to buy those tickets. In my guilty optimism, I ignored the golden rule of Flashing fandom: “Don't do it.” I look forward to it. Mets. To win.
If there's one thing I've learned from over 30 years of rooting for The Boys in Brorange and over 60 years of pure rabbinical research into their franchise's history, it's this. That moment when I thought, “They’ve got this.” ” They are done with it. The moment you feel confident about their fate, you set yourself up for disappointment. Hot-stove hype about signing an elusive slugger, signing an elite ace, locking down a lockdown reliever, promoting a top prospect and securing the final piece to ensure the team won, let alone won. The moment we were convinced that such a dynasty, to which we were forced to testify from across the river at the turn of the millennium, was already over before it began.
The Mets are a living team that embodies the old adage, “Expectation is a planned grudge,” and they beat runners. If I were to list all the examples of the Mets spending big money to create a team that just breaks our hearts, I'd probably keep writing until next Opening Day. Names like Bonilla, Bey, Perez, Porcello, Cedeno, Cespedes, Castillo, Coleman, and Lowry will make Mets fans shiver or laugh, depending on their mood.
But consider the latest example from the 2023 season. The Metropolitans had the highest-paid roster in Major League history, led by future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, and exited camp with a quarter of a total of $320 million. salaries (plus an additional $100 million in luxury taxes). How did the team react to the frenetic, bubbly expectations for a surefire path to the Fall Classic? They finished 29 games outside of first place and delivered a shiny 1-2 punch at the trade deadline. .
Scherzer and Verlander won the Cy Young Award, given annually to the league's best pitcher, six times during their illustrious careers, an award that fans happily held on to. expectations Either one would add another to the mantelpiece during her reign as Queen. Rather, those expectations only added a paving stone to the road to destruction.
Now compare years 23 and 24. Did I expect anything from the new 1-2: Luis Severino, who by his own admission was coming off the “worst year of my life” and whose ERA ballooned and earned him the right to start, perhaps for the first time since Little League? Sean Manea lost his. The only thing I expected from Manea was his cool hair – and he cut it in spring training. But thanks to Gary Cohen, the two hit the ground running in New York, posting a combined 3.68 ERA in 364 innings. What about our old friends Scherzer and Verlander? They managed less than 40% of that load, but gave up nearly an extra full run per nine innings.
Are you starting to understand how the Mets world works? Expecting Cy Young… anthony young. By the way, the last two throwers to take home the hardware were; converted shortstop He was drafted in the 9th round by the unknown University of Florida. hat for mascotand the 37-year-old journeyman knuckleballer is making one-twentieth of the compensation the Mets paid Scharlander. Scharlander had previously claimed baseball fame, tying the record for most wild pitches in an inning. To say it was unannounced is an understatement.
The Mets only win when Mets fans don't know what to expect. Or, in the case of a season that just ended, fans I couldn't even pretend to know what to expect. The team struck out in its first five games, then doubled in 10 of its next 13 and lost two-thirds of its next 40 games. How else to explain a team that went on to set the best record in baseball history? A mysterious beginning?
Certainly, no one in their right mind expected the Mets to win heading into the 1969 season. After setting an unprecedented 120 losses in their debut as an expansion team in 1962, they remained in the basement of the National League for the next six seasons, finishing one game ahead of Houston and avoiding last place. In 1968, they were 24 games behind St. Louis, who won the pennant. However, manager Gil Hodges rallied a group of young players to win their first league championship and shocked the nation by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in the World Series. The team was given the nickname “Miracle Mets.” Because nothing but the hand of God led to such a reversal.
Four years later, the Mets team, with 82 wins and 79 losses, was the “losingest” team to win the pennant, and although they were languishing in last place on August 30th, they were still a huge favorite of Cincinnati in the National League CS. They defeated the “Big Red Machine,'' which boasted of In the World Series. Another miracle made possible only by faith and faith crystallized in reliever Tug McGraw's famous cry, “I have to believe!”
Shortly after midnight on October 25, 1986, the Mets entered the decisive Game 6 of the World Series, trailing 5-3, at home in the bottom of the 10th inning, with two outs and no one on base, with two more innings left. , he was one strike away. This answers the trivia question, “Who did Boston defeat to break the 68-year Bambino curse?” The commissioner's trophy and case of champagne had already been sent to the visiting team's clubhouse. Several Mets players were heading to the showers. A premature “Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Series Champions” even flashed on the scoreboard at Shea Stadium. But then, just Google Bill Buckner. That too was a miracle.
The 2024 Mets should also be remembered as the “Miracle Mets.” I would argue that all 11 of the 63 Mets teams that have qualified for the postseason in franchise history are the “Miracle Mets.” What's more, every time the Mets win, it's a miracle. No, it's a miracle that they even exist! If the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers had not retreated to California after the 1957 season, there would have been no need to establish a new National League club in New York. There would have been no Stengel in his 70s. On the cover of Sports Illustrated. There is no Marvelous Marv. There is no homecoming for Duke and Willie. Doc and Daryl aren't there. Wright and Reyes are gone. no Timo and Shinjo.
By rooting for the Mets, I was able to instill a sense of spirituality and a sense of gratitude and gratitude. I'm thankful the Mets had the first Frank Thomas, the only Benny Agbayani, and a string of Korean pitchers in the early 2000s. do not have He is called Cha Sung Baek, Jung Bong, or Sun Woo-Kim. Thank you to Lindor for Landrith, thank you to Nohan for Nolan, and thank you to Alonso for Alfonzo. Kudos to Bartolo Colon for taking them to the World Series, but Schallander wasn't able to do that. I am grateful that my high school has produced two professional baseball players in its 140-year history, one of which is Harrison Bader. Most of all, I'm grateful to have been able to watch the Mets play so well. It's pure ecstasy! It's a divine feeling of happiness! And when they start running, like they did this October, it can only be compared to witnessing water turn into water. Rhine Gold.
The Spirit carried the Mets to this NLCS, as they have done every postseason since 1969. Spirit guided Swoboda's diving snare, marshalled Mookie's bouncing ball, hoisted Endy and his stretchy glove over the left field wall…I never, by chance, booked Spirit Airlines. Can you take me to Los Angeles for Game 7? No, it was simply the most affordable option. Now that your tickets are refunded and you have cash to spend, let's meet at the corner of Rose and Lincoln, where Venice meets Santa Monica. Tacos for me. We look forward to their success.
