they didn't want to leave. Leave? Winter continues for a long time. There will be many, many days and nights without baseball over the next few months. They didn't want to let this night, this match, or each other go. 44,103 people packed into the stands. There were dozens of players and staff on the field.
house?
No, they didn't even want to leave the field. 10 minutes have passed. 15. The stands were still full. The field was still full. They took a team photo. The players applauded the fans, and the fans responded with applause. Champagne was waiting for them in the clubhouse, but that may last. They wanted to hang onto this. They wanted it to last forever.
“We keep climbing,” Francisco Lindor said.
that's right. They have been on the rise since late May, hitting 11-under .500. At one point, the Mets were 17.5 games behind the Phillies. The Phillies had been so far ahead since June 1 that it seemed unlikely we would see them again.
Now, surprisingly, it was the Phillies going home. Mets? The Mets are going to California. They will compete in the National League Championship Series. On Wednesday, they defeated the Phillies 4-1, winning four of five playoff wins and once again erasing the same loss.
“I want to enjoy this moment as long as I can,” Jose Quintana said.
Quintana was one of the key pieces on this baseball team, pitching five mind-boggling innings and allowing just one run. The Mets had given up a large number of base runners in the first five innings, and there was fear and concern that they would regret this for the rest of their lives.
Lindor changed everything.
In fact, when Lindor agreed to be traded here, when he agreed to sign a long-term contract here, he was mentally a captain even though he didn't have the letter “C” sewn into his jersey. , began to change everything. It didn't work at first. And earlier this year, as of May 21, it was lurking south of .200, and it looked like it might never go the way he and Steve Cohen had hoped.
142 days later, Lindor came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning. The bases were loaded. There was one out. And when Lindor scored against Phillies right-hander Carlos Estevez, something noteworthy happened. Though invisible, it was as obvious at Citi Field as the giant scoreboard in center field.
I had faith.
genuine, justified beliefs. The series' most ardent supporters have been trained to wait carefully for the shoe to drop and the sky to fall, and shortly after the theme park known as Edwin Diaz began searching for a strike zone, those old It will tempt a few more fears. —This was a departure. This was a breakthrough.
One man certainly noticed. Afterwards, he wore oversized dark goggles in the clubhouse and definitely looked goofy, but who said he looked too goofy for the guy writing the check?
“I want to shatter the negative image of Mets fans,” Cohen said, sounding upbeat. “And we are well on our way to making that happen.”
They were already heading in that direction, albeit cautiously. Lindor started it nine days ago in Atlanta, and Pete Alonso added it three days later in Milwaukee. Last Saturday in Philadelphia, the Mets pitched well, scoring five runs in the eighth inning.
Now, Lindor. Also.
Estevez was throwing pure kerosene at speeds of 160.3 mph, 100.1 mph, and 99.8 mph. Lindor moved the count to make it 2-and-1. The at-bat began with a chorus of “My Girl” and chants of “MVP.” This time Estevez stepped back. More gas. This time it was ninety-nine points and four. Lindor waved.
And what happened after that…well, what happened after that was something beyond thunder, beyond joy. Lindor, as usual, circled the base with his head bowed, escaping delirium. There was no one else there. At that moment, Steve Cohen's most fervent hopes seemed to have taken root.
“I expect great things from this team,” said Mark Vientos, who blossomed into a star in this series.
“It wasn't a matter of 'if' to find a way to find a way, it was a 'when',” said David Peterson, who helped pitch two scoreless innings and has grown into a fundamental player himself. ”
And then there was Brandon Nimmo, who had seen more games than any of them. He has played so many games for City with so many empty seats. He was there two years ago when 101 wins turned into disaster. Nimmo rushed to the mound a few minutes after the game ended, holding up an “OMG” sign. He really looked like he was going to stay until the last call.
“I knew if I could get my foot in the door, I would have a chance against anyone I played,” Nimmo said. “We still feel that way.”
“It just keeps getting better and better,” said Cohen, a Mets fan since 1963.
That's right. California is waiting. Fifty minutes after Diaz took the fans' breath away by striking out Kyle Schwarber, there were still thousands of fans scattered. The three still had hundreds of Mets and Mets personnel on the field. One of them had a sign with a favorite old Mets slogan written on it. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza saw it.
“Keep believing!” he said.
