NEW YORK — Amid the euphoria after the New York Mets clinched a trip to the National League Championship Series, Brandon Nimmo was in tears. His eyes welled up as he embraced his teammates and coaches. The banners behind him and beyond the outfield wall flashed the words in all capital letters, METS WIN! CLINCHED! The party had started. Soon enough, Nimmo would celebrate, along with everyone else with anything to do with the Mets. But first, the moment understandably drove him toward reflection.
In that instant, it all hit him. The work. The sacrifices. Everything his team went through. This year. Last year. The year before that. And even before then. Nimmo, the longest-tenured Mets player, thought of 2015. That year, the Mets went to the World Series. Nimmo, who started his career in 2016, figured he’d be celebrating similarly every year. It didn’t work out that way. The Mets lost in the wild-card round in 2016 and 2022, failing to make the playoffs in all the years in between and last year.
It wasn’t until Wednesday night after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 and winning the NLDS that the Mets got to celebrate clinching a playoff series at Citi Field, which opened in 2009.
“You just realize how hard it is and how many things have to go right,” Nimmo said. “To be able to be the first to do it at Citi Field, it’s just a dream come true.”
For the Mets’ core players — Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Edwin Díaz — that’s the legacy: being the team that turned everything around and earned the right to celebrate at Citi Field. From here, they can only continue to add to it. And, man, it’s a sweet starting spot.
Because think back to a few months ago. For so long, the narrative around the Mets’ longtime nucleus told a story of underachieving losers. It persisted with such intensity in late May that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns fielded several questions during a news conference over whether the core was any good at all, worth building in, worth believing in.
Consider the questions answered, the narrative flipped on its head.
“They’ve shown that’s bulls—,” Stearns said with his clothes soaked in Champagne. “This core has been winning games since June 1. We can put that to bed right now.”
“That’s all true,” Díaz said.
“We just did it, we just broke that barrier,” Nimmo said. “So, yeah. I think it’s complete bullcrap, too.”
It’s easy to see it now, right? Given all these outlandish moments inside the Mets’ wild run? For instance, is there anyone a team would want at the plate right now other than Lindor? Players, club officials and even rival scouts say no way. Can’t blame them. It was only fitting that Lindor delivered a grand slam in Game 4, leading them to the next round after doing much of the heavy lifting all season despite an achy back. He’s had some help, though, and especially lately. Alonso and Nimmo have come through with big hits, too. And beyond the cornerstone players, the Mets boast depth. The Mets have their blemishes, but their rotation offers consistency, their defense is rock-solid and their lineup is deep. The view from here just required patience, a lot of work and belief.
Good players help, too. But the thing about good players is that they also have to care.
The Mets’ core always cared. Back in May, when the Mets were below .500, they understood time was running out before the front office had to decide on trade-deadline plans. When asked in mid-May how much time he thought the club had, Lindor said he didn’t care. He wanted things to change then and there.
Lindor, one of the team’s biggest leaders, became more vocal. Everyone remembers the meeting he called on May 29. But few recall the series of smaller meetings that led up to it.
A memorable one coincidentally happened in Philadelphia. The Mets had lost 10-5 to the Phillies with a sloppy performance. It was May 15. The loss dropped them to four games below .500. They thought they could’ve won that game. They thought they should’ve won that game. So afterward, inside the clubhouse, Starling Marte, Lindor and Nimmo, among others, engaged in a deep conversation about doing subtle things such as taking leads and defensive jumps much better.
“Those were the little things that go into making the team a championship-quality team,” Nimmo said. “Talking about them, getting them out in the open, those are things that matter in the long run. And it’s what spurred us on to having the bigger meeting and to be able to really do what we’ve done over the last four months.”
From there, others around the club’s orbit began seeing more positive signs.
“I remember standing in London,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said, “and all the press wanted to do was talk about the trade deadline, and I said, I see green shoes and I think things can turn around here so let’s give it some time.
“People are going to do what they do, but this group is so positive and they never stopped believing in themselves. They’re special guys. The fact that they can now enjoy this moment together is just great.”
Until something gets done, it hangs over one’s head. The obstacle tends to become harder. For the Mets, the turnaround never came easy. It’s impossible to argue with Stearns’ point. And to his credit, he answered definitively back in May that he believed in the group. Sure, what’s an executive supposed to say, right? But Stearns backed up his words by making savvy tweaks to the roster well before the trade deadline, giving his core group every chance to get going.
“I know this is his hometown, but for him, and what he accomplished in his career, he wouldn’t have come here for no reason,” Alonso said of Stearns. “This is a special group. This has been a special group. We’ve known this. It was just a matter of doing it. And how we’ve done it this year, it’s just been so special.”
Nimmo made it clear: The Mets aren’t content with their achievements. Before making the playoffs, they just wanted a shot because they believed they could make serious noise if only they got to play. They still believe that, Nimmo said. They think they can win the whole thing.
Whether they advance beyond the NLCS or not, it’s past time to give the Mets’ core its due.
“They’ve been through so much s— here,” co-hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said. “They just have. But it’s been, head down, block out the noise, put in the work. To see them have success, it’s just incredible.”
(Top photo of Brandon Nimmo: Elsa / Getty Images)
