There’s a couple different ways we can look back at the 2024 season. The first one, while not wrong, seems a little hollow.
“They weren’t supposed to make the playoffs, let alone the NLCS! If you would have told me before the season that…”
Again. It’s not necessarily wrong. To say this team surpassed expectations is the understatement of the century. After they failed to land Yamamoto, the rest of the winter was filled with fringe players on one year deals.
With that being said, the Mets were the best team in baseball for a large portion of the season. I know that after defeating Philadelphia we felt pretty damn good about our chances in the NLCS.
With that in mind you may feel a different way about the 2024 season.
You may be feeling ANGER.
You may be wondering why, in Game 6, with our season on the line, was Phil Maton the first reliever out of the bullpen. Edwin Diaz pitched the fourth and fifth innings in that game. Obviously we knew we were in a do or die situation.
Why were Jeff McNeil and Kodai Senga playing rehab games in the NLCS?
Why did we go one pitcher short in the NLCS just to give Luisangel Acuña one plate appearance?
What else did Jesse Winker need to show you?
How many times did we load the bases and have nothing to show for it? So on and so forth.
It’s frustrating. No doubt about it. Going from postseason to off-season is one of the hardest things to do as a fan.
You may simply feel glad that it happened. This is why we watch sports. We deal with the disappointments and frustrations in the hopes we can experience a moment that we can hold on to and remember.
It just so happened the 2024 Mets gave us like five of those moments in the last two weeks!
I guess I’m a combination of all the emotions listed above. I’m proud of this team. When I take a step back I still can’t believe we made it this far. I screamed “Tommy f@#! Edman” at my TV screen a thousand times. I smile at the thought of Alonso’s home run in Milwaukee. And I’m just sad it’s over.
More than anything, I’ve been trying to come to terms with the fact that this may never happen again.
The team chemistry. The storylines. The gimmicks. The amazing moments. The way this team fought back every time they were on the ropes.
It was all organic and it can’t be recreated.
So we move forward with the richest owner in baseball. Hopefully we will add some sluggers and fortify the bullpen.
We have one of the brightest minds in sports working in our front office. Every move will be calculated and backed by a ton of research.
I guess it’s just unfortunate that it’s impossible to reconstruct the magic of the 2024 season.
Next year or five years from now we may go on a deeper playoff run. We may finally have a parade.
And that’s the ultimate goal is it?
Maybe that is what’s so frustrating about this season. To an outsider, the Mets simply made the playoffs but fell short of winning a championship.
And nothing we say can change that.
That is a level of vexation and exasperation that I can’t describe in words.
Because this team was so much more than what they will ultimately be on paper. A visit to the NLCS.