This year, more than many, I felt bitter about the New York Mets. I was frustrated by the lack of smart financial investment in the team. Dismayed that the roster pretty much looked like the old and that the plan was to re-roll the odds on injuries. Not surprised that the same injury stuff happened again. There was a lot to be upset about this year.
I’m about to drive home to Baltimore to see the two of the three most important people in my life for why I’m a Mets fan. While showering I realized, there’s actually a lot to be thankful for this year.
2018 Mets Edition of What I’m Thankful for:
Brandon Nimmo: We don’t deserve your kindness. Before going to this year’s QBC I was all in about trading Nimmo to upgrade around the infield thanks to reading 20 baseball pundits that thought that was a good idea. But Nimmo won everyone with how genuinely wonderful of a human being is. Then he turned into a star player! Nimmo, you’re the best. Thanks for being a great ballplayer and a great person, for waving and talking to The 7 Line in the outfield and just filling us all with hope.
Jacob deGrom: We don’t deserve your patience. Jacob gave a consistence dominance that might never be seen again. Every time he went out on the mound this year he was great. In recent memory the only two other pitchers I felt this good about every 5th day in the rotation was Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana. Thank you for being a ray of sunshine this year.
Amed Rosario: Rosario grew so much this year. I didn’t quite see it until after the season but when looking back on 2018, he gave about two months of .300 ball, tightened up the defense at short that saw way too much Jose Reyes over the last couple of years, and gave hope for things to come.
Jeff McNeil: When all hope fails on the owners spending money to improve the team, you need an out of no-where player to shake things up, and that was Jeff. It wasn’t just great to see Jeff perform at the major league level like he was in the minors but it was also great to watch all the other fans know about Jeff before he got to the stadium. That’s the best thing about Mets fans, on the whole we may be cynical, but we know so much about this team.
Carlos Beltran: This one is a little cheeky but thank you Carlos Beltran, the most underrated Met of all time for your departing gift of Zack Wheeler. Wheeler had a tremendous bounce back year and at some level Beltran is rooted in it because #BlameBeltran.
Mikkeller: Hands-down the best new thing at Citi Field this year. (Sorry Jeff McNeil). I’ve always felt a little lost before game time. I rarely drive to the stadium so tailgating is awkward because I have plan ahead with people, which I generally don’t, bring exactly what I want to consume or share because I can’t bring it in to the stadium, etc. McFaddens is not my style of place at all. But Mikkeller. Mikkeller is perfect. Thank you for become a critical part of my Mets-game day experience.
Dole Whips: After Mikkeller the next best thing at the stadium was Dole Whips, and I don’t even like pineapple. They’re located on the Bud Light porch and by the 5th inning no one is in line and by September no one is in the stadium so go get it already
Citi Field: I’ve now been to 13 of the active major league ballparks and Citi Field still ranks incredibly high in diversity of food and drink options. There’s a lot of I would redesign about the stadium (more ramps instead of stairs to prevent crowding, larger bathrooms) but on the whole Citi Field is a top notch stadium and we’re lucky it’s ours.
The 7 Line: This was my second season sitting with y’all and it was a blast. There’s no one I’d rather commiserate with, travel to another country to watch baseball with and talk baseball shop with. See you again next year!
The Mets: You frustrate me to know end, but you’re still an escape for when things are tough. You’re a critical binding piece of my family. Somehow you ended up as part of my identity. Even if you go 0-162, I’ll still be sad at the end of the season.
