Friday Photo: The Grimace Era

The New York Mets

The Mets v. the Astros at Citi Field, July 2024

As Mets fans know, we’re in the Grimace Era.

By mid-June, the Mets had a  29-37 record, and the summer was shaping up to be very Metsian. That is, bad. 

Then, on Friday, June 12, Grimace threw out the game’s first pitch in honor of his birthday. The ball bounced over the plate. It was not a great throw for a person, but it was perfect for a purple blob with truncated arms.  Everybody clapped. Photos were taken. Anodyne promotional stuff. 

None of us saw lightning, but it was there. 

The Mets didn’t just beat the Marlins–they blew them away, 10 -  4. And they then won the next seven games. By the fourth win, the Grimace Era was officially a thing. The Mets were not only winning, they were fun. Some said the turnaround had more to do with the closed-door meeting called by shortstop Francisco Lindor at the very end of May after the Dodgers took the Mets for three straight. You give credit where credit is due, of course, but the memes were unstoppable, and so was the energy. 

The Grimace Era. The Grimace Mets. And there’s also Candelita, perhaps better known as OMG, the song written and performed by Mets shortstop Jose Iglesias. It has become the Mets’ anthem. 

With the loss of the 8th game, there was much online lamenting about the end of the fun, but real Mets fans understood that the Grimace Era was instantly immortal.

My husband, son and I went to a game on June 30. Top of the 9th, tie game — rain delay!

After more than an hour’s wait, the game continued. The Mets did not win, but Nimmo did hit a homerun in the 7th, so we did get to hear Candelita.

There’s no telling yet how the 2024 season will play out but it feels a lot like ‘86…