QUEENS, NY — Those days in which Jesse Winker was near the top of Citi Field’s public enemy list feel like eons ago.
On Wednesday night, the veteran outfielder who had been acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline just two-and-a-half months ago stood pensively in the infield of the Queens ballpark wearing his game pants, a black tank top, and a backward MLB-issued postseason cap while re-lighting his stogie. He was drenched in an unrecognizable champagne and beer mixture, his eye black smudged, but the more apparent force that covered him was an air of gratitude.
His team had just defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 4 of the NLDS, clinching the series and punching a ticket to the NLCS. The celebration from the locker room spilled out onto the field with friends and family while a few thousand Mets fans hung around the home team’s dugout just to be a part of it. With every player they recognized came a loud, boisterous salute of gratitude — Winker included.
“It means a lot,” he told amNewYork. “It means the world. There are so many great people here. It is such an honor to put on this uniform. I’m so thankful for everyone in this organization for trading for me. I’m thankful for the Mets for the opportunity. It’s been a dream come true.”
The prospect of Winker being an important contributor to the Mets is almost as unbelievable as this team’s current standing: it is just four wins away from a World Series.
Back in 2019, while playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Winker engaged in a back-and-forth with Mets fans that ultimately ended with him making a game-ending, sliding catch in left field followed by a wave goodbye to the spectators still in their seats.
The animosity from Mets fans continued to simmer for years, and Winker brought it to a boil during a May game in 2022 when he hit a game-tying three-run homer with the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field. He admired his 417-foot blast, rounded the bases slowly, and once again waved to the New York crowd after crossing home plate.
But even then, he understood the dynamic of his relationship with Mets fans.
“I’m going to be honest with you, I love them,” Winker said after that game two years ago. “They are an amazing group of people. They are very passionate about their team and their city. And from a guy who, born in upstate New York, is a big fan of that football team up there [Buffalo Bills], I can understand the passion and I respect it. This thing we’ve got going on is special.”
Winker spent a year in Milwaukee with the Brewers and started the 2024 season with the Washington Nationals, posting a .793 OPS with 11 home runs and 45 RBI before the Mets came calling at the trade deadline in late July.
President of baseball operations David Stearns wanted to add a left-handed bat that could take at-bats as a corner outfielder or a DH and thump right-handed pitchers while doing so. The 30-year-old Winker checked all those boxes, as his 139 wRC+ against righties at the time far exceeded any Met.
“When they throw out names and we’re talking to David and he goes through his people, potential people that we could be acquiring and just kind of doing our homework, we’re looking not only for really good players, but really good people,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That was the feedback that we got from some of the people when we mentioned Jesse Winker. And he fit right in.”
It took nearly a month to find his footing in Queens, but when he did, Winker went from abhorred to adored, playing a noticeable part in the Mets’ run to the NLCS.
With the Mets sitting at 65-61 on Aug. 21 following a disappointing 3-3 road trip against the lowly Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins, Winker golfed a walk-off home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field to deliver a much-needed series win to remain in the Wild Card hunt.
It was his first home run as a Met, and he celebrated accordingly: stopping halfway up the first-base line, looking into the Mets’ dugout, and slamming his helmet to the ground before rounding the bases. This time, though, he got to do so along with the Citi Field faithful.
“Full blackout moment,” Winker said. “I have no other answer other than that. You just want to help in any way you can, and I was just really happy.”
In Game 3 of the NLDS — the first time the Mets hosted a game in that round since 2015 — the lefty helped blow the roof off the ballpark with a monstrous upper-deck solo home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
True to form, he stopped and admired his majestic shot before taking his time around the bases to the deafening soundtrack of a fan base that had adopted him as one of their own.
“To see how everything started with this back and forth, it’s incredible,” Winker began. “Mets fans understood me, and they understood my act, I guess. These people are amazing. I’m so thankful for them. How this organization has taken me in and everyone else that’s been traded here, my family, my daughter — shoutout to my daughter, Wrennie-girl, I love you — it’s been amazing.”
Suffice it to say that Winker has already carved out quite a peculiar niche in Mets lore. But one of the newest members of the team, who had just four postseason games to his name across his first seven big-league seasons, is all-in on trying to break his new team’s 36-year title drought.
“I’m so happy for all these guys that have been drafted and have been in this organization through their whole career, and then everybody that’s been here all year,” Winker said. “These guys have earned it. I’m so happy for [Mendoza], for David, for [team owner] Mr. Cohen. This is amazing.”
