QUEENS, NY — New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza chuckled when he was asked to sum up his team’s first half of the 2024 season — his first year in charge of the club.
“Interesting,” he began.
The Mets have experienced every valley and peak imaginable over the first three-and-a-half months of the season ranging from injuries to dramatic slumps and ultimately ending with playing some of the best baseball in the majors.
“We went through a lot but the guys continue to battle, they continue to show up and continue to believe in themselves,” Mendoza said. “I’m very proud of them. We’re in a better position now but understand that we have a long way to go. It’s a good feeling. We have to give them credit because they worked really, really hard and something special is going on in that room.”
Without their ace Kodai Senga, a patchwork starting rotation, and dangerously undermanned bullpen, a lifeless Mets offense in May nearly doomed their season in its infancy by going 9-19 in a month and dropping to 11 games under .500 on June 2.
Talks of contending for the postseason in March and April quickly gave way to the notion that the Mets would be heavy sellers at Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline, ultimately resulting in the potential departures of Luis Severino, JD Martinez, Starling Marte, even Pete Alonso.
But Mendoza moved Francisco Lindor to the lead-off spot and lowered Brandon Nimmo to second where the two became the largest All-Star snubs in baseball this season. Over his last 47 games, Lindor is slashing .307/.387/.560 (.947 OPS) with 10 home runs and 29 RBI. Nimmo had a torrid 24-game stretch in which he batted .344 with a 1.140 OPS, nine home runs, and 30 RBI.
Suddenly, everything fell into place for a Mets lineup that went from ranking 13th out of 15 National League teams in runs scored (4.2 per game in their first 59) on June 2 to ranking fifth-best heading into the All-Star break (6.0 per game in their last 36).
“Those guys have been unconscious at the dish,” slugger Pete Alonso said. “I think the past three or four weeks, those guys have been lights out. Just the way the lineup is now, anybody can hurt you. But [Lindor and Nimmo] right at the top set the tone right away and they’ve been doing an unbelievable job. It’s been great.”
More runs meant more wins and the Mets finished the first half going 25-11 and now possess the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
“From where we were to where we’re at now, there’s so much to be pleased about,” Alonso said. “Obviously, there’s room to grow and room to improve, but I’m super proud of this group and our resiliency and sticking together. I mean, how we’ve rebounded and faced adversity, it’s been fantastic.”
Ask any Met and they will tell you that the turnaround was predicated on a clubhouse whose faith in each other never wavered.
“It’s an attribute to the resilience this group has,” Alonso continued. “I’m really pleased how everyone has stuck together because we were not in the best spot. Being 11 or 12 games under, that’s not the best. Our belief as a group, our belief in each other and ourselves has really shown and has given us the chance to showcase who we are. We’ve done that and we’ll continue to do that in the second half.”
