Facing Dodgers in the NLCS Brings Mets Season Full Circle

The last time the Los Angeles Dodgers met up against the New York Mets, they were in the middle of a tailspin. After losing a series against them back in April, the Dodgers came to Citi Field and swept the Mets in embarrassing fashion.

It would have been bad enough to drop all three games in front of their home fans, but what made matters worse was what happened in the series finale.

The Mets trailed 3-0 early in the contest, only to rally back and tie the game in the bottom of the 5th inning. That tie held until the top of the 8th, when Adam Ottavino and Jorge Lopez combined to give up six runs to the Dodgers. The final blow was a two-run homer off the bat of Shohei Ohtani.

Lopez gave up the homer to Ohtani, and was then ejected for arguing a checked swing call to the next batter Freddie Freeman. On the way off the field, Lopez untucked his jersey, took his glove off and launched it into the stands at Citi Field.

To think this story took place in the same year as this one, where the Mets are set to host NLCS games against this same Dodgers team in a few days is absolutely mind-boggling.

The meltdown by Lopez turned out to be a turning point in the Mets season, as Francisco Lindor took the opportunity to hold a player’s only meeting after the loss and the front office set out to make serious changes to the roster following the game as well.

Looking back, the actions the Mets took across a 72-hour span at the end of May, charted the course for where this team would one day end up. On the cusp of one of the most improbable World Series runs in MLB history.

The Dodgers Mark Plot Lines in the Mets Season

The New York Mets started off the 2024 season going 0-5, looking like one of the worst teams in the game through the first week. They bounced back over their next 15 games, going 12-3, erasing their slow start to finish their first 20 games with a winning record of 12-8.

The Mets closed that 15-game stretch by winning six games in a row, with the final two of those wins coming against the Dodgers. The Mets took the first two games of the set in Los Angeles, but lost the final game 10-0.

Moreover, the Mets lost their starting catcher, as Francisco Alvarez tore ligaments in his thumb after stumbling on the bases. The injury would require surgery, and without him the Mets went on to lose six of their final nine games in April, before dropping 17 of their first 26 games in May.

In the 35 games between the Dodgers first victory of the season against the Mets, until their sweep of them a little over a month later, the Mets went 10-25. As a team, they had the worst ERA in baseball in May, and they led the league in blown saves with seven.

The “Lopez game” was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the reliever showed the frustrations that the entire team (and fan base) were feeling. This was rock-bottom for the 2024 New York Mets.

Remember, this is a team that won 101 games in 2022, and then spent more money than any team in the sport heading into 2023. Then, they collapsed in epic fashion, going from World Series contenders to fire-sellers at the trade deadline to focus on their future.

The Mets season in 2023 was very much cratered because of their month of June that looked at lot like the Mets month of May in 2024. After losing that last game to the Dodgers this year, the Mets record for May was 7-19, the exact mark they posted in June the year prior.

Staring down the barrel of another lost year of his prime, Francisco Lindor locked the door’s to the Mets clubhouse in hopes of turning things around. J.D. Martinez would later remark it was the best player’s meeting he had been involved with in his 14-year career.

What Changed with the Player’s Only Meeting

We will never know what was said behind closed doors between Mets players. Hence the point of locking them to the media and coaches. What has been gathered in accounts of the meeting since though is that the Mets spoke about being accountable.

They spoke about being accountable to themselves, focusing on doing their work to have the best possible season they all could individually.

By being accountable to oneself and putting the best effort in when it comes to the process of trying to have a good day at the ballpark, everyone is then accountable to the team.

There was also an acknowledgment of the position they were in as a team, where the narrative was out that this was the worst team in baseball. The Mets chose to lean into that, and allow their standing to take all the pressure off and just focus on doing things the right way, while also trying to have fun and enjoy the season in the process.

After clinching a spot in the NLDS, J.D Martinez explained the mindset the Mets took when things weren’t going their way. “You know what, they say we suck, we suck. Let’s suck. Let’s go suck together. Let’s go have fun sucking.”

The Mets created a new celebration after this meeting, where they would do a swipe away gesture with their hands after every big hit. This celebration has never been spoken about publicly, but did begin after this player’s only meeting.

After the meeting concluded and the door’s were unlocked, the New York media flooded in ready to ask all their tough questions about the loss to the Dodgers, Lopez’s incident, and of course why they just had the meeting.

The first to answer questions was Francisco Lindor, standing in front of the same locker that used to belong to David Wright, and he handled every question like a true pro. Lindor took accountability for himself, and his teammates, but did so without throwing anyone under the bus.

In that moment, the baton may have been ceremonially passed as Lindor showed himself to be the strong captain of the New York Mets, ready to put himself on the line in every way to win.

Lindor’s Leadership Sparked it All

Answering all the questions the right way is one thing, but going out and proving your words is another. The next day the Mets hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks and Lindor went 4-for-4.

All four of his hits came in two strike counts, and two of them proved to be massive.

With the Mets trailing 2-0 in the third inning, Lindor crush a 430-foot home run to cut the deficit to one. Then in the 7th inning, Lindor drove in Pete Alonso for the game-tying run on his fourth hit of the day. Martinez hit a solo homer in the 8th inning and the Mets won 3-2.

From that point on, over his final 97 games played, Lindor hit .309/.380/.572, with 25 home runs, 23 stolen bases, and a 166 wRC+. His 6.7 fWAR during that span was the best mark in the National League, and the third-best in baseball behind only Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr.

With Lindor setting the tone from the leadoff spot, the Mets rolled and have been the best team in baseball since the month of June. Lindor has continued to get big hit after big hit along the way, with none bigger than his grand slam to beat the Phillies and clinch a spot in the NLCS.

The easiest explanation for how the Mets have found themselves in the NLCS is that Lindor was the best player in the National League from the point that he stood in front of the media to address their player’s only meeting until now.

But what happened around Lindor is what really allowed this team to take off and get to this point.

Reshaping the Roster Until the Pieces Fit

While the player’s only meeting certainly refocused the team inside the clubhouse, the Mets front office was not going to sit idly by without making some serious changes to try to spark their roster.

The first move the Mets made was an obvious one, as they DFA’d Jorge Lopez after that infamous game, calling up Danny Young in his place. Two days later though on May 31st, the Mets made a series of moves that would define their season in a lot of ways.

They demoted former top prospect Brett Baty in favor or Jose Iglesias.

Upon speaking with the media for the first time, Iglesias would speak of his then-upcoming single “OMG” that would be released at a later date. Not even a full month later, Iglesias was performing the song at Citi Field as concert for fans after a thrilling 7-2 win over the Astros.

Iglesias is one of the most unbelievable stories of the season, as he ended his 2024 season on a 22-game hitting streak and finished with a .337 batting average.

This has been by far a career-year for Iglesias, who cleared his career OPS by 120 points, finishing the year with an .829 OPS. His song has also been remixed and now features Latin stars Pitbull and Silvestre Dangond. What a world we are living in.

Beyond the otherworldly impact of Iglesias on the field and in the clubhouse, the move to demote Baty also opened the door for Mark Vientos to have the keys to third base for the first time in his career. Vientos responded by hitting 27 home runs in 111 games, ranking third among all third basemen in SLG, OPS and wRC+ (at least 400 PAs).

Vientos has turned it to an extra gear so far in October, as he is hitting .429 (12-for-28) with two home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs in his first seven playoff games.

Iglesias and Vientos have been the two biggest differences from the Mets early in the season until now, but other moves made at the end of May set this team up for success.

First, there was the return of David Peterson and eventual demotion of then-top prospect Christian Scott. Peterson actually made his first start of the season in the infamous “Lopez game”, and Scott followed by pitching the next game versus Arizona, which the Mets won.

After the victory the Mets demoted Scott, which they said was in hopes of controlling his innings. While this was definitely part of their rationale, another aspect was that it allowed them to go back to having a five-man rotation, something they didn’t feel comfortable employing with Scott.

Peterson was a revelation for the Mets, as they went on to win his next eight starts and 14 of this next 16. A rotation of Peterson, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Tylor Megill took pressure off the Mets bullpen, pitching deep in games more frequently.

From that turning point to the end of the season, the Mets starters pitched to a 3.69 ERA, which was fifth-best in MLB. They also pitched 601 2/3 innings, the third-most in all of baseball.

With the starters carrying more of the load, the Mets bullpen started to find some solid ground. The Mets also added Dedniel Nunez in Scott’s place, and the rookie reliever ended up being their top leverage arm for large chunks of the season, finishing the year with a 2.31 ERA in 35 innings pitched.

Unfortunately both Scott and Nunez’s seasons were eventually cut short due to injuries.

The last change the Mets saw to their roster around that time was the addition of Luis Torrens, who they acquired in a cash trade with the New York Yankees. By adding Torrens, the Mets were able to DFA Omar Narvaez, who had been one of the worst catchers in baseball up to that point.

Torrens provided offense at the beginning of his stint with the Mets, but really impressed with his ability to control the running game. When Francisco Alvarez was ready to return off the IL, the Mets chose to cut ties with longtime backup Tomas Nido, giving Torrens the spot instead.

With Alvarez and Torrens behind the dish, the Mets pitchers started to have a lot more success, and the team become more sound defensively overall.

Obviously other moves were made throughout the season leading the Mets to where they are now, set to square off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

Still, looking back at the last time these two teams met, you can see how one has completely transformed, going from the worst team in baseball to one that is now eight wins away from going down as the very best when it is all said and done.