Is the Grimace Effect real?

The New York Mets have done the improbable.

As SNY announcer Gary Cohen said in yesterday’s insane playoff-clinching 8-7 win yesterday over the Braves, “0-5 to OMG.”

Now you’re probably thinking, this team has the highest payroll in all of baseball, they should be a playoff team every year, not just barely making the postseason as a six seed.

On one hand that is completely true, if the talent and management aren’t on the same page, there’s going to be some turbulence.

This is a Mets team that before the season even started had low expectations not completely because of the roster, but because of the comments from ownership.

Max Scherzer, the former Mets star pitcher, talked to the media about what former general manager Billy Eppler said to him at the end of the 2023 season.

“I talked to Billy,” Sherzer told the Athletic. “I was like, ‘OK, are we reloading for 2024?’ He goes, ‘No, we’re not. Basically our vision now is for 2025-2026. ‘25 at the earliest, more like ‘26. We’re going to be making trades around that.’ “Sherzer added that when he went to Cohen, Cohen repeated what Eppler said “verbatim.”

“I was like, ‘So the team is not going to be pursuing free agents this offseason or assemble a team that can compete for a World Series next year?’ He said, ‘No, we’re not going to be signing the upper-echelon guys.”

Even if it was true that the Mets weren’t good enough to compete, why would you ever say this to your players and to the team, because you’re saying that you don’t believe in them?

On Oct. 5, Eppler resigned after the MLB launched an investigation into altering the Mets injury list by placing players on the IL with ‘fake injuries’.

David Stearns then took over as GM and since then, the tone of the Mets seemed to be a little bit better. Or so they thought.

This is a Mets team that not only was struggling greatly through the first couple of months of the season but truly lacked some personality and fun in the clubhouse.

On May 28, the Mets held the fifth-worst record in the entire league, a very disappointing and embarrassing look for the first third of the ball year.

Then out of nowhere, a large purple blob emerged on the mound just before the start of a Mets game.

Since McDonald’s beloved mascot threw out the first pitch on June 12, The Mets have had the best record across the entire league.

As much as people may dislike Grimace or say that it’s stupid that he’s so relevant for an MLB team, clearly, he’s given some sort of spark to the team, boosting the locker room morale and the level of play.

The fans truly took a liking to him, wearing plenty of purple gear and some even wearing grimace costumes to games.

Francisco Lindor, The MVP of this team and arguably a top-three candidate in the National League, stepped up big time this season, batting .273, hitting 33 home runs, batting in 91 RBI and having a .844 OPS.

The two-time gold glove winner had some help from many people along the way, including an under-the-radar signing in free agency, Jose Iglesias.

Iglesias not only brought some of his incredible batting to the table for the Mets, batting .337 on the year over 270 at-bats but has added to the grimace legend with his hit song ‘OMG’

After any home run the team hits, they raise the OMG signs up in the dugout to get a picture with the squad.

Just when you thought the Mets' antics couldn’t get any better, they decided to add an honorary Grimace seat at Citi Field.

I think every team could benefit from having something like this that’s a little out of the ordinary as both of these trends are now a major part of the Mets' culture and their playoff run.

Overall, Grimace is the hero that the New York Mets didn’t know they wanted, but that they needed.

Michael Landis is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpl5930@psu.edu.