It’s the final week of the regular season for Major League Baseball, and honestly, I never thought I’d say I’m happy it’s over.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the sport, the adrenaline and the energy of cheering on my favorite team. But what happens when your favorite team just absolutely sucks?
Many New York baseball fans can probably agree with my sentiments as the New York Mets imploded after being predicted to be World Series contenders at the beginning of the year. And the New York Yankees had a slew of talented players, spearheaded by the ever-great Aaron Judge.
But things didn’t go to plan this season. Now here we are, 162 games later, more miserable than ever.
So I guess the question is, how do you deal with a losing team? How do you come back to earth after being promised the gold and ending up in last? Well, it’s simply not easy.
First off, you have to have faith things will be different, that things will change. New York is home to some of the most cynical people on planet Earth, and that thinking doesn’t change about their sports teams.
In fact, I’ve probably seen some awful New York Mets baseball in my lifetime. Heck, I’ve probably seen even worse seasons, but the one thing I have to keep in mind is that this stuff happens. Better yet, it’ll happen again.
But now, the Mets finally hired a President of Baseball Operations in David Stearns. He plans to “fix” the organization now, as Buck Showalter was just ousted from the managerial position just this past week.
He’s making promises all Mets fans want to hear, from keeping Pete Alonso to a commitment to winning. For me, I’ll believe it when I see it.
With these promises, I just have to hope that the plan to get a World Series win in my lifetime isn’t over, just delayed.
Secondly, fans have to realize that the world isn’t just sports. It’s not all about the team. The world will still spin regardless of if the Yankees or the Mets go to the World Series. Personally, I think some fans just need to put the remote down every once in a while and take a walk.
Yeah, I might sound harsh, but while it’s great to be passionate about your favorite team, if you’re constantly complaining about your life sucking because your team sucks, you need to find a new thing to watch on television.
Sports are supposed to be fun, community-building fun, not depressing. And yeah, sometimes that’s how life is, but it’s not how every second should be.
So now that I’ve gotten a couple of things off my chest, let’s take a walk down memory lane and reflect on baseball in New York this past year.
Injuries can demoralize a team. We saw it happen before the season with Edwin Diaz. The Mets star closer went down with a full-thickness tear of his patellar tendon, leaving the bullpen to fill in the gaps throughout the season.
We saw similar events happen in the Bronx with Judge, the star captain for the Yankees, a guy with incredible talent, running into a fence in the Los Angeles Dodgers stadium and injuring his toe, sidelining him for 42 games. Without him, the team just wasn’t the same, as not only did they lose a critical part of their outfield, they lost their leader in the clubhouse.
But nowadays, teams just need to be better prepared for things like this, as injuries happen so often. Depth should be at the forefront of these general managers’ minds, not just immediate star talent.
I think looking at it now, as a fan, you just have to have hope things will get better. That the road ahead looks potentially awful, but it’s the road you chose to take. A team can’t be bad for the entirety of its life.
Most importantly, and as cheesy as this might sound, you’re not alone. Literally thousands of other people are in the same boat as you, complaining about an extra inning loss in August, to watching West Coast games until 3 a.m. and celebrating when your team sweeps a division rival. That’s why we continue to watch sports amidst all of the pain and suffering our favorite teams put us through, for the hope and joy that one day it will be better.
That’s why I’ll continue to be a Mets fan, even if it’s one of the more difficult tasks in my life to try and deal with.
Michael Bimonte • Oct 4, 2023 at 10:12 am
Maddie, you are the “Doctor for ALL SORTS FANS” and have written the “Prescription” we all could use. Wonderful … THANK YOU .. by who else than your DAD