'Vibes are immaculate' as Mets punch playoff ticket

ATLANTA -- When the Mets clinched a Wild Card berth in 2022, they did not spray each other with alcohol. Citing the greater goal of winning the National League East title, Mets veterans chose to hold a quick champagne toast at American Family Field in Milwaukee. They drank beer and took note of their accomplishment, then prepared to play their way into a bigger celebration.

It never happened. A week and a half later, the Mets were swept in Atlanta. They lost their grip on first place, settled for a spot in the Wild Card Series and ultimately lost that, too, in three games to the Padres.

Entering Monday’s play, those two weeks continued to hang over this Mets core, which has been in place since 2021. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz had never held a wild party together. They had never sprayed champagne at each other nor poured beer down each other’s backs.

For weeks leading up to Monday’s doubleheader against the Braves, Alonso spoke both publicly and privately about the importance of changing that -- of celebrating “for the boys.”

So when the Mets finally clinched a playoff spot on Monday, overcoming long early-season odds to secure a spot in the Wild Card Series against the Brewers, the Mets partied. Gathering in the middle of the Truist Park clubhouse, they jumped up and down, danced and laughed in the same space that had seen the height of their misery just two years earlier. Alonso lit up cigars for his teammates. Lindor grabbed bottles of champagne and scanned the room for targets, making sure no one -- not his teammates, not his coaches, not front-office executives nor members of the media -- were spared.

“Oh my God,” Alonso said when asked to describe the feeling. “Wow. Just wow. This is surreal. Vibes are immaculate.”

The celebration did not last long, but it contained all the elements of a party. After spraying champagne, players spilled onto the field for a massive team photo alongside coaches, executives and support staffers. They embraced members of their families and then, after a half hour or so, they filed back into the clubhouse, changed into dry clothes and prepared to board a flight to Milwaukee. More work awaits them there. If they can upend the Brewers and advance farther into the postseason than any Mets club since 2015, they’ll party again.

“I’m proud of this organization, where we’ve come from,” Nimmo said. “It’s a great step in the right direction.”

For more on the Mets’ celebration, read the story of how they clinched in what president of baseball operations David Stearns called perhaps the best regular-season game in franchise history. And study up on all the details of the Wild Card Series in this FAQ.