Mets’ Coach Delivers One-Word Assessment of Team’s 2024 Season

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was honest about his team's season so far on Sunday.

May 3, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) looks on during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

After the New York Mets’ Sunday game against the Houston Astros ends, they will have played exactly half of their 2024 regular season slate. 

The Mets have looked excellent throughout June, but the season has been a rollercoaster. New York manager Carlos Mendoza, in his first season as a skipper, initially had one word to describe this season when speaking to reporters before Sunday’s game.

“Interesting,” Mendoza said with a laugh. “We’ve been through a lot, you know? Ups and downs. But that’s part of [playing] 162-plus [games]. Knowing, understanding that there’s going to be harder times, and then there’s going to be stretches where it’s fun.

"Got off to a rough [start], then we played well, and then the month of May we struggled,” Mendoza added. 

With the Mets reaching the halfway point in their season today, Carlos Mendoza was asked to assess what the first half has been:

"We've been through a lot, ups and downs, but that's part of 162-plus" pic.twitter.com/0bodWP9I18

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 30, 2024

The Mets started their 2024 season by going 0-3 in March. After going a respectable 15-11 in April, they endured a brutal 9-19 May due to a league-worst 4.85 team ERA and the complete lack of consistency on offense. 

But then came June. Entering Sunday, the Mets have a 16-6 record with a .290 batting average and .880 OPS this month, both of which are the best in the majors. 

Mendoza also made note of this excellent June when discussing his team’s potential. 

“In the past two, three weeks we’ve seen what we’re capable of,” he said. “So just trying to find that consistency, finding ways to… get better in different areas. You’re always looking for ways to improve, and I like where the guys are at. In the past three weeks, we’ve seen the team we thought that coming into the season we would be.”

The Mets currently trail the St. Louis Cardinals by just one game for the third (and last) Wild Card spot in the NL, with the goal of returning to the playoffs being well within reach. Now, they look to close out their stellar June with one more win against Houston on Sunday.