New York Mets

Mets fans should be proud of what the team accomplished this season

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The season for the Mets ended in heartbreak, but the journey should be remembered fondly

The Mets didn’t get the big hit last night and the Giants did. And just like that, a topsy turvy season that gave fans so much joy was over.

The ALDS began today and because of the anguish I experienced last night, I haven’t yet watched a single pitch. That’ll likely change in the coming days, but the pain is raw for Mets fans right now. These other teams that are still playing aren’t our team. And that’s hard to accept.

But Mets fans should be proud of what the team accomplished this season. How hard they fought. How much heart they showed. How much their camaraderie colored what they did on the field.

Unlike other heartbreaking season-enders — Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, the last game at Shea Stadium in 2008, Game 5 of the World Series last season — I didn’t get an immediate thought of ‘what if’ after the third out in the bottom of the ninth.

That doesn’t mean this team couldn’t have made a deep run into October. I genuinely thought they would.

But unlike the 2006, 2008, and 2015 teams, the 2016 Mets would’ve done it against all odds, while overcoming tons of obstacles.

During the season, the Mets lost Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, David Wright, Neil Walker, and Wilmer Flores.

Of the players they had on the field, Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda, Juan Lagares, and Noah Syndergaard were all playing through injuries.

And after they went on an incredible run to nab the top Wild Card spot, Madison Bumgarner — one of the best performers ever in the postseason — was waiting for them.

Even with that, the Mets were one big late-inning hit away from beating the Giants and advancing to face the Cubs — seemingly a team of goliaths — in the NLDS. Only it didn’t happen.

But these Mets persevered. They scratched and clawed. They left it all on the field. And what they accomplished this season with a roster in shambles should make fans even that more excited for 2017, when they hope to be at full strength again.

For now, we’re staring into the offseason — something that at times seems like an abyss.

When you’re really missing the Mets, longing for a game to be on, think of Asdrubal’s bat flip. Think of Yo’s majestic homers. Think of Thor’s slider. Think of Lagares running down a ball in the gap.

And realize the 2017 Mets will be on a mission to finish their unfinished business. It would be a one-year delay, but that would make it that much sweeter.

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