THE GRIMACE METS & MARK VIENTOS ADDRESS THEIR ENEMIES

I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t know Mark Vientos. I haven’t met the guy, I have no idea what makes him tick or what his preferred sandwich condiments are. However, there’s a few clues that I gathered from his life so that inferences can easily be made. The following statements are said to be true:

 

• Mark Vientos grew up as a Mets fan, a curse passed down from his father.

• Yankee fans are the chauvinistic alphas of the sport.

• Any toxic fandom traits that exist are amplified by teenagers.

• Going to high school in Florida, Mark must have encountered the worst possible Yankee fans, amplified by the fact that they were teenagers but also in Florida. 

• As a kid, I once saw my favorite team being trounced. I turned to my dad and said, “If I was in that game, the score would be the other way around”. 

 

Because that’s the dream that every kid has, no matter how hard their fathers laugh at the idea (or maybe it was just my father (and maybe I should hit up my therapist)). Every kid has dreams to go out there and have a revenge game. Championships are a whole other class of fantasy, sometimes you just want to be petty. After a lifetime of being told that your team is inferior and you’ll always be the little brother, there’s nothing more you want to do than to personally shut them up. Mark spent his entire life working up to a moment where he could control the dynamic between cross-town rivals.

 

Despite being at home, the stadium was packed with Bronx faithful. The scene was (potentially) just how Mark envisioned it: the stands teeming with flat-brimmed caps, gold chains, tattoos in cursive, hands signaling to “count the rings”, gabagool, crisp jerseys with names mistakenly placed on the back. Last year’s Cy Young winner on the mound. Met fans going rabid at the idea of pulling off an upset. People dressed as Grimace. This was (probably) exactly where Mark Vientos wanted to be and when he stepped up to the plate against Gerrit Cole, he did exactly what he (most likely) dreamed that he would do:

 

He took him yard.

 

Mark Vientos opened the scoring on Tuesday with an unexpected blast to deep center field. Because with the Mets, confidence is contagious, Harrison Bader soon followed with a missile of his own. Then, Vientos went to face Cole again in the 4th inning. I’d like to imagine that he was still thinking of the jerk Yankee fans he encountered in high school. Because he jumped on the first pitch, an errant fastball, and it leapt over the left field fence. 

 

Tuesday’s 9-7 final score is not indicative of how the game actually went. Up 9-2, Adam Ottavino led a minor bullpen implosion that made the game within reach for the Yanks. Reed Garrett, unshaken by immediately giving up a home run to Aaron Judge, shut down the Yankees for the rest of the game. 

 

The Yankees seemed poised to get payback on Wednesday and Sean Manea seemed poised to let them. After getting the first batter out, Manea walked the bases loaded, ready for Alex Verdugo to do some damage. Instead, he hit it right to, you guessed it, Mark Vientos. He made an improbable grab and laser to second base, which was then rocketed to Pete Alonso doing his best Stretch Armstrong impression for the double play. After making a stark offensive statement, Mark Vientos made his presence known on defense. After that, the Mets didn’t give the Yankees any breathing room. It was a 12-2 shellacking with a hurricane placed right in the middle to allow Yankee fans to take their tails and go home. 

 

In a month that has been filled with improbable wins, the Mets made a deafening statement the last two games. This is a team filled with guys that are constantly being disregarded as the little brother. They took that spite and harnessed it into their most dominant performances to date. And for guys like Mark Vientos, these were (perhaps) a lifetime in the making. 

 

For the first time since May 7th, the Mets are at .500. On Thursday, the Mets will have their last day off before the All-Star break. On Friday, the marathon begins with a home series against the Astros. Underperforming all season, the Astros have had a hot June and are riding a 7-game winning streak. After Wednesday night’s win, they are finally at .500. Sound familiar? Can Grimace’s Hamburger Magic last or will the Astros throw those dreams in the trash? It’s going to be must-see TV this weekend.