In a few years, when the New York Mets have become the powerhouse they will be, they will look back on the 2024 season as it all began. Something special happened in Queens this year. And the fact that it ended on a disappointing note, with the Los Angeles Dodgers sending them out of the National League Championship Series with a 10-5 win in Game 6 on Sunday night, doesn’t take away from what the Mets accomplished.

While this year was outwardly about Grimas and OMG and a lucky pumpkin, what was more important were the dramatic, substantive changes that arrived in an organization that for far too long had functioned less like a leviathan and more like a mid-level team cosplaying as a bulk consumer. The internal transformation, accomplished by owner Steve Cohen hiring David Stearns as president of baseball operations and Carlos Mendoza as manager, brought a pair of leaders to the organization who immediately upended a culture long known for its brokenness. Nothing in baseball promotes success like the marriage of money and stability – a Dodgers-Yankees World Series matchup suggests as much – and after decades of unserious ownership and stumbles at the start of Cohen’s tenure, the Mets in a position to assert themselves overnight.

That all of this came to fruition this postseason, against the backdrop of the Mets billing themselves as the ultimate meme team, made for a delightful contrast. As the organization began to mature, it experienced a simultaneous boom on the field and in the clubhouse.

“The culture that we live in and that we’re building,” infielder Jose Iglesias said, “is moving in the right direction.”

For a fan base that fell in love with these Mets after their 0-5 and 24-35 starts gave way to a comeback after a dramatic comeback, this season will be remembered less for the disappointments than for the joy it provided. Grimace, the McDonald’s character whose first pitch before a June game at Citi Field coincided with an early run of success, was the mascot. Iglesias’ song, “OMG”, was the soundtrack. Outfielder Harrison Bader’s attire was aesthetically pleasing. First baseman Pete Alonso’s pumpkin was the amulet. Outfielder Jesse Winker’s festivities personified the long-hidden identity of Mets fans, a desire to be exuberant and outlandish forever curbed by the sense that it would be repaid with something bad.

“This is the craziest team I’ve been on. We laugh about it,” Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez said. ‘We just never know what’s going to happen. Iggy might come up with a new song, and Bader might come out with a new outfit, and Pete might say crazy things. It’s just fun.’

To see Citi Field turn into New York’s biggest singalong every time shortstop Francisco Lindor came up to bat – the fans playing his walk-up song “My Girl” and finishing the chatter even when the music fell silent – brought another dimension. to the stadium than in recent years. At the same time, attributing the Mets’ success to atmosphere rather than building a team of solid baseball players does a disservice to the work of Stearns in acquiring talent and Mendoza in pulling out the best versions of his players.

Lindor, who called the players-only meeting in late May that catalyzed the Mets far more than the purple creature or the pop song, cemented his Hall of Fame bona fides and will finish second in the NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani. As of the day of the meeting, the Mets were the best team in baseball, with a score of 67-40. And during that four-month span, Lindor recorded the most Wins Above Replacement in the NL, even more than Ohtani, who hit 40 home runs and stole 46 bases in that time.

After the last scheduled day of the regular season, the Mets only seemed to gain more traction. Lindor’s home run in the Mets’ 161st game, part of a doubleheader moved to the Monday after the originally scheduled finale, clinched New York’s spot in the postseason. In the wild-card round, Alonso delivered a seismic, go-ahead home run in the ninth inning to oust the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. The spell continued in the division series, as Lindor’s grand slam propelled them past the rival Philadelphia Phillies and left New York celebrating a playoff clincher for the first time at Citi Field.

Then they came across the team they would ultimately like to be. The Dodgers — who won 98 games to the Mets’ 89 — ruined the possibility of a Subway Series by feasting on a bullpen that tired and faltered throughout the series. Through 32 innings, Mets relievers allowed 57 baserunners and 24 earned runs. That Mendoza got as much out of it as he did leading up to the NLCS demonstrated that his deft approach goes beyond exemplary communication with players.

It’s not like the Mets will be stuck in bullpen purgatory forever, either. One of Stearns’ strengths in Milwaukee, where he guided a small-market team to five playoff appearances in six seasons, was building a lockdown bullpen. He’s ready to do the same with the Mets, especially given the financial wiggle room he has entering the winter and looking to build around a talented core.

Lindor remains the pivot. In addition, third baseman Mark Vientos emerged as a force this season, Brandon Nimmo is a stabilizer in the outfield and 22-year-old Francisco Alvarez remains the full-time solution at catcher. Kodai Senga should be healthy on Opening Day, Edwin Diaz battled through a midseason slump to emerge as a multi-inning closer and David Peterson posted a 2.90 ERA over 131 innings. Plus, they can throw in a few bats (Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte) and some power arms (Reed Garrett, Tylor Megill, Jose Butto).

The Mets have taken about $190 million in salaries off the books this winter, including some tough decisions to make: Alonso, one of the franchise’s most popular players, is coming off a postseason in free agency with four home runs and a .999. OPS. Also potentially gone are Iglesias, Martinez, Winker and Bader, all of whom contributed on the field and to the shift in clubhouse culture, and left-hander Sean Manaea, who could opt out of the deal he signed in January.

Without any of these players, their salary currently stands at around $160 million, and for a roster that needs more expansion than renewal.

It’s a great place to start. Especially for Stearns, perhaps the best in the business at finding value on the edges to complement a team of stars. But the assumption is also that a team that has burned through a payroll of more than $300 million for three consecutive years will continue to be among the game’s highest-spending teams.

That’s appropriate timing this winter. Because rarely does a player of Juan Soto’s caliber and age reach free agency. The Yankees right fielder will spend his 26th birthday playing Game 1 of the World Series, and after a champion is crowned, the free agent sweepstakes for his services will begin. As much as the Yankees may be favored to re-sign him to a deal worth more than $500 million, especially after the run to their first World Series since 2009, Cohen and Stearns understand the rarity of high-floor, high-ceiling players , like Soto and how few will hit free agency in the coming offseasons.

In the winter of 2025, it will be Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker. The following season is relatively arid. In the 2027 offseason, catchers Adley Rutschman and William Contreras will headline the class. This could be the Mets’ best chance to land a true franchise superstar, without depleting the farm system.

If Soto is the Mets’ top priority, rebuilding their rotation won’t be far behind. Manaea, right-hander Luis Severino and left-hander Jose Quintana, who combined to throw more than 37% of New York’s innings this season, are all expected to be free agents. Right-hander Corbin Burnes, who selected Stearns in the fourth round of his first draft overseeing Milwaukee, is a free agent. That also applies to lefties Blake Snell and Max Fried. While Cohen has shown a propensity to dish out excessive money to starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer — both later traded — he doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of opportunity there either, with future AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (post-2026) , Houston left-hander Framber Valdez (2025), right-hander Zac Gallen (2025), left-hander Garrett Crochet (2026) and right-hander Logan Gilbert (2027) the best options after this winter.

Maybe they get Soto, and if they don’t, maybe they build their winter around Alonso, or maybe Cohen shrugs and signs both and adds an ace. His willingness and ability to dive headlong into free agency has made him a beloved owner less than five years into his tenure, a rarity in the game. However, Cohen is much more than money. He recognizes the power of a good management team, of stepping into the margins, of investing in things that go beyond major league payroll. Teams aren’t just built on superstars. They are the product of talent, work and most of all – unquantifiable, but without a doubt – a kind of determination that the Mets found during their season.

“The guys understand how important it is to compete on every court,” Iglesias said. “We just give it everything we have, every pitch, every bat. And usually the god of baseball helps you if you go with the right energy and the right attitude.”

From LOL to OMG, the Mets are walking around with a different mentality these days. Gone is the shakiness of recent seasons, replaced by this year’s update and these playoffs. The Mets are no longer a team that constantly cycles through general managers and managers. They’re here. And even if 2025 can’t match the miracle of 2024, what happened in October allowed New York to take the next step.

Now comes the imperative part. Doing it again is tough, and doing it again will reinforce that the Mets are not taking anything for granted. They just don’t plan on going anywhere. They found something this year, something they think will last, something Dodgers vs. Mets, if it does, will become a regular playoff series. Los Angeles won this time, but the lessons New York learned are valuable. The start of the Mets’ revival has arrived. It’s only a matter of time before the full breadth of that reveals itself.