My sources were dead wrong. It's Santa Nimmo with his elves. pic.twitter.com/nFOlHnHEtR
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 7, 2017
The New York Mets Holiday Party came with a surprising twist this year as Brandon Nimmo earned the mercurial nod.
As of earlier this week, it was widely believed that Kevin Plawecki would be starring as Santa Claus for the Mets Thursday Holiday Party.
Rumor has it Kevin Plawecki, not Noah Syndergaard, will play Santa Claus at the Mets' upcoming holiday party. ?
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 5, 2017
But now that the day has come it seems there was a last minute switch on who would play the prestigious, but often scrutinized role of Santa.
Playing Santa has been deemed by fans as a ‘cursed’ role. As ridiculous as it may seem to some, there is some legitimate support for this theory.
Here is a list of Mets players that have had a down year after starring as Santa since 2010.
David Wright (2010): Wright went on to only play 102 games and managed a .771 OPS, the second-lowest mark of his career. Both of these contributed to a down season for Wright and stonewalled his streak of All-Star appearances at five.
R.A. Dickey (2012): Dickey was coming off his CY Young Award-winning season and no doubt the best year of his career. After playing Santa, he was swiftly traded to the Blue Jays, where his ERA ballooned from 2.71 in 2012 to 4.21 in 2013.
Jenrry Mejia (2014): Mejia broke out in 2014, saving 28 games and looking like the Mets’ closer of the future. Then Mejia played Santa at the 2014 Holiday Party and was subsequently caught three times for PED’s in 2015 and beyond. This earned him a lifetime ban from baseball.
Steven Matz (2015): Matz burst onto the scene in 2015, going 4-0 and starting meaningful games in the postseason throughout the World Series run. But 2016 was a different story, as he only threw 132.1 innings before undergoing elbow surgery. His ERA jumped up to 3.20 and his WHIP 1.209.
Noah Syndergaard (2016): Thor as Santa seemed like fun and games until he tore his lat muscle in an April start against the Washington Nationals. He would appear again in September, but only pitched a couple of innings. Thankfully, he turned in his Santa suit for an elf costume this year.
— Kristie Ackert (@Ackert_NYDN) December 7, 2017
Maybe there’s something in Santa’s eggnog, but the results have not been kind to past Saint Nicks. Here’s hoping Nimmo can buck the trend in 2018.
