In lost season, Mets moral victories are what the fans need

It was just like any other Tuesday night at Citi Field when Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons settled in to watch the New York Mets play the Cincinnati Reds. Simmons was also catching the first pitch from fellow actor Bill Fagerbakke, known to most as the voice of Patrick on Spongebob.

Or, for the older fans, it was Karl Metzger and Vernon Schillinger from Oz reuniting. Oddly wholesome considering the former HBO prison drama!

Of course, because the game was in Queens and Simmons is also J. Jonah Jameson, we should have expected the friendly neighborhood web-slinger would make an appearance. Simmons fully leaned into the bit and looked properly perturbed at the masked “menace” behind him!

It was a fun highlight on an otherwise forgettable evening. The Mets were shellacked 7-2 and thankful for Juan Soto’s garbage time two-run shot. Quite the opposite of when Tom Hanks showed up to the Subway Series earlier this month and had a “WILSON” moment a la Cast Away with Mr. Met, and the Mets won that game 6-3.

Even funnier is that J.K. Simmons isn’t even a Mets fan. He isn’t even a native New Yorker. He was born and spent most of his childhood in Michigan, and he even has a Detroit Tigers shirt underneath the Mets jersey.

Except this is what the Mets and their fans need as the team sits dead last in the NL East at 23-33, 14 games behind first-place Atlanta. They’re already letting the kids like Nick Morabito and A.J. Ewing play. The pitching staff is riddled with injuries and underachieving. Freddy Peralta is an expensive trade chip.

Thus, why not lean into the ridiculous and get more famous fans to show up for the occasional gimmick? It beats watching Soto hit meaningless home runs while everyone waits for Francisco Lindor to come back from a calf strain. Or Kodai Senga to look like an actual pitcher again. The Mets would have an easier time redirecting the 7-Train to Greenpoint than they would salvaging the 2026 season.

So what does that mean? Easy. Bring in Ray Romano and Kevin James for a King of Queens/Everybody Loves Raymond crossover. Or Romano and John Leguizamo for the Ice Age crowd. The Mets could also bring in Queens native Nas to hype up the crowd, maybe announce the starting lineup.

And in that same vein, why not bring back Jamaica’s own 50 Cent for a shot at redemption and try another first pitch? There’s no way he can fare worse than his original attempt, right?

This isn’t a knock on the Mets. They gambled and lost on letting Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency. Juan Soto, not even two years into his 15-year deal, is a power-hitting paperweight. The team is staring a full offseason overhaul square in the face. A long, ugly overhaul.

Until then, lean into the wild, crazy, and fun and stack the deck with celebs. Moral victories are all this team has left.