In December 2015, Ben Zobrist spurned the Mets for the Chicago Cubs, so New York had to shift focus to plan B.

Plan B turned out to be better than anything they could have ever asked for. Asdrubal Cabrera was coming off a decent year for the Rays, but it was no secret to any team in on him in the winter that his time at shortstop was limited.

Cabrera had a history of knee issues and was a defensive liability. But on Dec. 15, then-general manager Sandy Alderson inked him to a two-year, $18.5 million dollar deal with a team option for a third season.

The year after making the World Series, the Mets found themselves a new starting shortstop.

Entering 2015, Cabrera was a decent player.

He averaged 11 home runs a season, slashed .267/.329/.412 on his career, and was seen as an offensive first player. Fan reception to the Cabrera deal wasn’t great, and he was seen unfairly partly due to the hole left in our hearts by a future World Champion. Cabrera came out of the gates hot, hitting .300 in his first month with the Mets.

He struggled through May and June, and suffered a bad knee injury on July 31. The Mets slipped to twp games under .500 and 5.5 games out of the second Wild Card by Aug. 19.

Then-manager Terry Collins went on to say that the Mets had  players in Las Vegas that could play if the “guys up here” didn’t wake up. Shortly there after, Cabrera returned from the DL, and was on another level.

Dyed hair and everything, Asdrubal turned on another gear and took off towards a playoff push. He hit .317 in September with a .389 OBP and six home runs. One of those home runs, however, will never be forgotten.

It was Sept. 22, and the Mets had a half game lead on their playoff position, as they were tied with the Giants for the first and second Wild Cards.

The Phillies were in town, and the Mets were stuck in a tough one.

After much back and forth, Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead double in the seventh, only to be answered by a Maikel Franco three-run home run. Followed was a game-tying home run from Jose Reyes in the ninth, only for A.J. Ellis to suck all the life out of Citi Field and give the Phillies a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the 11th.

With two runners on, Cabrera came up just looking to keep the line moving. But on a 1-0 pitch, Edubray Ramos hung an off-speed pitch and Asdrubal took a hack. He knew where that ball was going from the second it hit his bat.

A swing that lives on in Mets’ history, Cabrera threw his lumber into the sky with a double handed motion. After four bat flips and two “It’s Outta Here!!”s from Gary Cohen, Cabrera walked it off.

A three-run bomb that landed over the head of right fielder Peter Bourjos and over the right field wall, Cabrera had the most dramatic hit of the year, and secured the Mets’ most important since the previous years playoffs.

Cespedes, waiting in the on-deck circle, threw his helmet to the side and was the first Met to home plate. He was soon followed by a mob of orange and blue, with a little blonde thrown in there. Michael Conforto threw his hands in the air as he headed for third base, and joined the huddle of men poised for an all-time great playoff run. Cabrera rounded third, threw his helmet towards the field of play, and trotted to home plate as if he was Isuro Tanaka in Major League 2.

Cabrera was a constant for the Mets in the following years that were filled with disappointment.

He showed time and time again what it meant to be a New York Met. He saw players come and go, the highs and the lows, the hope and the despair.

Cabrera vastly outperformed his contract, but his importance to the Mets carried more than that. He was always active in the community, and always had time for the fans.

He quickly became a fan favorite, and hardly ever complained about the situations the Mets threw him into — minus one time last season. But that’s water under the bridge now.

Cabrera put together an All-Star first half this season, and was one of the only watchable aspects of this Mets team. Cabrera’s importance and impact to the Mets will likely always fly under the radar because of the teams he played for and the outcomes of those seasons, but without him, the Mets likely don’t see a playoff berth in 2016. Cabrera’s legacy should live on in Mets second base history, and his devoting to the fans, the city, and the franchise should not be forgotten.

Asdrubal was a key piece in taking a game, and making it something larger than life, even if it was just for a month and a half in 2016. Cabrera became more than a ball player. He encompassed everything the Mets needed, and had fun with it too.

Cabrera and the 2016 Mets were so likable and easy to get behind, and showed us what baseball is really about: fun.

That group of 25 went out every night, some with dyed hair, some not, and took our hearts and minds away from everything else in our lives, even if just for three hours at the most. And maybe it was just me being a 13-year-old kid who loved a baseball team.

If that’s so, then Asdrubal Cabrera helped us all channel our inner kid and just love the game of baseball.