. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

While 2021 didn’t have the outcome the Mets had hoped for, the season was filled with some incredible moments. Compared to 2020, 2021 has a stacked top 10 games (and Home Derby thrown in there) of the year.

Let’s take a look back and smile at some of the most exciting moments of the year for the Mets.

10. Mets Win Thrillers Against Phillies on Back-to-Back Days, June 25 and 26

June was an incredible time for the Mets. They won the season series against a great Padres team, won 3/4 from a good Cubs team, and had won important games against the division rival Phillies and Braves.

June 25 was a double-header day at Citi Field against the Phillies. The first game was a nail-biter, as the Mets were trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 7th. Francisco Lindor tied the game against closer Jose Alvarado at 1, and the game went into extras. Seth Lugo worked around the free runner to give the Mets a chance to win in a tie game entering the bottom of the eighth. Dom Smith slapped a base hit to drive in Lindor and win the game for the Mets.

June 26 was a nine inning game, but was another nail-biter. The Phillies led 3-2 after grabbing a lead on a sac-fly in the top of the ninth, and Hector Neris was sent out to close the game. Luis Guillorme worked a bases loaded walk to tie the game, and Michael Conforto drove in Billy McKinney to win the game on a sacrifice fly.

9. Welcome to New York El Mago, July 31

While June was a great month, July proved to be one of the most exciting months of the year for the Mets. July holds more top 10 moments than any other month.

Javier Báez joined the Mets for his first game on July 31 after being traded from the Cubs. Báez joined the lineup with a bang, as he smacked a two-run homer into the New York night in his third at-bat for his first Mets hit. While his home run had a huge impact on the game, it isn’t the reason why this game is number nine on the list.

The Mets were trailing 4-1 in the sixth when Báez homered, and Dom Smith tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a single.

Edwin Diaz had a dominant top of the tenth to give the Mets a chance to win it in the bottom half. Up to the plate came captain clutch Brandon Drury, who singled into right field to walk it off for the Mets, 5-4.

8. Jacob “MVP” deGrom, June 11

Jacob deGrom sparked excitement every time he talked to the mound in 2021. While he had many phenomenal starts in 2021, the one on June 11 was one of his best.

DeGrom was gaining a lot of attention, as he had a 0.62 ERA entering the start. Having an 0.62 ERA in June for someone who had eight starts was unheard of.

It was clear that deGrom was having a historic season, and the fans at Citi Field could feel it early against the Padres on June 11. After 4.1 no-hit innings, the fans were chanting “MVP” quite frequently during the night. Not only did he toss six shutout innings, striking out 10 and lowering his ERA to 0.56, he also drove in two of the three Mets runs on the day, as the Mets won 3-2.

7. Bench Mob Has No Quit, May 21

A Mets lineup that was eviscerated with injuries tried to win as many games as they could while they sat in first place in late-May.

The starting lineup from this game in Miami looked like it was from Spring Training:

Jonathan Villar 3B
Francisco Lindor SS
Cameron Maybin RF
Dom Smith LF
Tomas Nido C
Jose Peraza 2B
Brandon Drury 1B
Johneshwy Fargas CF
Marcus Stroman P

The Mets led 3-1 early, but the Marlins evened it up at three in the seventh.

Trevor May had one of the most exciting moments of the year in the bottom of the eighth, as he managed to strike out Garrett Cooper on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded and two out. As May walked off the field, he screamed and clenched his fists.

After the Marlins and Mets went back-and-forth in the 10th and 11th without scoring, the Mets broke the stalemate in the 12th. Khalil Lee knocked his first MLB hit, a double that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. Johneshwy Fargas later hit a triple to drive in Jake Hager and Khalil Lee, making it 6-3 Mets.

Aaron Loup almost lost it for the Mets in the bottom half, as he allowed two runs to score on two hits. Jacob Barnes came in and got Adam Duvall to fly out and end the intense battle, as the Mets won it 6-5.

6. Kevin Pillar Smacks Go-Ahead 3-Run Extra Innings Homer In Cincinnati, July 19

The Mets were leading the charge in the NL East when they entered a big series in Cincinnati. The Reds were 48-45 and had been heating up in the Wild Card Race. The Mets were coming off a disappointing seven-game stretch against the Pirates and needed a jolt to get the second half going.

The Mets led 3-0 in the first, after back-to-back home runs from Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. However, that lead disappeared after the second inning, when they trailed 7-3. The Mets continued to fight, and in the fifth inning down 7-6, Dom Smith slugged the fourth home run of the game to tie it back up at seven.

The game continued to go back and forth and the Mets and Reds were tied at 9-9 entering extras. In the 11th, the Mets pulled ahead 11-10 on a Jeff McNeil single. Then Kevin Pillar stepped in a slugged a crushing 3-run homer to make it 14-10. From there, the Mets went on to win 15-11, seeming poised for a good second half.

5. Jose Peraza Crushes Josh Hader, July 7

In the first game of a doubleheader against the Brewers in Queens, Jacob deGrom got the ball against the future Cy Young Corbin Burnes. The highly anticipated pitchers dual lived up to the hype, as deGrom tossed seven innings with 10 strikeouts and Burnes allowed one run over 5.2.

The Mets trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the 7th, and Josh Hader took the ball trying to save it for Milwaukee.

Josh Hader only had one blown save in 2021, and Mets fans were about to witness it as Jose Peraza stepped in. The fans could sense something special from Peraza, and then he smacked a game-tying home run to left field. That was one of only three home runs Hader allowed all year.

The game proceeded to extras, and the Mets were down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth. Jeff McNeil got a bases loaded single to walk it off for the Mets in what was another thrilling July game.

4. DeGromination on Jackie Robinson Day, April 23

Jacob deGrom managed to get two spots on this top 10 list, with this one being his most dominant start of 2021. This start might even be the best he has ever had.

He faced off against a familiar opponent, the Nationals, at Citi Field.

DeGrom was on a rail from the start. While he allowed his first hit in the second inning, it would end up being one of two in the entire game.

It was still early in the season, but fans could tell what deGrom was doing was special. At this point in the season, he had more RBI than he had runs allowed.

The “master of his craft” deGrom tossed a complete game shutout, allowing two hits, no walks, and struck out 15 Nationals, setting a career high.

After this start, his ERA for the season fell to an astonishing 0.31.

3. Pete Alonso Wins Back-To-Back Home Run Derby’s, July 12

Pete Alonso entered the 2021 Home Run Derby with one goal – go back-to-back. He had been talking about it all year, and said how much he had been practicing.

His second derby was drastically different from the first. Not only did he have the human pitching machine Dave Jauss throwing to him, he didn’t have the same first-time jitters as 2019.

From bobbing his head up and down in the middle of time-outs, to murdering almost every baseball he saw, Pete Alonso put on quite the show at Coors Field. It was clear that Pete was a man on a mission, as he mashed a record-breaking 35 home runs in the first round. The previous first round record was 28 by Josh Hamilton.

The dialed in Alonso went on to win his second-straight derby, providing quite the exciting moment for Mets fans during the All-Star break.

2. “Turn Those Thumbs Around!” August 31

What an interesting day August 31 was for the Mets.

It was the first game the Mets had played since Javier Báez said that he and Francisco Lindor had been booing the fans with their thumbs-down celebration.

Secondly, it was the continuance of the April 11 suspended game against the Marlins, marking it the longest amount of time between the start and finish of a suspended game in baseball history.

Third, it was the first game of a doubleheader. However, because it was a suspended game, the first game had to be nine innings.

Fourth, the Mets had their best comeback win of the season.

The Mets were losing 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth, and Brandon Drury led off the inning with a strikeout. Following a Chance Sisco walk, Brandon Nimmo smacked a two-run homer to make it 5-3.

Later in the inning, Báez extended the inning with an infield RBI-single, making it 5-4. The next batter was Conforto, who slapped a base hit to left field to tie the game at five. However, left-fielder Jorge Alfaro kicked the ball around which allowed Báez to round third and score to win the game.

This moment also gave us Gary Cohen’s best call of the year.

1. The Francisco Lindor Game, September 12

2021 was not the year Lindor had hoped for, but September 12, 2021 turned out to be the day where Lindor cemented himself in the hearts of Mets fans.

Not only did he hit three massive home runs during the game, he taunted Giancarlo Stanton which eventually led to the benches clearing.

Lindor wore the Mets proudly across his chest as he smacked a three-run homer in the 2nd, a two-run homer in the 6th, and a solo shot in the 8th.

He also hit home runs from both sides of the plate in this game, joining a very special group of players to do so. Lindor joined Jose Reyes as the second Mets shortstop to hit three homers in a game.

The Mets went on to win the game 7-6, with five of the RBIs coming from Lindor.

2021 wasn’t the best year for the Mets, but it was certainly filled with exciting moments that fans can reflect on for years to come. One year from today, who knows what will be on the top 10 list. Maybe the Mets will have another ring to add to the collection for next years list.