The lasting image of the young Wright celebrating
Writers like me tend to embrace subjects we call “evergreen.” This refers to topics that remain relevant for a good long time after they are published. And today’s topic is one of those.
This could have been written in March, when all the experts said the Nationals would win the division simply by throwing their gloves on the field. Or when the Mets ripped off 11 straight wins in April. Or at mid-season, when the Nats had seemed to reassert their rightful place atop the division. Or now, when it’s the Mets division to lose. Or anytime.
We know what this is like. It happened to us in…dare I mention it..2007. And again in 2008. And it is happening to the Washington Nationals right now.
No, we’re not talking about underachievement per se. We’re talking about those great expectations surrounding teams that are loaded on paper – and have already had a taste of post-season baseball.
So why are these great expectations a curse for the fans? Well, with the possible exception of the 20th century Yankees, a team whose fans believed (and still do) that perpetual victory is a birthright, it can suck the joy out of the whole experience.
Great expectations did not surround the 2015 Mets. A run at the wildcard was possible, but winning the division seemed pure fantasy. Of course, that’s why they play the games. Even after Bryce Harper asked for his World Series ring in the winter.
But in the wake of that roller coaster ride to end all roller coaster rides, transforming the team from laughingstock to borderline powerhouse in the space of five unforgettable days that bridged the end of July with the start of August, we can now see our window opening, just as the Nats’ may be closing.
While this hardly means we are sure to win this division, the trajectory is clear for the Mets at least, and what’s making this whole ride so joyous is that for the most part, we began the season with…low expectations.
Contrast that with fans of the Nats, who experienced the same joyride in 2012 as we are now. But who entered this season with a burden to bear. The burden of two ugly post-season failures. The burden of having to win this season because they are such heavy favorites, and their core is starting to age, and they face the loss of multiple key players after this season. They carry the burden of a high ceiling that results in mostly simple head-nodding or relief rather than celebration after victories. The burden of…this finishing first thing is fine, but it won’t mean a thing if we don’t win it all in October.
No joy in that.
If we harken back to 2006-07, Mets fans can recall an almost identical experience. The 2006 team was surrounded by expectations of improvement, like this year’s team, but not burdened by necessarily having to finish first to mark the season as a success. And certainly not expected to win it all. So what’s happening now – some might prefer to say what’s happening in this AD portion of the season as opposed to BC (before Cespedes) – feels like 2006.
And then we recall – oh so painfully – 2007. After Wainwright froze Beltran with the hook from hell, that haunting conclusion to 2006 instantly generated great expectations for 2007 that only a World Series title could fully satisfy. And even leaving the great collapse aside, recall the difference in your emotions when they won games in 2007 compared to 2006.
2006 was “wow, this is fun.” 2007 was “yeah, well, they should have won that game.”
Almost like the difference between business and pleasure.
Analogies abound. The 2006/2015 Mets and 2012 Nationals are akin to the 2015 Astros and Cubs. On the way up, exceeding expectations, generating a steady buzz of energy and excitement.
The 2007 Mets and 2015 Nationals are akin to the 2015 Tigers, Mariners, Red Sox and White Sox, whose fans’ experience has been similarly and particularly bitter because of…great expectations.
Of course, the Nationals could still change the narrative, but it will now require the cooperation of a team everyone thought they would squash like a bug.
The moral of the story is not just that great expectations have the power to crush the spirit, but that low expectations have the equal and opposite power to allow the spirit to soar.
So enjoy this ride. Soak it in. Live in the moment. Because no matter how this season ends, we know next season will arrive with great expectations.
