The New York Mets hope that positive thinking can manifest their dreams of a World Series title.
On a Wednesday with no spring training games on the calendar, the Mets organized an exercise called the 27-out game, which requires a team to record 27 outings without making a mistake. As coaches Luis Rivera and Tony Tarasco took turns hitting mushrooms around the field, the Mets defense was recorded outside.
With one left in the game, Tarasco settled a situation where the Mets were in Game 7 of the World Series, needing one to win. After a capture by outfielder Michael Conforto, the team decided to celebrate as if they had just won a title.
“I thought Michael did a good job of simulating catching and running back and everyone was celebrating, so had fun,” said Mets manager Luis Rojas. “It was an exciting day at camp. Probably the best I’ve seen in this exercise in my young coaching career.”
For players like first Mets member Dominic Smith, the situation created by the exercise gave the team the opportunity to invoke the positive thinking needed to capture a championship.
“I believe in putting big things and positive things in the universe, and I feel that’s when it’s more likely to happen,” Smith said. “I know it’s great that our coach Tony, he created that situation and I kind of went through that. It made me shiver, especially looking back at the video. It was pretty cool.”
While the moment offered the team the opportunity to dream at sea about the 2021 season, finally the celebration of the imagined championship served as a moment of ease in the weeks before Opening Day.
“We are here because we want to win the championship and we want to win, celebrate and bring this to the fans, the organization,” Rojas said. “I have been here for 15 years and it would be a dream come true to see him and watch everyone celebrate like this. We live the moment, we live the day and it’s fun to have a day of camp like this, see how the boys increase the intensity at the speed of the game and simulate our biggest goal. “