The New York Mets hopes that positive thinking can manifest their dreams of a World Series title.
On a Wednesday with no spring training games on the calendar, Mets set up an exercise called the 27 outs game, which requires a team to record 27 outs without making a mistake. With coaches Luis Rivera and Tony Tarasco taking turns in the fungi hitting the field, the Mets defense registered outside.
With an outsider still in the game, Tarasco set up a situation where the Mets were in game 7 of the World Series needing an out to win. After a capture by striker Michael Conforto, the team decided to celebrate as if they had just won the title.
“I thought Michael did a good job simulating the reception and the race back and everyone was celebrating, fun times,” said Mets coach Luis Rojas. “It was an exciting day of camping. Probably the best I’ve seen this exercise done in my young coaching career.”
For players like Mets first baseman Dominic Smith, the situation created by the exercise gave the team an opportunity to invoke the positive thinking necessary to win a championship.
“I believe in putting great things and positive things in the universe, and I feel that this is more likely to happen,” said Smith. “I know it’s great that our coach Tony, he set that up and we kind of went through it. It gave me chills, especially looking at the video. It was really cool.”
Although the moment gave the team the opportunity to dream big about the 2021 season, ultimately, the imaginary celebration of the championship served as a moment of levity in the weeks leading up to Opening Day.
“We are here because we want to win the championship and we want to win and celebrate and take that to the fan base, the organization,” said Rojas. “I have been here for 15 years and it would be a dream come true to see you and see everyone celebrate like this. We are living in the moment, living the day, and it is fun to have a camping day like that, to see the guys increase the intensity of the game speed and simulate our biggest goal. “