Purple is the color of royalty, often signifying the status of a noble being or the presence of a king and Queen(s). Or maybe, if you’re truly lucky, a Birthday Shake. The Mets, a team often on the brink of some sort of internal collapse, was visited by such a noble foreign dignitary last week at Citi Field: Grimace, who threw out the first pitch on June 12 in celebration of another year of life. His attendance drew of frenzy of public interest thanks to his throwing technique and general cuteness, with the Amazin’ Mets going on to win the game. And then … they did it again. And again. And again. As of today, the team is on a six-game hot streak, which both the MLB and official Mets social-media accounts have credited to the “Grimace era.†ESPN has also noted the “power of Grimace†on its sportscast, while Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is happy to give kudos to the purple king.
“I don’t know about coincidences. He definitely correlates with us going on this run. If that’s what you want to attribute it to, then I’m all for it. Whatever it is, let’s keep it going,†Nimmo explained when asked about Grimace’s effect. “I think it’s great. We even said when we were having the team meeting, We need to have fun. We need to come out here and we need to have fun. We need to be accountable to each other, but first and foremost, we all grew up with this being a kids’ game. I think that’s a lot of fun, adding Grimace to this. So I’m all for it.â€
The Mets are set to continue their series against the Texas Rangers in Arlington tonight, where both teams will presumably play a normal game and not violently convulse in the dugout after drinking a few milkshakes.