Patrick Mahomes II Wore A Mets Jersey
Entering Arrowhead before the clash with the Bengals, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes II was wearing his father’s Mets jersey. What is interesting is that of the six stops in his father’s career, this is the jersey which Mahomes opted to wear:
.@PatrickMahomes5 walks into Arrowhead wearing his dad's jersey!
?: #CINvsKC (8:20pm ET) on NBC https://t.co/gLb6yyrWzX
— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2018
Perhaps, this is because Pat Mahomes best season in the majors was with the 1999 Mets. That year, Mahomes was a crucial long man in the bullpen for a Mets team that needed to win each and every last game. Thinking back on that season, if Mahomes had one hiccup, the Mets don’t force a one game playoff for the Wild Card.
As good as he was in the regular season, Mahomes was even better in the NLCS that year. In fact, if not for his pitching some of the most beloved moments in Mets history don’t happen. If he does not bail out Dennis Cook in the seventh inning and keep the Braves at bay in the beginning of the eighth inning in Game 5, we likely never see Robin Ventura‘s Grand Slam Single.
In Game 6, Mahomes bailed out Al Leiter after he allowed five earned without even recording an out. Mahomes pitching four scoreless innings from there allowed the Mets to tie the game on the eventual Mike Piazza opposite field home run off John Smoltz in the seventh. Sure, that game ended in heartbreak, but the thrill of seeing that comeback was made possible by Mahomes.
Much like each of us Mets fans, the younger Mahomes was likely glued to his seat. Unlike the rest of us, Mahomes got to know the team in 1999 and 2000:
https://twitter.com/yayroger/status/1054155668452794371
Whatever the reason, of all the teams Mahomes’ father played for during his career, his son seems to feel a closer to connection with the Mets. As a Mets fan, I was rooting for him to succeed because of what his father meant to the Mets during the 1999 season. Seeing him wear the Mets jersey last night is going to make me root for him all the more.