The New York Mets are floundering through their worst April stretch in franchise history, sitting near the bottom of the league while pundits and politicos trace the slide to more than injuries and bad swings—some blame an encounter between the team and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and wonder if politics and symbolism are now part of the narrative around a once-proud club.
This April has been brutal for the Mets, a stretch that has prompted sharp takes from sportswriters and commentators who usually weigh wins and losses without mixing in civic drama. The team entered the month with hopes tied to star additions and payroll muscle, but the field results have not matched the expectations set by ownership or fans. Republicans watching city leadership see the slump as one more example of local politics seeping into everyday life, and they’re not shy about assigning blame.
At the time of this report, the Mets sit near the bottom of the National League with a record that reads poorly and raises alarms for a roster that was supposed to be competitive. ESPN put it bluntly: “the longest April losing streak in Mets franchise history, and it’s the fastest New York has reached 15 losses since 1983.” That stat alone has driven conversation beyond box scores and into the narrative of accountability for stewardship, coaching decisions, and front-office judgments.
Critics point to a roster that has underperformed relative to payroll and expectations. Key signings and prospects have failed to carry their weight at the plate, and team metrics tell a story of offensive scarcity rather than heroic slumps. Conservative commentators who follow both sports and civic trends see this as a real-world demonstration of how leadership, priorities, and even symbolism can ripple into institutions, including professional teams.
Almost nobody on the team is hitting. Top prospect Carson Benge is hitting .150 with a .217 slugging percentage. Big free agent signing Bo Bichette has struggled mightily. Jorge Polanco is hitting .179. Brett Baty has a .197 on base percentage. Marcus Semien, brought over for Brandon Nimmo, has just one home run and a .577 OPS. They’re so desperate for offense, they signed Tommy Pham. The Dodgers, as a team, have a 138 weighted runs created plus, 38% better than league average. New York? Entering Saturday, their team wRC+ was 81, 19% worse than league average.
They’ve scored 18 runs over the 10-game losing streak, just 1.8 per game. It’s ugly.
Yes, the Mets could recover and salvage their season, particularly with Soto expected back in the next 7-10 days. But this is a stark reminder than building a team isn’t an exact science, even with a gigantic payroll at or near the top of the league.
The timing of the slump has fueled speculation. Observers noted that the losing streak deepened after Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly met with the Mets’ mascots on April 9, and that coincidence moved from idle chatter into a running narrative. For many conservatives, the encounter became a symbol of a broader cultural and political shift in New York under left-leaning city leadership, and they framed the team’s misfortunes as a visible consequence of priorities that value optics over outcomes.
Some folks drew a line from mascot photo ops to a supposed curse, referencing past moments when prominent political figures were blamed—often playfully—for jinxing athletes. That trope returned in conversations about the Mets, with comparisons to what was dubbed the “Obama Curse” in other seasons when presidential appearances coincided with unexpected losses. One outlet captured that idea this way: “has developed a habit of inflicting pain and humiliation upon the athletes whose games he decides to attend.”
Other commentators extended the meme by contrasting the Mets’ fortunes with those of rival teams after their encounters with high-profile politicians. The Yankees, for example, were held up as a counterpoint in online back-and-forths that linked meetings and subsequent records as if fate tracked photo ops. Those comparisons are part snark, part political jab, and they play well in media cycles that feed on symbolism and quick narratives.
Whether you take the Mamdani angle seriously or roll your eyes at superstition, the broader issue remains: a franchise with big payroll commitments is underperforming, and that opens questions about management, scouting, and decision-making. For conservatives who follow city governance closely, this episode feeds into an existing critique that local leaders are pursuing ideology at the expense of practical results, and that the fallout shows up in public institutions and cultural touchstones.
Fans and commentators will keep debating on message boards and on the air, but the on-field remedy is simple: better hitting, smarter roster decisions, and results. For now, the Mets sit in a hole that requires quick, tangible fixes rather than slogans or symbolic gestures from City Hall. The team’s next stretch of games will be judged on baseball terms, but the political angle is unlikely to disappear from the conversation anytime soon.
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