The New York Mets hope that positive thinking can manifest their dreams of a World Series title.
On a Wednesday without spring practice games on the calendar, the Mets set up a practice called 27-outs, which requires a team to score 27 outs without making a mistake. With coaches Luis Rivera and Tony Tarasco taking turns hitting mushrooms around the field, the Mets’ defense scored.
With another one in the game, Tarasco introduces a situation where the Mets need one in Game 7 of the World Series to win. After a catch by outfielder Michael Conforto, the team decided to celebrate as if it had just won a title.
“I thought Michael did a great job simulating the catch and run back and everyone was celebrating such a fun time,” said Mets manager Luis Rojas. “It was an exciting camping day. Probably the best I’ve seen in my young coaching career.”
For players like Dominic Smith, the first leader of the Mets, the team was given the opportunity to use the positive thinking to win a championship.
“I believe in putting great things and positive things in the universe, and I feel it’s more likely to happen,” Smith said. “I know it’s great that our coach Tony, he set up the situation and we went through it. It gave me chills, especially when I look back at the video. It was pretty cool.”
While the moment gave the team an opportunity to dream big about the 2021 season, the imaginary championship celebration finally served a moment of vitality in the weeks leading up to the opening day.
“We are here because we want to win the championship, and we want to win and celebrate and bring it to the fan base,” Rojas said. “I’ve been here for 15 years, and it would be a dream to see it and see how everyone celebrates like that. We live in the moment, live in the day, and it’s nice to have such a camp day, see how the guys speed up and simulate our biggest goal. ‘