The New York Mets have seen their fair share of strange trends this season, beginning with the Grimace craze in June. Last week, the Mets played the Philadelphia Phillies in the best-of-five Division Series. Though Grimace has come and gone, a bright “OMG” sign in the dugout has caught fans’ attention. Where did the sign come from?
Many major league teams have unique ways of celebrating when their players hit home runs. The Orioles drink from a funnel, the Red Sox wear a medallion, and the Blue Jays wear a home run jacket. But the Mets have begun a new tradition: holding up a blue and orange “OMG” sign.
The sign originated with Alex Cohen, wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen who posted a photo on her Instagram in a t-shirt that said, you guessed it, “OMG.” The team then commissioned artist Jerome McCroy, also known as Jaymaccustoms, to make the sign in blue and orange.
Alex Cohen in her “OMG” shirt, posted June 26, 2024 / @tiaalexnymets
But, why “OMG”? The phrase comes from the song performed by the multi-talented Mets infielder Jose Iglesias. Iglesias publishes music under the name “Candelita,” and his song “OMG” garnered over 1,166,159 streams on Spotify. On October 11, Candelita released a remix featuring Pitbull and Silvestre Dangond.
“OMG” spreads an uplifting message about perseverance and achieving hard-set goals—making it a rallying cry for the Mets in the postseason. The song’s refrain (translated into English) is:
OMG, throw all the bad things away from here
OMG, give me health and prosperity
Iglesias said to MLB.com, “I love music. That’s what I do in my downtime in my hotels, in my travels. I write songs. It’s pretty cool. It’s something fun that I enjoy doing.” Little did he know, the Mets fan base would love singing his songs with him.
After a 4-1 win against the Phillies on October 9, the Mets are headed for the NLCS. The Mets are set to play the winner of the Padres-Dodgers series. Opponents aside, you might be able to catch a few “OMG”s.
Edited by Brooke Weinrich
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