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OMG! Mets infielder Jose Iglesias sings his song after the win

OMG! Mets infielder Jose Iglesias sings his song after the win

NEW YORK (AP) — Move aside, Baha Men, and make room, Timmy Trumpet. Here comes Candelita – aka Jose Iglesias, infielder for the New York Mets.

The tradition of musicians performing at Mets games and singing songs associated with the team took a unique twist Friday night when Iglesias sang his song “OMG” in front of 32,465 fans at Citi Field following a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

“New York City!” Iglesias shouted as he walked toward shortstop, a position he has played 1,016 times in his 12-year major league career. “Let’s keep the party going!”

Iglesias was accompanied by dancers for more than a minute before his teammates – many wearing “OMG” shirts – streamed onto the infield, surrounded him and raised their arms in the air to the “Oh my God!” chorus. Sean Manaea held up an “OMG” sign while Harrison Bader, Starling Marte and Mark Vientos filmed the performance with their cellphones.

“It’s hard to say how I feel,” Iglesias said afterwards in the dressing room, where Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor still sang the song. “It was a big deal. To sing in front of great fans and see my teammates walk up there is just a dream come true.”

Iglesias is a lifelong music fan who wrote “OMG” — which he described to SNY earlier this week as an attempt to “…maximize the possibility of enjoyment” — and used it as his walkup song when he was called up from Triple-A Syracuse on May 31.

His new teammates took an immediate liking to the 34-year-old Iglesias and his song, which is played after every Mets home run at Citi Field and after every win. New York has a 17-6 record since he joined the team and reached a record above .500 on Friday for the first time since May 2.

“It’s incredible – I think this is going to be great for him,” said Mets starter Jose Quintana. “It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”

“And the way we keep playing, I’ll probably listen to this song at least once or twice every game.”

The song was released on all streaming platforms on Friday, a week earlier than planned.

“I think it’s a special occasion,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who wore an “OMG” shirt at his pregame press conference. “You have an active player who also has a song that’s becoming increasingly popular.”

Now the Mets hope that Iglesias and his other teammates will have better luck after the concert.

The Baha Men played “Who Let The Dogs Out?” – the anthem of the NL champion Mets – before Game 4 of the 2000 World Series, but Derek Jeter Just minutes later, he hit a home run on Bobby Jones’ first pitch and the Yankees won the next two games to secure their third consecutive title.

On August 31, 2022, saxophonist Timmy Trumpet played “Narco,” the opening song for the graduation Edwin Diazwhen Díaz jogged in for a save against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Díaz threw a perfect ninth inning to secure a 2-1 victory, but the Mets blew a three-game lead in the NL East in September, lost the division title to the Atlanta Braves and were eliminated in a Wild Card Series.

Iglesias, who has a .389 batting average in 36 at-bats, said he would not have sung the song on Friday if the Mets had lost.

“How many emotions were there? A lot,” Iglesias said. “The way my teammates reacted and the fans and everything that happened – it’s just a perfect storm and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb