NEW YORK — Step aside, Baha Men, and step aside, Timmy Trumpet. Here comes Candelita – that is, New York Mets infielder Jose Iglesias.
The tradition of musicians appearing at Mets games and playing songs associated with the team took a unique turn Friday night when Iglesias performed his song “OMG” after a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 32,465 fans at Citi Field.
“New York City!” Iglesias shouted as he walked toward shortstop, a position he held 1,016 times in his 12-year major league career. “Let’s keep the party beautiful!”
Iglesias was joined by dancers for more than a minute before his teammates — many of them in “OMG” T-shirts — spilled out onto the infield and surrounded him, raising their arms to the “Oh my God!” Chorus. Sean Manaea held up an “OMG” sign while Harrison Bader, Starling Marte and Mark Vientos captured the performance on their cell phones.
“It’s hard to say how I feel,” Iglesias said later, in the locker room, where Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor were still singing the song. “That was a big deal. Singing in front of great fans and seeing my teammates running is just a dream come true.”
Iglesias is a longtime music fan who wrote “OMG” — which he described to SNY earlier this week as an attempt to “…maximize the possibility of fun” — and used it as his leadoff song upon being called back from Triple-A Syracuse on May 31. .
His new teammates immediately liked Iglesias and also his music, which is played after every Mets home run at Citi Field and after every victory. New York is 17-6 since joining the team and surpassed .500 on Friday for the first time since May 2.
“It’s amazing — I think it’s going to be a big deal for him,” Mets starting pitcher José Quintana said. “It’s really cool to be a part of this.”
“And the way we keep playing, I hope to hear that song at least once or twice every game.”
The song was released on all streaming platforms on Friday, a week ahead of schedule.
“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 musician who is also releasing music that is becoming very popular.”
Now the Mets are hoping for better post-concert luck for Iglesias and the rest of his teammates.
The Baha Men sang “Who Let The Dogs Out?” — the anthem of the NL champion Mets — before Game 4 of the 2000 World Series, but Derek Jeter scored on Bobby Jones’ first pitch just minutes later and the Yankees won the next two games to win their third straight title.
On August 31, 2021, saxophonist Timmy Trumpet played “Narco,” the entrance song for closer Edwin Díaz, as Díaz ran for a save opportunity against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While Díaz pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out a 2-1 victory, the Mets squandered a three-game NL East lead in September, lost the division title to the Atlanta Braves and were eliminated in a wild-card series.
Iglesias, who is batting .389 in 36 at-bats, said he would not have performed the song on Friday if the Mets lost.
“How many emotions were there? A lot,” said Iglesias. “The way my teammates reacted, the fans and everything that’s going on – it’s a perfect storm and I’m so happy to be in it.”
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