How Grimace Became An Unlikely Icon For New York Mets Baseball

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Check out the full project here.

The New York Mets’ run to the postseason has been led by McDonald’s mascot Grimace. If it seems like a weird pairing… Well, it is a weird pairing. But it’s also one that works for a delightfully weird, extremely online team.

The relationship began back in June, when Grimace threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a game at Citi Field. The toss was good enough, especially considering the less-than-ideal throwing mechanics available to a mascot, but the win streak that followed was the stuff of legend.

“The Grimace Effect” as it became known, joined “OMG” as an anthem to the Mets’ midseason turnaround. After five straight wins in June, even the players were acknowledging Grimace’s impact.

Now in the postseason, facing off against a division rival in the Phillies, the Mets are going all in on Grimace once again, including a takeover of the 7 train that takes fans from Manhattan to Citi Field in Queens.

The Grimace gimmick is still working. On Tuesday night, the Mets moved one win away from the NLCS with a 7-2 win over the Phillies. Yes, there were multiple Grimaces in attendance. They celebrated with verve.

@whistle

Rating the best chains in the MLB 🧊 💎 @Adam Kester @Elliot Georgiadis #majorleaguebaseball #mlbb

Hopefully, you already know Homefield. For those of you who do not, allow us to introduce you. Our story begins after Indiana’s heartbreaking loss to Duke in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl, where a kick that went over the goal post was shockingly ruled no good. In the depths of college football Twitter, a shirt was designed.

That design was by Connor Hitchcock, and he sold enough shirts to plant an idea in his head that would bear fruit years later. What if college merch was actually fun?

Homefield was born in 2018. The brand started off connecting with smaller schools in the midwest like Evansville, Wayne State, and Wright State. Most importantly, the merch was good.

Six years later, Homefield is a powerhouse, with hats, hoodies, shirts, and sweats for colleges across the country. They’ve got big fans in the world of sports media, including ESPN’s Mina Kimes.

Where college merch was long locked in the past with simple logo shirts available at the campus bookstore, Homefield has pushed the space forward, celebrating the mascots of old and new to create a premium brand that college athletics has long needed.

Let her be the first of many.