Outside of March Madness and pro-sports playoff games, I don't pay nearly as much attention to sports as I used to, for reasons that would take another piece to explain in detail. But I do pay a lot of attention to what goes on in politics, which is why the story of the New York Mets' April losing streak caught my attention.
As of this writing, the Mets sit at the bottom of the National League East, with a record of 7-15. In fact, it's the worst record in the National League, tied for worst place in Major League Baseball with the American League Central's Kansas City Royals.
According to ESPN, the Mets' current 11-game losing streak is "the longest April losing streak in Mets franchise history, and it's the fastest New York has reached 15 losses since 1983."
SEE ALSO: Morning Minute: Play Ball!
Our First 2026 March Madness Legend Has Arrived, and Man, Is He Something Else
The reasons for the Mets' bad April are being hotly debated by the notoriously brutal New York/New Jersey sports media and other sports aficionados, including Outkick founder Clay Travis:
Almost nobody on the team is hitting. Top prospect Carson Benge is hitting .150 with a .217 slugging percentage. Big free agent signing Bo Bichette has struggled mightily. Jorge Polanco is hitting .179. Brett Baty has a .197 on base percentage. Marcus Semien, brought over for Brandon Nimmo, has just one home run and a .577 OPS. They're so desperate for offense, they signed Tommy Pham. The Dodgers, as a team, have a 138 weighted runs created plus, 38% better than league average. New York? Entering Saturday, their team wRC+ was 81, 19% worse than league average.
They've scored 18 runs over the 10-game losing streak, just 1.8 per game. It's ugly.
Yes, the Mets could recover and salvage their season, particularly with Soto expected back in the next 7-10 days. But this is a stark reminder than building a team isn't an exact science, even with a gigantic payroll at or near the top of the league.
But one thing Travis and other keen observers of both sports and politics have also pointed to is how the Mets' losing streak started after a now-infamous meeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had with the Mets' mascots on April 9th:
The Mets are 0-11 since Mr. and
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 19, 2026
Mrs. Met hugged Mamdani. pic.twitter.com/SmIvOBX3DI
Mamdani curse? Mets lose 11 straight after young mayor's Mr., Mrs. Met hug https://t.co/MLNeP4i6y5 pic.twitter.com/5XXwHu4TIw
— New York Post (@nypost) April 20, 2026
The Mets have not won a single game since Zohran Mamdani visited Citified & cursed the team. The Mets have now lost 5 straight games & were swept by the A's for the 1st time in team history. What do the Mets need to do to lift the Mamdani curse? Open to suggestions! #LGM https://t.co/psEPLrZfLZ
— Izengabe (@Izengabe_) April 12, 2026
This is reminiscent of what was known at the time as the Obama Curse, with The Free Beacon noting in 2019 that the former president "has developed a habit of inflicting pain and humiliation upon the athletes whose games he decides to attend."
The Obama Curse Strikes Again https://t.co/TZvNyAf7jA pic.twitter.com/aITFIWgpLj
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 3, 2019
Some folks have contrasted the Mamdani Curse from hugging the Mets mascots to the New York Yankees' record since meeting with President Trump last September:
The Yankees are 27–12 since @realDonaldTrump visited https://t.co/Ros8AmPage pic.twitter.com/4jtM8nER0P
— Mike Hahn (@mikehahn_) April 20, 2026
I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I wouldn't put it past Mamdani to try something like this, to be quite honest:
Mamdani Orders Visiting Teams To Redistribute Some Of Their Runs To The Mets https://t.co/uQDijWsxV0 pic.twitter.com/lPo8CIpPDA
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) April 20, 2026
Got any other complaints or suggestions for the Mets or MLB in general? Let us know in the comments. :)
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
Please help us continue to report on his radical policies and expose the Democrats who support him. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member