The New York Mets clinched a postseason berth in dramatic fashion Monday afternoon, capping the remarkable turnaround of their season with a blowout win over their division rival Atlanta Braves. You may be wondering why should Artnet News readers care? Because a gift from an artist may have been the key to the baseball team’s comeback.
Yes, you heard that right. With every home run and RBI, players in the dugout waved a blue and orange Mets sign reading “OMG” designed by 48-year-old artist Jerome McRoy. The Ridgewood, Queens, native is a lifelong Mets fan with 14,000 followers on Instagram under @Jaymaccustoms.
“It was really meant to be a token of gratitude to a team that I didn’t want to see give up,” McRoy told me, speaking on the phone while driving to Milwaukee to catch the Mets in Game 1 of the playoffs. Later today.
He usually goes to about 30 or 40 Mets games a season, and has brought other artwork he’s done honoring games before. In fact, McRoy hand-delivered the OMG sign to Alex Cohen, wife of Mets owner — and famed art collector — Steve Cohen, as a gift to the players. He made his debut at the team’s home stadium, Citi Field, on June 28 and has been a fixture on Mets television programming ever since. (Meanwhile, McRoy has taken his attendance to an impressive 75 games!)
Francisco Lindor (right), New York Mets outfielder, celebrates with pitchers Luis Severino (left) and Jose Quintana (center) with an OMG sign by Jerome McRoy after he hit a solo home run in the ninth inning during a game against the New York Mets. Toronto Blue Jays on September 11, 2024, in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Brandon Slaughter/Image for Sports/Getty Images.
The sign comes from the Mets’ unofficial 2024 anthem, “OMG,” an unexpected number-one hit on the Billboard Latin charts from the team’s outfielder Jose Iglesias under the stage name Candelita.
The reference and song were inevitable as the Mets rose from the National League basement to the playoffs — an unlikely triumph for a franchise known more for subjecting its loyal fans to heartbreak.
The 2024 campaign has started in inauspiciously, with five straight defeats, with only three teams having managed to reach the playoffs before after such a poor start. On May 29, the Mets were 11 games under .500 at 22–33, and the season looked like a lost cause. But since then, the team has had the best record in Major League Baseball, finishing the year 67-40, a winning percentage of .626.
Grimace’s one month anniversary 💜` pic.twitter.com/02LirkNLdP
– Sunny Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 13, 2024
So what made the difference? Some people give credit to Grimace, McDonald’s purple mascot. (McCroy also owns Grimace’s neon green and purple version of the sign.) Grimace threw the first pitch on June 12 and has since been adopted as the team’s unofficial mascot of sorts. (The Mets’ winning percentage since that date is 0.635.)
Others point to the team Francisco Lindor met on May 29. (He’s had an MVP-caliber season since then, including a game-winning home run on Monday, which broadcaster Gary Cohen called Lin-sanity, a callback to New York 2011.) Knicks phenomenon Jeremy Lin.)
New York Mets player Jose Iglesias holds an OMG sign by artist Jerome McRoy after the game against the Houston Astros at Citi Field on June 28, 2024. Iglesias performed a post-game concert to celebrate the release of his new single, also called “OMG”. Photo by New York Mets/MLB Images via Getty Images.
Then there’s the 34-year-old Iglesias, who was recalled by the Mets from Triple-A on May 31. The veteran has not played in the major leagues since 2022, and began recording music during his hiatus. Iglesias began using his unreleased song, “OMG”, for his live music, and subsequently played some of the best baseball games of his career, including a 21-game winning streak to end the regular season.
When the Mets started to get hot, the team started playing “OMG” in the clubhouse. It quickly became the team’s unofficial song, played at Citi Field after the Mets’ home run. Iglesias dropped it as a single on June 28, performing a post-match concert at the stadium. That was also the night the “OMG” sign made its debut.
Artist Jerome McRoy with Oh My God tags and Alex Cohen, wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen. Photo courtesy of Jerome McRoy.
McRoy based the design on the logo that Iglesias was using on T-shirts to promote the song’s release after Alex Cohen shared one image on social media.
Inspired by the Mets’ rebound in June, McRoy spent about six hours drafting two signs and bringing them into the game before Iglesias’ performance. Coincidentally, McRoy ran into Alex Cohen at the stadium bar before the first pitch, and asked her if she would be willing to give one of the signals to the players.
So grateful to Alex Cohen for taking my gift to the team before tonight’s game. It wasn’t planned, I just wanted to congratulate the club’s pivotal man for making his mark on the team. Blessings @Jose Iglesias_SS
And thank you Alex @stephnacohen2 https://t.co/SVATW6q4jx
– xjaymacostoms (@jaymacostoms) June 29, 2024
Then, during the game, his phone started going off. The “OMG” sign was on the TV broadcast. The next morning, there was second baseman Jeff McNeil holding it up on the back cover of Newsday, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“I have always been an artist my whole life,” McRoy said, noting that he studied art in high school and at “YouTube University.” But like many artists, he had put art aside for many years to focus on earning a more stable paycheck, first in retail and then, in 2020, at a MiniStorage store in Manhattan.
Members of the New York Mets celebrate after defeating the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Monday, September 30, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Todd Kirkland/MLB Images via Getty Images.
McRoy actually lived in an apartment in the storage facility of the site manager’s residence, and converted it into a studio when he returned to creating custom wood cutouts for walls. His boss wasn’t too keen on running a CNC machine and laser cutting at work, but what he created started gaining interest on Instagram. In 2022, McRoy was able to quit his day job to focus on his art full-time.
The resin-covered sign he made for the Mets came at a pivotal moment in his career, when McRoy started fielding applications for a new day job. The sign seems to tap into the zeitgeist. Players embraced it immediately. Fans — myself included — began making their own versions of the posters to wave in the stands, or buying copies from the artist at $200 apiece. He estimates he has sold 160 so far, in addition to countless logo pins.
.@Steve Gelbs Reports on how @jaymaccustoms He produced the “OMG” sign that arrived in the Mets dugout with the help of Alex Cohen pic.twitter.com/ZgsgS8of4S
– Sunny (SNYtv) June 29, 2024
“I make a lot of Mets-related art, and I’m happy to see that it’s become a place within the club, and it’s become a celebration of the fans of sorts,” McRoy said, noting that the season “has been a lot of fun and fun.” “Road Trip” that saw him visit the owner’s suite, stand over the dugout, and conduct an interview on the Citi Field jumbotron: “I’m living my 10-year-old dream right now.”
Fast forward to Monday, September 30 – the day after the season supposedly ended. The Mets kept winning, but they still haven’t gotten their chance to play baseball in October.
Artist Jerome McRoy with OMG Signs and Mets owner and art collector Steve Cohen. Photo courtesy of Jerome McRoy.
The Mets went into today needing to win one of two games of a Braves doubleheader that was postponed from last week due to Hurricane Helen. If either team is swept, the other team will be eliminated, giving the last wildcard playoff spot to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Beating the Braves was a monkey from behind for the Mets, who finished the 2022 season needing just one win in three away games against Atlanta to stay in the division. The boys from Queens failed to get the job done, then were promptly eliminated in the wildcard round against the San Diego Padres. (The Mets have a poor 26-44 record in Atlanta in September since 1997, winning just five games to 21 losses when both teams were above .500.)
This time, the two teams split a doubleheader, with the Mets coming from behind not once but twice to win Game 1 and punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Have you ever seen a game like this? I am very proud of this team. Meet the fans, go out and celebrate.
– Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) September 30, 2024
“From 0-5 to Oh my God! What a ride!” Gary Cohen quipped.
The Mets, Braves, and Diamondbacks all finished with the same record, 89 and 73. Because Arizona had a losing record for the season against both the Mets and Braves, that left them on the outside looking in.
The playoffs begin today, with the Braves taking on the Padres and Mets taking on the Milwaukee Brewers – sign “OMG,” and the artist who hits the stands.
