Grimace Mets Win Streak / The Grimace Effect

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About

The Grimace Mets Win Streak or The Grimace Effect refers to the New York Mets experiencing a winning streak in Major League Baseball following a first pitch thrown by McDonald's mascot Grimace in celebration of his birthday. Before the pitch, which occurred on June 12th, 2024, the Mets had a 29-37 win-loss record. After the pitch, the Mets went on a seven-game win streak, bumping them up to a 36-37 record, before losing their streak in a game against Texas on the 19th. Despite this, the Mets continued to win more games than they lost over the next few games, entering another streak on June 23rd and tying their wins and losses to 39-39 on June 26th. The streak became the subject of memes about "the Grimace effect," claiming that Grimace's pitch caused their streak, with some referring to the team as the Grimace Mets.

Origin

On June 12th, 2024, in celebration of McDonald's mascot Grimace's birthday, a mascot dressed as the purple monster character Grimace threw the first pitch at Citi Field, where the New York Mets played the Miami Marlins (shown below). A video of the pitch was posted to /r/sports^[1] that day, garnering over 2,700 upvotes in two weeks and was uploaded to the New York Mets YouTube^[2] channel on June 13th, garnering over 28,000 views in the same span of time. The clip also went viral on X.^[3]

On June 13th, 2024, X^[4] user @PsnTimdog shared the clip, writing, "I’m telling you right now Mets are gonna go on a run. Grimace is a major good luck charm. Bet Mets tonight big, thank me later," adding in a quote-repost, "The Grimace effect," garnering around six likes in two weeks (shown below). This is the earliest known post to name "the Grimace effect."

Spread

The New York Mets won the game against the Marlins and went on to win their next six games, marking a seven-game win streak that was broken on June 19th, 2024, by the Texas Rangers. They won their game against the Chicago Cubs on the 21st but lost the next game against them on the 22nd. However, the Mets then entered another streak, winning their next three games.^[5]

As the initial streak went on, fans began to take notice and joke that Grimace's first pitch caused the wins. On June 16th, 2024, a post was made on /r/NewYorkMets^[6] titled, "Mets are now 5-0 since Grimace threw out the first pitch," garnering over 740 likes in around two weeks. Soon, the team's official social media accounts, along with the McDonald's account, began leaning into the memes.

For example, on June 17th, the @Mets X^[7] page posted a clip under the caption "the Grimace effect" where an interviewer asks Brandon Nimmo if he attributes their wins to Grimace, garnering over 2,700 likes in 11 days (shown below).

On June 17th, 2024, GQ^[8] published a piece titled "Can Grimace Save the Mets’ Season?" On the 18th, ESPN^[9] published a similar article, while Forbes^[10] published a piece explaining the memes on June 19th. That day, following the loss of their streak, Instagram^[11] meme page miserable_mets_fan posted a meme about the loss that gained over 3,000 likes in just over a week (shown below).

On June 23rd, as the Mets entered their new win streak, memes about the Grimace Effect became notably popular again, with people in Grimace costumes also appearing at Mets games. On June 25th, X^[12] user @runwildkian posted a video of a person in a Grimace costume carrying a child on their back, writing, "a child has been sacrificed to grimace’s cause," garnering over 12,000 likes in three days (screenshot shown below, left). That day, the McDonald's X^[13] page posted a meme about the Grimace effect, garnering over 9,000 likes in the same span of time (shown below, right).

On June 26th, 2024, X^[14] user @patbrennan__ posted a video of a person in a Grimace costume chugging beers during a Mets game as a crowd of on-lookers cheer, garnering over 3,000 likes in two days (shown below). In celebration of the meme, the Mets announced a Grimace bobblehead giveaway on July 10th.^[15]