It was a night that Mets fans and players won't forget for quite some time. But for Brandon Nimmo, the team's wild 4-2 comeback win is just part of the reason that Oct. 3, 2024, will stick with him.
With the Amazins down 2-0 in the top of the ninth inning of Thursday's win-or-go-home Wild Card game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Nimmo came to the plate as the potential tying run. On an 0-2 pitch, the Mets outfielder lined a base hit into right field, sending Francisco Lindor from first base to third — and bringing slugger Pete Alonso to the plate to serve as the go-ahead run.
By now, we all know what happened next. Alonso hit a three-run home run over the right field wall, giving the Mets their first lead of the elimination game. Nimmo jogged around the bases and was the first one to greet Alonso as he crossed home plate.
But hours earlier, just before the game, he got a text message about a family member.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“I haven’t told anyone this yet, but I lost my grandmother about an hour before the game," Nimmo told reporters in the Mets locker room as the team celebrated the win with champagne.
Nimmo said his grandmother, Claudine Nimmo, was in her late 80s and had recently gotten COVID. She was back in the hospital on Wednesday, and Nimmo said his family texted him about her passing about an hour before the start of the game.
The Mets outfielder said his grandparents, who he got a chance to see recently, would watch every game.
“I know she’s in a better place now. But it really just put things in perspective before the game, to be able to say that this stuff," Nimmo told SNY, as his teammates celebrated behind him. "Right here, this stuff matters, the experiences, the moments like this, celebrating, this is what it’s all about. The money, the accolades, no -- this is what it’s all about. Moments with our [Mets] family.”
Understandably, Nimmo said he had been on a "roller coaster of emotions" throughout the day, but that the loss of his grandmother put "perspective" on everything.
“You can’t take anything with you,” he said to SNY, “so it’s all about moments like this. This is my family, too, and I wanted to leave it all out there for them.”
The Mets next play on Saturday against the Phillies in Philadelphia for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
