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New York Mets fans have a lot to cheer about recently after what looked to be a lost season earlier on in 2024.
The Mets are in the playoff hunt in the National League, and fans have been packing out Citi Field and rallying around each other, whether it is because of Grimace or the recent "OMG" signs and chants that have been seen and heard around Queens.
While hopes are higher than they have been for the Mets, one of its legends is not a fan of one rallying cry in particular that fans have used over the years.
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Former New York Met Keith Hernandez throws the ceremonial first pitch before game one of the 2015 MLB National League Championship Series at Citi Field on Oct. 17, 2015. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Keith Hernandez, who serves as a color commentator for Mets broadcasts on SNY, voiced his displeasure with fans using "LFGM" as a chant, which adds an expletive to the standard "Let’s Go Mets!"
"As long as they, on the other one, don’t add on the ‘F.’ I don’t like the ‘F,’" Hernandez said during the Mets’ broadcast on Monday afternoon.
He then took it a step further as fans have tried to get him to sign memorabilia with "LFGM."
"I’ve had people ask me, something to sign, and, ‘Would you mind putting LF…?’ I say, ‘No, no. I don’t do that.’ Very, very grotesque," Hernandez explained.
Hernandez, whose number 17 is retired by the franchise, may not like the chant used, but fellow first baseman Pete Alonso was one that helped popularize it in recent years. Alonso used to sign off from interviews with reporters by quickly saying "LFGM" before walking away.
Brandon Nimmo, #9 of the New York Mets, celebrates with an "OMG" sign after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 8, 2024 in Pittsburgh. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
No matter which chants one prefers, the Mets are a team gunning for a playoff spot just before the All-Star break. They are 44-45 after winning 16 of their last 24 contests, sitting just 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL.
Before the Mets turned their season around, fans were trying to cling onto something to rally around their guys, and it first came when McDonald’s character Grimace threw out the first pitch at Citi Field on June 13.
The "Grimace Effect" took full swing after that, as the Mets ripped off a six-game win streak that revived the season.
Then, the "OMG" sign came into play after infielder Jose Iglesias performed his song with the same title on the field after the team’s win over the Houston Astros on June 28. It went viral, and Mets fans started to sing along to the point where a sign is now used with the letters for home run celebrations in the dugout.
Every team has its different chants and traditions, and the Mets have certainly found theirs over recent years.
Former New York Met and current broadcaster Keith Hernandez speaks during a press conference before a game between the Mets and the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on July 9, 2022 in New York City. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Hernandez, though, would like to keep one out of his vocabulary. But, as much as he may not like it, Mets fans are likely not going to stop using "LFGM" for quite some time.
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