OMG, Grimace and a playoff pumpkin: Close-knit Mets ride camaraderie and good-luck charms into NLCS

NEW YORK (AP) — OMG! Look who’s headed to the National League Championship Series.

From their playoff pumpkin to the purple Grimace seat and that catchy pop song by infielder Jose Iglesias, the merry New York Mets are riding a wave of good-luck charms and infectious camaraderie to unexpected October success.

“Through all the craziness, madness, and ups and downs, this game is, at the end of the day, it’s supposed to be fun,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “What’s the point if you’re not having fun? That’s a part of the culture here.

"We’re not afraid to embrace the fun part of the game. It’s not just business. The game is a lot more than just trying to win or lose. You’re trying to enjoy the ride with the group that you’re with.”

Alonso jumped right into the fray in late September when he and his wife scooped up his small “playoff pumpkin,” as he called it, while visiting a Wisconsin farm when the Mets were playing the Brewers.

The lucky squash was on display during a wild clubhouse celebration in Milwaukee last week following the All-Star slugger's go-ahead homer in the ninth inning that saved New York’s season in the Wild Card Series clincher.

Next, the wild-card Mets took down rival Philadelphia in their Division Series to reach the NLCS for the first time in nine years — eliciting tears and raw emotions Wednesday night from longtime outfielder Brandon Nimmo, rookie manager Carlos Mendoza and other members of a close-knit team as they choked up a bit when describing it all.

They'll face the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-seven set beginning Sunday on the West Coast.

Quite a surprise for a New York team that opened 22-33 in what was supposed to be a transition season under Mendoza and first-year president of baseball operations David Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan in Manhattan.

But it's hardly just Alonso having all this fun.

After home runs, smiling Mets players pose in the dugout for group photos holding a blue and orange “OMG” sign — team colors, of course — in a nod to the name of Iglesias' hit song as it plays over the Citi Field sound system.

“Right now the Mets are playing really good baseball. They’re hot," Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos said. “From watching them play in the beginning of the year, in April and May, and watching Jose Iglesias be able to, I don’t know, unify them, and get the city to buy into something bigger, is nothing short of incredible.”

In that same vein, the starting pitchers have taken to wearing entirely unnecessary eye black when not on the mound — and writing on it the uniform number of that day's starter to show unity and support.

“Just another good-luck charm, I guess," Sean Manaea said Monday before beating the Phillies with a Game 3 gem the following day. “I don’t know. It just started last week in Atlanta. The last week has been crazy so we’ve just been sticking with it.”

And when a starter comes out of the game after a solid outing, they all gather in a rugby huddle on the bench to jump up and down, arms wrapped around each other.

“We’re just feeding off each other and just having a fun time doing it,” Manaea said.

Dugout props for celebrating homers — things like rubber swords or funny hats — have exploded across MLB the past few seasons. But there's no doubt, the Mets lead the league in silly bits and inside jokes. Center fielder Harrison Bader recently referred to the team as a “traveling circus."

One that comes complete with a cartoonish mascot, too.

Fans flipped when Grimace, the kid-friendly McDonald’s character, threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms in his pear-shaped purple costume with a baseball glove on backwards — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.

That victory coincided with the start of a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own.

The club has pulled out all the stops since, with Grimace riding the subway to Game 3 against the Phillies — about three weeks after a commemorative purple seat was installed at Citi Field to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”

“The reason why we have all this stuff like, whether it be Grimace, the pumpkin, not just us in the clubhouse — the fans have embraced it as well. Fans have had a lot of fun, from what it seems like,” Alonso said. “When you have that connection between the guys in the clubhouse and people watching, like, it’s electric.”

Does it really contribute to winning, though?

“Listen, the team that sticks together the most and the team that is the most connected,” Bader said, “those are the teams that tend to go the farthest.”

Perhaps most important, none of the lighthearted gimmicks have distracted the Mets down the stretch or during a pressure-packed postseason.

“I think it’s hard to explain. We've got a lot going on. But we’ve got to keep the main thing the main thing, which is you've got to go out there and play baseball,” Mendoza said. “You’ve got to go out there and execute. You’ve got to prepare. If they continue to find ways to keep it loose, to keep it fun in the locker room, I’m all for it."

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New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) delivers against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of Game 3 of the National League baseball playoff series, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) reacts as he walks off the field during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the National League baseball playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) reacts as he walks off the field during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the National League baseball playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso celebrates in the locker room after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League baseball playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso celebrates after the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League baseball playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso speaks during a news conference before National League Division Series Game 4 at Citi Field in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ron Blum)

New York Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias celebrates on the field after the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League baseball playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

DETROIT (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday rolled out more plans for tax breaks without offering details on how they would work or how they'd affect the federal budget.

Trump vowed in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club to allow interest on car loans to be deducted from taxes, saying the proposal would “stimulate massive domestic auto production” and make car ownership more affordable. In a video, also released Thursday, he proposes to grant a key tax break to U.S. citizens living overseas to end so-called double taxation.

Trump has offered a series of tax breaks over the last several months to appeal to specific groups he's courting in the election: tipped and hourly workers, Social Security recipients, and now car buyers who have experienced sticker shock as well as Americans who live and vote abroad. In a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is betting that his targeted no-tax pledges will appeal to enough voters in key battlegrounds.

But so far, the Republican nominee has been vague about how those tax breaks would work or how he would pay for them — other than promising that his plans to impose sweeping tariffs would bring in new government revenue.

Economic analyses of his earlier tax cut ideas estimated they would cost between nearly $6 trillion and $10 trillion over 10 years, depending on which proposals become policy and how they’re implemented. And mainstream economists warn that Trump's tariff plans — and the expected retaliation from targeted countries — would raise prices for Americans, slash more than a percentage point off the U.S. economy by 2026 and make inflation 2 percentage points higher next year than it otherwise would have been.

The proposal to make interest on car loans tax deductible is intended to help buyers struggling with the increase in car prices. Since inflation took off in early 2021, the average price of a new car has jumped nearly 18%, though that has fallen compared with a year ago. Used car prices are up 13%.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases, intended to combat inflation, have pushed auto-loan rates much higher. The average rate on a five-year car loan reached 8.4% in this year’s third quarter, up from 4.5% two years ago, when the Fed’s rate hikes began.

Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said a rough estimate of the impact of Trump’s proposals for overseas citizens and auto buyers would be to reduce tax revenues by more than $100 billion over 10 years.

If the car-loans proposal does operate like the deduction for mortgage interest, as Trump suggested, then only the one-fifth of taxpayers who itemize their deductions would be able to take advantage of it, Goldwein said.

Trump's promise to help U.S. citizens living abroad concerns policies that can require Americans to pay taxes in the country where they reside and to the U.S. government. The U.S. has bilateral agreements with some nations that ease the burden in some cases. The proposal was first released by a group called Republicans Overseas.

“You have to make sure that you are registered and you are going to vote, because I'm going to take very good care of you," Trump says in the video statement the overseas group's CEO, Solomon Yue, posted to his account on X.

“Once and for all, I'm going to end double taxation on our overseas citizens,” Trump said. “You've been wanting this for years, and nobody has listened to you. And you deserve it. And I'm going to do it."

The overseas tax breaks could also end up favoring some wealthy citizens, because it could open more opportunities for them to live abroad in low-tax countries and avoid U.S. taxes.

Yue praised Trump for his commitment.

“Republicans Overseas has been fighting for the rights of Americans abroad since its inception ten years ago,” Yue said in a statement. “We have spoken to many politicians over the years, and while they sympathized with the burden of double taxation, very few have been willing to act.”

The former president's embrace of U.S citizens living abroad comes after statements lumping those voters in with his unfounded accusations that Democrats plan to commit widespread fraud in the 2024 election.

“The Democrats are talking about how they’re working so hard to get millions of votes from Americans living overseas," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Sept. 23. "Actually, they are getting ready to CHEAT!”

He argued that efforts to make it easier for overseas citizens to vote would “dilute” the votes of military service members who Trump believes will favor him over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

“WATCH! Remember, IF YOU VOTE ILLEGALLY,” he threatened, “YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL.”

Paulina Salzeider, 47, who attended the speech on Thursday, works as a barber and supports Trump’s tax cuts and plan to exclude tips from federal taxes.

“In our business, I mean we depend on tips,” she said. “In the service industry, the nicer you are, the kinder you are, the friendlier you are, you get rewarded by tips. So I feel that we deserve it."

But Curtis Lyons, a financial adviser from Detroit who is a Democrat and was also at the Thursday event, said he believes Trump’s tax cuts in his first administration did more harm than good and only benefited the wealthier.

“I’m not going to be voting for our guest,” he said. “I’m just here to see and be entertained.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta and Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Associated Press writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report from Washington.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)