How Jose Iglesias’ ‘OMG’ became the perfect anthem for the underdog Mets

NEW YORK (AP) — It's a pop hit like many others: An ascending chorus, an addictive hook, a warm rhythm. But “OMG,” performed by New York Mets infielder Jose Iglesias, has become the perfect anthem for the team's unlikely playoff run.

Since its release on streaming platforms in late June, “OMG” has become a hit for a Mets team with a fun-loving vibe, embraced on and off the field. The largely Spanish-language “OMG” is ubiquitous at Citi Field, while also raking in well over 2 million on-demand audio and video streams in the U.S. through Oct. 10, according to the music data and analytics company Luminate. On YouTube, the official music video has nearly 4.5 million views.

As the Mets head back to home turf Wednesday in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, “OMG” may continue to soar: On Friday, superstar Pitbull shared a remix of the song alongside Colombian singer Silvestre Dangond.

Here's how a baseball player whose career seemed to be nearing its end hit a home run with the song.

The song is contemporary Latin pop, incorporating elements of reggaetón and tropical music — pop sounds heard all over Latin America and the U.S., says music journalist and critic Gary Suarez, author of the Cabbages newsletter.

“As a song, it is just pure, positive pop music,” he says. “It is a celebration of good things over adversity, which feels very right for a baseball song.”

A sample lyric: “No tengo nada pero soy feliz,” or “I have nothing but I’m happy.”

Its bilingual chorus, too, allows “OMG” to appeal to a broad audience. “Oh my god! Dame salúd y prosperidad,” the 34-year-old Cuban-born Iglesias sings. It translates to “Oh my god! Give me health and prosperity.”

For some communities, a song like this is a long time coming. “There are so many Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban people playing baseball right now. And the Mets, of course, are no exception. And so, I think there was a certain amount of a need for a song like this to come from and reflect this world,” Suarez says.

As for the Pitbull remix, Suarez points out that the song was written near Miami, Pitbull’s stomping grounds.

“He is a ubiquitous pop star that lends greater appeal to this, especially in a time when the Mets are in the National League Championship Series,” he says. “It doesn’t hurt to have some star power behind it. And maybe that helps to have a longer lifespan beyond, you know, the end of the Mets season.”

While Pitbull is known to be a Marlins fan (even once recording the theme song “Marlins Time to Represent”), he told The Associated Press in a statement that, as a Cuban American, he related to Iglesias “because of our shared culture.”

The song “is about being an underdog and positivity making it the perfect fit,” Pitbull said.

Iglesias broke into the big leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a 21-year-old in May 2011, finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013 and was an All-Star with Detroit in 2015. The Mets are his seventh team in 12 major league seasons, and he's earned nearly $40 million in salary.

But by 2023, his future in MLB was cloudy at best. He was released by Miami and San Diego — twice by the Padres — and only played briefly in the minor leagues. That's when he started to release Latin pop songs under the moniker Candelita (a Spanish term in the Caribbean for someone who is energetic or passionate), starting with “Tambor” and “Cantinero.” Earlier this year, he released a collaboration with Cuban singer Lenier, “No Voy a Volver,” as well as a few other solo tracks: “Te Lo Advertí” and “Perdóname Padre.”

Nothing, though, has hit like “OMG.” Iglesias wrote and recorded it last offseason at home on a ranch outside Miami, while also preparing to join the Mets on a minor league contract.

He began the season in Triple-A, but the team's poor start opened an unexpected opportunity for him in Queens. When he played his first game with New York on May 31, “OMG” was his walk-up song. He quickly emerged as a sparkplug for the Mets, earning more playing time, and his song became a rallying cry for the team.

Iglesias performed “OMG” live for the first time after the Mets beat the Houston Astros at Citi Field in late June, and it has since become an anthem for not only the team, but Mets fans, too.

“OMG” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Digital Song Sales in July, selling over 1,000 downloads in its first week. The official music video features dancing employees — an Amazon worker, a mechanic, a cook — and ends in an outdoor party.

“It’s hard to say how I feel,” Iglesias said after that ballpark performance. “That was a big deal. Singing in front of great fans and seeing my teammates running up there is just a dream come true.”

Now, the song follows every Mets homer at Citi Field and accompanies every win. After home runs, smiling players pose in the dugout for group photos holding an “OMG” sign in blue and orange — team colors, of course.

The song also plays in the Mets clubhouse, where they’ve enjoyed three champagne celebrations in the past three weeks, first for clinching a playoff spot and then twice for advancing.

Music is inextricable from the ballpark experience, between players’ walk-up songs to eighth-inning singalongs to the likes of “Piano Man” or “Mr. Brightside” at Citi Field. So, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that some ballplayers get in the studio.

It's also not totally uncommon for them to see some chart success: baseball and football star Deion Sanders' 1994 R&B-rap record “Prime Time” hit No. 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 70 on its Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Former Yankee Bernie Williams' debut album, 2003's “The Journey Within,” hit No. 3 on the Jazz Albums chart.

There's no shortage of musician Mets fans: Nas has name-checked the team a few times. The Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock and MCA were notable fans. Nicki Minaj is said to be a fan, per MLB.com, having grown up in Queens. Billy Joel was the last to play the Mets' historic Shea Stadium before its demolition.

No word on whether Grimace is entertaining a musical career, but the possibilities are endless.

This story has been corrected to note Iglesias finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013.

AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.

New York Mets' Jose Iglesias (11) heads for first after driving in two runs on a base hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh 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 second baseman Jose Iglesias, left, throws over Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy to complete a double play on a ground ball from Kiké Hernández during the sixth inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with Jose Iglesias after scoring on a hit by Brandon Nimmo during the eighth inning of Game 1 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias catches a fly out by Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm during the first inning of Game 1 of a baseball NL Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding steadier Wednesday following better-than-expected profit reports from Morgan Stanley, United Airlines and other big companies.

The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading, a day after sliding from its all-time high because of tumbling energy and technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 165 points, or 0.4%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Morgan Stanley rose 6.6% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ted Pick said the investment bank enjoyed a “constructive environment” in its businesses around the world. And with stock prices near records, it’s managing even more money for clients.

United Airlines flew 8.7% higher after reporting a milder drop in summer profit than expected and announcing plans to send up to $1.5 billion to its shareholders by buying back its stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services motored up by 4% after the freight company delivered better-than-expected results.

They helped offset a 3% drop for Ulta Beauty. The retailer fell to one of the larger losses in the S&P 500 after giving long-term targets for growth in sales and other measures that analysts at Citi said suggested the U.S. beauty industry is more mature than it once was.

Energy stocks were holding steadier a day after sliding to some of the market’s worst losses, including a 0.6% rise for Exxon Mobil.

They were tracking oil prices, which themselves were stabilizing. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was roughly flat after falling below $75 per barrel from more than $80 last week.

One big reason for the recent weakness is receding fears that Israel will attack Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation for Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere. Worries are high, meanwhile, that China's flagging economy will mean less demand than expected for crude.

U.S. technology stocks were also holding up better a day after a market-shaking warning from ASML, a Dutch supplier to the chip industry.

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said Tuesday that artificial intelligence continues to offer strong upside potential, but “other market segments are taking longer to recover.” That helped lead to slides of 3.5% for Broadcom and 4.7% for Nvidia on Tuesday. A day afterward, both were rising at least 1% and among the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.

Still, Wednesday offered the first chance for Asian stock markets to feel the ripples of ASML’s warning, and chip companies there tumbled.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% as chip maker Tokyo Electron sank 9.2% and Lasertec Corp., which makes equipment to inspect chips, lost 13.4%.

Stock indexes were mixed across the rest of Asia and Europe. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1% after the government reported inflation in the U.K. eased in September to its lowest level in more than three years. That reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve has also already begun cutting interest rates following years of keeping them high in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle high inflation.

With inflation finally seeming to be heading toward the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank is widening its focus to include keeping the economy humming. Recent reports showing the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected have raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down to 2% without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.00% from 4.03% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, slipped to 3.93% from 3.95%.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The Charging Bull statue in New York's Financial District is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)