I just finished writing a blog for work about return on investment.

I know - exciting stuff. Business business work work blah blah blah.

But it helped me focus my thinking about this 2024 Mets season.

Because I was having trouble figuring out how to fit an entire season into one blog post.

And I think that’s the perfect summary - the 2024 Mets offered me a huge return on my investment.

But I’m not just talking about financially.

I mean, listen, I spent a lot of money on the 2024 Mets.

But I spend money on the Mets every year.

Between game tickets and the zillions of Mets trinkets and items of clothing I have…sure, there are years where I feel taken by the team where they don’t perform to the level I want them to and are not nearly worth the money I invested in them.

But that’s not what I’m thinking about when I think about 2024’s ROI. (That’s short for return on investment. You think I only write about baseball? Think again.)

I invested so much time in the Mets.

I always invest a ton of time in the Mets. Often I come away from a game or a series or a season feeling like I wasted that time.

And that’s where 2024 was so different.

It is maybe not the most flattering perspective on my March through October when I tell you this, but understand: When we talk about the 2024 Mets, I didn’t miss many games. In fact, I could maybe go through the schedule and pick out specific innings I didn’t see. That’s how little Mets baseball this season I missed.

(Off hand I think the night of my daughter’s dance recital was the game I missed the most of - that’s the one they blew a big lead against the Marlins on a Saturday afternoon in May when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse. I left for the recital feeling OK about the game…and then I peeked at the score in between performances at one point and thought the season was over.)

Early on it was a bit of a chore to watch the Mets as much as I was watching them…but I’m used to that. It was disappointing in that I wanted to write about this season because I thought it was going to be something special. And it was starting to look like more of the same.

And then by the summertime - it was an absolute pleasure.

This was the only loss in the last 8 games I attended. You can see I did not have a lucky Mets outfit working.

That’s what I’m thinking about when I’m thinking about the return on my time investment - it was so much fun.

I was so entertained.

I went to 15 regular season games. The Mets were 11-4 in those, and they won 7 of the last 8 I went to.

I saw 5 (!) walk-off wins. 4 of those were walk-off homers…and 2 of those I saw in a span of 3 days! (Francisco Alvarez and Jesse Winker against the Orioles.)

I mean, that alone would be entertainment enough…but the Citi Field environment, the OMG, the Grimace stuff…it was all so much fun.

This is where I’m really conflicted, but I don’t think that I’m alone here: I have concluded that I didn't need a World Series win this year. This was enough.

I certainly wouldn’t have believed this back in March, that I would be satisfied with anything less than a championship.

But here we are.

I don’t know how much I will continue to feel this way. Obviously expectations will increase.

It’s tricky, because everyone tends to think the Mets are well-positioned to build on the success of this year, with all of the young talent they have. I know in my brain this is true, but I also know in my brain and in my heart how difficult it is to reach this point and how much everything needs to go right with performance and health and team chemistry.

That’s what made 2024 so beautiful - the chemistry. That’s hard to re-create. There’s no way every member of this team that jelled (gelled?) so well is coming back…and while I’d like to see some of the key clubhouse guys - Severino, Manaea, Alonso - back, we just don’t know what their future holds.

One encouraging factor is there are mainstays - Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, who have proven to be excellent for clubhouse culture - and maybe most importantly, a leader in Carlos Mendoza who, bucking all past Mets trends, looks to be around for a while. I couldn't trust anyone in that spot more.

I’m sure eventually I’ll put some disproportionate share of my overall happiness back on the Mets’ pursuit of their first World Series championship in what’s now pushing 40 years.

But…maybe I just enjoy a fun season?

Where instead of in a season like 2023 where everyone looks out of synch you see a team working together and playing great and having a good time?

Time will tell.

But I can’t imagine a more fitting legacy for the 2024 Mets than the fact that they gave me (all of us) 5 months of the most enjoyable baseball I’ve seen in my adult life. (The 1986 Mets are the only other season that comes close.)

Thank you for that, 2024 Mets.

Let’s Go Mets.