(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Steve Cohen stood outside Citi Field Tuesday greeting fans, posing for photos with kids and saying “Let’s Go Mets,” the rallying cry of the Major League Baseball team he owns.
Wearing a Mets cap, the hedge fund manager was treated like a rock star ahead of Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the rival Philadelphia Phillies, a game won by the Mets 7-2 as they continued their surprising postseason run. They lead the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Wednesday at 5:08 p.m. at Citi Field.
Cohen’s Mets are in the best position since he bought the team for $2.4 billion in 2020 and went on a spending spree that was noticeably missing under the previous owners. That didn’t get results right away, as the team turned in a lackluster 2023 season and traded away some big-name stars they had given lavish contracts.
This year, the Mets’ $318 million payroll is now the highest in all of baseball, according to Sportrac, and it finally appears to be paying off.
After a slow start — the Mets were 11 games under .500 in late May — they went 67-40 the rest of the way to earn a surprising spot in the playoffs and a possible trip to the World Series for the first time since 2015.
Since late September, the Mets have taken fans on a roller coaster ride that included being forced to play a doubleheader in Atlanta for a chance to enter the Wild Card series. The games had been postponed because of Hurricane Helene barreling toward Georgia.
Then the Mets moved to a best-of-three series in Milwaukee, facing National League Central champion Brewers. They advanced, thanks in part to a ninth-inning, three-run blast by slugger Pete Alonso, described as “the most memorable home run of his career” by longtime Mets radio announcer Howie Rose.
The Mets’ dream season has also featured walk-on roles from Grimace, the purple McDonald’s character, and a hit single, “OMG” by Cuban-born infielder Jose Iglesias, that has been taken up by fans as a theme song.
The postseason surge follows a big disappointment in 2023, which began with high expectations as Cohen spent big on contracts with pitching stars Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. But the team failed to make the playoffs, despite a payroll of more than $330 million. Cohen has a net worth of $14.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This year, the Mets could advance to the National League Championship Series on Wednesday to face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres. Or they could return to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Friday.
“There is nothing like playoff baseball,” Cohen posted to his almost 300,000 followers on X on Monday. “Fans, You can make the difference tomorrow. Be proud and most of all, be loud!”
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