On February 6, the New York Mets designated righty reliever Austin Adams for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster and effectively ruling him out of a major league job. Later in spring training, the Mets traded Adams to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash, and he has since settled in. The 33-year-old has a 3.92 ERA and 53 strikeouts over 41 1/3 innings.
Adams avenged himself against the Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field (OAK 9, NYM 4), entering the game with runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning and escaping the jam. He struck out Francisco Alvarez to close the inning, and as he went off the field, Adams emulated New York’s “OMG” celebration, which is performed following home runs.
The celebration is inspired by Mets infielder Jose Iglesias’ song “OMG,” which he released in June. On June 28, he sang the song after winning at Citi Field. Adams strikes out Alvarez and makes the “OMG” sign. Lipreading experts claim Adams also said a few NSFW words as he exited the field.
“Honestly, I looked up and was astonished I had gotten out of it. I said, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And then it hit me, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ So, I did it. I mean, the song is sick. Iglesias is a good guy. So I hope no one is insulted. “I was just having fun,” Adams remarked after Tuesday’s game (via New York Post).”… I pitch on emotion. I maybe need to do a better job of not doing that. But at the end of the day, big time situation in a game. Got some big outs, got the team a win. You know, when you get DFAed you’re told you’re not good enough to play for a team anymore. You know it sucks, so yeah had a little extra juice today.”
I’ll give Adams credit for admitting he did the “OMG” celebration, albeit hiding behind “hopefully no one is offended” is a little weak. We know what he did. It was not subtle. Just admit it and embrace the trolling. Meanwhile, the Mets were not pleased. Closer Edwin Díaz, who shared a bullpen with Adams throughout spring training, admitted he went too far.
“He crossed a line because that’s what we do when we hit a homer or something,” Díaz remarked (source: New York Post). “He (can) do it always, which is OK. But he can’t be upset if we do something to him in the next few days.”
I follow the “if you don’t want to get trolled by the other team, don’t let them beat you” philosophy. Adams copying the “OMG” celebration is a fantastic example of low-stakes pettiness. A good troll job. And if someone on the Mets scores a big hit against Adams later in the series, troll away. This is the nature of competition.
The Mets and Athletics have two games remaining in their series. Oakland has won three straight games, while the Mets have dropped four straight, leaving them two games behind the third wild-card slot.
