It’s the Curse of the Mambino!
The New York Mets have lost 10 straight games since Mayor Zohran Mamdani hugged mascot Mr. Met during a Citi Field photo opp — and now fuming fans are blaming Hizzoner for squeezing the mojo out of the Amazins.
The battered fan base has been left singing “Meet the Mess” as it gets late early for the team, which has limped to a 7-15 record despite a $381 million payroll, and is now in the midst of an 11-game losing streak that includes 10 straight losses since Mamdani embraced Mr. and Mrs. Met on April 9.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is all smiles as he meets Mr. and Mrs. Met. Getty Images
“He gave them bad juju. Bad juju. That was bad juju, that was no good,” said Mets fan and Bronx resident Nelson Berrios while sporting a team hat in Midtown.
“When he hugged them, I was like what’s going on? Nobody touches Mr. Met, only Mrs. Met, that’s it,” added the 49-year-old, who said he voted for Mamdani.
The Democratic socialist mayor’s visit had the stated purpose of cheering on stadium workers, but critics were left jeering after the team’s skid left them in last place of the National League East – with some calling the basement dwellers “The Mamdani Mets.”
Others said the mayor cast a “curse” on the lovable losers as bad as the infamous “Curse of the Bambino,” a longstanding myth that claimed the Boston Red Sox were hit with bad luck when they sold star Babe Ruth to the rival Yankees in 1919. The Sox didn’t win a World Series for 86 years after the deal, while the Yankees picked up 26 titles over the same stretch.
Some Mamdani critics cracked jokes that the mayor, who campaigned on hiking taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, was squeezing the mojo out of the Mets like he wants to squeeze taxpayers.
“The Mets are embracing Mamdani Socialism: they’re spreading wins around to teams with far lower payrolls,” one social media commenter quipped in reference to the Mets’ payroll – one of the highest in all of baseball.
Another social media user said he viewed the stunning losing streak as redistributing the double-digit wins to other teams “each according to their need.”
An MLB Store employee in Midtown Manhattan also bought into the frenzy.
“It might be Mamdani,” said the worker, who did not want to be identified.
“I think it might have been him, truthfully. My friend works at Citi Field, and he’s confused why they keep losing.”
Scott, a Queens resident, also faulted the mayor.
“You know what, I don’t like Mamdani so yes, I do,” the 55-year-old joked.
Bronx resident Nelson Berrios told The Post that Mayor Mamdani gave his beloved Mets “bad juju” during the video with Mr. and Mrs. Met. Lone Pine Press for NY Post
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy and Outkick founder Clay Travis were among the high-profile sports fans who have also pointed out the Mam-to-Mets connection.
But not everyone was sold on the “Curse of the Mambino.”
“I mean, it’s the Mets,” wrote another social media user said of the team, which hasn’t won a World Series since 1986. “I don’t think hugging Mamdani really mattered.”
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City Hall did not take a swing at weighing in on the Mets’ losing streak.
While social media chatter claimed the 11-game losing skid was all since Mamdani’s photo op, the 34-year-old pol’s hug came one game after the losing streak was already underway.
The team had Monday off after a six-game road trip to play the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs and are set to return to Citi Field on Tuesday to play the Minnesota Twins.
Mark Vientos breaks his bat after popping out to infield during a game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, April 19, 2026. Matt Marton-Imagn Images
The Metropolitans came into the season with promise even after losing core players like first baseman Pete Alonso, second baseman Jeff McNeil and outfielder Brandon Nimmo in the off-season and following a 2025 campaign in which the New York club was a laughing stock of the league.
“It’s suffering. I’m suffering,” said Harry, 42, a lifelong Mets fan, as he drank his sorrows away at Midtown sports bar Legends.
“They can’t come up with a roster, can’t win games.”
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Hell’s Kitchen resident Nate Roth called the rough start “a little depressing” though he cautioned, “We’re used to it, it’s been 40 years.”
The team has only hit 16 home runs – one less than Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Ben Rice have combined – and are only outpacing the one other MLB team in runs scored.
Other fans were more willing to rip into owner Steve Cohen and general manager David Stearns for the team’s woeful performance instead of Mamdani.
Manhattan man Nate Roth called the current Mets losing streak “depressing.” Lone Pine Press for NY Post
“I don’t think it has anything to do with that. I think Mets fans, including myself, like to claim onto anything to blame our woes,” Met Cast co-host Ray Eckert theorized.
He compared the early 2026 campaign to the 2007 season, when the Mets blew a seven-game lead with 17 games to lose out on a playoff spot.
“In all honesty, it’s probably the most frustrating thing I’ve had to deal with since the collapse of 2007,” Eckert said.
“For me, expectations were just as high this year as they were back then.”
Partial season ticket holder David Fenichel, who’s been a Mets fan for more than 50 years, said he wouldn’t surprised if the boo-birds will be out during the club’s next game.
“I don’t expect them to be standing and cheering when the Mets take the field,” said Fenichel, 61.
“It’s been a frustrating year. I remember 2024 raised everyone’s hopes. In 2025 kind of flopped and this year is looking even worse. If I were Steve Cohen, I don’t think I’d be very happy right now.”