Back on Feb. 6, the New York Mets designated righty reliever Austin Adams for assignment, meaning they dropped him from the 40-man roster and essentially ruled him out for a big-league job. Later in spring training, the Mets traded Adams to the Oakland Athletics in a cash deal, and he's found a home in Oakland. The 33-year-old has a 3.92 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.
Tuesday night at Citi Field (OAK 9, NYM 4), Adams got his revenge against the Mets when he entered the game with runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning, and escaped the jam. He struck out Francisco Alvarez to end the inning and, as he walked off the field, Adams mimicked New York's "OMG" celebration, which they do after hitting home runs.
The celebration stems from Mets infielder Jose Iglesias' song, "OMG," which he released in June. He performed the song at Citi Field after a win on June 28. Here is Adams striking out Alvarez and doing the "OMG" gesture. Lipreading sleuths say Adams also said several NSFW words as he left the field.
"Honestly, I looked up and was so surprised I got out of it. I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' And then it dawned on me, I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' So then I did it. I mean, that song is sick. Iglesias is a good dude. So hopefully no one is offended. Just having fun," Adams said 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 guess give Adams credit for admitting he did the "OMG" celebration, though hiding behind "hopefully no one is offended" is a bit weak. We all know what he did. It wasn't subtle. Just own up to it and lean into the trolling. The Mets, meanwhile, were not happy. Closer Edwin Díaz, who shared a bullpen with Adams in spring training, said he took it too far.
"He crossed a line because that's something we do when we hit a homer or something," Díaz said (via New York Post). "He (can) do it always, that's fine. But he can't get mad if we do something to him the next couple of days."
I subscribe to the "if you don't want to get trolled by the other team, don't let them beat you" logic. Adams mimicking the "OMG" celebration is some good low stakes pettiness. A solid troll job. And if someone on the Mets gets a big hit against Adams later in the series, then troll away. Such is the nature of competition.
The Mets and A's have two games remaining their series. Oakland has won three straight games and the Mets have lost four straight, putting them two games behind the third wild-card spot.