Brandon Nimmo waited over a decade for this special Mets clincher

Francisco Lindor is the team’s MVP and, perhaps in the future, the captain.Pete Alonso, a two-time Home Run Derby champion and well-known slugger who has become a national figure, might be the team’s face. In a lot of ways Brandon Nimmo is the team’s heart, and that heart had strings that were being tugged in a euphoric scene for the Mets at Citi Field on Wednesday night. It all washed over Nimmo when Edwin Diaz pumped a fastball past Kyle Schwarber to close a 4-1 win over the Phillies and clinch an NLDS win that moves Nimmo into the NLCS for the first time in his nine years in Queens. A first-round pick from a Wyoming high school in 2011 helped bring his team to the precipice of the World Series 13 years later.

He knows the effort that goes into each game and each season.All of the work and all of the moments, big and small, culminated in an NLCS trip that brought the longest-tenured Mets player to tears. “When it’s never been done before, you always wonder what it’s like when it really happens,” a red-eyed Nimmo said in a champagne-filled clubhouse.

“It always seems a little bit out there, like you can’t quite grasp it.What would it actually be like to grab on and hold on? “When we were able to do that … the emotion that roared over me — I was trying to not worry about it, keep playing our game, game’s not over, you always go through the last out — and the emotion that poured over me was unbelievable.” The Mets wrapped up a playoff spot in Atlanta.

They survived a wild-card gauntlet in Milwaukee. Follow The Post’s coverage of the Mets in the postseason:For the first time in the ballpark’s history, the Mets clinched a playoff series at Citi Field. “To be able to do it in front of the fan base, here at Citi Field, for the first time is just a dream come true for me and everything I ever wanted when I got drafted,” Nimmo said. The Mets survived the Phillies series just as they have survived everything this season: wit...