This special Mets team should never be written off

In what might possibly have been his final* game as a Met at Citi Field, Pete Alonso fittingly made sure fans received another terrific memory of the beloved Polar Bear — a tone-setting, season-saving bomb of a home run. (*While there’s obviously still a chance his return to Queens will be in an enemy uniform, Alonso could extend his Mets tenure if 1) he re-signs here on a long-term, megabucks deal, or 2) the Mets keep defying the experts and beating the odds by winning two more games in LA and bringing World Series games home next week.) That second possibility — all he’s thinking about now — still may not seem overwhelmingly likely yet.But this Mets team — which sent the National League Championship Series back to Los Angeles with a 12-6 Game 5 victory — should never be written off.

If there’s anything we’ve learned over 174 games, it’s that. Whatever happens in LA, this is a special Mets season. Whatever happens in Games 6 and 7, this is a special Mets team. Long ago expected to play out the year as an also-ran, they keep resuscitating themselves.Occasionally on life support this October, they head to California very much alive. These Mets are as tough as they are clutch.

But the task still appears monumental, what with Dodgers superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts remaining on a roll (between them, those LA megastars reached base six more times in Game 5). “If anyone can do it … we can do it,” Brandon Nimmo said. This isn’t the most talented team in the National League (that is almost certainly their NLCS opponent).But it’s hard to imagine a squad with a bigger heart, more guts and greater belief in the unrealistic, and even the unbelievable. The Mets still need more magic, of course, and two more miracles.

They head to Dodger Stadium needing to sweep a team ticketed to win 111 games by some.The chances would still seem less than great, but the players continue to defy the analysts. “You look at the path, and it�...