Mets are officially No. 1 -- in Twitter mentions
New York Mets starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) and New York Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud (7) watch as the winning sac fly by Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) in the fourteenth inning wins the game during Game 1 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
New York Mets fans' collective expression of angst, managerial second-guessing and stunned joy on Twitter is officially big.
The Mets were the most mentioned Major League Baseball team on the social network this year, from opening day to the last game of the regular season, according to Twitter.
Users directly referenced "Mets" or @Mets 4.4 million times, followed by the Yankees at 3.8 million, according to the data collected by Twitter at Newsday's request. The San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates rounded out the top five. The data doesn't include related keywords, team hashtags or players.
Mets fans turn to the social media network before, during and fter games to express their feelings -- like sports talk radio in real time, just without a busy signal or Mike Francesa.
The Mets fans on Twitter are often referred to as #MetsTwitter, a hashtag that can be searched to find others talking about the team.
It seems loudest when the Mets are at their most miserable, such as in the wee hours Wednesday morning, when they lost 5-4 in extra innings to the Royals.
Fans got on Manager Terry Collins for his starting lineup, Michael Cuddyer for three strikeouts, and David Wright, the team's captain, for an error that led to the winning run.
@bulinsky5 noted "#MetsTwitter gets real dark after a loss".
@PIITP tweeted: "I'm going to try and sleep as best I can. Hope #MetsTwitter is alright after all this. I'll talk to y'all tomorrow. This series'll be a doozy."
@JustinMets tweeted: "Not going to lie. It was much easier being a Met fan when they sucked. Sorry. Less stress. #MetsTwitter"
