FLUSHING, NY — In some ways, shapes, and forms, baseball and music go hand in hand.
Veteran infielder José Iglesias, known as Candelita on the microphone, has played a massive role in energizing the New York Mets throughout their ‘seesaw of a 2024 season.’ A result based off of Iglesias’ leadership in the clubhouse, love for the game, production on the diamond, and of course, releasing of hit song, “OMG” back in late June.
At that point, June 28, which is also the date that Iglesias performed “OMG” during a postgame concert, the Mets were sitting at 40-39 overall, one game over .500, and one game back from the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
José Iglesias and the Mets have a “postgame festival” at Citi Field following their 7-2 Friday win against the Astros on June 28, 2024 – Image Credit: MLB
As the summer now winds down and the final stretch of the regular season is here, the Mets aren’t just vying for the postseason, currently at 76-64, 12 games over .500, and just a half game back from the final NL Wild Card, but Iglesias has become a global sensation.
So much so, that opponents have begun to join in on the OMG trend…
Kenley Jansen is a big fan of OMG 😂
📷: @GeminiKeez pic.twitter.com/qW5qml3Mwd
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 4, 2024
“To see what Iglesias is doing, it’s unbelievable man,” said Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who appeared out of the visiting dugout of Citi Field on Wednesday wearing an “OMG” T-Shirt.
“It’s unbelievable for him (Iglesias) to get out of his shell. I think that sometimes us as players are afraid to do that. The teams might think that our minds shift, or it’s not thinking about baseball, but it’s not that. It’s the passion that we have off the field and we’re doing something great.”
The 36-year-old Willemstad, Curaçao native, a future Cooperstown Hall of Famer, compiling 445 saves for his MLB career, carries a similar passion off the field to Iglesias, as Jansen recently created his own music label called KJ74 Entertainment.
Off the mound, Kenley Jansen stays busy with his music label called KJ74 Entertainment. On the mound, he is one of eight pitchers in MLB history with 400+ career saves – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
He formulated the music label after years of work in Curaçao, with the purpose of showcasing the talent from his homeland and neighboring sister islands to worldwide audiences. Rafik, a musician of Lebanese and Colombian descent and a native of Curaçao, Omar Pierce and Amos Balentin of Icons Curaçao, are among the first artists to join KJ74 Entertainment.
When asked how he ended up with an OMG T-Shirt in his possession, Jansen replied: “I think they put it in my locker, so you know, especially me as a guy that I own my own record label also too. I have two to three artists. To see what he is doing is unbelievable.”
A clear example of baseball and music going hand in hand.
José Iglesias has made an impact for the Mets, and gained fans from across the world this summer thanks to “OMG” – Image Credit: Latino Sports
“It’s such a great song, and such a great message that he is spreading out there to the world,” stated Jansen. “I like how he gets to his uncomfortable spot to just be in his comfortable spot by doing his second passion. Seeing how well the song is doing, and how they are promoting it, I admire him for that.”
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