First pitch: Why the New York Mets will be a beautiful train wreck to watch in September

Ah, New York, the home of some of the best theater on the planet. From "Wicked" to "Hamilton" to "The Lion King," Broadway draws in people from around the world who love a good storyline and performance that goes along with it.

While the lights of Broadway may be hard to beat, don't overlook the theater that will go in Queens this September as the New York Mets have a chance to supply some of the best drama in baseball over the final full month of the 2023 regular season.

Thanks to intriguing schedule, New York Mets will be hard not to watch in September

Sure, the Mets may be well out of the chase for the Wild Card, but that doesn't mean they won't be worth watching in September. Take a look at their September schedule and you'll see that the stars have aligned perfectly for the Mets to play a big role in the 2023 postseason chase.

September begins with the Seattle Mariners bringing their quest for a complete upheaval of the American League West standings to Queens for three games. On September 11 (a day that will bring its own energy to New York and the surrounding boroughs), the Arizona Diamondbacks come to Citi Field to begin a four-game series, with the Cincinnati Reds following them for a three-game set. Both those teams are in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, as are the Miami Marlins, a team the Mets will face six times over the last two weeks of the regular season schedule.

Add in six games against the Philadelphia Phillies between September 21 and October 1, and it's clear to see just how much chaos the Mets could cause in the NL postseason bracket (with a slight measure of AL anarchy spread in there as well).

If you thought the Mets had nothing left to play for this season, watch them take on the role of the spoiler and run with it. It's no exaggeration to say a team that had such high aspirations to begin the season will likely end it as one with plenty to say about which of the other NL teams with their own high hopes will make the playoffs.

And if the schedule wasn't enough to draw you in, consider all of the rumors that are now swirling around star first baseman Pete Alonso and September potentially representing his final days in a Mets uniform if a rumored offseason trade goes through. You don't think Mets fans are going to be invested in watching their beloved Polar Bear go over the 40-homer mark for the third time in his six seasons with the team?

Yes, Mets fans are passionate about what Alonso means to the franchise. With September perhaps marking the end of the Alonso era in Queens, those in blue and orange are already letting their feelings be known about those rumors.

You want drama? You want theater? Just make sure you're watching the Mets in September. If you think the early season had its share of plot twists and turns at Citi Field, you've likely seen nothing yet.