Are the New York Mets cursed by “Kokomo”?

But, as Reddit user FranklinBenecdict pointed out in a r/baseball thread, there may be one glaring, not-so-obvious explanation for the Mets’ on-field troubles: the team paid tribute to Brian Wilson by playing “Kokomo” at Citi Field last summer. “I just want to say that the New York Mets are now 47-70 since playing ‘Kokomo’ on the day Brian Wilson died last June,” they wrote. “The curse no one is talking about.” yumyyumapollo replied, “Met Sounds,” and Lenn_Cicada added: “God only knows what they were thinking.” 

It doesn’t take a Beach Boys diehard to spot the issue here. Wilson, who passed away on June 11, 2025, was not involved in the writing or recording of “Kokomo.” The song was co-written by Mike Love with John Phillips, Scott MacKenzie, and Terry Melcher for the Cocktail soundtrack, and went to #1 in 1988. Wilson, whose debut solo album came out four days after “Kokomo,” wasn’t present at the song’s recording session and later claimed that his bandmates did not tell him about it until after the fact. 

However, it’s unclear if the Mets’ in-stadium DJ actually played “Kokomo” during the team’s June 11 game against the Washington Nationals (which New York won). According to SportsNet New York’s Andy Martino, the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around” was played at the top of the third inning on the day Brian Wilson died, but there was nothing said about “Kokomo.” Athlon Sports also covered the tribute and stayed mum about any “Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take ya” errors. Curse or no curse, “Kokomo” or no “Kokomo,” there’s only one solution: play “Shortnin’ Bread” between innings.