23
2013
MMO Featured Post: Some Historical Evidence that Mets Success is Imminent
An article by 
The Mets have always done a good job at giving us a heads-up of when good times are around the corner.
The Mets’ history spans over a half-century, and has had its fair share of turmoil and disappointment. In between the painful stretches, however, the team and its fans have enjoyed bursts of success. And as we all know, the Mets are due for one of those bursts.
Dating back to the team’s first taste of victory in the late 1960s, the Mets have always given us steady notice of when good times are on the way. In the mid-60s, it was Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman warming in the wings. The righty-lefty duo eventually formed the top two-fifths of the Mets rotation by 1969, when New York won it all in its seventh season as a franchise. Seaver won 198 ballgames in blue and orange, and Koosman 140.
From 1968-1970, the two combined for a 107-59 record. Seaver pitched to a 2.42 ERA in that stretch, and Koosman 2.46. The pitching twosome was nothing short of amazin’ during the team’s first streak of victory, and their 1967 arrivals marked that period. From ’69-’73, the team finished above .500 in each season—the first five winning seasons in franchise history. More importantly, however, were the two World Series the Mets reached in those years. The original Amazin’s shocked much of the baseball world, but as history would soon point out, maybe we shouldn’t have been all that surprised.
The early 1980s are largely remembered as the darkest age of Mets history. The team never won more than 68 games in any season from 1977 to 1983. There was another couple of home-grown studs on the rise, though, that would turn the gloomiest era of Mets baseball into the very best.
In 1983, a lanky power-hitting outfielder from California took Flushing by storm. Darryl Strawberry’s rookie season included 26 bombs, 74 RBIs, an .848 OPS, and eight outfield assists. Straw took home Rookie of the Year honors in a season that was otherwise uneventful for the last-place Mets.
The next season though, the second half of the young pair arrived in the bigs, and that’s an understatement. Dwight Gooden debuted on April 4 of that year, and from that day forward he would be a household name in the baseball world. The Doctor became the second consecutive Met to win Rookie of the Year. 1984 was a very different season for the Mets, however. The new-look Mets won 90 games that year, but fell short of reaching the playoffs. They wouldn’t dip under the 90-win mark again for another five years.
From 1985-1988, the Mets were the National League’s new power house. Their second championship wasn’t far removed from seasons of futility—much like their first. Also like the team’s first World Series victory, a set of two hot farmhands transformed the squad from laughing stock to champion.
The third pair of Mets studs didn’t blossom until the mid-2000s. Unlike the previous two sets of soothsayer prospects, this one came on the heels of a World Series appearances relatively soon before. The Mets reached the series in 2000, only to reach the depths of the NL East cellar by 2002.
The franchise was in need of rescue a bit earlier than expected, but, as we’d soon find out, it would be in capable hands. A 19-year-old shortstop out of the Dominican Republic made the first half of Shea Stadium’s final revival-marking pair. Jose Reyes got the call to the bigs in 2003, and although his rookie campaign was cut short due to injury — and the team couldn’t escape the basement — Mets fans couldn’t help but feel a sense of optimism.
And for good reason. Thirteen months following Reyes’ promotion, David Wright, the 21-year-old infielder out of Virginia, walked into the Shea Stadium clubhouse for the first time. The moment the home-grown, youthful duo made their way to the left side of second base together, we should’ve known what was to come; we’d seen it twice before. It wasn’t long before the Mets were back on the map.
Less than two full seasons, to be exact. By 2006, the Mets were the cream of the MLB crop. Headed by key free agent signings, and their remarkable pair of All-Star infielders, “Los Mets” came out victorious 97 times that year — the most dominant since the Doc and Darryl days. Led by Reyes, they danced their way all the way to Game 7 of the NLCS, where fate would deny them a chance for a third World title.
Though there was no title this time, you could argue that the 2006 Mets were the most fun Mets team to watch—especially to the younger generation. 2007 and 2008 followed, both filled with tremendous victory totals, but no playoff appearances to show for it.
So, here we are.
2013: Closing in on seven years since the last Mets playoff game. We’ve encountered it all: an injured starting nine, free agent busts, managerial switches, broke owners — and just flat-out futility. Right about now would be a good time for Mets fans to give up; that is, if we didn’t pay attention to our club’s history.
After four consecutive fourth-place finishes, we haven’t seen the Mets win more than 80 games since 2008. And even though there hasn’t been a significant free agent pickup in nearly five offseasons, the only thing we do have is hope. Why? Because we’ve found our prospect pair —better yet, a prospect trio.
Last season, we got out first taste of Matt Harvey, a power righty out of UNC. We were mesmerized by his competitiveness at such a young age — on such a bad team. The most encouraging part about Harvey is that he may not even be the best of what’s to come.
The Mets had a future Hall-of-Famer in Carlos Beltran. But once the glass slipper no longer fit, Beltran was swapped for the Mets’ next World Series piece — and the second piece to the team’s next talent influx — Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler is due for a mid-2013 call-up. The 6’4″ righty will likely pilot the Mets rotation for years to come, with Harvey right on his heels. And as if this duo wasn’t enough cause for celebration among the Mets community, just let this sink in:
They could be pitching to the next Mike Piazza.
Travis D’Arnaud was acquired for New York’s adopted 38-year-old son, R.A. Dickey. After a miraculous Cy Young-worthy season, Dickey was painfully dealt to Toronto. D’Arnaud, however, will be the perfect remedy for Mets fans’ angst.
D’Arnaud is viewed as MLB-ready right now. He’ll likely give it one last go-around in Triple-A this April until the Mets make the call for their catcher of the future. His bat, according to what you read, is the best we’ve seen of any catcher from this generation. Not long after his call should be that of Wheeler. From there, all we have to do as fans is wait for the newest age of Mets marvels grow.
And don’t get too comfortable waiting. If history has it right, it won’t be long before the triple-threat of Mets talent has Citi Field at the heart of the baseball world.
About the Author: John Dorn
I'm currently a journalism student at the University at Albany, and a lifelong Mets fan. You can find some of my stuff over at Bleacher Report, where I'm a featured columnist covering the New York Knicks. Though they'll likely drive me to an early grave, the Mets were always my first love, and I take pride in sticking through these tough times -- it'll only make the better days that much sweeter. I look forward to sharing some of my thoughts with you all here at MMO, and don't be afraid to extend the conversation over on Twitter. You can follow me at @JSDorn6.
34 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- Scott Rice's Arm: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Since it's an off day, I flew...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Mets would love Rauch because he is...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Bring him back with the stipulation that...
- Aldersons Dog Buddy: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Woof! I want Rauch & Batista I...
- Mr North Jersey: on From Left Field: Big Innings Have Been A Killer: "There is still time, and there’s no...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5390 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
wow… Really good article, in really dark days like this is always good to be optimistic, kudos to you on this piece. The CORE salute you
Nice…thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
It’s so hard to predict what a team will do from year to year. That’s why I take the predictions of the Mets not competing until 2015/16 with a grain of salt. For instance, back to back ROYs in ’83 and ’84. WS in ’86. Talks of a dynasty. That didn’t work out too well though. Other than making it back to post season in ’88 and failing to get to the WS, that didn’t work out as predicted.
More recently, we had the Marlins making their move over last off season supposedly building a championship team. By mid season, that was all over.
You can predict from year to year what a team will do, but you really don’t know until the season plays out.
Ok then, what’s your prediction on this team though? the roster is just awful, other than ike davis we have no power treath, so how we gonna score runs? We’re gonna OBP teams to death with walks and singles? the bullpen will likely stink again, the OF is terrible, what exactly is wrong about saying this team will likely lose 90-100 games this year???
This season? I’ve got them finishing 4th ahead of the Marlins. Somewhere around 77 wins.
Lack of a credible OF and the defense are the two biggest problems, IMO.
We’ll see…..
77 WINS???????????????????????????? REALLY??????? Wow… I guess you are more optimistic than i thought…
Yeah, just a prediction.
I’m not in the camp of those seeing 100 losses though.
I tink the article refers to home grown talent, or Players that the Mets developed, that made their debuts with us. Young players that were very successful, and were absolutelt critical in making the Mets a successful team. The Marlins just signed everybody and their mamas, but some of their young studs (Ramirez, Johnson), already had questions of maturity, durability, and effort hanging over their heads. Our young core of prospects is actually the opposite of that. Different situation. With that said, I dont blame you for being a bit skeptical, the last few years have been painful, to say the least, and we have endured enough heartbreaks as it is, but you can’t help but feel very optimistic and excited about these new group of players coming up.
I think the worst might be behind us. I too am excited about the young talent we have, plus the prospects coming up. Crossing my fingers…..
No doubt we see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am excited to see these kids play, and grow (hopefully) together. Oh, one last thing, there is a guy peolpe don’t remember at this point, a young guy by the last name Matz. Decently talented, from what i have heard. Add him to The Harveys, Wheelers, D’ Arnauds, et al. Certainly a lot of hope. It’s due, and we, as fans can feel it coming. Loved the article. Kudos to everyone for hanging in there during these trying times as Mets fans…
Actually the guy to add to the list to make it a quartet is Flores even though he most likely will not be a mainstay in Flushing since it looks like the Mets are set at the corners.
Good article. I think we are closer than many feel. Hopefully our OF us addressed before the start of the regular season.
One thing, I love Beltran (he’s in my top 5 all time favorite Mets) but do you really think he’s a future HOFer?
Sloats, well, borderline, IMHO with the steroid era you hace to go back to the guys who did it the right way, this guy has been a true professional, he’s been a gold glober, a 300+ 300+ in HR and SB, he’s a clutch player in the postseason (14 HR in 124 At bat including 1252 OPS), 7 time all star, and pretty much everywhere he’s been, he’s made the lineup and players around him better (Houston, Mets and St Louis)
Yes.
Ditto. Especially if he continues to add to his impressive resume.
Even passed the numbers, he was the best CF of his time. I almost think it hurts him a little that he made it look so easy out there it seemed like he wasn’t trying.
And him adding to his numbers will get him in all the quicker.
Like I said, he’s one of my all time favorites but I have to wonder what might have been had he not been hampered by so many health issues. Then again he may not have been available to us. Arguably the most talented everyday player mets have ever had.
John, I want to officially welcome you to Mets Merized Online. As we continue our goal to upgrade the quality of our content, you and the one dozen new writers we have added in 2013, certainly represent our commitment to achieving that goal. It’s a privilege to have you on the team and I look forward to more insightful articles as this first post from you. Nice job and welcome aboard!
Outstanding article. I think this article outlines the theme to the 2013 season: the first step towards getting back to baseball relavancy. I will not measure this season in wins and losses at all. I will base it on three things:
1. The performance of the prospects. This will tell the fanbase if the mets are close or far from being a contender again. If the trio plays well, the mets could be a threat as soon as 2014, but if they do not achieve the success we all foresee them to, fans may have to wait until 2015 and beyond.
2. The performance if the young group of outfielders. Can the trio of Duda, Niesenhuis and Valdespin prove that they are deserving of being in a Mets uniform when the team is good again? Or will the front office have to search elsewhere for talent?
3. The performance and the trade value of Johan Santana. Personally even if he does play well, I don’t see the Mets getting a prospect any better than a 4 (in a 2-8 scale) with upside. And the farewell to Johan will also intrigue me. Johan has been the highest paid player in possibly the darkest Met era in thirty years, will he be remembered for that or for his night of brilliance on Friday June 1, 2012.
I think 77 is very doable. If the get a decent OFer I would expect more.
Exactly what I meant yesterday regarding: “Do this guy have a Plan”
Metstheory22 January 22, 2013 at 4:58 pm .
Just like 69, just like 73, just like 86, it’s about the pitching staff getting better. The seeds of those teams started when the pitching started to come through. We need the minor league pitching to improve the majors staff. Niese, Gee first, then Harvey, Edgin, Familia, Carson, Ramirez and hopefully McHugh and Wheeler next, with Syndergaard and Fuller and Montero next. One of these guys can be traded for a hitter down the line, depending on the need.
Should be: Do I Really Look Like A Guy With A Plan?
An article by André Dobiey
Nice post. This is exactly why I haven’t been pushing the panic button. I do think this organization has a plan and it is built around a nucleus of young, affordable, home grown talent which will be augmented with FAs or trades when the time is right.
I’ve always believed in this approach over loading up on FAs that don’t necessarily constitute a “team”. We’ve seen countless examples of teams, including the Mets, buying a bunch of high priced talent that don’t live up to their perceived potential. Team cohesion matters, particularly in baseball with a 162 game season.
I am actually very optimistic. Another strong righthanded bat and a solid reliever and we are making a run for it. .
Great post John. This hits on the backbone of every great baseball dynasty; pitching. We are nearing something along the lines of the great Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz run of the Atlanta Braves. Are we there yet? No. But we seem to be heading in that direction and I feel good about Harvey and Niese going forward, and have high hopes for Wheeler, Montero, Fulmer and Syndergaard.
LOL now that is funny…3 almost certain hall of fame players and you feel we are moving in that direction. Hell, I hope you are correct but at this point we should settle for Ojeda, Darling, and Fernandez. That would be a major boost to this organization’s fortunes.
Yes, the Mets are trying it with young players and this is really only the second time in their history that they went that route instead of putting together a team of mostly veterans. First attempt, of course, was the early sixties when after that initial season they turned to youth and it eventually paid off big in 1969.
The second was the late seventies – and this is where history parralles itself with today’s situation. Instead of trying to build around the players they had, the Mets were not replacing their aging veterans with others and were shipping off their good stars for a variety of reasons – Seaver, Staub, Kingman so by 1978 they were a team of mostly young players. The young players at the time didn’t work out but the process stayed the same till they hit pay dirt with a great blend of young talent and (and this is where the resemblence ends) skilled veterans. Since that time, even through the late ninties when we got ourselves back into contention, we did it not by being patient with the development of the young players and adding to them veterans but rather getting mostly veteran players once more.
So like the late seventies, the Mets put themselves in a situation where they had to be patient awaiting the youth instead of combining youth with veterans.
There will not be help if our “rebuilding” is nothing more than stocking our roster simply with as many prospects as possible because that is simply the least expensive way to fill a roster. So far, Sandy has not shown us that his plan includes anything other than prospects which is still only one third a plan, the other two being the keeping of the good players one already has and trying to fill the holes with both prospects and players from the outside.
I think we all hope your right….
Like I said previously though we had a similar situation where young pitching was all the rage here in 1995 a group called Generation K and we all know how well that promise held out.
What some might forget in BOTH the cases of the WS winners were they were both preceeded by a long stretch of losing…Losing that in 86 got you that Strawberry and Gooden who were both top 5 overall picks in the draft (the draft was not available to help the 69ers until 1965 and Seaver was not a draft pick of ours (atlanta actually picked him in 66 we actually passed on him and took Chilcott with the 1st overall pick) and after some controversy regarding the NCAA and eligibility the Mets were able to match the offer the Braves gave him and thats how we got him.
The Moral of the story is if you suck good and long enough you will get first shot at the best players in the draft and as a result get the two players who really drive the winning that makes it easier to fill around and create a champion.
In the generation K example Wilson was the only top 5 pick and why it just wasn’t enough to make that HOPE turn to reality.
86ers had 5 top 5 picks to work with (hit on only two)
69ers had 5 top 5 picks as well (hit on only one really unless you want to count Foli who eventually got you Rusty Staub)
This is the pattern that helped to make those teams what they became….
it is the same pattern that led to the Braves in the 90′s and
to a lesser extent the Phillies of the 2000′s (only three top 5 Picks)
Cause picking high in every round of those post losing drafts gets you the players who make you a winner and a whole slew of players you can trade (because they were highly picked and therefore have a higher cieling than thier round mates) to get the guys you couldn’t draft.
I don’t get it, so are you saying the Mets have no shot at contending anytime soon because they haven’t had any top 5 picks?
No thats not what I was saying but it doesn’t surprise me it went right over your head…
To do what you CLAIM we are doing (rebuilding for a long sustained competitive team) you need those top 5 picks Who if you pick correctly will be the SUPERSTAR CORE that you can Free Agent around (Yankees) or trade the other picks to fill around to get you that full decade (Braves, Phillies, 86ers).
Those top 5 picks get you the kids that come to the MLB and are immediatly impact type players.The Goodens, The Strawberrys, The Jeters, The Strausburg types that hit the ground running. Since you control them the first 5 years of competitiveness is sealed provided you didn’t surround them with scrubs when they came up (Something Sandy seems to be prepared to do this year and next considering all the Kids we have will be starting sometime in 2013)
After you have those guys and just before you see they are ready to be promoted you use the rest of those high picks in the remaining rounds to get players at positions you couldn’t draft….The Hernandez’, the Carters, The Gio Gonzales’, The Adam Laroches , and the Bobby Ojedas and Ron Darlings.
Then you have a shot at a decade of dominance and sustained winning.
But in our current plan we have traded off our best players (5 of them) and all we got out of it was Two Kids Maybe 3 in three more years when all is said and done…
Thats not a rebuild it is merely a purge and a lot more like what Grant did than anything Cashen presided over!
“To do what you CLAIM we are doing (rebuilding for a long sustained competitive team) you need those top 5 picks”
uh, its pretty much exactly what you’re saying.
Again I guess your just not up to the high concept…
You think the ONLY competitive team is a Young Rebuilt franchise….
That isn’t the ONLY way to make a competitive team….
There is a difference between competing using kids (REQUIRING TOP 5 DRAFT PICKS) and being competitive for a long time (FA Signings and good Trades)
You seem to think the only way to be competitive is via Kids…
For that to work you need top 5 picks in the draft…
My way doesn’t require that….It just requires you to spend money when the players and needs warrant it and just making good draft choices by being BETTER than the other team instead of just first where you can’t be outfoxed!
Welcome John , nice writing. Look forward to reading you more
The team has indeed bounced back after some very bleak days.
Great prospects have much to do with it. The Miracle Mets certainly were powered by a great young staff with most of the offensive players traded for.
The 86 Mets were powered by a once in a lifetime pitcher and an incredible hitter gotten in back to back drafts. Most fo the rest of the team was gotten in trades.
The 2000 Mets were a collection of trades and free agent signings for the most part.
The 2008 team was certainly about Wright and Reyes along with mostly free agent signing.
Home-grown, exciting Reyes was not offered a contract by the current front office. We could certainly have used him.
I am not convinced that the new prospects are on a level of Seaver, Koosman, Ryan, Gooden, Strawberry, Reyes and Wright. Far from it.
I would love to be proven wrong.
And I don’t want to hear about building around a ‘core’ after they let home-grown Reyes go.
I reckon it will be at least another two years before we even think of competing. And that will come the way it always does – through a series of home-grown prospects along with trades and free agency.
Two more bad years will probably be as long as it will take for the front office and ownership to realise that fans won’t come to the park. That’s when something will be done.
I am scratching my head on how you take a 74 win team, trade its best starter, fail to resign the 8th inning set up man, an OF who was third on the team in home runs, and expect that team to win three more games than last year. It’s not happening.
Hi Old School,
Don’t try scratching your head. You see, God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines and since we all know, God is a Met fan, Sandy has a vision from God for which the true plan us mere mortals would not be able to decipher.
I am convinced Sandy is following the religious path from the All Mighty. He already seems to be obeying the commands of the prophet Moses “Let My People Go.”
Can’t believe I just made this up off the cuff… LOL