There are many factors to consider when voting for a candidate for President of the United States today. At this point, every pitch and angle has been discussed ad nauseam on the web, in print, and on talk radio and cable television. Hopefully, you have all made your decisions by now.
However, if you are still undecided or are looking for a good reason to change your mind, maybe the following will help. If you are wondering how the New York Mets have fared with a Republican or a Democrat in office, you are in luck. Here is how the Mets have performed under each President in their 54 year history:
| President | Seasons | Record | Win % |
| John F. Kennedy | 1962 – 1963 | 91 – 231 | 0.283 |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | 1964 – 1968 | 303 – 506 | 0.375 |
| Richard M Nixon | 1969 – 1974* | 478 – 433 | 0.525 |
| Gerald R. Ford | 1974* – 1976 | 263 – 277 | 0.487 |
| Jimmy Carter | 1977 – 1980 | 260 – 388 | 0.401 |
| Ronald Reagan | 1981 – 1988 | 662 – 573 | 0.536 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1989 – 1992 | 386 – 423 | 0.477 |
| William Jefferson Clinton | 1993 – 2000 | 562 – 506 | 0.526 |
| George W. Bush | 2001 – 2008 | 651 – 643 | 0.503 |
| Barack Obama | 2009 – 2016 | 630-666 | 0.486 |
* Nixon resigned from office August 9, 1974
Here are the cumulative results:
| Party | Record | Win% |
| Democrat | 1,846 – 2,297 | 0.446 |
| Republican | 2,440 – 2,349 | 0.510 |
Here are some interesting Mets postseason facts when there was a Democrat or Republican in the White House.
Democrat Postseason Facts
The two times the Mets have been to back-to-back postseasons was when there was a Democrat in the White House (1999 & 2000 – Clinton; 2015 & 2016 – Obama)
The Mets have only had an NLCS MVP when there was a Democrat in the White House (Mike Hampton – 2000; Daniel Murphy – 2015)
The Mets have only won the division once (2015) with a Democrat in office. The other three postseason appearances with a Democrat in office were as the Wild Card.
The Mets have appeared in four total postseasons and two World Series with a Democrat in office. The Mets are 21-17 in postseason games with the following records per round:
| Wild Card Game | 0 – 1 |
| NLDS | 9 – 4 |
| NLCS | 10 – 4 |
| World Series | 2 – 8 |
Republican Postseason Facts
The Mets have won their only two World Series with a Republican in office (1969 – Nixon; 1986 – Reagan)
In all five of their appearances in the postseason with a Republican in office, the Mets were the National League East champions.
In three of the five appearances, the Mets won 100+ games with the high water mark coming in 1986 with 108 wins
In four of the five seasons the Mets appeared in the postseason with a Republican in office, the Mets had the best record in the National League (1973 is the exception). In two of those seasons (1986 & 2006), the Mets had the best record in baseball.
In total, the Mets have appeared in five postseason and three World Series with a Republican in office. The Mets are 30-20 in those postseason games with the following records per round:
| NLDS | 3 – 0 |
| NLCS | 16 – 12 |
| World Series | 11 – 8 |
If you wish to mainly focus on player performance over how the team has fared during each administration, Mets players have received more awards during Republican leadership:
Cy Young Award
Republican – 4 (Tom Seaver 1969, 1973, & 1975; Dwight Gooden 1985);
Democrat – 1 (R.A. Dickey 2012)
Rookie of the Year
Republican – 3 (Tom Seaver 1967; Jon Matlack 1972; Darryl Strawberry 1983; Dwight Gooden 1984)
Democrat – 1 (Jacob deGrom 2014)
Rolaids Relief Man
Republican – 2 (John Franco 1990; Armando Benitez 2001)
Democrat – 0
Sports Illustrated Man of the Year
Republican – 1 (Tom Seaver 1969)
Democrat – 0
Gold Gloves
Republican – 14 (Tommie Agee 1970; Bud Harrelson 1971; Keith Hernandez 1983 – 1988; Ron Darling 1989; Carlos Beltran 2006 – 2008; David Wright 2007 – 2008)
Democrat – 6 (Doug Flynn 1980; Rey Ordonez 1997 – 1999; Robin Ventura 1999; Juan Lagares 2014)
Silver Sluggers
Republican – 14 (Keith Hernandez 1984; Gary Carter 1985 – 1986; Darryl Strawberry 1988; Howard Johnson 1989 & 1991; Mike Piazza 2001 – 2002; Jose Reyes 2006; Carlos Beltran 2006 – 2007; David Wright 2007 – 2008)
Democrat – 5 (Mike Piazza 1998 – 2000; Edgardo Alfonzo 1999; Mike Hampton 2000)
Roberto Clemente Award
Republican – 2 (Gary Carter 1989; Carlos Delgado 2006)
Democrat – 2 (Al Leiter 2000; Curtis Granderson 2016)
From the Front Office side, Republicans have a 2-1 edge in Executive of the Year with Johnny Murphy winning in 1969, Frank Cashen winning in 1986, and Sandy Alderson winning in 2015. Baseball America named the Mets the top organization in baseball once for the Republican (1984) and once during a Democratic (1995) term.
As a general rule of thumb, the Mets and their players have performed better with a Republican in office. As you enter the voting booths today, take that as you will. But honestly and all kidding aside, I hope you have some better sound criteria for choosing your candidate. Happy Election Day!
