MMO has partnered with Out of the Park Baseball to bring you a 16-team Mets Madness competition that will be simulated over the next few months. The managers of the teams are comprised of MMO writers and editors, one MMO commenter (Mike Lloyd), and we conducted a giveaway for the final manager spot (the 2015 team).
Each round will be best-of-seven. We will post only a series recap of the first round and then will be more detailed in our posting as we get deeper into the competition. We will also be giving folks access to 10% off coupons for downloading the game and giving away codes to download the game for free.
The next series preview belongs to the 1988 Mets (Mets Daddy) and the 2016 (Michael Mayer)
1988 Mets
The 1988 Mets are probably the best Mets team ever not to win the World Series. It was a star-studded lineup with a deep rotation and bullpen. Their 111 wRC+ led the National League. Their 2.91 ERA was the best in the majors. They also issued the fewest walks per nine while striking out the most per nine. This was a team only Orel Hershiser, in the midst of a historically great season, could stop. As we saw in the first round, there aren’t many teams who stand a chance against them.
This was David Cone’s breakout year, with him finishing third in the Cy Young voting. Randy Myers had a breakout season as an elite closer in what’s been a long line of great Mets left-handed closers. Darryl Strawberry was second in MVP voting and arguably should’ve won that year. He was joined by Howard Johnson and Kevin McReynolds, with all three having 20/20 seasons.
2016 Mets
The 2016 were a team that finished 17-10 in September, though they came up short in a one-game playoff against the Giants. They had the second-most home runs in the NL with 218 and had the second-fewest stolen bases with only 42. Overall, their offense produced a 99 WRC+.
Curtis Granderson (30 HR) and Yoenis Céspedes (31 HR) led the Mets power output, with the middle infield of Asdrúbal Cabrera and Neil Walker each hitting 23 home runs.
Pitching was certainly the strong suit of the team, with a 3.58 ERA overall that ranked third in the big leagues. With both the starters (3.61 ERA) and (relievers (3.53) being among the best in baseball.
Noah Syndergaard had a monster season in 2016 with a 6.0 fWAR that ranked second among all pitchers. Bartolo Colón (3.43 ERA), Jacob deGrom (3.03 ERA), and Steven Matz (3.40 ERA) all had strong seasons in the Mets rotation. The bullpen got big seasons from Addison Reed (1.97 ERA), Jeurys Familia (51 saves), and Jerry Blevins (2.79 ERA). Lastly, rookies Seth Lugo (2.67 ERA) and Robert Gsellman (2.42 ERA) pitched in key second half roles.
