OTD 1999: Mets Defeat Reds to Advance to NLDS

The 1999 season was one of ups and downs for the Mets.

They started well, posting an April record of 14-9, but followed that with a 13-15 record in May. They were taking on water in late May, losing eight in a row from May 28th through June 5th.

After a Sunday Night Baseball 7-2 win at Yankee Stadium on June 6th, the Mets were able turn their season around. By the end of July, they were just a half game behind the Braves for the division lead. By September 19th, the Mets were one game behind Atlanta, heading to Turner Field for a three-game showdown with Chipper Jones and Company.

As was typically the case in the 1990s (and to a degree, right up to current day), that series did not go well for the Metropolitans. The Braves swept the Mets, and New York went on to be swept again in Philadelphia in their next series.

Having lost six in a row, the Mets were back at Shea to take on the Braves again. Atlanta took two of three, and the Mets were teetering on the brink of  postseason elimination. The division was Atlanta’s, and the Mets found themselves two games behind the Reds for the Wild Card spot with three games to play.

The Pirates came to Shea for the final weekend, and the Mets did their part, sweeping the Bucs.

The Reds were in Milwaukee, and the Brewers did the Mets a huge favor by taking two of three from Cincinnati. The Reds won the last game to force a tie, a game that started six hours late due to rain.

The Mets and Reds were tied for the final ticket to the postseason, and had to face each other in a one-game playoff in Cincinnati on October 4th to break the tie.

Al Leiter (12-12 going into the game) took the mound for New York against the Reds’ Steve Parris (11-3 going into the game). Mets fans were bracing for agita, but the combination of Rickey Henderson and Edgardo Alfonzo took a step to alleviate the need for Maalox in the top of the first inning.

Henderson singled and Alfonzo followed with a home run. The Mets instantly led 2-0, and were on their way to a 5-0 victory. Henderson would later hit a home run of his own, and Alfonso would add another RBI to back Leiter’s complete game, two-hit, seven-strikeout shutout.

You can see a couple of game highlights in the video below.

The Mets were on their way to Arizona for the NLDS, a series they’d win dramatically on a Todd Pratt walk-off home run in game four. The Mets’ fortunes turned for the worse in the NLCS, when they lost to the Braves in six games, the last of which on a walk-off base on balls issued by Kenny Rogers.

The 1999 and 2000 seasons represented the first time the Mets had qualified for the postseason in consecutive years. Those were fun teams, with the energetic and crafty Bobby Valentine at the helm, and Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura, John Olerud (1999 only), and Alfonzo leading the offense.

In 1999, the Mets had an epically good defensive infield, with Olerud, Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez, and Ventura.

It would be nice to see the Mets establish defense (both in the infield and outfield) as a priority heading into the 2021 season. As we saw in 1999, defense matters.