The New York Mets have only reached the playoffs nine different times since 1962, but when they make it, they’ve typically made it worth the wait.

Out of those nine playoff appearances, New York has reached the World Series five times, came within one win of the Fall Classic two times (1988 and 2006), and came within two wins of it on one other occasion (1999). The only time they were bounced from the postseason without winning at least three games came in 2016 when the Mets dropped the NL Wild Card play-in game to the San Francisco Giants.

But let’s not worry about the October exits today. The calendar is getting ready to flip to 2022, and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’re anywhere close to this lockout being over. So, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and revisit each of the five times the Mets have won the National League pennant, shall we?

1969

Before the 1969 playoffs even started, the Mets were in unchartered territory as an organization. Not only were they playing October baseball for the first time, but this was also the first time they even finished the regular season with a winning record. Obviously, they made it count by going 100-62 prior to facing the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.

They promptly swept the best-of-five matchup from Atlanta to face a heavily favored Baltimore Orioles club. Once they dropped Game 1 with Tom Seaver on the mound, it wouldn’t have been crazy to think the magic had potentially run out. It didn’t, though, as New York rattled off four straight wins to bring the trophy home.

1973

Following the title-winning year of 1969, the Mets won 83 games for three straight seasons. So, naturally, they won 82 in 1973 and made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. Baseball is funny that way, isn’t it?

The scene on the field at Shea is absolutely bananas, and I love comparing it to what we just saw in 1969. The first time around, it looked as if either nobody was expecting it to actually happen, or they just didn’t know what to do with themselves once it was official. In ’73, the final out could barely be recorded before the feet of fans were touching fair territory.

1986

This series between the Mets and Astros was an absolute heavyweight bout until the very end. Each team had won two contests heading into a pivotal Game 5 at Shea, which ended with New York taking a 3-2 series lead off the strength of a 2-1 victory in 12 innings. All they did for an encore in Houston for Game 6 was go 16 (!) innings.

New York was getting shutout all game until they scored three to tie things up in the ninth and force extra innings. These two clubs then combined to score seven total runs in the extra frames played.

2000

This particular clip is near and dear to my heart because it was the first time in my life that the Mets advanced to the World Series. It’s impossible for me to not get goosebumps every time I watch it. Timo Perez excitedly jumping while waiting for the final out and Mike Hampton getting hoisted while his arms are in the air will forever be imprinted on my brain. Oh, and so will the Baha Men.

2015

The 2015 season had so many ups and downs. The incredible April, followed by treading water in May and June, along with some soul-crushing losses in July (and not to mention the Five Days in Flushing). That gave way to an incredible second half that was powered by Yoenis Céspedes, and Daniel Murphy temporarily turning into Babe Ruth once October came. I remember trying to not get my hopes up for a sweep prior to Game 4 because it’s the Mets we were talking about, but the Chicago Cubs just had no chance.

Which pennant-winning moment from the Mets was most significant for you?