Six up with six to play. Not even the Mets, well-accustomed to late-season collapses in recent years, could possibly succumb to such a freefall. Fortunately, either a New York win or a loss by the Los Angeles Dodgers would ensure a second consecutive trip to the postseason.
But the Mets — specifically their general manager — had no interest in settling for a wild card berth, even if it was their most logical path to the playoffs.
“Our goal was to win the division,” Steve Phillips said. “The wild card is a fall back.” Phillips went so far as to say that the Mets shouldn’t engage in an on-field celebration if the “fall back” option was indeed their fate.
New York would figure out if those slim division title hopes would disappear or stay alive, because the first-place Atlanta Braves were coming into Queens to re-engage less than a week after the two clubs finished playing each other down south.
The Braves needed to take only one in their three-game set at Shea Stadium to lock up the NL East again. And without wasting time or drama, they did so in the opener. Following a 7-1 win, the muted celebration of Braves players and coaches was typical of a franchise that had dominance over the division for the better part of a decade.
With the previously faint hopes of an NL East crown now vanished, the Mets subsequently put a quick end to the suspense about their securing the wild card and reeled off a five-game winning streak to end the regular season.
The Shea crowd was poised for a celebration of its own on September 27, even if their GM wasn’t. With the Dodgers prevailing the previous night, it gave the Mets an opportunity to clinch on their own terms.
Atlanta didn’t concede easily, sending out its top-tier lineup. But it proved no deterrent to the determined Mets or starter Rick Reed, who negotiated that Braves order with relative ease following a first-inning homer by Andruw Jones.
Meanwhile, the offense chipped away at Kevin Millwood beginning in the fourth inning. The Mets broke a 1-1 tie on the strength of a Darryl Hamilton single to score Timo Perez followed by a two-run homer from Edgardo Alfonzo.
New York tacked on some more, building the lead to 6-1. Armando Benitez, who finished with a team-record 41 saves in 2000, was given the honor of closing out the clinch in a non-save situation.
A home run by Andres Galarraga did little harm. Benitez finished off the Braves and, somewhat abiding to Philips’ wishes, the reaction was relatively subdued. The Mets eventually let loose with champagne in the locker room.
”I think that this team has silenced a little bit of the doubters,” Mike Piazza said to The New York Times. ”You know what? We had a bad month. Hopefully, we can have a good month.”
From there, the team played free and easy — similar to how they performed during a red-hot summer.
Unlike Braves manager Bobby Cox, Bobby Valentine penciled in a Mets’ lineup laden with backups. Nevertheless, they proceed to end Greg Maddux‘s scoreless drought and send him to the clubhouse after five innings.
Todd Pratt led the way in the 8-2 destruction of Atlanta pitching, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Kurt Abbott showed some rare pop in his bat by knocking his sixth home run of the season. Bobby Jones went eight and gave up only two runs. Although his final ERA wasn’t eye-catching or eye-pleasing, he managed to tally an 11-6 recor.
The Mets then disposed of their last regular-season opponent, the Montreal Expos. Mike Hampton picked up his 15th victory of the year on September 29, supported heavily by ten runs over the first two innings. That was followed with a pair of late-game triumphs which served as the tune-up for October.
All that remained was to determine the Mets’ Division Series opponent. The Braves, Cardinals, and Giants fought it out for the league’s best record and, thus, home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.
Atlanta continued to play its starters but was no better off for it. After losing the series in New York, they continued to struggle at home against the Colorado Rockies and dropped two out of three to close the regular season.
The Giants, meanwhile, won four of their last five for a final tally of 97 victories — enough for the NL’s top seed, which meant the Mets would have a rematch with their nemesis in the NLCS.
New York ended up with 94 — three fewer wins than in 1999 but far less angst in getting there. But compared to last year’s roller-coaster arrival to the playoffs, which included the Mets having to take four straight must-win games and a three-city trek over some 50 hours, the relatively serene finish and a flight out west to take on San Francisco was a comforting feeling. But for a team of the Mets’ stature, getting to the postseason wasn’t enough. Only a trip to the World Series would suffice.
