With a winning percentage of .656 over 61 openers, no major-league team is better at making a first impression than the New York Mets. And this after losing their first eight. The start of the regular season is cause for fans to celebrate, and Mets fans have celebrated more often than others. With 40 wins in the last 53 years, the only thing we can usually count on is a Mets victory....
In April 1969, humans were hundreds of thousands of miles away from setting foot on the moon just as the New York Mets seemed far away from a World Series title. By October 15, both distances had been covered and two feats once thought of as miracles were achieved. The Mets—cellar dwellers for the better part of their first seven years—headed into Game 5 on the brink of an accomplishment...
June 15 covers the spectrum of Mets trades. Each had an impact on the franchise, for better and for worse. By 1969, the Mets couldn’t get much worse. But they were reversing the trend which was their reputation over the first seven years of the franchise. So when the mid-June trade deadline arrived, the Mets—over .500 yet in a rather distant second place—looked to improve the offense to...
The current version of the Mets is poised to make last year’s disappointment an afterthought. If all things were equal, as in a full 162-game schedule, they’d have a great opportunity to join this list of the most substantial one-year improvements in team history. What are the greatest one-year team turnarounds in Mets history? Let’s take a look. Note: the 1982 season, which...
Most everyone when they talk “Mets” and “trades” usually discuss the bad ones. We’ve heard them all: Seaver to the Reds, Ryan-for-Fregosi, Dykstra and McDowell for Juan Samuel. But the Mets have been the beneficiaries of transactions and here are five of the best in the team’s 60-year history. 5. Donn Clendenon from the Montreal Expos On the verge of...
In case we weren’t already reminded before this past weekend, Mother Nature has let everyone in the northeast know it’s officially winter time. Between the single-digit temperatures and the threat of snow, it certainly feels like baseball isn’t close to happening yet (and that’s without even mentioning the current state of the lockout). So, with that said, why not warm...
Six months earlier, such a scenario would have defied comprehension. For a civilization which recently witnessed a moon landing, the Mets — cellar dwellers for the better part of their first seven years — were on the brink of an accomplishment registering as much awe as what took place 239,000 miles from earth. Even 100 regular-season wins and a sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS did not...
It wasn’t so much a pennant race as it was two teams passing each other in the midst of their respective, opposing late-season streaks. From August 16 through September 23, the New York Mets — which spent its initial seven years in or near the National League cellar — won 32 of 42. The Chicago Cubs — who held first place for much of ’69 — went 14-23. Greeting and effectively,...
On June 29, 1969, Tom Seaver defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 7-3 score at Shea Stadium to become the Mets’ all-time leader in wins by a pitcher with 44. He presently holds the franchise record for wins with 198. In 1969, Seaver won his first of three Cy Young awards. That year, he went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA and a 1.039 WHIP. In this particular game against the Pirates, Seaver went the...
Last week’s deal that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets may be one of the biggest trades in Mets’ franchise history. Lindor is a four-time All-Star, who is in his prime at 27 years old. Carrasco led the American League in wins in 2017, and was the A.L. comeback player of the year in 2019. I started thinking about big trades the Mets have made in each of their...
The Mets made a deadline deal to obtain Yoenis Cespedes five years ago today, July 31st, 2015. The trade capped a wild five days, that included the Wilmer Flores non-trade, a horrific loss to the Padres after a long rain delay, and a Flores walk-off home run against the Nationals. Cespedes joined Donn Clendenon and Keith Hernandez (among others) as key deals the Mets have made at the...
Good Morning, Mets fans! Latest Mets News According to Joe Pantorno of AM New York, a shortened (or even no) 2020 MLB season will hurt the Mets “more than most.” The Mets have made their first undrafted free agent signing with Brandon McIlwain, an outfielder out of the University of California, Berkeley. The Mets also agreed to a deal with their third round pick Anthony Walters. Tim...
