Incredible Baseball Stats by Reavy Kevin; Spaeder Ryan; Boggs Wade

Author:Reavy, Kevin; Spaeder, Ryan; Boggs, Wade
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2016-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

NEW YORK METS

Est. 1962

Michael Conforto is the only player in baseball history with an RBI in the Little League World Series, College World Series, and MLB World Series.

The New York Mets, founded in 1962, are not one of baseball’s oldest franchises—not even close. In their relatively brief existence, however, they have proven to be one of its most popular, and compelling teams.

Sure, that’s easy to say after a World Series berth in 2015, when teen idol Jacob deGrom blew away the competition, flowing locks draped below his cap like a superhero cape. But, the Mets have seamlessly melded into national pastime lore, through both good times and bad.

Their first four seasons were historically dreadful, debuting with the third-worst record in modern baseball history in 1962 (40–120) and playing just .300 ball through 1965 (194–452). Naturally, they were dubbed the “Miracle Mets” after a 100-win, World Series championship season in 1969, considering the team had never previously eclipsed 73 wins in a single season.

[Did you know?: The Mets’ color scheme is a combination of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ blue, and the New York Giants’ orange—both teams that split the Big Apple for the West Coast, opening up a spot for the expansion Metropolitans.]

Ace Tom Seaver played a big role in the turnaround. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1967, and the Cy Young in 1969, going 25–7, accounting for 25% of his team’s wins and just 11% of its losses. History may not grant Seaver proper credit, but he was as singularly responsible for the Mets’ amazing turnaround as was any one player for any one team, ever.

Adding Seaver paid big dividends for New York, even though, during the phenom’s first ten big league seasons, the team finished just a shade under .500 (804–809; .498). In the 1980s, the Mets doubled up, drafting two wunderkinds, setting up the longest sustained stretch of contention in franchise history.

Outfielder Darryl Strawberry and ace righty Dwight Gooden are remembered as the faces of the Mets in the 1980s, but their 1986 club was historically well-balanced, winning the franchise’s second World Series after a 108-win regular season—the fourth-highest win total in National League history. The team had everything:

Power-hitting superstar (Strawberry)

Unhittable ace (Gooden)

Unhittable backup aces (Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda)

Hall of Fame catcher (Gary Carter)

Sweet-swinging mustachioed first baseman (Keith Hernandez)

Prototype leadoff man (Lenny Dykstra)

The Mets averaged an impressive 95 wins per season from Gooden’s rookie year (1984) until 1990. That’s an amazing run, for sure, but the team seemed capable of more.

By 1991, not a single starting position player remained from the ’86 club. By 1993, they finished with their worst record since 1966 (59–103; .364). They rebounded at the turn of the century, reaching the World Series in 2000, but, in total, the Mets have only reached the postseason four times since 1988. It’s been a struggle regaining that magic from 30 years ago.

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