Hello. Today I am on a secret mission with The Boss so I can’t do much live blogging. If anything comes up please bug Media Goon at @mediagoon or [email protected] and let him know that Mets Chaos has erupted while I am distracted.
In the meantime, a guest post…and then some other stuff I have lined up for the day. First, here’s Jeff.
The 5 Best Mets Teams of All-Time
This is a guest post submitted by Jeff Herbst. Jeff has had a passion for sports ever since he could first walk and enjoys writing in his spare time. He works with Phoenix Bats, a company that creates wood bats such as their high-quality maple bats for amateur and professional ball players around the globe.
When the New York Mets came into existence in 1962, New Yorkers were excited to have a second major league team in their city once again. Following the departure of both the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to California in 1958, New Yorkers felt betrayed, and they were longing to have the good ‘ole days back.
Along came the Mets. With the new National League expansion team, New Yorkers had their National League representative back. However, with “stars” such as Marv Throneberry and Fred “Choo Choo” Coleman, along with a rag-tag group of MLB castoffs and aging veterans, the first-year Mets stumbled to a 40-120 record, one of the worst winning percentages in MLB history.
The losing would continue for the next six years, with the Mets finishing in last or second-to-last place each season. However in 1969, that would all change.
The Amazin’ Mets, as they became to be known, took the National League by storm in 1969, winning the newly-formed NL East Division, sweeping the Atlanta Braves in three games to win the NL pennant and then knocking off the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles in five games to win the World Series championship.
However, was that magical team the best Mets team of all-time? We will take a look at where they rank among the best five Mets teams of all-time.
5. 1973 New York Mets
The 1973 New York Mets certainly can’t be called one the best Mets teams in history, but they were easily one of the scrappiest. With a record of 82-79, the Mets captured a decidedly mediocre NL East Division by 2.5 games over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.
The Mets had trouble scoring runs all season long, averaging only 3.78 runs per game, good for second-to-last in the National League. However their pitching staff was the third-best in the NL, with a 3.26 team ERA, led by 19-game winner Tom Seaver.
Facing the heavily-favored Cincinnati Reds, the Mets knocked them off in a thrilling five-game series to become NL pennant winners, and moved on to face the defending champion Oakland A’s in the World Series.
The Mets surprisingly took a 3-2 series lead on the A’s before they battled back to beat Seaver and Jon Matlack on short rest. However the Mets showed the world that were indeed a scrappy bunch.
4. 2000 New York Mets
The 2000 New York Mets squad was built a little like the 1973 Mets team—short on hitting, but with a solid pitching staff.
Led offensively by catcher Mike Piazza (.324 average, 38 HR, 113 RBI), the Mets’ offense was 10th in the NL with a .263 team batting average, however the pitching staff ranked third, with a 4.16 team ERA, led by 15-game winner Mike Hampton and 16-game winner Al Leiter.
After securing the NL wild-card and finishing just one game behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL East Division title, the Mets went on to defeat the top-seeded San Francisco Giants in the NLDS in four games, holding the vaunted Giants’ offense to just 11 runs and a .205 team batting average.
The Mets then moved on to dispatch the St. Louis Cardinals in five games to capture the NL pennant, with Hampton winning Games 1 and 5 to win NLCS MVP honors.
In the World Series, dubbed the Subway Series, the Mets were unable to stop the New York Yankees’ train, as they finished off the Mets in five games to win their third consecutive World Series championship.
3. 1988 New York Mets
The 1988 New York Mets were almost as good as the ’86 squad, easily winning the NL East Division title by a 15-game margin over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Mets’ starting rotation of Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone, Bob Ojeda and Sid Fernandez was outstanding, Cone in particular, with a 20-3 record and 2.22 ERA. None of the five starters had an ERA above 3.25, and the bullpen featured Randy Myers, with 26 saves and a nifty 1.72 ERA.
Offensively, Darryl Strawberry was the major force, with 39 HR and 101 RBI, and Howard Johnson and Kevin McReynolds were big keys to the offensive attack all season long as well.
The Mets faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, and in one of the most thrilling playoff series in history, were ousted in seven games when Dodgers’ pitcher Orel Hershiser threw a complete-game five-hit shutout to end the Mets’ incredible season.
2. 1969 New York Mets
For a team that finished in ninth place the year before, not much was expected of the New York Mets in 1969, but there certainly was hope, especially with young pitchers Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman at the top of their starting rotation.
Sure enough, Seaver and Koosman led the Mets all season long, and Seaver’s 25 wins and 2.21 ERA were good enough to earn him his first Cy Young Award of his career.
The Mets finished 27 games better than the ’68 team, with a record of 100-62, and moved on to face the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, and quickly dispatched them in three straight games to capture the first pennant in the team’s young history.
However, no one gave the Mets a chance in the World Series. Facing the Baltimore Orioles, who had won 109 games that year with a pitching staff featuring Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally, and the vaunted hitting attack featuring Frank Robinson and Boog Powell.
However, the Mets completely silenced the potent Orioles bats, holding them to a collective .146 batting average, and the Amazin’ Mets captured their first World Series championship in five games.
1. 1986 New York Mets
The 1986 New York Mets put together the best record of any team in franchise history, amassing a 108-54 regular season record and winning the NL East Division title by a whopping 21.5 games over the Philadelphia Phillies.
While the Mets’ offense was loaded with crafty veterans (Ray Knight, Keith Hernandez, George Foster), they also had younger emerging stars helping out as well (Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Mitchell).
However, the Mets’ real strength that year came in their incredible pitching staff, which led the National League with a 3.11 team ERA. The top four starters (Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, Sid Fernandez) had 66 wins between them, and ironman reliever Roger McDowell chipped in with another 14 wins and 22 saves. Jesse Orosco also emerged in the bullpen, with 21 saves and a 2.33 ERA.
The Mets were tested by a pesky Houston Astros squad in the NLCS before finally putting them away in six games to capture the NL pennant, and were moving on to face the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox had just finished a grueling seven-game series with the California Angels, during which they battled back from a 3-1 deficit to win the AL pennant.
The World Series see-sawed back and forth, with both teams capturing two wins each on the road, a rare sight in any postseason series. The Red Sox however broke through and won at Fenway Park in Game 5, and the Mets were looking at a 3-2 series deficit heading back home to Shea Stadium.
In dramatic fashion, the Mets won both Games 6 and 7, winning Game 6 with a three-run tenth inning after two outs. The 1986 World Series is still considered one of the greatest World Series ever played, and the Mets that season were not only the best, but also the best Mets team of all time.
The 1988 Mets were in a malaise until September…on August 21 thay led the Pirates by only 3 1/2 games. That team was not as good as they look on paper.
As for the 1986 Mets, they were the most talented for sure. Imagine if Gooden was not already drugged out and had a season similar to 1985…that team would have been the best team in history with over 110 wins.
I’d like to think the 1969 Mets could beat the 1986 Mets in a short series though. They are the all-time underdog team, but had awesome pitching.
The 2006 (and 2007) Mets could have easily been considered a superior bunch to the 1973 team, which was pretty much Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Stone and McGraw. Delgado, Reyes, Wright, Beltran, LoDuca, Floyd, Valentin, Nady and Green, with Pedro and Glavine in front of a very deep bullpen was pretty impressive. And while coasting to a 97-65 record (tied with the Highlanders for best in MLB), they swept the Dodgers and went to Game 7 in the NLCS. The 2006 team may have even been a better team than the 2000 NL Champs. Those 1969 Mets were a pretty motley bunch except for Cleon Jones and the pitching staff. For those of us old enough to have closely watched the Mets during the years of Jerry Grote and Bud Harrelson, there is no doubt that the team’s up-the-middle defense and pitching were greatly enhanced by those two defensive stalwarts. In 1969, the Mets were also led by Gil Hodges, one of the best managers and leaders of all-time.
I think the ’99 team was better than the 2000 team, even though the latter went farther in the postseason (by the providence of not having to play the Braves).
For starters, the ’99 club won 97 games to the 2000 club’s 94. The ’99 Mets batted .279 to the 2000 Mets’ .263. Runs, 853-807. OBP, .363-.346. Mainly, though, the 1999 Mets were the best defensive ballclub I’ve ever seen, leading the league with a .989 fielding percentage. Ventura-Ordoñez-Alfonzo-Olerud was a better infield than Ventura-Bordick-Alfonzo-Ziele.
Both were very good teams and exciting to watch. The ’99 team was just a bit better, but didn’t go as far.