How good are the New York Mets?

The New York Mets are a team that is bittered by both their highs and lows. At times they have been an extremely competitive team and earned notable praise for their resilient efforts while the other times, they have been a semi-performing mid-tier team. 2022 marked 60 years of existence in the MLB for the 2-time World Series Champions and overall the team has given many loving memories for its fans to be grateful for. Despite being considered the underdog when compared to their intercity rival, the more famous and accomplished New York Yankees, Mets on various occasions have outperformed their intercity rivals, as a result, keeping the Mets vs Yankees rivalry alive and well. 

 

How good are the New York Mets? 

In their 60 years of existence, the Mets have been an excellent team. Within a decade of their existence, the team won its first world series in 1969 with a handsome win/loss record of 100-62, won its second world series in 1986 with a splendid 108-54 record, clinched 5 pennant titles, 6 East Division championships overall, finished 2nd place in National League east division a total 12 times, finished runner ups in 1973, 2000, and 2015 world series, and finished 3 seasons with an impressive 100+ win record.

What makes the New York Mets so popular?

• The Mets are a legacy team and one of the established baseball teams in the United States. They consistently draw large crowds to their home games at Citi Field stadium, and their fans are some of the most diehard and loyal in all of baseball. But what are just some of the perhaps many reasons that explain this team’s insane popularity?
• First, is the club’s long and tenured history. The Mets were founded in 1962 as an expansion team after the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers relocated to California in 1957. Reminiscing about New York’s past national league teams, the Mets even incorporated the colors blue and orange in their official team logo as an homage to its old teams.

• They won two World Series titles in 1969 and 1986 and have appeared in four other World Series. The Mets have also been home to some of the greatest players in baseball history, including Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Mike Piazza, and David Wright.

• Second, the Mets play in one of the biggest media markets in the country. New York is home to millions of baseball fans, and the Mets receive a lot of coverage from both local and national media outlets. This exposure helps to keep the team top-of-mind for many people across the country.

• Third, their storied rivalries with the Yankees, Cardinals, Phillies, and the Braves. Particularly the battle of the broads against the Phillies, and the subway series against the Yankees. Such rivalries have been reported, documented, and even debated among experts on various sports show panels for years a result attracting a lot of publicity and popularity for all teams involved.

How the Mets have stayed a relevant team?

• In their 60-year history, the Mets have qualified for the playoffs a total of only 9 times which would indicate that it’s not the type of team that would strike fear in the hearts of its opponents. But their exceptional performances against top-tier teams every season shows the level of competition this team has.
• An example of this exists in the Mets 1999 regular season that followed the Mets’ unfortunate exit by narrowly missing the playoffs the previous season. The NY Mets’ 97 victories were their highest win total since their 100-game win in 1988.

• A lot of credit went to veteran players Mike Piazza, and Robin Ventura, both exceptional performers who put up .303 and .301 individual batting averages by hitting a combined 72 home runs.

• Notable performances also came from second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and first baseman John Olerud who performed in crunch moments by batting on averages of .304 and .298 as they combined for 46 home runs.

• In the post-season, the Mets’ managed to win the NL division series by defeating the Diamondbacks 3-1 but fell to the braves by 4-2 in the NL conference finals concluding their impressive 1999 season.

• The Mets’ entered the 2000 Regular season after finishing their last season on a high note. Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura kept their previous season’s momentum alive by hitting a combined 62 home runs with individual batting averages of .324 and .232.

• This season, Edgardo Alfonzo had a new partner in crime, the newly traded veteran Todd Zeile who brought his exceptional game from the previous season playing for the Rangers. Alfonzo and Zeile performed with a batting average of .324 and .268 hitting 47 home runs.

• The Pitching department had greatly improved on their mistakes from the prior season. Many had criticisms for Al Leiter and Orel Hershiser whose performances were critiqued as average considering how capable of pitchers they were. As a result,  Leiter and Hershiser with Mike Hampton and Rick Reed considerably improved their techniques and gameplay.

• Based on the team’s performance that season, the Mets were viewed as a real threat in the first round. The first round saw them eliminate the giants with an easy 3-1 win. In the next series, the Mets finally clinched the NL conference series by soundly beating the cardinals 4-1.

• Unfortunately, the Yankees pulled off an upset over the Mets by beating them 4-1 as the Mets after a long while was seen as the better New York team based on win stats and players’ performance.

 Will 2022 be the year of the Mets?

• The Mets made their previous World Series appearance in 2015. Since then their only playoff appearance came in 2016.
• This year with a 97-57 record, the Mets has given their fans a good reason to rejoice this season. This season the LA dodgers have been a tough team to deal with and if things fall in place perfectly, the dodgers vs Mets might be our World Series matchup.

• The Yankees too have had a great season as they currently sit atop the American League east division. Since both New York teams have had a successful 2022 season, the discussions among the baseball community have been about both the teams’ eventual face-off at the World Series. Who knows, baseball fans, particularly the NYC baseball fans might get their wish.

• Considering the season stats, the current team roster is the most complete Mets team we have seen in a while behind the dodgers whose top performance has not come as a surprise to many.  If the Mets enter the post-season with this momentum, the commissioner’s trophy will almost certainly make a comeback to New York.

Conclusion 

New York Mets are a legacy team without a doubt but unfortunately due to injuries the team has stayed out of playoff contention for years. Despite trying their best efforts in trying to put together a playoff-worthy team, setbacks have restricted the players from displaying their star-level potential. The 2022 Mets however, have proved to be a success for the coaching staff and team management. If the records are anything to go by, every time the Mets have had a 90-plus win season, their performances have been interestingly well in the playoffs. All things considered, the New York Mets are a very good team and one of many things that are good for baseball.