As The New York Mets continue their slide, long-time Mets fans consider jumping ship, claiming that "it's never been this bad." In particular, they cite the unassisted triple-play in to end the August 23rd game against the Phillies as evidence. Granted, the unassisted triple play is a rarity in baseball - only 15 in the modern era, eight in the American League and seven in the National League (three in the last six years), and not since 1927 has there been a game-ender. But is this truly their worst season?
Plagued by injuries, rumors, and questionable line-up decisions, the Mets went from a contender for a playoff spot to an abysmal 16 games out to their rival Phillies by September 7th. But is this truly worse than 2007, when they lost an assured spot with a seven-game lead and seventeen games left in the regular season? And surely it’s not worse than their inaugural year when they lost 120 games, placing them securely in last place.
Facts vs. Fan Perception
Perhaps it's perception – a 23-year dry spell punctuated by a heart-breaking loss in 2000 to their cross-town rivals, The New York Yankees, the Evil Empire, as it were. Fans lashed out at manager Bobby Valentine, criticized base-running decisions, and swore “wait till next year!” Of course, the Yankees were a better team and still in the midst of their late-90s dynasty.
Maybe it’s the fact that on paper – again – the Mets should be contenders. Reyes, Delgado, Santana, Wright. But injuries, including the season-ending surgery Santana faces, have plagued the Mets all season. Pitching is questionable – Maine and Putz out, Oliver Perez seeming shaky, Wagner traded to the Red Sox. Daniel Murphy in the outfield early in the season missing easy plays.
Recent Pennant Races
They lost the NLCS to St. Louis in 2006. They should have at least made it to the playoffs in 2007 – if not have won it all. They should have made it again in 2008. 2009 is a disaster of epic proportions and fans are angry and frustrated, already calling CitiField cursed. And it’s sad comfort to think that they only thing standing between the 2009 Mets and last place in the NL East is the Washington Nationals, 31 games out as of September 7th.
Historical Mets
But clearly there have been worse years. In 2003, they ended the season 34.5 games out. In 1993, the were 38 games out. And need we mention the 1962 through 1968 seasons – 60.5, 48, 40, 47, 28.5, 40.5, and 24 games out. They 1962 Mets are 2nd on the all-time worst seasons record list by games lost; three of the top five teams technically no longer exist – the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1935 Boston Braves (the 2003 Detroit Tigers are 3rd).
The Mets have definitely seen better years. But they’ve seen so very much worse.
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