New York Mets,
professional baseball team and one of five teams in the East
Division of the National League (NL). The Mets—short for
Metropolitans—play at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York, and wear
uniforms of white, blue, and orange.
In 1962, the team’s first season, the Mets posted a league-worst
40-120 record. But seven years later the so-called “Miracle” Mets of
1969 shocked the baseball world by winning the NL pennant and going
on to defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in the World
Series. The team was led by NL Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver.
In 1986 New York won 108 games en route to its second World Series
championship. The team’s powerful offense was led by Gary Carter,
Keith Hernandez, and Darryl Strawberry. A year earlier Dwight
Gooden, at age 20, had become the youngest pitcher ever to win the
Cy Young Award. In 2000 a youthful Mets squad won the NL title but
lost the World Series to their cross-town rivals, the New York
Yankees.
The Mets were formed in 1962. During their first two seasons the
Mets played at the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York
Giants (now the San Francisco Giants). The Mets moved to the Shea
Stadium before the start of the 1965 season. The team’s first
manager was 71-year-old Casey Stengel. Stengel had led the New York
Yankees to seven World Series championships in the 1940s and 1950s.
Despite Stengel’s leadership and lineups that featured Gil Hodges,
Roger Craig, Richie Ashburn, and Frank Thomas, New York finished at
or near the bottom of the league during the franchise’s first seven
seasons.
In 1968 Hodges replaced Stengel as manager. His young, talented
pitching staff included starters Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, and Tom
Seaver (NL rookie of the year) and reliever Tug McGraw. A potent
offense featured outfielders Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones, and Ron
Swoboda. In 1969 the Mets swept past the Chicago Cubs late in the
season to win the East Division title. In the World Series, New York
defeated the Baltimore Orioles—owners of the best record in
baseball—to complete one of the most surprising championship seasons
in major league history.
The Mets remained highly competitive during the early 1970s, placing
third in 1970 and 1971. Hodges died of a heart attack before the
start of the 1972 season and was replaced by former New York Yankees
star Yogi Berra, who guided the club to another third-place finish.
In 1973 the Mets again became unlikely champions. The team rose from
last place to first in the East Division in the season’s closing
weeks by winning 29 of its last 43 games. Seaver won his second Cy
Young Award, and the Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds for the NL
pennant, but New York lost to the Oakland Athletics in the World
Series.
In the ten seasons from 1974 to 1983, the Mets finished no better
than third place. In a rebuilding effort the team put together a
young lineup featuring first baseman Keith Hernandez, outfielder
Darryl Strawberry, and pitchers Ron Darling and Dwight Gooden. Both
Strawberry and Gooden had been named NL rookie of the year
(Strawberry in 1983 and Gooden in 1984), and the two youngsters
helped the Mets to second-place finishes in 1984 and 1985.
In 1986 New York won a franchise-record 108 games and a third NL
pennant. Strawberry, veteran catcher Gary Carter, and Hernandez
powered the team’s offense as New York met the Boston Red Sox in the
World Series. The Mets were one strike away from elimination in the
tenth inning of game six, but two crucial Boston errors gave the
Mets the win and pushed the series to a seventh game, in which New
York captured the championship. The Mets won another division title
in 1988 and placed second in 1989 and 1990 before dropping to the
bottom of the division from 1991 through 1993. The Mets began to
improve in the mid-1990s. Stars included catcher Mike Piazza, second
baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, and pitchers John Franco and Al Leiter. In
2000 the relatively young team reached the World Series, playing a
so-called Subway Series against the New York Yankees. The Mets lost
the series 4 games to 1.CHAMPIONSHIPS
1969 - d. Baltimore in 5 games
1986 - d. Boston in 7 games
Won the NL Pennant in 1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000.
TOP MANAGER
Casey Stengel took the lead of the franchise for its early years,
posting a 175-404 record. Davey Johnson managed the team from
1984-1990 and posted a 595-417 record. Bobby Valentine has managed
the team since 1996 and had a 379-301 record entering the 2001
season. Gil Hodges managed the team from 1968-71, led the team to
its first World Series win and finished with a 339-309 record.
MVPS
The franchise has no MVP winners.
CY YOUNG
Tom Seaver (1969, 1973, 1975), Dwight Gooden (1985).
ROOKIE OF YEAR
Tom Seaver (1969), Jon Matlack (1972), Daryl Strawberry (1983),
Dwight Gooden (1984).
RETIRED NUMBERS
14 - Gil Hodges (Mgr.)
37 - Casey Stengel (Mgr)
41 - Tom Seaver (P) |
