History of the New York Mets
[9] Over the years multiple Mets pitchers, including Tom Glavine, Pedro Martínez, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, R. A. Dickey, Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom, Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard all lost their no-hit bids in the 7th or 8th inning.
On April 29, 2022 the Mets would record the franchises second no-hitter, this time a combined effort by pitchers Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz; against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Twenty-two players were selected by the Mets, including some with notable previous success such as pitchers Roger Craig and Al Jackson, slugging outfielder Frank Thomas, and future Hall of Fame inductees Richie Ashburn and Gil Hodges.
While the site of familiar faces such as Hodges and Craig would no doubt drum up interest and nostalgia for the team's fan base, the lack young players with future potential would hurt the Mets in the long term, as they would struggle mightily throughout most of the 1960s.
Legendary Yankees manager Casey Stengel was hired out of retirement to lead the team,[3] but his managerial acumen was not enough to overcome the severe deficiency of talent among the players.
The ineptitude of the Mets during their first year is chronicled in colorful fashion in the 1963 book Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?, written by New York columnist Jimmy Breslin.
Unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight in the final hectic weekend of the 1964 season, the Mets relished the role of spoiler, beating the Cardinals in St. Louis on Friday and Saturday (keeping alive the hopes of the Phillies, Giants, and Reds) before succumbing to the eventual National League and World Series champions on Sunday.
Once out of the glaring New York spotlight, Ryan became one of the best pitchers in history, spending 22 more years in the majors and entering the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 as a Texas Ranger.
Hampered with many injuries, Berra's Mets found themselves in last place with a 61–71 record at the end of August 1973, but when they got healthy again, they recovered behind relief pitcher Tug McGraw and his "Ya gotta believe!"
Before the 1986 season, Doubleday sold his publishing company to the (then) West German multinational corporation Bertelsmann AG, and used the proceeds from the sale to buy the Mets in his own name for $81 million.
They won 20 of their first 24 games, clinched the East Division title on September 17, and finished the year 108–54, which tied with the 1975 Cincinnati Reds for the third highest win total in National League history, behind the 1906 Chicago Cubs (116) and the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates (110).
It was during the tough times that the Mets made a great long-term deal, trading backup catcher Ed Hearn to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher David Cone.
The second and more devastating loss came on September 11, as Cardinals third baseman Terry Pendleton hit a go-ahead home run that would help decide the game, and eventually the NL East title.
Despite missing out on the playoffs, a bit of history was made as Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson, as they became the first teammates' ever to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.
Eventually, the Mets (as well as the Montreal Expos) would battle the Cubs for the division title in 1989, but Chicago would prevail, despite a career year by Howard Johnson and a deadline trade with Minnesota for 1988 AL Cy Young winner Frank Viola.
In addition to starting the season with Strawberry, they would also lose key veterans Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez as they left for the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians in free agency, respectively.
In the latter half, however, the bottom completely fell out and Harrelson was fired with a week left to go in the season, replaced by third base coach Mike Cubbage for the final games.
The season ended on a high note, however, as David Cone pitched a one-hit shutout against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, in which he struck out 19 batters, tying the National League regulation game record (first set by former Met Tom Seaver).
[38] The experiment of building a team via free agency quickly flopped as Saberhagen and Coleman were soon injured and spent more time on the disabled list than on the field, and Bonilla exhibited unprofessional behavior towards members of the press, once threatening a reporter by saying, "I'll show you The Bronx" [1].
At the beginning of the 1991 season, Coleman, Gooden and outfielder Daryl Boston were named in an alleged sexual abuse incident against a woman near the Mets' spring training facility; the charges were later dropped.
The trio were dubbed Generation K, a group of talented young hurlers who were destined to bring the Mets into greatness, much like Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Nolan Ryan did in the 1960s.
[43][44] The Mets won the game 1–0 in 14 innings when backup catcher Alberto Castillo delivered a full-count, two-out, pinch-hit single to right with the bases loaded off Philadelphia closer Ricky Bottalico.
In the playoffs, the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants in the first round and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2000 National League Championship Series to win their fourth NL pennant.
Pitcher Roger Clemens seized the piece and hurled it in the direction of Piazza as the catcher trotted to first base, benches briefly cleared before the game was resumed with no ejections.
Minaya began by hiring Yankee bench coach Willie Randolph as manager, then signed two of that year's most sought-after free agents—Pedro Martínez and Carlos Beltrán—to large multi-year deals.
During the 2005 offseason star first baseman Carlos Delgado and catcher Paul Lo Duca were acquired via trade and the Mets signed free agent closer Billy Wagner.
In 2006, led by a franchise record six All-Stars (Beltran, Lo Duca, Reyes, Wright, Tom Glavine, and Martínez), the Mets won the division title, their first in 18 years.
[53] However, second-half turnarounds of Jeff Francoeur and Daniel Murphy helped the Mets finish the season with the best batting average in the National League, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Star players Curtis Granderson, Yoenis Céspedes, Jay Bruce, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia all spending significant time on the disabled list.
In the offseason, the Mets lost Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers via free agency,[62] but quickly replaced him by signing three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86.7 million contract.
