[14][23] During the 1963 season the team featured a pitcher, Carlton Willey, who was having a great year, pitching four shut-outs, when he incurred an injury and finished with a 9–14 win–loss record.

[24] In 1966, the Mets famously bypassed future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the amateur draft, instead selecting Steve Chilcott, who never played in the majors.

[28][29] Star pitcher Tom Seaver was traded in 1977, on a day remembered as "the Midnight Massacre",[30] and the Mets fell into last place for several years.

[33] Former National League MVP and perennial Gold Glove winner Keith Hernandez was obtained by the Mets in 1983 from the St. Louis Cardinals.

It was during the tough times that the Mets made a great long-term deal, trading Ed Hearn to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher David Cone.

A greater loss came on September 11 in a game against St. Louis, 3rd baseman Terry Pendleton hit a homer to give the Cardinals a lead, and eventually the NL East title.

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).

[54] The experiment of building a team via free agency quickly flopped as Saberhagen and Vince 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".

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.

[66][67] 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.

[86] In 2002, despite the off-season signings of Tom Glavine,[87] Mo Vaughn,[88] and Roberto Alomar,[89] the Mets finished the 2002 season with a 75–86 overall record and last in the NL East.

[102] On April 17, Gary Sheffield, who just days earlier was signed by the Mets as a free agent, hit his 500th home run against the Milwaukee Brewers.

[103][104] The season was mainly a tough one for the Mets which was marred by numerous injuries suffered by its players, with 20 of them having been on the disabled list at one point or another during the season and losing star (and also replacement) players like J. J. Putz, John Maine, Óliver Pérez, José Reyes, Carlos Beltrán, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, and Gary Sheffield.

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.

[107][108] In 2012, Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz settled a lawsuit brought against them on behalf of the victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme for $162 million.

As a result of this agreement the liquidator, Irving Picard, agreed to drop the charges that Wilpon and Katz blindly went along with the scheme for their personal benefit.

[122] On January 16, 2020, Beltrán stepped down as manager before the start of the 2020 MLB season due to his involvement in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal.

[136][137] On April 29, 2022, Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz pitched the second no-hitter in franchise history in a 3–0 win against the Philadelphia Phillies.

[141] On September 25, Pete Alonso broke the Mets single-season RBI record which was previously set by former franchise stars Mike Piazza and David Wright.

[157] During the offseason, the Mets signed free agents Luis Severino, Joey Wendle, Jorge López, Harrison Bader and Sean Manaea.

[169] Notable fans of the Mets include Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin James, Julia Stiles, Ty Burrell, Bill Maher, Ben Stiller, Jimmy Kimmel, Hank Azaria, Jim Breuer, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Dylan O'Brien, Glenn Close, Billy Joel, Ad-Rock, MCA, Nas, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Chris Christie, Patrick Mahomes, and Donovan Mitchell.

The franchise's original official mascot was Homer, a beagle trained by Rudd Weatherwax that lived at the Waldorf-Astoria, was sponsored by Rheingold Beer and had his own platform behind home plate at the Polo Grounds.

The name was the result of a contest won by Dolores Mapps of Mercerville, New Jersey whose explanation was that it typified the team's "spirit, ardor, stamina and courage, all of which the Mets have in abundance."

Four players have been team captains for the Mets: Roberto Alomar[190]Richie Ashburn[191]Yogi Berra[192] Gary Carter[193]Tom Glavine[194]Rickey Henderson[195]Gil Hodges[196] Pedro Martínez[197]Willie Mays[198]Eddie Murray[199]Mike Piazza *[200] Nolan Ryan[201]Tom Seaver *[202]Duke Snider[203]Warren Spahn[204] Casey Stengel[205]Joe Torre[206]Billy Wagner[207] Buck Canel[208] Tim McCarver[209] Bob Murphy[210] Lindsey Nelson[211] The Mets have retired nine numbers in the history of the franchise.

[212][213] Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's number 42 on April 15, 1997, when the Mets played the Dodgers at Shea Stadium.

[215] In 2014, a special memorial logo honoring broadcaster Ralph Kiner, depicting a microphone along with his name and the years 1922–2014, was displayed on the left-field wall adjacent to, but not as a part of, the Mets' retired numbers, from 2014 to 2016.

[258] Games between the two teams at Citi Field and Citizens Bank Park are often very intense, hard-hitting affairs, as each home crowd does its best to create an unfriendly, sometimes volatile atmosphere for any visiting-team fans.

[281][282] The Mets were previously carried by WFAN, which inherited the team's broadcast rights from WHN when it took over its frequency in 1987, and in later years by WFAN-FM which simulcasts the AM signal.