Major League Baseball franchise. The New York Mets entered the National League in 1962, 5 years after both the Dodgers and the Giants left New York for California. In fact, the team took blue and orange as their team colors (blue for the Dodgers; orange for the Giants). The team was officially named "Metropolitan Baseball Club", but became known to all as the Mets.

In their first season, the Mets were a horrible 40-120, playing home games in the Polo Grounds, and setting a record for most losses in a single season that still stands.

The team moved to Shea Stadium in Queens in 1964, and remained there through the 2007 season, after which they moved next door to the newly-constructed Citi Field.

After 7 straight losing seasons, the 1969 "Miracle Mets" shocked everyone by winning 100 games, sweeping Atlanta in the playoffs, and upsetting the Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series.

17 years later, the Mets pulled off another miracle in the postseason, when down to their final out in Game 6, the Mets rallied to win (see 1986 World Series - Game 6), and also took Game 7 and their second World Championship.

Other postseason appearances for the team included 1973 (losing in the World Series to Oakland), 1988 (falling to Los Angeles in the NLCS), 1999 (losing to Atlanta in the NLCS), and 2000 (falling short versus the crosstown New York Yankees in the Subway Series).

Some famous Mets players included Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry. Willie Mays spent the end of his Hall of Fame career as a member of the Mets, while Nolan Ryan started his historic career there.

Numbers retired by the team include #41 (for Seaver), #37 (for original manager Casey Stengel), and #14 (for manager Gil Hodges).

The most infamous person in the 1986 World Series - Game 6 comeback by the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox was first baseman Bill Buckner, who let Mookie Wilson's ground ball in the bottom of the 10th inning skip under his glove. Kevin Mitchell had scored the tying run during Mookie's at-bat, and Ray Knight scored the winning run on Buckner's error.

What many Mets fans, and almost all baseball fans, forget is that Bill Buckner did not in fact lose the World Series for the Red Sox with that error. Stephen Jay Gould has correctly noted that the score was already tied when Mookie hit the ground ball that Buckner missed, so even if Buckner had made the play, the game would have gone on to the 11th inning and the Red Sox would still have had a chance to win. And, of course, even though they lost Game 6, the Red Sox still had a chance to win the Series in Game 7.

The Red Sox pitcher at that moment, Bob Stanley, must have known the cosmic truth, however. The psychological effect of allowing the Mets to tie and win Game 6 was an absolutely crushing weight to bear. This is supported by the fact that despite the 3-0 lead they took in Game 7, the Red Sox seemed to know they would not win that final game either.

This may well be another instance in The Curse that Boston has suffered ever since they traded Babe Ruth, but I think the situation was heightened by the fact that the Mets have played a disproportionately high number of nail-biting cliffhangers for such a young team with so few expectations of it.

  • October 15, 1986 - the Mets defeat the Houston Astros 7-6 in 16 innings (this followed a previous 12-inning victory in the series) in the National League Championship Series. They win the series 4-2 and thereby avoid having to face Mike "Dread" Scott in Game 7.
  • October 17, 1999 - National League Championship Series Game 5 - the "Grand Slam Single" game - Robin Ventura ends a 15-inning, rain-soaked marathon against the Atlanta Braves in what in many ways was a more exciting overall game than the famous Game 6. Ventura hits a grand slam to end the game, but because of the crazy celebration he cannot run around all the bases and only gets credit for a single. The final score is not 7-3 but 4-3. The Mets almost top themselves in Game 6 of that series with a five-run comeback--they eventually lose the game and the series 10-9 on a heartbreaking bases-load walk by Kenny Rogers.
  • June 30, 2000 - The Mets score 10 runs in the eighth inning against the Braves to come back from an 8-1 deficit. They win 11-8.
  • October 7, 2000 - National League Division Series Game 3 - Benny Agbayani, who has his own coffee blend, hits the game-winning homer in the bottom of the 13th inning against the San Francisco Giants.
  • October 21, 2000 - World Series Game 1 - Timo Perez fails to run all-out when he thinks Todd Zeile has hit a home run. In fact, the ball bounces back onto the field of play and Timo is thrown out at home. The Mets lose 4-3 in 12 innings.

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