MLB Tribune » New York Mets

1969 World Series

Scooter — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:01:25 +0000

The New York Mets, who had never finished higher than ninth place (next-to-last) nor won more than 73 games in a season since joining the National League in 1962, were not highly regarded before the 1969 season started. In fact, the best that could be said for them was that because the National League was being split into two divisions that year, the Mets were guaranteed to finish no lower than sixth place. The fact the Mets began the season by losing 1110 to the then-expansion Montreal Expos seemed to confirm this. With three weeks to go in the season, the underdog Mets stormed past the Chicago Cubs, who had led the Eastern Division for most of the season, winning 38 of their final 49 games for a total of 100 wins and capturing the first National League Eastern Division crown. Third-year pitcher Tom Seaver won a major-league-leading 25 games en route to his first Cy Young Award; the other two top Mets starting pitchers, Jerry Koosman and rookie Gary Gentry, combined to win 30 more games. Outfielder Cleon Jones hit a (then) club-record .340 and finished third in the National League batting race, while his lifelong friend and outfield mate Tommie Agee hit 26 home runs and drove in 76 runs to lead the club; they were the only players on the team who garnered more than 400 at bats. Manager Gil Hodges employed a skillful platoon system not unlike the Yankees of the Casey Stengel era, in which Ron Swoboda and Art Shamsky became a switch-hitting right fielder who hit 23 home runs and drove in 100 runs, and Ed Kranepool and Donn Clendenon added up to a switch-hitting first baseman who hit 23 more homers and knocked in another 95 runs. Everyone on the bench knew what their role was in the platoonobody felt that they’d ever lost their jobs. Almost to a man, the 1969 Mets were united in their praise of their manager’s skill. In the first League Championship Series, the light-hitting Mets, once again considered underdogs (even though the Mets actually had a better record than the Braves), put on an uncharacteristic power display by scoring 27 runs in sweeping the favored Atlanta Braves in three games.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles, by contrast, were practically flawless and featured stars at almost every position. They breezed through the 1969 season, winning 109 games (until 1998 the most games won since the advent of divisional play) and brushing aside the Minnesota Twins in three games in the ALCS to win their second pennant in four years. The Orioles were led by star sluggers Frank Robinson and Boog Powell, who each hit over 30 home runs and drove in over 100 runs; third baseman Brooks Robinson, perhaps the best-fielding hot-corner player in baseball history; and pitchers Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer, who combined for 63 victories. It was felt that in the face of such statistical comparisons, only the most reckless gambler would put any money on the Mets.

Summary

NL New York Mets won the series in 5 games over the favorite Baltimore Orioles.

New York Mets 1, Baltimore Orioles 4
New York Mets 2, Baltimore Orioles 1
Baltimore Orioles 0, New York Mets 5
Baltimore Orioles 1, New York Mets 2 (10 innings)
Baltimore Orioles 3, New York Mets 5

New York Mets in First

Scooter — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:18:57 +0000

The New York Mets are hot until they ran into Roy Halladay on Saturday. The Phillies defeated the Mets (10-0) behind a stellar performance by Halladay who threw a three-hitter for his second shutout in three starts, Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer to end New York’s eight-game winning streak.

Mike Pelfrey (4-1) extended his scoreless innings streak to 27 before giving up six runs in the fourth. Pelfrey didn’t have any luck during the fourth as a few of the hits could’ve been caught. Pelfrey’s scoreless streak was the longest by a Met since Mark Guthrie had a 27-inning streak in 2002.

The Mets have a ½ game lead in the NL East and will have Johan Santana (3-1, 2.08) on the mound tonight against Philly.

The Mets are playing amazingly well and need to stay consistent and healthy.

It looks like the Phillies and Mets are a rivalry again this year, but there’s still a lot of baseball left. If the Mets can avoid the injury bug that plagued them last year, this could be an exciting race.

Mets Already Catching the Injury Bug

Scooter — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:56:24 +0000

Opening day is approaching and for the Mets and their fans, it could be time to get nervous. The Mets were hit with so much bad luck last year it seemed that everyone was on the DL. It’s a new year, but it seems like last year once again.

The New York Mets will head into Opening Day with three of their starters on the disabled list: first baseman Daniel Murphy, shortstop Jose Reyes, and center fielder Carlos Beltran. It feels like deja vu and for fans it could not come at a worse time.

There’s no telling when Carlos Beltran will be ready after recovering from the surprise knee surgery he had back on January 13. This was a big blow to the Mets brass and its fans.

“I am not going to predict anything,” said Beltran. “Right now I’m following the program and when I get to the stage of running I can see what I need to get to the stage of playing games.”

Met fans lets keep our fingers crossed and hope we don’t have a repeat of last year.

Possible 2010 Sleeper Teams that could make the Playoffs

Scooter — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:09:36 +0000

There’s always one team no one expects to be any where close to a playoff berth, but that was different for the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2008 when they surprised all of baseball. The Rays finished that year with 97 wins and 65 losses and made it to the World Series, but lost in 5 games against the Phillies.

Who will be the 2010 sleeper team? There are a couple of teams that could be Cinderella stories and these are not obvious picks by any stretch of the imagination.

It’s easier to rule out what teams will not make the post season, so here we go:

American League: Baltimore Orioles – Toronto Blue Jays – Tampa Bay Rays – Chicago White Sox – Cleveland Indians – Kansas City Royals – Oakland Athletics

National League: Florida Marlins – Washington Nationals – Cincinnati Reds – Houston Astros – Milwaukee Brewers – Pittsburgh Pirates – Arizona Diamondbacks – San Diego Padres

There are not many teams left and if you add the teams who should make the playoffs, you would have:

New York Yankees – Boston Red Sox – Minnesota Twins – Seattle Mariners

Philadelphia Phillies – St. Louis Cardinals – Colorado Rockies – Los Angeles Dodgers

Possible 2010 Sleeper Teams that could make the playoffs:

Detroit Tigers – Texas Rangers – Atlanta Braves – New York Mets – Chicago Cubs – San Francisco Giants

Out of this group of sleepers I would give the New York Mets the nod, but you never know how things can pan out during a grueling 162 game season.

What are your sleeper teams?

New York Mets Need To Stay Healthy

Scooter — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:40:15 +0000

The New York Mets will need a lot of luck in order to contend against the mighty Phillies in 2010. The Mets this winter were a bust and Omar Minaya has been the poison that affects this team top to bottom. The Mets will need to stay healthy in order to stay competitive and in the hunt for a playoff berth.

When I look at what the Mets did this off-season, I see names like you would see in the movie “Major League”. The only bright spot was the signing of Jason Bay who didn’t even want to play for the Mets until money was the lure.

Jason Bay, is at best, a mediocre in the field and has some knee problems which could be an issue this year. He will no longer have luxury that came with the green monster where singles become doubles. He will have a lot more real estate to keep his home run totals on par from 2009.

The Mets were troubled by the injury bug last year and that was the main reason they ended the season a miserable 70-92 and 23 games behind the Phillies. They were 28-44 against teams in their division.

The Mets still have their ace Johan Santana, but it will not be enough to compete, sorry Met fans.

Met fans could put most of the blame on Mets general manager Omar Minaya. He has made many bad moves that seem like half baked decisions that have proven the same.

Carlos Beltran who missed half the season last year, also had knee surgery this year without the Mets knowing. Beltran will not be ready to return until May.

It will be a long season for Met fans and it might be the last for Omar Minaya, let’s hope!

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New York Mets Making All the Right Moves

Scooter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:46:03 +0000

Dead man walking, dead man walking. This deal reminds me of the Green Mile as the Angels agreed to pay $21.5 million as part of the deal. Why would any team pay that much to off a player they had no room for? Baseball, according to Gary Matthews, has been very, very good to me.

Gary Matthews gets $500K for being traded, and he is set to make $11MM in 2010 and $12MM in 2011. The Angels will pick up most of the tab for this deal. New York Met fans REJOICE.

Gary Matthews Jr. hit .250, 4 Hrs and 50 RBIs in 103 games for the Angels. He has a life time average of .258 and he is a defensive liability. He turns 36 on August 25, 2010. The Mets have nothing to lose and if Matthews has a year like he did in 2006, the Mets will shine bright.

This move has stink all over it and for Mets fans, the skunk is in Angels land, so don’t worry.

The Angels are reaching, but sometimes one of those reaches MAY prove to be the cherry on top. I heard this rumor that Jim Thome is available hint-hint.

Met fans REJOICE!