New York Mets: The franchise all-time bracket
The 1969 and 1986 New York Mets champions are classic teams, but will they take home the grand prize? Let’s take a closer look.
Two memorable teams dominate the all-time New York Mets bracket. Those, of course, are the franchise’s two World Series champions, the Miracle Mets of 1969 and the 1986 team managed by Davey Johnson.
One of those two is almost certainly deserving of the title of the best team in Mets franchise history.
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Still, there are other at least plausible contenders. Since their creation in 1962, Mets teams have won five National League pennants and made nine playoff appearances.
Eleven Mets teams have won 90 games or more in a single season, including five straight between 1984 and 1988.
Somewhere within that grouping, we should be able to identify a solid bracket of eight.
Begin with the pennant winners: that would be 1969 and 1986 along with 1973, 2000 and 2015. Choosing them leaves three spots.
The 1988 Mets won 100 games, making them deserving of a spot. Of the remaining Mets teams, three topped 95 wins: 1985, 1999 and 2006. Choosing the 2006 team provides a bit of chronological variety, and since the 1985 club won one more game than the 1999 team, they become the logical team to pick up the final invitation.
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The format is identical to previous bracket challenges. Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:
- Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
- Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
- Game 3: Team OPS+
- Game 4: Team ERA+
- Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
- Game 6 (if necessary: Fielding percentage above the league average for the season in question.
- Game 7 (if necessary): The standard for Game 7 is Hall of Famers or likely future Hall of Famers.
New York Mets: The All-Time Bracket
No. 1 vs. 8 seed
On paper, the 1986 New York Mets look like the best team in franchise history. They won a franchise-record 108 games, and they won the World Series. The club’s pitching staff featured memorable figures of the stripe of Doc Gooden (17-6, 2.84 ERA, 200 strikeouts), Bob Ojeda (18-5), and Ron Darling (15-6).
Offensively, the Mets were deep and experienced. Second baseman Wally Backman batted .320 and first baseman Keith Hernandez hit .310, while catcher Gary Carter drove in 105 runs. Right fielder Darryl Strawberry produced 27 home runs.
The 2000 Mets won 94 regular-season games while finishing second to Atlanta in the NL East. They made their way to the World Series, where they lost in five games to the Yankees in the first all-New York Series since 1956. Second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and catcher Mike Piazza were the offensive stars. Alfonzo batted .324 with 25 home runs and 94 RBIs while Piazza hit 38 home runs and drove in 113 on a .324 average.
Veteran Al Leiter led the starters with a 16-8 record in 31 games. Mike Hampton was 15-10. Armando Benitez saved 41 games.
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Game 1: The 1986 team’s .667 regular season is unassailable, bettering the 2000 team’s .580.
Game 2: The 2000 Mets had a .571 post-season percentage based on their four-game division series win over the San Francisco Giants and their five-game NLCS victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. That preceded the World Series loss. The 1986 team beat the Houston Astros in a six-game NLCS before taking out the Red Sox in seven famous games, a .615 percentage. That makes this series 2-0 in favor of 1986.
Game 3: The 1986 club of Strawberry, Carter and the rest had a 106 OPS+. In 2000, the Piazza-Alfonzo Mets only got to 98.
Game 4: The 1986 Mets rely on their 115 staff ERA+ to close out the sweep. It’s better than the 2000 team’s 107 ERA+.
Result: 1986 in four games
New York Mets: The All-Time Bracket
No. 4 vs. 5 seed
The 2006 New York Mets won the NL East by a dozen games over Philadelphia, swept the Dodgers in the division series but got bounced by an underdog Cardinal team in a seven-game NLCS.
The 2006 club relied on a veteran starting staff including Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, Orlando Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez. In fact 105 of the team’s 162 games were started by pitchers aged 34 or older, 52 by guys in their 40s. Glavine was 15-7 and Trachsel 15-8.
Billy Wagner closed out 40 saves.
They also featured a cast of veterans in the every-day lineup. Carlos Beltran hit 41 homers and drove in 116 runs, shortstop Jose Reyes batted .300 and third baseman David Wright added a .311 average with 26 homers and 116 RBIs. First baseman Carlos Delgado produced 38 homers and 114 RBIs.
The 1973 Mets emerged from a tangled NL East to shock the favored Cincinnati Reds in that season’s NLCS, then took the defending champion Oakland A’s to seven games in the World Series In last place in the NL East on Aug. 30, the Mets won 24 of their final 33 games to clinch on the season’s final day.
Tom Seaver (19-10) was the staff ace, but Jerry Koosman (14-15) and Jon Matlack (14-16) provided ample support in a closely fought race. Offense was not a team trademark: the Mets finished 11th in the National League in batting average, home runs and runs scored.
In the NLCS, however, their pitching held Cincinnati sluggers to a collective .186 average and just eight runs in five games.
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Game 1: The 1973 team won despite an 83-79 regular-season record and .509 percentage. The 2006 Mets were 97-65, a .599 percentage.
Game 2: In 2006, the Mets swept a division series from the Dodgers and then were beaten by St. Louis in seven NLCS games. That’s a .600 post-season percentage. The 1973 team played .500 post-season ball.
Game 3: The 1973 Mets had a relatively weak offense, and it netted only an 83 OPS+. In 2006 the Mets touched 100 in OPS+.
Game 4: The strength of the 1973 Mets was its pitching, as reflected by its 111 staff ERA+. That’s five points superior to the 2006 team’s 106.
Game 5: The 1973 Mets only netted a 34.7 WAR. In 2006 the Mets had a 40.7 WAR.
Result: 2006 in five games
New York Mets: The All-Time Bracket
No. 2 vs. 7 seed
The 1969 New York Mets famously trailed the Chicago Cubs all season before finishing 32-10 to sail past them and win the division by eight games. They upended Atlanta in the first NLCS, then stunned the favored Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series.
Seaver became an emergent star in 1969. He was 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA in 35 starts, he did not lose after Aug. 5, and he won the Cy Young Award. Koosman added 17 wins and Gary Gentry 13.
Left fielder Cleon Jones and center fielder Tommy Agee were the offensive centerpieces. Jones batted .340 with 75 RBIs, while Agee hit 26 homers and drove in 76. Donn Clendenon added 12 home runs after being acquired from Pittsburgh in mid-season.
The 1985 Mets finished a dominant second to the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 98 games. Hernandez batted .309, Carter drove in 100 runs with 32 homers and Strawberry added 29 home runs.
On the mound, Gooden sailed through a 24-4 season with 268 strikeouts in 277 innings. Darling added a 16-6 record.
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Game 1: The 1969 team had a 100-62 record and .617 percentage, beating out 1985 by two games and just 12 percentage points,
Game 2: The 1985 team did not play a post-season game. The 1969 team had a .825 post-season record, which happens to be the best in franchise history.
Game 3: The 1969 Mets only produced an 84 team OPS+, far weaker than 1985’s 99.
Game 4: The 1985 Mets produced a 113 staff ERA+. That’s not good enough, however, to stay with the Seaver-Koosman 1969 team’s 122 ERA+. This series is even at two games.
Game 5: In 1969 the Mets totaled 41.2 WAR. It’s a mediocre number for a champion, and not comparable to 1985’s 50.3
Game 6: The 1985 team fielded .982, three points better than the National League average. In 1969 the Mets fielded .980, also three points better. Carried out to additional digits, the math favors 1969.
Result: 1969 in six games
No. 3 vs. 6 seed
The 1988 New York Mets won the NL East at 100-60 before losing to the Hershiser-Gibson led Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. Most of the veteran cast was still around and still performing brilliantly. Strawberry hit 39 home runs with 101 RBIs, left fielder Kevin McReynolds added 27 homers and 99 RBIs, Carter, Hernandez, center fielder Lenny Dykstra and infielder Howard Johnson all had presentable seasons.
On the mound, Gooden was 18-9 and Darling had a 17-9 season. Meanwhile, David Cone emerged as a powerhouse, winning 20 of his 23 decisions and fanning 213 opponents. He was third in Cy Young voting.
The 2015 Mets won the National League pennant before losing to Kansas City in the World Series. A trio of young arms Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard, were on hand to excite fans, although ageless Bartolo Colon led the staff with 194 innings of work.
The balanced offense featured no stars, Daniel Murphy’s .281 leading the regulars in average. First baseman Lucas Duda hit 27 home runs, and he and Murphy both drove in 73 runs.
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Game 1: The 1988 team’s 100-60 season translated to a .625 percentage. In 2015 the Mets were 90-72, 10 games and nearly 70 points worse.
Game 2: The 2015 Mets took out the Dodgers in a five-game division series, then swept the Cubs in the NLCS before losing in five to Kansas City in the World Series. That’s a .500 post-season percentage. In 1988 the Mets played .429 post-season ball. This series is tied at 1-each.
Game 3: The 1988 Mets had a 111 team OPS+. The best the 2015 team could do was 96.
Game 4: Both teams compiled 111 staff ERA+, throwing this game to a tiebreaker, best individual score. For the 1988 team that was Cone’s 145; in 2015, DeGrom led the way at 149. The series is again tied at 2-each.
Game 5: The 2015 team had 38.4 WAR, not nearly good enough to stay with 1988’s 54.7 WAR.
Game 6: The 1988 Mets fielded .981, two percentage points better than the league average. In 2015 the Mets fielded .986, also two points better than the league average. Carried out to further decimals, however, the advantage goes to 1988.
Result: 1988 in six games
New York Mets: The All-Time Bracket
Semi-finals
The two pre-tournament favorites both survived the first round, but both face strong challengers in the semi-finals
1986 vs. 2006
Game 1: The 1986 Mets set the franchise record with 108 wins, so their .667 percentage is a guaranteed victory, even against the 2006 team’s .599.
Game 2: In 1986 the Mets played .615 post-season ball. The 2006 team also had a winning post-season record, but its .600 percentage falls just short.
Game 3: The 1986 Mets generated a 106 team OPS+. In 2006 the Mets produced a 100 OPS+. This series is beginning to look like a sweep for 1986.
Game 4: The 2006 Mets had a 106 staff ERA+. The Gooden-Darling Mets of 1986 out-shone that with a 115 ERA+.
Result: 1986 in four games
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1969 vs. 1988
Game 1: The Miracle Mets were 100-62, a .617 percentage. In 1988 the team also won 100 games, but due to two unplayed rainouts their percentage rose to .625.
Game 2: The 1988 champs only had a .429 post-season record. In 1969, the Mets were a .825 post-season team.
Game 3: The 1969 winners were not strong offensively, a fact reflected in their 84 OPS+. The 1988 Mets had a 111 OPS+. They lead 2-1.
Game 4: The 1969 team sure could pitch. Their staff ERA+ was 122. The 1988 Mets also had a strong pitching staff with Gooden and Darling. But the staff ERA+ only reached 111. This series is even 2-2.
Game 5: The 1988 Mets compiled an imposing 54.7 WAR. The 1969 Mets present only a tepid 41.2 WAR.
Game 6: The 1969 team fielded .980, three points better than the league average. In 1988 the Mets fielded .981, but that was only two points better than the league average. This series goes to a seventh game and will be decided on the basis of Hall of Famers.
Game 7: The 1969 Mets rostered two Hall of Famers pitchers, Seaver and Nolan Ryan. In 1988 the Mets present only one Hall of Famer, catcher Gary Carter.
Result: 1969 in seven games
New York Mets: The All-Time Bracket
Championship
1986 vs. 1969
So we wind up exactly where we expected to be, with the 1969 Seaver Miracle team trying to pull one final upset against the 1986 powerhouse.
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Game 1: The 1986 club’s 108-54 record is eight games and 50 percentage points better than 1969.
Game 2: The 1969 champions were an .825 post-season team, easily beating 1986’s .615 percentage.
Game 3: In 1986 Hernandez had a 140 OPS+, Strawberry got to 139, six regulars exceeded 110 and the team OPS+ was 106. The 1969 team, which mostly got by on pitching, lacked anything approaching that punch. Jones did record a 151 OPS+, but the next best was Agee’s 122, and only second baseman Ken Boswell among the other regulars exceeded 91. The team OPS+ was 84.
Game 4: Seaver’s 165 ERA+ led an imposing 1969 staff that also included Koosman (160), Don Cardwell (121), closer Tug McGraw (163), and co-closer Ron Taylor (134). The team figure was 122. The 1986 team could boast of Gooden (126) and Darling (128), but the average only reached 115. This series is tied at 2 each.
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Game 5: The 1986 team presents Hernandez (5.5 WAR) leading a total of 53.7. In Seaver (7.3), Jones (7.0), Koosman (5.9) and Agee (5.2), the 1969 club had by far the more productive stars. But it lacked anything approaching the depth of the 1986 team. Its WAR total only reached 41.2.
Game 6: The 1969 team fielded .980, three points better than the National League average. The 1986 team fielded .978, exactly on the National League average. The bracket championship comes down to Hall of Famers.
Game 7: We established in the semi-finals that the 1969 team had two immortals, Seaver and Ryan. The 1986 Mets can counter with catcher Carter…but that’s it. Once again, the Miracle Mets do the seemingly impossible.
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Result: 1969 in seven games