Carlos Beltran
With the Houston Astros winning their first ever World Series, many fans will be quick to point out how former Mets great Carlos Beltran won his first ever World Series title with the team. The Mets ties to this Astros World Series Championship ballclub extend well past Beltran. In fact, the Astros roster has a few former Mets prospects:
C Juan Centeno
Acquired: Mets 2007 32nd Round Draft Pick
Teams: Gulf Coast (2007 – 2008), Brooklyn (2009 – 2010), St. Lucie (2010 – 2011), Binghamton (2010, 2012 – 2013), Las Vegas (2013 – 2014), Mets (2013 – 2014)
Centeno was seen as a strong defensive catcher who had a questionable bat. His skills behind the plate got him two cups of coffee with the Mets before he was placed on waivers after the 2014 season. For the past three seasons, he would be shuttled between the Triple-A affiliates and Major League teams for the Brewers, Twins, and finally, the Astros. Centeno’s skills behind the dish were enough for him to be named to the Astros postseason roster with him getting just one at-bat in the ALDS against the Red Sox.
RHP Collin McHugh
Acquired: Mets 2008 18th Round Draft Pick
Teams: Kingsport (2008), Brooklyn (2009), Savannah (2010), St. Lucie (2011), Binghamton (2011), Buffalo (2012), Las Vegas (2013), Mets (2012 – 2013)
McHugh made 15 appearances for the Major League team prior to getting traded to the Colorado Rockies for Eric Young. After the 2013 season, he was put on waivers, and he was claimed by the Houston Astros. With the Astros, McHugh would learn the cutter which would transform his career. It would also help transform the Astros from cellar dwellers to a postseason team with McHugh being the second starter for the 2015 team that made this core group’s first foray into the postseason. The highlight for McHugh this postseason was his four shutout innings in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Yankees.
Pitching Coach Brent Strom
Acquired: Mets 1970 1st Round Draft Pick (3rd Overall)
Teams: Visalia (1970), Memphis (1971), Tidewater (1971), Mets (1972)
After being drafted by the Mets and rising quickly through the Mets farm system, and after a rough rookie season, he would get traded to the Cleveland Indians. He’d have a troubled Major League career, which was highlighted by his being the second ever person to have Tommy John surgery. After his retirement in 1977, he would stay out of baseball for over a decade when he’d join the Astros organization in 1989 as a pitching coordinator. After a few stops along the way, he’d return to Houston in 2013 as the team’s pitching coach. He’s had a successful run as the Astros pitching coach where he accomplished many things including helping McHugh become a viable Major League starting pitcher.
Not included in this list is former Mets 2011 25th round draft pick A.J. Reed. The Mets were uanble to sign Reed, and he attended the University of Kentucky before becoming the Astros second round pick in 2014.
Overall, it is great to see some former Mets play key roles in a Houston Astros World Series title. Hopefully, we the Mets minor league system soon produce players who will take part in a Mets World Series title. Perhaps, those players are already on the roster.
With the World Series being between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers, it seemed eminently possible that either Carlos Beltran or Curtis Granderson was going to win the World Series in their final season as a professional. With the Astros winning the World Series, Beltran has his ring, and he may very well retire at the age of 40. If he does, he will join just one other Met who retired after winning a World Series. Can you name him? Good luck!
With the Houston Astros winning the World Series yesterday, future Hall of Famer, Carlos Beltran finally won his World Series ring. It could not have happened to a better player and a better individual.
While many Mets fans may have been tangentially aware of the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, everyone knew who he was went he had an incredible 2004 postseason for the Houston Astros. During that postseason run for the Astros, Beltran hit .435/.536/1.022 with a record eight homers in a single postseason.
On that postseason stage, we saw not just a five tool player, but a great player who had that rare ability to raise his game on the bigger stage. Those are the types of players who typically thrive in New York, and Mets fans were thrilled when Omar Minaya made the bold move and made him the Mets first ever $100 million player.
If we’re all honest, things did not go as well for Beltran with the Mets as we all would have hoped. His first season was marred by struggles and his head-first collision with Mike Cameron in right center field at Petco Park that left Beltran with facial fractures and a concussion. That collision was so bad he was the one that got lucky.
Still, during that first season with the Mets, he helped create a culture that led to one of the better runs in Mets history. Early on in the 2005 Spring Training, Beltran took David Wright and Jose Reyes under his wing, and he showed them what it took not just to be Major League players, but great players.
This sparked the incredible 2006 season that ended in heartbreak. Because baseball is a cruel sport, that season and perhaps Beltran’s entire career with the Mets will forever be remembered for Beltran’s strikeout with the bases loaded at the end of Game 7 of the NLCS. However, Beltran’s season was much, much more than that.
Beltran would hit .275/.388/.594 with 38 doubles, a triple, 41 homers, 116 RBI, and 18 stolen bases. By WAR, it was the greatest single season performance ANY Mets position player has ever had. He was predominantly in the Top 5 to 10 in all single season Mets categories setting the marks for runs scored and tying the record for homers and extra base hits. In addition to that, Beltran joined Tommie Agee as the only Mets outfielder to win a Gold Glove. When Beltran would win in the following season, he became the only Mets outfielder to win multiple Gold Gloves.
Essentially, Beltran became the Mets version of Keith Hernandez and Mike Piazza. He was the seminal figure that taught the young players how to play, and he was the player who led the charge by being the superstar.
By the way, for all the talk about the Adam Wainwright moment, Beltran hit .278/.422/.556 with three homers in that postseason. The Mets don’t even get to that Game 7 without him. He should have been revered for that season.
If only he was treated as such. Though not his fault, from that 2006 NLCS on his Mets career became one of what if to hand wringing instead of celebration. The disappointment of the 2006 NLCS carried forward into collapses in 2007 and 2008. Although, he did all he could do to try to stop it.
In 2007, he hit eight homer and 27 RBI in September marking his highs for any month that season. In 2008, he had an impossibly great month hitting .344/.440/.645 with six homers and 19 RBI. This includes a game tying two run home run at the final game at Shea Stadium. To that end, Beltran provided the Mets with the team’s final highlight at the beloved Shea.
From there, Beltran would have some injuries and run-ins with the front office. Rightfully and despite the Mets objections, he had a knee procedure which probably extended his career. Always, the good teammate and doing what was best for the team, he willingly moved from center to right in 2011 before he was traded away for Zack Wheeler.
Since Beltran has left, Mets fans have seemed to have warmed much more to him remembering him more for the great player he was than the strikeout. When he was introduced at the 2013 All Star Game, he received the standing ovation he so rightfully deserved.
That’s what you do for a player that is the greatest center fielder in team history, and is arguably the best outfielder in team history. More than that, that’s what you do for a player who built his Hall of Fame career during his seven year career with the Mets.
All Mets fans should now be congratulating one of the best players in team history for getting that elusive World Series ring which we all know meant so much to him. He didn’t get it with the Mets. Ironically, he got it with that Astros team with whom he built his postseason reputation that inspired Minaya to go out and get him.
This won’t be the final day of celebration for Beltran. One day in the not too distant future, the Hall of Fame will come calling. The hope is he wears a Mets cap, and he returns to Citi Field to watch his number 15 get retired and hang forever next to his fellow Mets greats.
If you ask a New York Giants fan about the postseason, they will reminisce about Super Bowl XLII and XLVI. You will hear about the Helmet Catch and Eli hitting Manningham down the sideline for 38 yards. You know what you don’t hear about? Fassell having the Giants ill prepared for Super Bowl XXXV or Trey Junkin.
The reason is simple when you win, you remember it forever. However, when you lose, and you lose and lose, that memory festers and worsens year to year.
For years and even until this day, you will occasionally hear Howie Rose bemoan Yogi Berra‘s decision to go with Tom Seaver on short rest over George Stone in Game 6 of the 1973 World Series. One of the reasons that memory lingers is the Mets where irrelevant from 1974 until 1984.
After 1986, Mets fans were in their glory, and to this day many fans who got to live through 1986 talk about it as fondly today as they probably did when they got to work on October 28, 1986.
Behind them is a group of Mets fans who never really got to live through the 1986 World Series. As a result, they just know Madoff Scandals and hauting postseason failures:
1988 NLCS
- Davey Johnson botched that series including leaving in Dwight Gooden too long in Game Four. Doc would allow a game tying home run in the top of the ninth to Mike Scioscia.
- It was the last hurrah for Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez who struggled over the final few games of the series, and respectively faced poor and injury plagued 1989 seasons before finding new homes in 1989.
1999 NLCS
- First and foremost, the one thing that should stick out was how those Braves teams just tortured the Mets, and the Mets could never get past them.
- Both John Franco and Armando Benitez blew leads in Game 6 preventing the Mets from sending the series to a seventh game and letting the Mets be the team to do what the Red Sox did to the Yankees five years later.
- Kenny Rogers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded to end the series.
2000 World Series
- Timo Perez should have run out that fly ball off the bat of Todd Zeile
- Roger Clemens should have been ejected for throwing a bat at Mike Piazza
- Piazza’s ball goes out if it was just a few degrees warmer
2006 NLCS
- Guillermo Mota shook off Paul Lo Duca
- Billy Wagner cannot give up a home run to So Taguchi
- Yadier Molina
- Cliff Floyd just missed his pitch, the Jose Reyes liner didn’t fall, and Carlos Beltran struck out looking on an Adam Wainwright curveball
- The subsequent two seasons followed with epic collapses with Tom Glavine not being devastated and an inept Jerry Manuel going to Scott Schoeneweis who gave up the homer that closed Shea for good.
2015 World Series
- Terry Collins making terrible decision after terrible decision.
- Yoenis Cespedes a no-show from the very first defensive play of the World Series.
- Jeurys Familia blowing three saves even if they weren’t all his fault.
- Daniel Murphy overrunning a ball.
- Lucas Duda‘s throw home.
- Matt Harvey for too long in Game 5.
2016 Wild Card Game
- Connor Gillaspie
The list for the aforementioned series really goes on and on, but those were just some of the highlights. After tonight’s game, that is what Astros and Dodgers fans will be doing. They’ll be asking if Dave Roberts was too aggressive with his pitching changes while A.J. Hinch was not aggressive enough. Why didn’t Chris Taylor try to score, or why could Josh Reddick just put the ball in play. Really, the list goes on and on.
For one fan base, they will focus on the things that went wrong. Considering the Dodgers haven’t won in 29 years and the Astros have never won, the pain of this loss is going to hurt all the more. For the fanbase that gets to win this one, they will have memories to cherish for a lifetime, and they will never again be bothered by the what ifs that could have plagued their team in this epic World Series.
The expectation is that with a game changing play, you would expect things to become a little more one-sided, and one team to begin to pull away. As Endy Chavez and Carlos Beltran can tell you, that is not always the case. Last night, there was a myriad of change-changing plays. Here’s a shot at ranking the Top 10:
1. Gurriel’s 3 Run Homer (4th Inning)
Perhaps none of yesterday’s game would be possible if not for Yuli Gurriel‘s three run homer. At that point, the Astros were down 4-1, and their former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel had nothing. While the Astros had already gotten to Clayton Kershaw, it’s still Kershaw. If Kershaw gets Gurriel there, the inning is over, and the game has a much different feel. Instead, Gurriel hit a homer that came out of nowhere and descended us all into madness.
2. Barnes’ Hustle Double (9th Inning)
If you subscribe to the theory home runs are rally killers, Yasiel Puig‘s two run homer in the top of the 9th gave Chris Devenski and the Astros a chance to exhale, get the last out, and win the game. Instead, Austin Barnes stretched what should have been a long single into a one out double. The pressure was back on, and more importantly, the game tying run was in scoring position for Joc Pederson and eventually Chris Taylor, who would deliver to the two out RBI single to tie the game.
3. Taylor Didn’t Go Home (8th Inning)
After Corey Seager hit a one out double off Will Harris to pull the Dodgers to within two runs, Justin Turner hit a deep fly ball to right center. Instead of challenging the arm of Josh Reddick, and pulling the Dodgers within a run, Taylor stayed at third base. The reason was because Minute Maid Park was so loud, he confused third base coach Chris Woodward‘s direction to “Go!” as him saying “No!” Chalk that one up for home field advantage.
4. Altuve Ties It Again (5th Inning)
Narratives exist because things happen. Game 5 was case in point why people say he chokes in the postseason even with his Game 1 peformance. After recording two quick outs, he walked Springer and Alex Bregman back-to-back, and with him at 94 pitchers, Dave Roberts brought in Kenta Maeda, who had been previously unscored upon this postseason. That changed with the Altuve home run, and it really set the table for the complete inability for the respective bullpens to get the job done.
5. Springer Redemption (7th Inning)
The half inning after Springer made an ill fated dive at a sinking liner in center (more on that in a moment), he would lead-off the bottom of the seventh against an exhausted Brandon Morrow, who had nothing. Springer got back the run he effectively gave up by hitting a monster of a game tying home run. That would spark a three run rally giving the Astros an 11-8 lead.
6. Bellinger Unties It (5th Inning)
After Gurriel hit the aforementioned game tying three run homer, Cody Bellinger hit a three run homer off of the struggling Collin McHugh, who had not pitched since the ALDS. At that time, the Dodgers seemed to have reclaimed momentum, and they gave Kershaw back a sizeable lead he should have been able to protect.
7. Bregman Walk-Off (10th Inning)
It may seem strange to have this so low, but that was the type of game it was. Bregman’s two out walk-off single against Kenley Jansen was the capper in a series of back and forth plays that not only gave fans whiplash but also sleep deprivation.
8. Springer Dove and Missed (7th Inning)
Believe it or not, the sixth inning of this game was scoreless as the bullpens began to settle in a bit after a crazy fifth. A Turner lead-off double of new reliever Brad Peacock created some tumult. Turner would then score easily when Bellinger hit a sinking liner to center. Instead of fielding in on a hop and trying to get Turner at home or decoying him, Springer dove . . . and missed. At the time the Astros fell behind 8-7, and they were lucky Bellinger wasn’t able to score on an inside-the-park home run.
9. The “Double Steal” (1st Inning)
At the outset of this game, you honestly believed a pitching matchup of Kershaw and Keuchel would be a pitcher’s duel. In fact, the Dodgers took Game 1 with both pitchers mostly shutting down the opposition save for three homers in the game. With the Dodgers having a 2-0 first inning lead, they were already in the driver’s seat.
Then, Keuchel made the weakest of pickoff attempts, and in what must’ve been a designed play, Logan Forsythe took off for second. As Gurriel threw it wide of second, Kiké Hernandez broke for the plate. With the errant throw and Forsythe getting in just ahead of the tag, it appeared as if the Dodgers had a commanding 3-0 lead in the game en route to a 3-2 series lead heading back to Chavez Ravine.
10. Correa in Just Ahead of the Tag (4th Inning)
Before the Gurriel game tying homer off Kershaw, Carlos Correa would deliver a one out RBI double to get the Astros on the board. On the play, Correa got in just ahead of the throw of Hernandez, and he would keep his foot on the bag. Had he not stayed on, he’s not on base when Gurriel hits the game tying home run.
Overall, these are just 10 moments from an otherwise Helter Skelter type of game. We all may have a different order, and there may be some plays that should have been included that were not. That’s just indicative of what type of game that was and what type of series this is.
With the World Series beginning tonight, Carlos Beltran and Curtis Granderson will be battling it out to win their first ever World Series ring. This could be the last chance either player gets to win that elusive ring.
Between the two, it certainly looks like this will be Beltran’s last chance. The 40 year old is coming off a season that saw him hit just .231/.283/.383 in 129 games. During the season, his teammates jokingly buried his glove. After the year, they may be cremating his bat as he has seen more and more of his at-bats go to Evan Gattis. Once considered a sure thing in the postseason, he’s just 3-17 in this postseason including going 1-12 in the ALCS.
As for Granderson, you don’t know. After just a dismal April, the slow starter began hitting again. From May 1st until he was traded to the Dodgers, he was playing about as well as anyone hitting .263/.383/.570. After becoming a Dodger, things were much different for Granderson. In 36 games for the Dodgers, he hit a paltry .161/.288/.366. In this postseason, he’s just 1-15 with an 0-7 in the NLCS. Things have gotten to the point with him that there are actually calls for him to be left off the World Series roster in favor of Charlie Culberson. Sure, this has something to do with Corey Seager‘s back injury, but still, many seem unaware of Granderson hitting three huge homers in the 2015 World Series.
Between the two, Beltran looks closer to the end than Granderson. Whereas the decision may be all but made for Beltran, it appears Granderson will get to make the choice himself. Still, as we know even if Granderson returns to play a 15th season at the age of 37, there is no guarantee he will ever get back to this point.
So this may very well be it for the both of them, and that’s a shame because both have been great players with Beltran likely being a future Hall of Famer. Both were great Mets as well. Beltran played at an MVP level for the Mets for many years, and he built his Hall of Fame case with the Mets. He will go down as the best centerfielder in Mets history.
As for Granderson, he will go down as not just a very good player, but one of the finest human beings to ever wear a Major League uniform. He’s the rare player that gets asked if he’s doing too much with his charitable endeavors. In some ways, he played the Keith Hernandez type role with this current Mets core helping teach them how to be winners.
They both deserve rings, but in the end only one of them will get them. All Mets fans should be thrilled for that player while feeling melancholy for the other. No matter what happens both will forever be Mets, and both should forever be remembered fondly by Mets fans.
If you’ve watched Mets games long enough, you will at one point or another hear Keith Hernandez bemoan the lack of “Good Fundies.” Seemingly, this is something he decries more and more. And it’s not just because the Mets played some terrible baseball this year. Rather, throughout baseball, we have seen a number of players fail to make the fundamentally correct play.
Most of the time, the lack of “Good Fundies” can really be attributed to a general lack of hustle and will. That was no more evident than on the last out of Game 5 of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Indians (Warning: It’s a Sterling call, so you may want to mute it):
Considering how his skills behind the plate have been lambasted most of the year, it should be of no surprise Gary Sanchez dropped the third strike from Aroldis Chapman. What should be a surprise is how Austin Jackson initially just stood there, and then he walked back to the dugout.
HE’S THE LAST OUT OF THE DIVISION SERIES!
Look at the play again. Sanchez drops the ball on what was a questionable third strike call. While he’s picking it up, Jackson voices his displeasure at the call. While this is happening, Sanchez picks up the baseball, and he makes sure to put it in his back pocket. Meanwhile, Jackson is still in the batter’s box.
According to MLB Rule 6.09(b): “The batter becomes a runner when – (b) The third strike called by the umpire is not caught, providing (1) first base is unoccupied, or (2) first base is occupied with two out.”
Now there are limits to the rule as provided in the comments to said rule: “A batter who does not realize his situation on a third strike not caught, and who is not in the process of running to first base, shall be declared out once he leaves the dirt circle surrounding home plate.”
This could have left the matter up to interpretation by the umpire. Arguably, by turning to argue first, Jackson may be been ruled out regardless of whether he attempted to go to first base or not. However, we’ll never know if an umpire would have had the absolute gaul to invoke such a technicality because Jackson never bothered to go to first base.
Think about it. Sanchez looked at Jackson briefly as if he was going to tag him. He chose not to and instead went to the mound to celebrate.
Looking at the play again, who knows how far Jackson could have gotten if he decided to go to first base. The Yankees weren’t paying attention because they were celebrating. The same goes for Jose Ramirez who we did not see touch home plate at any time during the Yankees celebration.
Instead of Jackson doing everything he could do to try to extend that game by busting it down to first base regardless of what the odds were, he instead chose to accept defeat and go back to his dugout. Instead of seeing Jay Bruce at the plate with a berth to the ALCS on the line, we got to see the Yankees celebrate on the mound.
One last note is it’s strange we haven’t seen much discussion on this topic. Sure, we’ll see Carlos Beltran striking out looking against Adam Wainwright, but we won’t see this discussed. For how much Beltran was killed for that play, his knees were buckled by a great curveball. Jackson just didn’t even bother.
As a fan, I’d rather see a player get beat like Beltran did than see a player give up like Jackson did any game of the week. Honestly, I cannot possibly fathom how this isn’t a bigger issue.
Game Four of the ALDS between the Red Sox and Astros was a just a bizarre game with many things you may not have seen before in a baseball game and some things may never see again in a game. Both Chris Sale and Justin Verlander came into the game in relief, and both would give up the lead. For that matter so would Craig Kimbrel. To lead off the top of the ninth, Rafael Devers would hit an inside-the-park homer.
All of these things and many more of the events that happened in the game were truly remarkable. However, there is one that stands out above the rest for Mets fans.
In the top of the ninth, the Astros were trying to add an insurance run to their 4-3 lead. With runners on first and second and two outs, Astros manager A.J. Hinch would tab Carlos Beltran to pinch hit for designated hitter Evan Gattis. With a 2-2 count against him, Beltran would foul off three straight pitches before hitting a curveball off the Green Monster for an RBI double extending the Astros lead to 5-3. With Devers’ aforementioned inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the ninth, Beltran would have the game winning hit; a hit that came off of a curveball. It should come as no surprise to Mets fans this was the first ninth inning RBI in Beltran’s illustrious postseason career.
While all of Houston rejoiced, Mets fans were once again shaking their heads with visions of a Beltran frozen by an Adam Wainwright curveball.
Throughout his career, Beltran has certainly earned a reputation for one of the greatest postseason hitters in Major League history. When Cooperstown comes calling, one of the reasons for Beltran’s induction will be his October exploits. Mets fans are certainly no stranger to them.
Many forget before that strikeout, Beltran had hit three homers in that series against the Cardinals. The Mets don’t win Game One of that series, let alone get to a Game Seven without Beltran. If the Mets won that Game Seven, it was truly a toss-up between him and Carlos Delgado as to who was going to be the NLCS MVP. When Beltran dug in against Wainwright with a berth to the World Series on the line, it looked like it was going to be Beltran.
But it wasn’t. And so a part of Beltran’s complicated legacy as a baseball player and a New York Met soon crystallized.
Beltran is one of the greatest postseason players in Major League history, but he didn’t even attempt to swing at a pitch that ended the World Series. The Mets would never have gotten to that point without Beltran, but in reality, during his tenure with the Mets, the team was mostly disappointing with two emotionally crippling collapses in subsequent seasons. Beltran was one of the greatest Mets to ever wear the uniform, but for some reasons, even before the strikeout, Mets fans never seemed to fully embrace him.
Regardless of the past, Beltran was a great Mets player, who absolutely gave it his all with the Mets. He did all he could do to be a great player here and to ensure the Mets success. Lost in his legacy was his immediately taking David Wright and Jose Reyes to workouts with him to show them what it took to be a great baseball player.
So yes, Beltran struck out looking against Wainwright, and he doubled off Kimbrel. Mets fans were depressed, and all of Houston rejoiced. Mets fans should be happy as well, and not just because a former Met won a game against a former Brave.
Beltran was a great Mets player who deserves our admiration and respect even if he wasn’t fully given it while he was a member of the Mets. He was a great Met who did everything he could do to help them win. He was a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, MVP caliber player the Mets have not seen from an outfielder before and have not seen since. We should cheer for him when he finally gets that game winning series clinching hit, and we should want him to get that elusive World Series ring.
When I was talking with my Dad about the postseason, we were prattling off how most of the teams in the postseason haven’t won in quite some time:
- Astros – Never
- Nationals – Never
- Rockies – Never
- Indians – 1948
- Dodgers – 1988
- Twins – 1991
- Diamondbacks – 2001
- Yankees – 2009
- Red Sox – 2013
- Cubs – 2016
Just go back over that list again.
For nearly a century, the dream World Series matchup was Red Sox-Cubs. 1912 versus 1908. The Curse of the Bambino versus the Billy Goat Curse.
Then there was all of the Hall of Famers on both sides who never won a World Series. For the Cubs, you had absolute legends like Ernie Banks and Ferguson Jenkins. The Red Sox had Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.
Throw in Fenway and Wrigley with the Green Monster and the ivy, this was the World Series to end all World Series because these were two teams pathologically incapable of winning World Series.
Until recently.
We know it all changed for the Red Sox with a Dave Roberts stolen base propelling the Red Sox to overcome an 0-3 ALCS deficit. It would be a Kris Bryant homer to start the game winning rally in Game five of the World Series. Before each of those moments, these were two franchises who seemed incapable of winning a World Series. There was also a time the Mets would take full advantage.
In 1969, the Cubs went from Ron Santo clicking his heels to a black cat crossing their path. We would then see Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman pitch the Mets to their first World Series title.
In 1986, Mookie Wilson hit a little roller up along first that got past Bill Buckner. Ray Knight scored the winning run en route to a Game 6 win and eventual World Series title.
Even in 2015, the Mets beat up on the Cubs. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom dominated them from the mound, and Daniel Murphy homered the Mets to the team’s fifth pennant.
Now, the Mets are behind both the Red Sox and the Cubs. Now, it looks like the Mets who are the team that can’t win a World Series.
In 1988, Mike Scioscia hit a grand slam against Dwight Gooden. In 1999, Kenny Rogers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded. In 2000, Timo Perez didn’t run out a Todd Zeile fly ball that landed on top of the wall. In 2006, So Taguchi homered off of Guillermo Mota, and yes, Carlos Beltran struck out looking against Adam Wainwright. In 2015, Jeurys Familia blew three saves with the help of Daniel Murphy overrunning a grounder and a way offline Lucas Duda throw. Last year, it was Conor Gillaspie who hit a three run homer in the Wild Card Game.
In reality, the Mets aren’t cursed even with all that ensued after the Madoff scandal. However, with each passing year, you can forgive fans for starting to feel this way. It’s been 31 years since the Mets last won a World Series. In those 31 years, the Mets have reached the postseason six times, and they were eliminated in excruciating fashion each time.
Again, the Mets are not cursed. Still, it is depressing to now live in a world where the Red Sox and the Cubs have won a World Series more recently than the Mets.