Founded in 1962, the New York Mets seemed destined not to win a World Series. By their seventh season, they never once rose above .500. The 1969 Mets season started out as any other (terribly) with their first 41 games being under .500.
However, despite the horrible lineup, the Mets had two standout pitchers: Tom Seaver, 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA, and Jerry Koosman, 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA. They additionally had a young Nolan Ryan, who started looking promising with a 6-3 record and K/9 of slightly over 9. They also had a great relief pitcher, Tug McGraw. Overall, an okay pitching staff.
While the 1969 Mets team ERA was 2.99 while winning 100 games, it is interesting to note that the 1968 Mets won 73 games with a lower ERA of 2.72. Additionally, the 1971 Mets had the same ERA of 2.99, but only won 83 games. Clearly, the pitching wasn’t overwhelmingly better in 1969.
In terms of batting, they were led by Cleon Jones, who batted .340, and Tommy Agee, who hit 26 home runs and 76 RBIs.
Interestingly, the 1968 Mets, who won 73 games, had a team batting average of .228, while the 1969 Mets, who won 100 games and the World Series, only had a batting average of .242. The 1970 and 1971 Mets each won 83 games, but actually batted better at .249. Clearly, the team that won it all really couldn’t hit, as the stats suggest.
Simply looking at the statistics above, the Mets were a solid team, but not World Series material, so what happened?
Well, first of all, the Mets were a hot team starting with their 42nd game, going 82-49 from that point. The Chicago Cubs, on the other hand, who were 10 games ahead of the Mets on August 14th, lost 17 of their last 25 games, while the Mets won 23 of their last 30.
In the end, the Mets consistently found ways to win their games, even in the playoffs and World Series, sweeping the Braves in three games, and upsetting the 109-win Baltimore Orioles in five games.
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