On December 21, the New York Mets received an early Christmas gift.
New manager Buck Showalter joined the franchise after spending the past few years as a baseball analyst.
Welcome to the @Mets, Buck Showalter! #Mets #LGM #NYM pic.twitter.com/0qvZBopXIm
— Mets Team Store (@MetsTeamStore) December 21, 2021
The 65-year-old Showalter will be tasked with leading a team that has not been to the postseason since 2016.
He is no stranger to New York, having managed the Yankees from 1992-1995.
He has also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles.
Showalter has won 1,551 games but has never won a World Series.
That’s something Showalter, Mets owner Steve Cohen, and general manager Billy Eppler hope to change quickly.
The team has spent freely this offseason, adding $255 million to the roster.
Before New York and Showalter embark on a new season, here is a look back at some not-so-successful periods in Mets history.
3. 1977-1983, 90-Loss Seasons Abound
Only four years removed from losing to the Oakland A’s in the 1973 World Series, the Mets began a long stretch of 90+ loss seasons.
Remarkably, from 1977-1981, the team was managed by Joe Torre, who would later helm winning teams with the Yankees.
Beginning in 1977, the Mets lost 98 games followed by 96, 99, 95, 62, 97, and 94-loss seasons from 1978-1983.
The 62-loss, 1981 season was an aberration caused by the MLB strike that split the season into two halves.
New York didn’t suffer long, however.
The 1983 team that saw 94 losses also witnessed the rookie season of Darryl Strawberry.
#OTD in 1983, Darryl Strawberry took home Rookie of the Year honors. pic.twitter.com/zE8RWomYID
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 22, 2020
In 1984, rookie Dwight “Doc” Gooden helped alleviate some of the losing.
Finally, in 1986, the Mets won 108 games, the most in franchise history.
They also came back from certain defeat in Game 6 to win their second World Series, 4-3 over the Boston Red Sox.
2. 1993, 59-103
After their ‘86 world title, New York slowly slid back into mediocrity.
The team progressively lost more and more games each year until 1993.
That season, the Mets finished 59-103, 38 games back of first place.
1993 marked the first time since 1967 that the Mets lost more than 100 games.
Even Eddie Murray and Bobby Bonilla couldn’t help a mostly toothless lineup.
Eddie Murray, New York Mets pic.twitter.com/5J0Orpi4EQ
— WrongJerseys (@WrongJerseys) August 29, 2016
Besides Murray and Bonilla, no Met reached 50 RBIs or 15 home runs.
For the next several years, things didn’t get much better.
The Mets did not return to the playoffs until 1999.
1. 1962-1967, The Woeful Expansion Years
It is common knowledge in sports that expansion teams typically struggle out of the gate.
The Mets were no different.
Their inaugural season in 1962 would set a post-1900 MLB record for most losses in a season with 120.
It didn’t get better in subsequent years.
From 1963-1967, the team had losses of 111, 109, 112, 95, and 101, respectively.
However, after “only” losing 89 games in 1968, the franchise reached nirvana in 1969.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the “Miracle Mets” won 100 games, blanked the Atlanta Braves 3-0 in the NLCS, and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in the World Series.
‘The Miracle Mets’ celebrate winning the 1969 World Series pic.twitter.com/orUCevi9T3
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) November 11, 2021
That title gave Mets fans just enough hope to ride the roller coaster of highs and lows over the next five decades.
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