The 50 Biggest Fails in New York Mets History
As the Metropolitans begin their 50th season, we look back at their checkered past.
Image via Complex Original
The Cubs haven't won a World Series in over 100 years, the Indians haven't hoisted the trophy in more than 60 seasons. The Mets have a relatively healthy two titles in their 49 years, but it's still a franchise that has had a first-hand relationship with failure. They started out as lovable losers in the sixties, became the team everyone else loved to hate in the eighties, and are now the team even their staunchest fans love to laugh at.
With the Mets set to start their 50th season tonight in Miami, we take a look back at the franchise's 50 Biggest Fails, from Midnight Massacres to middle of the night massacres, from bad signings and bad trades to really, really bad signings and really, really bad trades. A quick disclaimer: no Yankees, Phillies, Braves, or even Montgomery Biscuits fans were consulted in the making of this list, this one was kept strictly in the Flushing family. And, we have to say, it was a little cathartic, and we exorcised some demons. Now if we could only exorcise Luis Castillo's contract. And Oliver Perez's contract. And Bobby Bonilla's contract...
By Russ Bengtson, Andrew Cavagnaro, Jack Erwin, and Jose Martinez
#50. Doc Gooden's 1994 Drug Suspension(s)
Date: 6/28/1994, 9/15/1994
Gooden's 1987 drug suspension was shocking, but was tempered somewhat by the afterglow of the Mets' 1986 world championship. By '94, though, memories of '86 were far in the rearview mirror, and Doc's continued struggles with cocaine just became sad. His second positive test of the year (prompting a ban from the sport for the '95 season) occurred while baseball was already on "hiatus" for the player's strike, and while Mets fans probably weren't itching to get that '94 squad back on the field (they sure as hell weren't making the cancelled World Series), it was adding insult to injury to see the final rail, er, nail put in the coffin of the mid-'80s would-be dynasty.
#49. Mets Trade Kevin Mitchell for Kevin McReynolds
Date: 12/11/1986
Sure, McReynolds had four really good seasons for the Mets, but he never won an MVP, and he never decapitated a cat. OK, so Mitchell probably never actually decapitated a cat either, but he did win an MVP while McReynolds was playing for the Mets, and having a guy on your team who people think conceivably could decapitate a cat is pretty cool.
#48. Citi Field DNA Is More Dodger Than Met
Date: 2009
Yeah, Fred Wilpon grew up in Brooklyn loving the Dodgers, but George Steinbrenner grew up in Cleveland and we don't see a bunch of Indians tchotkes at the new Yankee Stadium. In Citi Field's inaugural season, Wilpon was taken to task for filling the place with odes to his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers (whose Los Angeles offspring the Mets happen to play a few times every year), before introducing more Mets memorabilia in the second season. But the jinx was already on. If Wilpon were a ballplayer, he wouldn't jump over the foul line; he'd probably run up and down it yelling "He's pitching a no-hitter!"
#47. Mets Re-Acquire Dave Kingman...On Purpose
Date: 2/28/1981
When Dave Kingman made contact, more often than not it resulted in tape-measure home runs. The rest of the time, he struck out. The Mets' new owners (including a minority partner named Fred Wilpon) re-acquired King Kong in 1981 to appease an angered fanbase, and Kong responded by leading the National League in strikeouts in '81 and '82. He did equal his own Mets single-season home run record in 1982, but he did it while batting .204 — until Carlos Pena hit .196 last year, the lowest average ever recorded by a first baseman with enough ABs to qualify for the batting title. Of Kingman's 109 hits, 37 were home runs. He struck out 156 times.
#46. Jimmy Piersall Rounds the Bases Backwards
Date: 6/23/1963
You think Manny Ramirez shows up pitchers after hitting home runs? After hitting his 100th career homer, Jimmy Piersall took Duke Snider up on his clubhouse bet and ran around the bases backward. This was probably about the time Mets manager Casey Stengel started thinking "I've had enough of this lovable shit." To be fair though, Piersall was a little crazy.
#45. Carlos Beltran Goes Under Knife, Bus
Date: 1/13/2010
Granted, if you're a baseball player, and you know you need surgery, scheduling it for January is pretty silly. But if you're a baseball team, especially one that's come off a season with an historical cavalcade of injuries, it's just plain shitty to claim your star player's undergone surgery without your knowledge...especially when you actually DID know about it. Yo Fred: surgery's like being pregnant, you either is or you isn't, and calling during the middle of one to suggest getting a third opinion isn't really an option.
#44. Todd Hundley Forced to Play Left Field
Date: 7/12/1998
You can't really fault the Mets for trading for Mike Piazza, the player widely considered to be the best hitting catcher of all time. The only problem was, when they traded for Piazza, they already had a pretty good hitting catcher in Todd Hundley, who was a two-time All-Star and the record holder for most home runs by a catcher when Piazza was acquired. Of course the Mets tried to play Hundley in the outfield. How can you put a guy that crouched down to catch his whole life, and move him to a position that requires mobility? Well, at least they didn't try to play Piazza at first or anything crazy like that...
#43. Marv Throneberry Hits a Triple, Called Out for Missing First AND Second
Date: 6/17/1962
Missing first, OK, it happens. Missing first AND second on your way to third, well, that only happened to the '62 Mets.
#42. Mets Trade for Luis Ayala
Date: 8/17/2008
Your bullpen sucks. Like, epically, the-very-last-dregs-of-the-milkshake-in-the-straw sucks. So what do you do? Trade for a reliever with a 5+ ERA! And then, you know, LET HIM CLOSE GAMES!!! Yeah, that's gonna work.
#41. Ryan Church Doesn't Touch 3rd
Date: 5/18/2009
The Mets woke up on the morning of May 18, 2009 in first place, leading the defending world champion Phillies by a half-game in the NL East. But that night on his way to scoring what WOULD'VE BEEN the go-ahead run in the 11th inning of a game against the Dodgers, Ryan Church fails to touch third base and is called out. The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 11th, and the Mets didn't look back (mostly because they were looking up at the Phils, Braves, and Marlins), finishing the year 22 games back. The organization actually exacted a bit of unintentional (we assume) revenge on Church, forcing him to come back early from a concussion and ruining his career. Although to be fair, the Mets haven't really been "healthy" themselves ever since.
#40. Benny Agbayani Forgets How Many Outs There Are
Date: 8/12/2000
The Mets made the World Series in 2000 (remember?), although they did so despite some of the squad's best efforts. Benny Agbayani was a pretty atrocious outfielder, but at least he caught this ball in an August game versus the Giants at Shea. Problem was, he handed the ball to a kid in the first row, and it was only the second out. Lovable? Yup, the Mets are lovable. But so is your cousin with the soft spot on his head. You get where we're going with this, right?
#39. Three Phillies Jerseys Buried in Citi Field
Date: 6/11/2009
Is it actually true? We're gonna say probably not. But the fact that the Phillies have owned the Mets since Citi Field opened, and the fact that the Yankees came down like a ton of bricks, concrete, and steel on the dude that tried to pull a similar stunt at the new Yankee Stadium (and the Mets pretty clearly won't be able to do the same), makes this a fail, even if it's just a rumor.
#38. David Cone Traded to Blue Jays for Jeff Kent
Date: 8/27/1992
David Cone's not going to make the Hall of Fame, and Jeff Kent will, so where's the fail in this you ask? Well, Kent's going into the Hall wearing a Giants uni BECAUSE THE METS TRADED HIM, TOO. That and the fact that Coney got Mike Piazza out in Game 4 of the 2000 Subway Series.
#37. Tony Bernazard Takes Off His Shirt
You just can't make this stuff up. While giving the Double A Binghamton Mets a scolding after a 1-6 homestand, Vice President of Player Development Tony Bernazard ripped off his shirt and challenged the young players to a fight. His roid rage-esque tirade led Bernazard to get fired shortly after. But hey, Jose (and Ozzie) Canseco's boxing; he can always fall back on that.
#36. Rickey Henderson-Bobby Bonilla Card Game
Date: 10/19/1999
In Game 6 of the NLCS, while their teammates were clawing and scratching back into a game they trailed 5-0 in the first inning (SPOILER ALERT: They didn't succeed), Ricky and Bobby were playing Go Fish in the clubhouse. Veterans are supposed to stand as examples to the youngsters, showing through their actions what appropriate MLB behavior is. The Mets never seem to get guys like that. *sigh*
#35. Clubhouse Attendant Charged with Gambling
Date: 11/5/2010
How's this for the recent Mets in a nutshell? Last October 27, as the rest of the baseball world prepared for the first game of the World Series, the Mets were busy suspending their longtime equipment manager for gambling and fraud. Charlie Samuels, the Mets' equipment manager since 1983 had allegedly been facilitating his own memorabilia business on the side by stealing the equipment he was "managing." He was also alleged to have substantial gambling debts after betting extensively on horse races, NFL games, and, yes, baseball (that's kind of a no-no). Good news though Charlie—at least you don't have to work for the Mets anymore!
#34. Rey Ordonez and Luis Lopez Fight on Team Bus
Date: 9/3/1999
Luis Lopez was greatly frustrated with his diminished playing time, so he decided to take it out on his main competitor, Rey Ordonez, and his face during a bus trip back to Shea Stadium. After the scuffle was broken up, the starting shortstop was left with a black eye and needed six stitches, while the backup was unscathed. With Lopez hitting only 22 home runs in his 11-year career, we have to wonder where his sudden power outburst came from.
#33. Rey Sanchez Gets Haircut During a Game
Date: 4/30/2003
Mike Piazza getting his mullet frosted in the clubhouse during a blowout would probably not be a big deal, but when you're a journeyman shortstop struggling (and not succeeding) to reach the Mendoza Line, in-game touch-ups are a definite no-no. Sanchez retreated to the clubhouse for a trim (remember when Mets used to retreat to the clubhouse for trim?) during an early season loss to the Cards in '03, and the fail was compounded by a) his continual denials, and b) the fact that the whole matter came to light when then-Met and former Yankee Mike Stanton complained to some former teammates about the professionalism of his Flushing compadres.
#32. Bret Saberhagen Squirts Bleach at Reporters
Date: 7/27/1993
The New York media can be a bit prickly, but squirting bleach at a group of reporters is never OK. Saberhagen two weeks later confessed and stated,"My intention was simply to paint the employee's jeans with bleach." So it was all just an innocent tie-dye accident! Lulz, we're not sure what was less funny, this whole bleach-squirting episode or Saberhagen's injury-plagued tenure in Queens.
#31. Doc and Coney Toss No-Nos for the Yanks
Dates: 5/14/1996; 7/18/1999
Following up on Tom Seaver's '78 no-hitter for the Reds, Dwight Gooden and David Cone were also both able to accomplish—in another team's uniform—what no Met pitcher has ever done. That they tossed their no-nos playing for the cross-town rival Yankees was just salt in the wound.
#30. Generation K
Date: 1996
Young pitchers Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher, and Paul Wilson were supposed to be the Mets' future, the new Seaver, Koosman and Matlack. And, the Mets being the Mets, they were hyped as such. Instead, "Generation K" became the lost generation as they all got hurt. But hey, they did win 28 games. In their Mets careers. Combined.
#29. Bases Loaded, No Outs...No Runs
Date: 9/24/2008
With the Mets fighting to avoid another September collapse, Daniel Murphy led off the 9th inning of a tie game against the Chicago Cubs at Shea with a promising triple. After a David Wright strikeout, and intentional walks to Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church and Ramon Castro couldn't advance any runners with the bases loaded, and the Mets went on to lose 9-6 in 10 innings. In terms of bad losses during the collapse of 2008 this ranked high on the "We're Really Screwed" meter.
#28. Ever Blown a Lead...On Weed?!?
Date: 2002
If there's one thing the Mets are really, really good at, it's squandering goodwill. So in the summer of 2002, less than two years removed from a World Series appearance, and less than a year after Mike Piazza's walk-off in the first game played in New York after 9/11, the Mets became famous for...smoking pot? In July, Mark Corey suffered a seizure (what is this, an after-school special?) after smoking weed with teammate Tony Tarasco, and in September, reliever Grant Roberts was forced to 'fess up to a previous dalliance with Mary Jane after a picture of him puffing on a bong hit the papers. Other teams have players that get busted for using performance-enhancing drugs; the Mets get dudes who get seizures from coughing too much.
#27. Finish 60.5 Games Out of First
Date: 1962
It's a truism across sports: If a team is ever described as being "lovable," it means they suck. The 1962 Mets put up a record of 40-120, featured players traded for themselves, an "ace" who went 10-24, and some of the most inept playing the sport had ever seen. The next season, the Mets followed up with a stellar record of 51-111. They were lovable (they outdrew the Yankees their first five years), but they were deplorable, too. FTL!
#26. Joe Torre's Mets Managerial Stint
Date: 1977 - 1981
It wasn't Joe Torre's fault. Not entirely, anyway. The Mets of the late '70s and early '80s were a truly dismal team, and Torre had never managed before. But still, you'd think a future Hall-of-Fame manager could have done better than 100-plus games under .500 over five seasons. Or at least managed to get them over .500 once. Nope.
#25. Keith Hernandez Takes a Nap
Date: 5/8/2010
Who needs Ambien? All former-Met-turned-sportscaster Keith Hernandez needed to do was watch the Mets play during an extra-inning game against the San Francisco Giants in 2010. Hernandez was caught sleepin' during a commercial break, before being awoken by an SNY producer and co-anchor Gary Cohen. And by all appearances this was the real thing, and not one of the dumb stunts SNY pulled in the past year (silent inning anyone?) to try to maintain interest in the team.
#24. Omar Minaya Calls Out Adam Rubin
Date: 7/27/2009
Say what? If signing Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, and Jason Bay, and trading for Luis Ayala weren't enough to convince you that Omar Minaya probably shouldn't be running a major league franchise, this little exchange with a Daily News reporter should've sealed the deal. We've heard of shooting the messenger, and that actually probably works, provided you actually shoot the messenger. If you just passive-aggressively try and embarass him, but he still retains his job writing for a major tabloid, well, that ain't gonna work out too hot.
#23. Fire Manager Davey Johnson
Date: 5/29/1990
Winning the 1986 World Series should have earned Davey Johnson a lifetime gig with the Mets and legend status in New York. Instead, he got three more seasons before getting canned 42 games into the '90 campaign (the team was in second place). The next three full years Johnson served as an MLB manager, he led his team to the playoffs, while the Mets suffered through the Bud Harrelson, Mike Cubbage (!), Jeff Torborg, and Dallas Green errors, er, eras. Not for nothing, Johnson is still the Mets all-time winningest manager.
#22. Seaver Left Off Protected List
Date: 1/20/1984
After being traded to the Reds in 1977 in a move dubbed "The Midnight Massacre" (just keep reading, it's in here), Seaver was traded back to the Mets in 1982 (after he pitched a no-hitter for Cincinnati, of course). After a decent '83 season, Seaver and the Mets were poised to enter '84 as an up-and-coming success story—until the face of the franchise was picked up by the White Sox in the free agent compensation draft after he was inexplicably left off the protected list by (otherwise competent) Mets GM Frank Cashen. In '85 Seaver recorded his 300th win for the Sox. But hey, Tom Glavine got his 300th with us! That counts for something, right?
#21. Team Schedules Shea Farewell After Final Game
Date: 9/29/2008
Sure, team execs had no way of knowing the Mets would be putting the finishing touches on a SECOND CONSECUTIVE COLLAPSE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS during the final game at Shea. But they should have (they are familiar with the team's history, right?), and even if they thought the team was going to win, wouldn't they want the post-game celebrations to be about the current team? Best case scenario is grandpa's funeral after the wedding; worst case is grandpa's funeral after grandma's funeral. It's the Mets, we'll let you guess which scenario occurred.
#20. Steve Phillips' Sexcapades
Date: 1998
Before he was a philandering ESPN analyst with an eye for low-level production assistants, Steve Phillips was a philandering big league GM with an eye for low-level team employees. Keep in mind Mets fans, this is also the man who signed Mo Vaughn, so he fucked us, too!
#19. Anthony Young Loses 27 Consecutive Games
Date: 1992-1993
Biggest loser ever? Yes. Anthony Young lost a record-breaking 27 games in a row from May 6, 1992 to July 24, 1993. He broke the shitty streak against the expansion Florida Marlins. If at first you don't succeed, try try again...but maybe in AY's case a good ol' fashioned quit was called for.
#18. The Vince Coleman Disasters
Date: 1991-1993
Whether playing with the Mets or against them, Vince Coleman was a menace. At least as a Cardinal, he only hurt them on the basepaths. As a Met, he whacked ace Dwight Gooden with a golf club, then tossed firecrackers at fans, injuring three children. That got him suspended for the remainder of his so-called Mets career. Good lookin' out, Vince.
#17. Shawn Estes Throws Behind Roger Clemens
Date: 6/16/2002
Your mom? She couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Shawn Estes? He couldn't hit the broadside of a beanballing, 'roid raging, broken bat-tossing dickhead when he (Estes) was called upon to exact some long overdue revenge for said dickhead's treatment of Mike Piazza. So yeah, your mom > Shawn Estes. That's called faint praise.
#16. Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron Knock Heads
Date: 8/11/2005
In recent years, major league front offices have emphasized defense when putting together their rosters, to great effect (see: 2008 Tampa Bay Rays). In a rare case of foresight, Mets brass was actually up on defense early. Only problem? They hired two guys for the same position. Prior to 2004, the Mets signed Gold Glove centerfielder Mike Cameron; the next year they signed future Gold Glove centerfielder Carlos Beltran. They moved Cameron to right, which was fine until his inner center fielder emerged in a game against the Padres and he collided head first with the actual center fielder, Beltran. Cameron came away with a concussion, broken cheekbones, and loss of vision, Beltran was lucky to walk away with only vertigo. Anybody that saw the collision live figured they were both dead though.
#15. Nolan Ryan (and Others) Traded to Angels for Jim Fregosi
Date: 12/10/1971
Yes, the Mets never really had a solid third baseman. And yes, 24-year-old fireballer Nolan Ryan was a bit wild. How could they have known he'd go on to strike out 5,700, win 324 games and throw seven no-hitters? Meanwhile, Jim Fregosi played all of 146 games as a Met. Oops.
#14. Pick Steve Chilcott Before Reggie Jackson
Date: 6/1966
Draft blunders happen every year, but when you take a guy No. 1 who becomes the first top pick to never play a major league game, and the guy that goes No. 2 goes on to earn the nickname Mr. October, that's a blunder of Mets-ian proportions.
#13. Scott Kazmir Traded for Victor Zambrano
Date: 7/30/2004
It wasn't just that Jim Duquette traded the team's best prospect. It wasn't just that Duquette made the trade when the team was 7.5 games out of the wild card race. And it wasn't just that he traded for a middling starter who led his league in walks, wild pitches, and hit batsmen the year before. No, it was that he did all three at the same time. Well, that and the fact that the Mets really, really, really could've used Kazmir in the 2006 NLCS. If Jim Duquette could screw over the Mets this bad in only 11 months, imagine what he could’ve done with more time at the helm.
#12. Timo Perez Goes for a World Series Jog
Date: 10/21/2000
Thinking that Todd Zeile had hit a home run in Game 1 of the 2000 Subway Series, Timo Perez decided to jog his way around the bases without realizing that the ball never went over the fence. Perez—surprise, surprise, surprise—got thrown out at home, and the Mets lost a valuable run (and, eventually, the game and the Series). We all make mistakes, but when your lapse in judgment comes during one of the most important games of your life, all we can say is: Hello bad memories, meet the rest of your life!
#11. Bobby Bonilla Hits the Jackpot
Date: 7/1/2011 - 7/1/2035
Question: Who will the Mets pay more in 2011, Ike Davis and Josh Thole combined or a clubhouse cancer from the last century who hasn't played a major-league game in almost a decade? After getting rid of Bobby Bo once, the Mets inexplicably re-signed the "slugger" in 1999. After—surprise, surprise, surprise—Bonilla didn't do shit for the Mets, the team bought out the remaining $5.9 million owed to Bonilla during the 2000 season. Instead of paying him the rest all at once, the front office deferred the payments, so starting this July, Bonilla will collect $1,193,248.20 every year FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS. Let that sink in for a minute.
#10. Luis Castillo Signed for 4 Years, $25M
Date: 11/19/2007
A big name player past his prime? Check. Injury prone? Check. Ridiculously high-priced long-term contract who wasn't exactly coveted elsewhere? Check. Classic Mets signing. And if the baseball gods have their way (and they always do), he'll pick up a ring with the Phillies this year.
#9. K-Rod KO's Pops, Self
Date: 8/11/2010
You know the saying: The team that assaults its family together, stays together? OK, we ain't heard of it either but it seems to apply here (sorta). K-Rod attempted to KO his lady's daddy in the team's family room (in front of Jose Reyes's wife and son), and then spent the next afternoon—Camp Day!—in the on-site Citi Field lockup. He also spent the rest of the season on the DL after tearing a ligament in his thumb (the Mets didn't pay him, instead saving the cash to pay Luis Castillo and Ollie Perez and Bobby Bonilla to also not play).
#8. Wilpons’ Invest with Bernie Madoff
Date: 2000s
Remember when there were rumors that the Wilpons had lost $750 million in the Modoff Ponzi scheme? Mets fans should be so lucky. It's now possible the Mets' (for now) primary owners may be on the hook for $1 billion for not getting hosed by Bernie. Typically Mets: even when they win, they lose.
#7. Kenny Rogers Walks In Winning Run
Date: 10/19/1999
Remember how the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the 2004 ALCS? Well, the Mets were on their way to a similar feat in '99 before Kenny Rogers struck. They had already vanquished John Rocker (Game 4) and hit a walk-off grand slam (Game 5) in the series when they fell behind by five runs in Game 6, only to storm back and briefly take the lead. But with the game knotted at 9 in the 11th, Rogers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded. In the nightmares of many Mets fans, Octavio Dotel is still warming up in the bullpen.
#6. Carlos Beltran Looks at Strike Three
Date: 10/19/2006
Granted, it was a really good pitch, thrown by a really good pitcher. But it’s Game 7 of the NLCS, your team is losing 3-1, and you’re at-bat with the bases loaded. For the love of "the old college try," "carpe diem," and countless motivational coffee mugs, YOU HAVE GOT TO GO DOWN SWINGING. If the Statue of Liberty and Mr. Met were to have a child, it would probably be Carlos Beltran.
#5. Oliver Perez Signed for 3 Years, $36M
Date: 2/3/2009
So what that Ollie's 15-10 season was just his third winning season ever, or that his 3.56 ERA kind of, you know, sucked? He was a big lefty who was going to lead the Mets to the promised land. Or, um, not. Hey, at least he didn't punch out his girlfriend's dad in the clubhouse family room.
#4. Willie Randolph Fired at 3:15 a.m. ET
Date: 6/17/2008
Former Mets GM Omar Minaya apparently has a rep around the game for being a "nice guy." How's this for nice? Tell a guy his job his OK, let him fly across the country and win a game, and then fire him in the middle of the night when, presumably, the New York media is asleep (note to Omar: it's called the City That Doesn't Sleep, dumbass). But you know what else is nice, Mets fans? Former Mets GM Omar Minaya. Take a deep breath, and say it again: former Mets GM Omar Minaya...former Mets GM Omar Minaya...
#3. "The Midnight Massacre"
Date: 6/15/1977
Six years after the Mets traded young fireballer Nolan Ryan and watched him become a superstar, they traded Tom Seaver — their best pitcher, the face of the franchise, a three-time Cy Young Award winner — for four middling Cincinnati Reds. He was 7-3 at the time, and would finish the season at 21-6. It's a wonder there weren't riots.
#2. Luis Castillo Drops Pop-up
Date: 6/12/2009
Call this one a perfect storm of failure: take one aging player, already despised because of a bloated contract, add game against most hated rival, mix with a potential game-ending play THAT ANY EFFIN' 7-YEAR-OLD COULD MAKE, and voila, you have the most epic fail in a season of epic failures.
#1. Tom Glavine Implodes
Date: 9/30/2007
Pitching against the Mets, Tom Glavine was an unflappable starter who unfailingly led the Atlanta Braves to the playoffs. Pitching for the Mets, he was a flammable starter who, in 2007, led the Phillies to the playoffs. A day after John Maine nearly pitched the Mets' first franchise no-hitter, bringing the Mets back from the brink, Tom Terrific gave up seven first-inning runs to the Marlins and basically looked like he wasn't even trying.