Can 2016 be a repeat of 1973 for the Mets?
Could 2016 be a repeat of 1973 for the Mets?
As the 2016 regular season winds down for the Mets, it reminds me more and more of the 1973 season. Let’s start with the standings.
This year, the Mets, Giants, and Cardinals are essentially tied for two playoff spots with one week to go. The situation was similar in 1973. There was no Wild Card then, though, but going into the final week of the season, the Mets, Expos, Pirates, and Cardinals were within two games of each other for the division title.
In 1973, the division winner was determined on the season’s final day. We have every reason to believe the two Wild Card spots may also come down to the final day this year.
The path the 1973 club took to their unlikely division championship is also similar to the road their 2016 brethren have followed to a potential playoff berth.
In 1973, they were in last place on August 30, nine games under .500 and 6.5 games out. This year, on August 19, the Mets were two games under .500 and seemingly finished in the Wild Card race behind several teams.
Both teams got hot very late in the season. As of September 25, the 2016 Mets are 25-12 since August 20. The 1973 team posted a 20-8 record in September/October. And both teams benefited from some shoddy play by their competition to vault themselves right back into contention.
However, the biggest correlation between the 1973 and 2016 teams centers on injuries. Both teams were ravaged by them. Here are some of the games played numbers for key position players on the 1973 team:
Jerry Grote– 84
Bud Harrelson– 102
John Milner– 129
Cleon Jones– 92
The 2016 team lost David Wright, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Juan Lagares, and Yoenis Cespedes, for significant periods of time. Both teams got key players back for the stretch drive and saw strong results.
The 1973 Mets finished 82-79 and were supposed to be easy pickings for the Big Red Machine from Cincinnati. The Mets saw it differently and won the pennant, and took the mighty Oakland A’s to the seventh game of the World Series.
The point here is that should the current Mets get into the postseason, they will have gotten there via the rough road. They will likely face competition against whom they will be underdogs.
So what?
There’s precedent for success in the postseason when a team hangs in there despite injuries and gets key pieces back at the right time. Just look at the 1973 Mets. Let’s hope the same happens for the 2016 edition.
Well, let’s hope it happens this year with a better World Series result.
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