New York Mets: 2022 Was A Totally Wasted Season
Northjersey.com
The 2022 New York Mets had one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. They won 101 games, which is the second most in franchise history behind only the 1986 World Series champion Mets that won 108 games.
The Mets led the National League East for 175 days. In fact, before conceding it over the last week of the regular season, the Mets trailed in the NL East lead for only 2 days.
They were sizzling from the start, with great starting pitching, dominant relief work in the end by closer Edwin Diaz, and constant grind-out offense by the Mets lineup. All season long, the Mets were portrayed as World Series contenders and even winning it all.
However with one week left in the regular season, and a huge series vs the Atlanta Braves with the division on the line, the Mets stumbled and got swept in three games. That cost the Mets the NL East. And all they needed was one win to clinch the division and the Mets didn’t win any in that series.
So as a result, they had to start the playoffs in the wild-card round vs the San Diego Padres. The Mets started out that round, getting shelled in the first game 7-1 with their big game ace Max Scherzer imploding in his start, giving up a playoff-high 4 home runs.
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The Mets bounced back in Game 2, 7-3 behind strong pitching by deGrom.
But in the deciding Game 3, the Mets could not have put up a worse performance in an elimination game. They shut out 6-0 and had only one hit in the entire game.
As a result, the Mets were the first team to win at least 100 games and not even reach the NLDS.
So this 2022 season was a colossal disappointment in the end for the Mets. Especially after winning over 100 games for only the 4th time in franchise history. 2 of those Mets teams won it all (1969, 1986).
This 2022 Mets team didn’t even get past the Wild Card Round.
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In the end, this season felt like a waste. The Mets have not had many regular seasons as good as this one. This New York Mets team was winning consistently from the start. They were praised by many fans and analysts as well. They were expected by many to be a World Series contender.
This New York Mets team had two proven Cy Young aces in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. They had a dominant season from their closer Edwin Diaz. This Mets lineup scored in many different ways. Pete Alonso tied with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge for most RBIs with 131. Francisco Lindor bounced back from a rough 2021 year, to have his typical All-Star year. And Jeff McNeil became the MLB batting champion at .326.
All of this feels like it’s for naught with how they finished the year.
And next season’s team could look different with a boatload of free agents they’ll have this offseason. 4/5 of their starting rotation are free agents, including deGrom. Diaz is also a free agent as well as setup man Adam Ottavino. One of their main hitters Brandon Nimmo will also a free agent.
The silver lining for this franchise is that, unlike the Wilpons, Steve Cohen is an owner who will spend and try to do everything he can to build a winning Mets squad. He and GM Billy Eppler did that last offseason and they will have to make moves this offseason.
Steve Cohen stated his desire to build sustained winning for the Mets, which they haven’t enjoyed much in franchise history. If he can do it, the 2022 Mets’ disappointment would feel less disappointing. Otherwise, it will be a wasted opportunity after one of the best regular seasons and not make the most of it in the end.
