GOA Mets Fans Disappointed, Optimistic For 2016 Season
Matt Nadel, '17
Coming into this season, not much was expected of the New York Mets. Few, if any, had them performing well enough to make the playoffs, let alone get to the World Series. Yet, with the 2015 Major League Baseball season in the rearview mirror, the defending National League champions heading into the 2016 campaign are those very same Metropolitans.
“I didn’t think the Mets would do well, maybe second or third in the NL East but not first,” said sophomore Etai Barash.
Boy, did the 2015 Mets prove everyone wrong.
After a slow start to the season, only finishing five games over .500 by the All Star break, the Mets needed an offensive jumpstart and looked to the trade market for such a bat. Their trade for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline paid big dividends for the Amazins, as Cespedes hit 17 home runs in just 57 games while wearing the blue and orange.
“I thought we could finally compete because he made the Mets’ offense great,” said Barash.
And so they did. The Mets finished the season with a record of 90-72, good enough for first place in the NL East.
Despite its top-tiered offense in the second half of the season, New York was known more for its great pitching than its bats, with flamethrowers like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz.
“Harvey was under a lot of scrutiny for his innings count, but still performed well and was voted the Comeback Player of the Year,” said avid Mets fan Rabbi Mayer. “DeGrom delivered and stayed at a consistently good level throughout the season.”
After a five-game series win over the Dodgers in the NLDS, the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS to advance to their first World Series since 2000. The Mets’ postseason success was much attributed to infielder Daniel Murphy, who hit six home runs in six consecutive postseason games, a MLB record.
Sadly, New York’s dreams of championship ring number three came to an end in the World Series, as the Royals beat the Mets in five games. Kansas City figured out the Mets’ pitching and almost never struck out.
The Mets pushed hard, but three blown saves and costly errors by New York ended their Cinderella story.
Now it’s offseason time, so what are the Mets to do? Cespedes and Murphy have expiring contracts, but will the Mets try to resign them? How will they fare in the National League next season? Junior Nadav Aronoff thinks he has the answer.
“We’re going to make it to the playoffs and we’re going to go far, but we will not win the World Series,” he said.
Wise words from Aronoff, but the only thing Mets fans can do for now is continue to hope for their team’s first World Series championship since 1986.
Coming into this season, not much was expected of the New York Mets. Few, if any, had them performing well enough to make the playoffs, let alone get to the World Series. Yet, with the 2015 Major League Baseball season in the rearview mirror, the defending National League champions heading into the 2016 campaign are those very same Metropolitans.
“I didn’t think the Mets would do well, maybe second or third in the NL East but not first,” said sophomore Etai Barash.
Boy, did the 2015 Mets prove everyone wrong.
After a slow start to the season, only finishing five games over .500 by the All Star break, the Mets needed an offensive jumpstart and looked to the trade market for such a bat. Their trade for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline paid big dividends for the Amazins, as Cespedes hit 17 home runs in just 57 games while wearing the blue and orange.
“I thought we could finally compete because he made the Mets’ offense great,” said Barash.
And so they did. The Mets finished the season with a record of 90-72, good enough for first place in the NL East.
Despite its top-tiered offense in the second half of the season, New York was known more for its great pitching than its bats, with flamethrowers like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz.
“Harvey was under a lot of scrutiny for his innings count, but still performed well and was voted the Comeback Player of the Year,” said avid Mets fan Rabbi Mayer. “DeGrom delivered and stayed at a consistently good level throughout the season.”
After a five-game series win over the Dodgers in the NLDS, the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS to advance to their first World Series since 2000. The Mets’ postseason success was much attributed to infielder Daniel Murphy, who hit six home runs in six consecutive postseason games, a MLB record.
Sadly, New York’s dreams of championship ring number three came to an end in the World Series, as the Royals beat the Mets in five games. Kansas City figured out the Mets’ pitching and almost never struck out.
The Mets pushed hard, but three blown saves and costly errors by New York ended their Cinderella story.
Now it’s offseason time, so what are the Mets to do? Cespedes and Murphy have expiring contracts, but will the Mets try to resign them? How will they fare in the National League next season? Junior Nadav Aronoff thinks he has the answer.
“We’re going to make it to the playoffs and we’re going to go far, but we will not win the World Series,” he said.
Wise words from Aronoff, but the only thing Mets fans can do for now is continue to hope for their team’s first World Series championship since 1986.
