Just about nobody expected the New York Mets to win their first title in franchise history in 1969. On Aug. 13, the Mets were in third place in the NL East, 10 games back of the Chicago Cubs.
Less than a month later, they had stormed back into the pennant race, riding a tremendous pitching staff all the way to the team's first World Series. The team was properly dubbed the “Miracle Mets” for their astonishing run to glory.
Fast forward to 2019, and New York once again looks like a dark horse to contend in the National League. After a series of shrewd offseason acquisitions by new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, the Mets are in position to turn some heads in a crowded NL East.
But while the Cubs, Dodgers and Phillies hold the best World Series odds (according to Vegas) this season, perhaps no team has as much potential as a hungry Mets team that has failed to make it to October in each of the last two seasons.
And, in fact, they share some fairly scary similarities with the '69 team.
Powered by pitching
The 1969 Mets had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, led by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. New York's 2.99 ERA was the second-best in the majors, while their 1,012 strikeouts were fourth. Seaver and Koosman combined for 34 complete games and 11 shutouts, and the Mets led the league with 16 shutouts in total.
Now, 50 years later, pitching is still the strength of the 2019 Mets. National League Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom leads the way once again, but there is plenty of talent in the rotation.
Zack Wheeler was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in the second half of 2018. In 11 starts, Wheeler compiled a 9-1 record with a 1.68 ERA and 8.8 K/9, including a dominant August where Wheeler went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA in six starts.
Noah Syndergaard once again dealt with a litany of injuries and issues last season, but he still managed to make 25 starts and posted a 3.03 ERA with a 2.80 FIP. Syndergaard also threw a pair of complete games and one shutout.
But the scariest part about “Thor” is that, at just 26 years old, he has yet to enter his baseball prime. If he can string together starts and stay healthy, he and deGrom may be the very best one-two punch in baseball.
Steven Matz and Jason Vargas are wild cards at the back end of the rotation, but both are more than capable of being effective pitchers for New York this season.
Then of course, the Mets made two huge upgrades in the bullpen. Jeurys Familia returns for a second stint with the club, but this time he will be in the setup role.
Familia had a rocky experience as New York's closer. He led the bigs with 51 saves in 2016, but enraged Mets fans 16 saves in three seasons as the full-time closer as well as multiple save opportunities in the 2015 World Series and 2016 NL Wild Card game.
After the Mets traded him to the Oakland Athletics, Familia proved to be effective in the setup role, posting a higher K/9 and looking comfortable pitching in front of Blake Trienen.
Familia will have another security blanket this season, as Edwin Diaz–who led baseball with 57 saves last season–takes over as closer.
In just his third season, Diaz emerged as one of the brightest young pitchers in the game, with a totally overpowering fastball and wipeout slider. He gives New York a bona fide weapon at the end of ballgames.
And with Justin Wilson also coming to New York, the Mets have a very strong group of arms to lead the charge in 2019.
Just enough offense?
Although the pitching staff dominated for the “Miracle Mets,” they had a relative lack of star power offensively and struggled to score. New York ranked ninth out of 12 NL teams in runs scored in 1969, and also ranked 10th in on-base percentage and 11th in slugging.
Cleon Jones and Tommy Agee seemed to provide the bulk of production, and were the only position players worth more than 2.5 bWAR.
New York's offensive futility was evident again in 2018, when they ranked 12th in the NL in runs, OBP and slugging, and also had just two position players that posted better than a 2.5 bWAR.
In the offseason, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen got aggressive. Van Wagenen acquired former All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano in the same trade that brought Diaz to New York, and also signed the ever-productive Jed Lowrie and All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos.
There are still plenty of questions, especially with respect to the growth of shortstop Amed Rosario and Juan Lagares in center field.
But with the additions of Cano, Lowrie and Ramos along with continued progression from Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo–who actually posted a .404 OBP and .886 OPS–as well as the potential emergence of slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, New York's reloaded offense could be enough to compliment to the pitching staff. And, in fact, they match up far better offensively than their 1969 predecessors.
The Mets are not nearly as high-profile as the Phillies in terms of names or star power, and somehow their top three pitchers have fallen under the radar with the formation of a “Big Three” in Washington. And yet just as the 1969 Mets shocked the baseball world, so too could the 2019 Mets prove to be contenders come October.
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