How Mets fair in June should tell us the most about this team

June is an important month for the New York Mets to establish themselves as true contenders.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting excited about how your baseball team performs whether it’s the first week of the season or the last in a 100-loss campaign. The same goes for panicking. The New York Mets have given us joy and panic in the first two months of 2019. Though many believe two months is enough to judge a baseball team, this year’s June should give us the most information into knowing what the 2019 Mets are.

The 2018 Mets began the year 11-1 before sliding down to a more even record by mid-May. However, they remained postseason challengers even after faltering from the historic start. It wasn’t until June when the team officially declared the year as a lost one.

Hoping I don’t bring back too many bad memories, the Mets went 5-21 in June 2018. There were reasons for the fast demise—most notably the injuries which began to pile up. Sadly, there was no coming back from the dreadfully horrible month.

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This year, Mets fans will hold their breath for a better June. A lot can go wrong between the first day of the calendar and the last. As we witnessed only a year ago, all hope can slip away.

Memorial Day is a common point in the season when you can more accurately get a read on where your team stands. Shortly after, the calendar flips to the third full month of baseball when teams begin to look at whether or not they’re buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. It’s this month the Mets should have circled on their calendar. This is especially true considering the light latter half of May on the schedule.

June is different. The Mets will three teams from the National League West which is never easy, take on the New York Yankees for a pair of games in the Bronx, and even battle against the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. In addition to these match-ups, they play ten games total against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

Even excluding last year’s June, it’s an important month. By this point, we’ll have a better picture of what a typical lineup will look like. Players who were injured early can no longer have the excuse of shaking off the rust.

Meanwhile, those who began the year healthy may now start to feel the grind from the Major League Baseball season. A plethora of men from the Opening Day roster have already made their first appearance on the newly renamed injured list.

Surviving June is imperative for any baseball team. Get through that month with a record above .500 and you are in a good spot to compete for the remainder of the year. There are two Wild Card spots which opens the door for even more teams to stay alive.

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You better believe Brodie Van Wagenen isn’t thinking of 2019 as a building season. He’s going to pull every trick he can to improve this team in July—that’s if their record warrants it.