Mets defeated by major injuries in our 2000 season simulation

The 2000 season has arrived in our simulated world and the only thing that can hold back the New York Mets are injuries.

Coming right up is a big year for the virtual New York Mets. At least this is the hope we have considering what the team did in real life back in 2000.

When we last left off, the Mets had a potent offensive and a 92-win season which still wasn’t enough to make it to the postseason. Hopefully, this season has better results.

First, for those just joining us, here’s how past Mets season have gone:

1962: 52-108
1963: 43-119
1964: 44-118
1965: 50-112
1966: 56-105
1967: 64-98
1968: 74-88
1969: 93-69
1970: 101-61 (NLCS loss 3-2)
1971: 100-62 (World Series Champions)
1972: 80-76
1973: 83-77
1974: 72-90
1975: 75-87
1976: 88-74
1977: 78-84
1978: 68-94
1979: 64-98
1980: 65-97
1981: 34-69
1982: 69-93
1983: 64-98
1984: 83-79
1985: 98-64 (NLCS loss 4-3)
1986: 90-72
1987: 95-67 (NLCS loss 4-3)
1988: 99-63 (World Series Champions)
1989: 110-52 (World Series loss 4-1)
1990: 103-59 (World Series loss 4-0)
1991: 84-77
1992: 76-86
1993: 80-82
1994: 43-70
1995: 74-70
1996: 74-88
1997: 89-73
1998: 88-74
1999: 92-70

Will fictional life imitate real life? Let’s find out.

Preseason Predictions

The preseason predictions for the Mets have them finishing 89-73. It won’t be enough to get them into the playoffs via the Wild Card or division title.

Al Leiter and Glendon Rusch both made the preseason top ten. Leiter is expected to go 19-7 with a 2.43 ERA while Rusch is a surprising candidate to go 14-11 with a 2.90 ERA. He’s actually a two-time All-Star already in this simulation so maybe he does come through for the virtual Mets.

Spring training standings were positive with the Mets finishing 18-12. Will it translate into regular season action?

Regular Season Results

The Mets got off to an awesome start led by Edgardo Alfonzo and a surprising batting title candidate early in the year, Timo Perez. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t keep pace with the strong start and by the All-Star Break, they had faded well behind the dominant Atlanta Braves.

Fortunately, there’s that little thing called the Wild Card. The NL East was packed with contenders for this playoff spot and it looks like one of them will come away with it. At 48-38, the Mets went into the All-Star Break tied with the Philadelphia Phillies as the Wild Card team. However, the four other teams are 4.5 games or less behind.

Glendon Rusch finished the first half 12-1 with a 2.16 ERA and yet he didn’t crack the All-Star roster. Perez is hitting .321 and has become the team’s first baseman. Todd Zeile, in this simulation, retired after the 1999 campaign.

The second-half was promising until injuries began to pile up. Al Leiter suffered an elbow injury in mid-August which will keep him out of action for up to a full year. A knee injury to Mike Piazza in mid-September will keep him out of action for 7-8 months. The club lost Robin Ventura for some time late in the year, making it difficult to stay in a tight playoff race.

At season’s end, the Mets were 85-77. The Florida Marlins ended up with the Wild Card at 92-69 so the club didn’t come all that close to earning a playoff spot. Maybe next year.

Honors

The Mets sent some familiar names to the All-Star Game. Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo were both voted in. They had company with pitchers Al Leiter and Armando Benitez.

Piazza and Alfonzo both went hitless in the game. Benitez gave up a home run against the lone batter he faced.

From the awards category, we saw Piazza win yet another Silver Slugger. More impressive, Rick Reed took home his fourth straight Gold Glove. He’s apparently a wizard in the field in this simulation.

Notable Individual Statistics

The pitching was actually quite fantastic for the Mets. Glendon Rusch had the best year of any, going 19-7 with a 2.16 ERA. Mike Hampton was 11-7 with a 3.21 ERA while Rick Reed disappointed most at 10-19 with a 4.35 ERA. Al Leiter was also pretty awesome, going 12-4 with a 2.25 ERA in 25 starts.

On offense, Timo Perez led the team with a .315 batting average. Mike Piazza was the team leader in home runs (34) and RBI (86).

Most important, the team was 13th in the NL in runs scored. This was gravely disappointing after leading the NL in our 1999 simulation.

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The year didn’t go the way we wanted it to. Injuries certainly played a factor but they weren’t the only reason why the Mets failed. The window for winning is closing and this team hasn’t been to the postseason in a decade. Will the 2001 season bring better days? We’ll resume simulated action in a week and will continue on a weekly basis for the final 20 seasons and possibly beyond.