3 periods in NY Mets history where the team hit rock bottom

2 – The period cover the 1991-1996 seasons was a truly frustrating period in Mets history.

The New York Mets were primed to have a dynasty. Everyone knows the names – Darry Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Roger McDowell, Lenny Dykstra, Gregg Jefferies, Dave Magadan – they were all young players who could have, and should have, had long illustrious careers with the Mets.

They began the ascent in 1984 and ’85, winning, no dominating, enroute to the World Series title. The 1987 season was a disappointment because of injuries. But with a bit of a reboot and some nice additions which made them a stronger team in 1988, saw the Mets fall short by losing the NLCS to the Dodgers.

And what should have been a yearly run to the post season, became a debacle. One by one the aging stars – like Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter - were let go and others were sent packing for a multitude of reasons, most of which had nothing to do with on field performances.

Somewhere along the line, in 1990, Davey Johnson was finally relieved of his duties. Most would think that was the bottom point. But it wasn’t. It got worse.

The popular Bud Harrelson was tapped to replace Johnson midway through 1990. He was given a chance to continue on but was not really managerial material. They couldn’t even let him finish out the season, firing him with just seven games remaining so that Mike Cubbage could take over. Most would think that was the bottom point. But it wasn’t. We move on.

The Mets named Jeff Torborg as manager for the 1992 season. And the Mets would go on a spending spree bringing in Bobby Bonilla, Vince Colemen, Bret Saberhagen, and more. The Mets would lose 90 games. Then 38 games into the 1993 season, Torborg would lose the clubhouse as it was obvious things were going on that he couldn’t handle. The Mets had embarrassing moments on and off the field. Most would think THAT was the bottom point. But it wasn’t. We continue to move on.

Mets management thought it would be a spectacular idea to bring in the fiery disciplinarian Dallas Green to “fix” things. Green would be supplied with some pretty good players during his 3+ seasons as the Mets manager. And yet, he couldn’t get close to a winning record. The only thing he was successful at was getting players to ask for a trade out of the organization.

In his last season, the Mets had a 41-homer season from Todd Hundley, as well as career years from Bernard Gilkey and Lance Johnson. But Generation K, remember them? Dallas Green was going to the one to bring them along. And what happened? One by one…gone.

Green stayed way too long and was an utter embarrassment to the organization until he was finally cut loose 31 games into the 1996 season. THAT was the bottom point when the Mets FINALLY said “enough.”