The last person we want to see predict the NY Mets win the NL East just did

The NL East race hasn’t started yet but predictions are coming out and maybe the last person we wanted to see declare the New York Mets take the division just did.

It was May 31, 2022, when on an episode of Baseball Night in New York, Sal Licata declared the NL East over.

When the prediction was made, the Mets were 9.5 games up on the Atlanta Braves with a 33-17 record. They made Licata look good that same night, winning 10-0 over the Washington Nationals. The rest of the division was below .500, the Braves at 23-26. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers had a better winning percentage than the Mets in the National League. The Braves would go on to win the NL East and the Philadelphia Phillies roared forward to win a Wild Card spot and the NL pennant.

Licata isn’t prematurely scheduling a victory lap for the Mets. But he did say the Mets are going to win 92 games this coming year and take the NL East for the first time since 2015.

Uh oh, Sal Licata is a human and not a broken clock

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Licata doesn’t run on battery or require a plug to operate. He seems like a Red Bull and pushups kind of guy to stay energized.

Predicting an NL East victory for the Mets isn’t outrageous. And this year, he has at least tempered those Mets expectations. We can look back at it with a snicker. Last year he had the Mets winning the NL East and doing it with 97 victories.

In 2025, only the Milwaukee Brewers reached 97 wins overall, finishing right there.

None of the SNY crew expected the Mets to have fewer than 89 wins in 2025. Falling down to 83 feels like a slight margin but it turned out to be a major one. 83-win teams don’t deserve the playoffs. It was a rare year when it was enough for the Cincinnati Reds to get in. By virtue of losing the tie-breaker with Cincinnati, the Mets were left behind after coming up well short of expectations.

While we’re at it, let’s give a hat tip to SNY’s Alex Smith who was the only person who answered “Nolan McLean” as the Mets prospect who’d have the biggest impact in 2025. Everyone else picked Brandon Sproat or Luisangel Acuna. One played four games. The other spent the season bouncing between the majors and minors.

Sometimes it’s worth taking a risk with a prediction. 92 wins and a NL East title is a modest one out of Licata. Let’s hope he slays those 2022 demons and gets this one right.