Can the Mets overcome the infamous 'June Swoon?'

The past decade for the New York Mets can be described in many ways. Underachieving, disappointing, and outright embarrassing, but there is one trend throughout all those seasons that is the ultimate factor for these adjectives. The month of June.

The Mets have not had a winning record in the month of June since 2012. While the outlook to those teams has not been as bright as to the team this year, it is fair to say the Mets are cursed by the month of June. In the past five seasons the combined record for the Mets in the month of June is 56-83 including an abysmal 5-21 in 2018.

Looking back at the infamous 2018 June meltdown, they entered the month only 6 games back of the division lead, keeping themselves very much in play to take first place. However, after dropping their first 11 of 12 games in the month, they would be pushed back to being down 10.5 games. From then, they never got anywhere less than 10 games back from the lead in the rest of the month.

The Mets posted a season worse .210 team batting average along with a horrific .292 on-base percentage. The pitching was not too pretty either as they posted a 4.71 ERA along with 41 home runs allowed. This is just one case of the "June Swoon" the Mets have had to dealt with for the past decade.

What does this mean for the Mets this June?

The schedule for the Mets this June will be one of their first major tests as they begin their west coast road trip beginning with the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers while also facing the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Angels, both who are having very proficient seasons so far. After their road trip, they still have to face two more teams that are playing excellent baseball as of right now, being the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros.

Hopefully, the Mets can continue to play the same consistent baseball they have been playing these last couple months and not be phased by the challenging schedule this month. They expect ace Jacob deGrom to return this month and hopefully he will continue where he left off. While news surrounding the return of star pitcher Max Scherzer has been quiet, the timetable set initially by the team could bring him back towards the end of the month.

The Mets hold a commanding 10.5 game lead in the division going into the month of June, being the widest margin in all of baseball currently. Depending on the success the Mets have this month, it ultimately could decide the direction of their season and solidify themselves as a viable threat to the rest of the league.