5 Mets players remembered for letting the team down when it mattered most

Every sports fan gets let down by their team. It’s an all-too-common part of cheering on the New York Mets whose franchise legacy includes plenty of collapses on the opposite side of two miraculous World Series victories.

Through the years, plenty of players have let the team down. It’s these five who seem to stand out most as the ones who caved when it mattered most.

First, an honorable mention to Carlos Beltran whose strike three call in Game 7 of the NLCS didn’t make the cut. One at-bat wasn’t enough to land him on this list. He had enough success with the team. It wouldn’t be fair. These other five Mets stayed for a much shorter time and when the season was on the line they let us down.

1) NY Mets pitcher Kenny Rogers let us down in 1999

We’re going chronologically so if anyone before 1999 let you down, he didn’t make the cut. Tom Seaver coming up short in the 1973 World Series is probably the best argument anyone can make. Again, this isn’t about a single moment. Seaver is The Franchise.

Kenny Rogers, on the other hand, was a veteran mercenary the team added at the 1999 trade deadline. He made a dozen starts in the regular season, finishing 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA. His postseason career is one of the more fascinating. He got knocked around in 1996 with the New York Yankees in every series he pitched. Results were no better for the Mets in 1999. Thereafter, in a relief appearance and three more starts, Rogers was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA.

Mets fans don’t much care about what Rogers did at age 41 with the 2006 Detroit Tigers. It was one particular pitch in the bottom of the 11th versus the Atlanta Braves. Rogers allowed a leadoff double to Gerald Williams and after a sacrifice bunt to move him over to third, Bobby Valentine made the decision to issue free passes to Chipper Jones and Brian Jordan.

Based juiced with Andruw Jones at the plate, Rogers allowed the game-winning run to cross home after the third walk of the inning. It ended the season and gave Rogers his third loss of the 1999 postseason.

2) NY Mets shortstop Mike Bordick proved he wasn’t the guy they needed

After losing Rey Ordonez to a season-ending injury, the Mets went in search of a shortstop replacement. Melvin Mora was successfully producing and occasionally playing the position. Looking for a better defender and a guy who could hit well, the Mets traded Mora and three others for Baltimore Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick.

Bordick was mashing with the Orioles at the time of the trade. Through 100 games, he already had a career-high 16 home runs. He’d end up with only 20 on the year with just 4 more in 56 games for the Mets.

Bordick’s other numbers declined, too. He went from slashing .297/.350/.481 in Baltimore to .260/.321/.365 in New York. Mora quickly became a force in the Baltimore lineup, making this an unsuccessful trade for the Metropolitans.

As poorly as Bordick performed in the regular season, his playoffs were even worse. He went 2 for 12 in the NLDS, 1 for 13 in the NLCS, and 1 for 8 in the World Series. The pitiful offensive output and “nothing special” defense awarded Bordick with a place in team history as one of the biggest trade deadline disappointments.

Not only did the Mets lose the trade, Bordick returned to the Orioles the very next offseason. The Mets were left with nothing.

3) NY Mets pitcher Tom Glavine was the big game pitcher who came up small

Tom Glavine turned heel on the Braves and joined the Mets at the start of the 2003 season. This was a transitional phase of the franchise and after a rough first year, Glavine actually began to pitch well. He was an All-Star in 2004 and again in 2006 with a solid season in between. 

Glavine even pitched well for the team during the 2006 postseason. Unfortunately, he is most remembered for his final Mets start.

Entering the day in need of a win, Glavine’s year was going okay. He hadn’t been so good in some recent starts. Earlier in the month, Glavine held a 13-6 record and 3.88 ERA. He got knocked around by the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals before the infamous Game 162 start in the last game ever at Shea Stadium.

We don’t need to relive the specifics of this one. Tied with the Philadelphia Phillies at 88-73 at the start of the day, the epic collapse completed when Glavine failed to get out of the first inning against a Marlins team that would finish just 71-91 on the year. Glavine was pounded for 7 earned runs in his one-third of an inning. It’s a huge disappointment because despite success in previous years with the team, this blown opportunity remains the most memorable of his stint in New York.

4) NY Mets closer Jeurys Familia had multiple playoff blowups

Jeurys Familia was a key for the Mets making it into the postseason in 2015 and again in 2016. Without him, it’s easy to see a way where they don’t have a trip into the playoffs. With someone else on the roster, maybe they have a championship.

Famillia’s disappointing tenure label began with the 2015 World Series and the Game 1 home run he allowed to Alex Gordon with one out in the ninth. He’d find his way onto the mound three more times in the series. He’d get charged with only one more unearned run in the series, but allowing inherited runners to score was a problem in large part due to defensive miscues. Lucas Duda in Game 5 might be the biggest.

A year later, Familia found himself back on the mound in a 0-0 tie against the San Francisco Giants. A three-run home run off the bat of Conor Gillaspie pushed the Giants ahead late and for good. The Mets hitters were mostly silent against Madison Bumgarner on this particular night. It was nothing unusual for one of the game’s great postseason pitchers.

Familia’s tenure in New York was never nearly as good again. He suffered through injuries and poor performance, especially when he returned as a free agent after the 2018 season and a short stint with the Oakland Athletics.

A regular season hero for the Mets, Famillia’s connection to such disappointing playoff losses continues to linger.