I don’t get into the Hot Stove season as much as some other people. I get into it during Spring training. But as far as I’m concerned, this time of year is really boring. I don’t feel like taking the time to figure out which talented free agent 32-year old ballplayer that I already know so much about is going to have the slowest rate of decline over the next four or five years. There’s no fun in that. I have a perverse interest in players like Dontrelle Willis, but everybody would yell at me if I said that. I like teams and players to surprise me. I will root for whatever Mets team they put out there. But I don’t particularly enjoy seeing how the sausage is made.
So instead of telling you who I think we “should go after,” I’m going to take advantage of the lull to cast a backward glance over all the Mets seasons. I’m going to do something I last did two years ago. I’m ranking the 20 best Mets seasons, according to the amount of fun they were. When I last did this, 2007 and 2008 hadn’t been played, so the hard thing is squeezing them in (assuming that they make it into the top 20). This kind of ranking is obviously difficult, because it’s hard to define a fun season. For example, 1973 was no fun at all while it was happening, except for the last month and a half which was insanely fun. And then there’s the issue of what criteria we use to determine that 1988 and 2000, incredibly successful seasons, were not as much fun in the end as 1999 and 2006. This isn’t scientific, but below please find my list of the 20 most “fun” Mets seasons.
1969
1986
1973
1999
2006
1988
1984
2000
1985
1997
1998
2008
1987
1989
2005
2007
1970
1972
1976
1971
1975
1990
As you can see, I thought 2008 was more fun than 2007. Didn’t you? Even though we did blow it in the end, blowing it wasn’t as much of a surprise or a disappointment, because it felt as if we were playing over our heads. And the last two-thirds of the season were better than the first third had promised. It was the reverse in 2007. What do you think?
Hi Dana,
I agree with you about the order of the fun seasons. Yes, 2008 was better than 2007 because the Mets played better with more adversity and didn’t really collapse. Playing over their head does sum it up. The top 5 were no brainers. LOL!
Like you, I am not going to speculate who the Mets will get or who they will let go. I do hope they get the most for their money, and concentrate on relief pitching and outfielders.
Thank you for putting 1984 ahead of that overrated 2000 season.