50 Fun Facts About New York Mets

In which New York City borough do the Mets play?

The founders wanted a home that could claim both Dodgers and Giants fans without looking like a revival of either borough's old team.

In what year did the Mets play their first season?

They were created to fill the hole left when the Dodgers and Giants both moved to California after 1957.

The Mets' blue and orange colours honour which two departed New York teams?

The interlocking NY on the cap is the old Giants logo, and the blue cap is a nod to the Dodgers.

What was the Mets' record in their disastrous first season?

It stood as the most losses by any post-1900 team until the 2024 Chicago White Sox managed 121.

Which former Yankees manager ran the Mets in their first seasons and coined the nickname 'Amazin' Mets'?

His exasperated line 'Can't anybody here play this game?' became the title of Jimmy Breslin's book on the 1962 season.

Where did the Mets play their home games in 1962 and 1963 while their stadium was being built?

They shared the old Giants ballpark in upper Manhattan with the AFL's New York Titans, soon renamed the Jets.

Shea Stadium was named after William Shea, who is remembered for what?

The threat of a rival third major league is what pushed the National League into adding New York and Houston.

Which band opened its 1965 North American tour at Shea Stadium in front of a record 55,600 fans?

The crowd noise was so loud the band could barely hear themselves, and the show became a template for stadium rock.

Which future Hall of Famer did the Mets pass over in the 1966 draft for Steve Chilcott?

Chilcott never played a major-league game; a year later the Mets got lucky and drew a future ace in a lottery.

Which team did the Miracle Mets beat in the 1969 World Series?

The Orioles had four future Hall of Famers on the roster, which is why the result is still rated one of the great upsets.

Who managed the 1969 Miracle Mets?

The former Dodgers first baseman was finally elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022, more than 50 years after the title.

How far behind the Cubs were the Mets on August 14, 1969, before finishing eight ahead of them?

They won 24 of their last 32 games, an 18-game swing that remains one of the largest turnarounds in the sport's history.

Which pitcher, nicknamed 'The Franchise', won 25 games and the Cy Young Award for the 1969 Mets?

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 with the highest vote share ever recorded at the time.

Which rookie broke up a Mets ace's perfect-game bid with a ninth-inning single at Shea in July 1969?

Tom Seaver had retired the first 25 Cubs in front of more than 50,000 fans before the backup outfielder lined a clean hit to left.

The 1977 trade of the Mets' ace pitcher to the Reds is remembered by what nickname?

Board chairman M. Donald Grant refused to renegotiate Tom Seaver's contract; Dave Kingman was dealt the same night.

Which slogan, coined by reliever Tug McGraw, carried the 82-79 Mets to the 1973 pennant?

He shouted it at a July team meeting; the Mets went 20-8 from there, shocked the Big Red Machine and pushed the A's to seven games.

What was the Mets' record in the 1986 regular season, one of the best in National League history?

They won the East by 21.5 games and then survived a 16-inning Game 6 against Houston to reach the World Series.

Which Red Sox first baseman let Mookie Wilson's grounder through his legs in the 1986 World Series?

Boston had been one strike from the title twice that inning; manager John McNamara had removed him for defence in every earlier Red Sox win but not that night.

Who was named MVP of the 1986 World Series?

He hit .393 in the series and scored the winning run in Game 6, then the Mets declined to re-sign him that winter.

Which pitcher, nicknamed 'Dr. K', won the 1985 Cy Young Award for the Mets?

The Mets retired his number 16 in April 2024, and Darryl Strawberry's 18 followed that June.

Which team's fans nicknamed the 1980s Mets 'pond scum'?

The two clubs swapped NL East titles from 1985 to 1988 after the Mets acquired Keith Hernandez from St. Louis.

Which two Mets became the first teammates to each hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season, in 1987?

It was the highlight of a season that ended with Terry Pendleton's September homer handing the division to St. Louis.

Which pitcher's 27 consecutive losses over 1992-93 set a major-league record?

The 1993 team lost 103 games and is remembered mostly for firecrackers thrown by Vince Coleman and Saberhagen.

Mike Piazza was picked where in the 1988 draft, as a favour to his father?

He was the 1,390th of 1,395 players taken; Tommy Lasorda then talked him into switching from first base to catcher.

Against which team did Mike Piazza hit his go-ahead homer in New York's first game after 9/11?

The jersey he wore that night sold for $365,000 in 2016, then the highest price ever paid for a modern jersey.

Who beat the Mets in the 2000 'Subway Series' World Series?

The Mets had beaten the Giants and Cardinals to win the pennant, then lost the first all-New York Series since 1956.

Which outfielder leapt the wall to rob Scott Rolen of a homer in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS?

The catch is one of the most replayed in Shea history, but the Mets still lost the game and the pennant to St. Louis.

In which year did the Mets move into Citi Field?

The first game there was actually a college matchup between St. John's and Georgetown, days before the Mets played exhibitions against Boston.

Which pitcher threw the first no-hitter in Mets history, in the club's 8,020th regular-season game?

It came against the defending champion Cardinals in June 2012, only his 11th start back from shoulder surgery, and earned him a key to the city.

Which knuckleballer won the NL Cy Young Award for the Mets in 2012?

The same season produced the franchise's first no-hitter, in a stretch when the team otherwise never had a winning record.

Which team beat the Mets in the 2015 World Series?

The Mets had swept the Cubs in the NLCS for their first pennant in 15 years before losing in five.

Jacob deGrom won consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019. What was his ERA in 2018?

In 2022 he set a record by allowing three earned runs or fewer in 40 straight starts, breaking a mark that had stood for over a century.

How many home runs did Pete Alonso hit in 2019 to set the major-league rookie record?

He passed Aaron Judge's 52 on the second-to-last day of the season and led all of baseball that year.

What is Pete Alonso's nickname?

He also won back-to-back Home Run Derbies in 2019 and 2021, both by a single point in the final.

Roughly how much did Steve Cohen pay the Wilpon family for the Mets in 2020?

The hedge-fund billionaire became the richest owner in the sport; the Wilpons had earlier settled a Madoff-related lawsuit for $162 million.

Which shortstop signed a 10-year, $341 million extension with the Mets in 2021?

His players-only meeting in May 2024 is credited with turning a 22-33 start into a playoff run.

Which purple fast-food mascot's June 2024 first pitch was credited with a Mets winning streak?

The team paired the run with Jose Iglesias's song 'OMG', recorded under the name Candelita, and reached the NLCS.

Which Mets infielder had a hit song, 'OMG', under a stage name during the 2024 season?

Recording as Candelita, he turned it into the clubhouse anthem for the second-half surge.

Mr. Met is believed to be the first MLB mascot to do what?

He appeared as a drawing on 1963 programs and came to life at Shea in 1964, portrayed by a ticket-office employee.

Which animal represented the Mets as mascot 'Mettle' for the 1979 season only?

The team's original mascot was Homer, a beagle sponsored by Rheingold Beer that lived at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Why is the prop that rises after every Mets home run shaped the way it is?

The original 1980 version popped out of a top hat reading 'Mets Magic'; fans petitioned to save it when Shea closed.

Which Sicilian folk song is played during the seventh-inning stretch at Mets home games?

Billy Joel's 'Piano Man' follows in the middle of the eighth, and 'Meet the Mets' was written a year before the club played a game.

Which retired Mets number belongs to Keith Hernandez?

It was retired in July 2022; number 5 is David Wright, 31 is Piazza and 36 is Jerry Koosman.

Which player, who ended his career with the Mets in 1972-73, had his number 24 retired by them in 2022?

Mays finished his career with the Mets in 1972-73; Jackie Robinson's 42 was retired league-wide in 1997.

Which company pays roughly $20 million a year for the naming rights to the Mets' ballpark?

The park's rotunda is named for Jackie Robinson and its exterior was modelled on Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field.

Which publishing company bought the Mets from the Payson heirs for a record $21.1 million in 1980?

Nelson Doubleday Jr. became chairman while minority shareholder Fred Wilpon took over as club president and hired GM Frank Cashen.

Which pitcher threw a complete-game shutout in the first regular-season Mets-Yankees game in 1997?

The Mets won 6-0 at Yankee Stadium on June 16, 1997, the first interleague meeting of the crosstown rivals.

How long was the contract the Mets gave Juan Soto in December 2024, the largest in pro sports history?

The deal was hailed as ushering in a new era for the Mets and for New York baseball as a whole.

How many pitchers combined on the Mets' second no-hitter, against the Phillies on April 29, 2022?

Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz shared the 3-0 win.

Which reliever served as Mets captain from 2001 to 2004?

He was one of only four Mets captains, alongside Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and David Wright.