Measuring the Mets

Postseason Edition

Around the corner from a similar graphic featuring Jett Williams (see the May 25 post) is this image of Pete Alonso, which will undoubtedly be excised if the Mets do not re-sign the slugger during the off-season. 

There was a time, maybe as late as Labor Day, when I thought the Mets and all four of their minor league affiliates licensees might make the postseason in their respective leagues. That was not the eventual outcome but the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Brooklyn Cyclones were league champions. I had the pleasure of seeing both during their division and championship series.

St. Lucie Mets (Single-A, Florida State League)

Located roughly 1,200 miles south of the parent club, my familiarity with the St. Lucie Mets is minimal to non-existent. When I periodically checked the standings, I saw the team on top of the Eastern Division in both halves of the season, which in a way would be their undoing.

The Daytona Tortugas (CIN) finished the second half 7.0 games back of the Mets but as the runners-up, they competed in the division series, winning two games to one. This just seems wrong; shouldn't St. Lucie get a bye? Very few minor league teams win both halves of a season.

Brooklyn Cyclones (High-A, South Atlantic League)

In geographic contrast with the St. Lucie Mets, the Brooklyn Cyclone are just over a half-hour from my apartment by subway. I saw the 'clones early in the season, an 8-5 win over the Winston-Salem Dash (CWS), but didn't return until Game 2 of the Northern Division playoff against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (PIT).

high-fiving their way to the dugout after sweeping Greensboro

Brooklyn beat Greensboro, 4-1, sweeping the three-game series, and three nights later, I was back in Coney Island for Game 1 of the Championship Series against the Hub City Spartanburgers (TEX). In the fifth inning, Brooklyn plated eight on three hits, five walks, and two HBP, cruising to a 13-1 victory. They won Game 2 in South Carolina and with four straight wins in seven days, became the 2025 "Sally" League champions.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A, Eastern League)

I saw the "carousel horses" four times this year, thrice on the road including on my May tour of the organization. The other two away games were against the Somerset Patriots (NYY). With Jonah Tong (then MLB #44) starting for the Ponies, I saw the team suffer a melt down in August, but in Game 1 of the Northeast Division series, they were the victors, 3-1.

The morning after the divisional contest, I toured the Middlesex County Museum at the Cornelius Low House, which had an excellent and inclusive exhibit on local sports and athletes. Jeff Torborg, who managed the Mets for 1.23 losing years (85-115), was remembered as a Westfield HS and Rutgers University (.537 BA in 1963) star.

One striking feature of the division match-up was the number of fans attendees who exited early with the Patriots down just one or two runs. I admit that I enjoy twisting the noses of fair-weather fans but mostly I mention this because five days later, I was in Binghamton when the home team got crushed, 14-5, in Game 1 of the championship series against the Erie SeaWolves (DET). Even after the visitors scored six in the ninth, the Binghamton fans stayed until the bitter end. Just sayin'.

A bitter end on Sunday but happier conclusions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Rumble Ponies won two on the road against the two-time Eastern League champions, the team that sent Binghamton home unrequited (a four-hour bus ride) in 2023.

Syracuse Mets (Triple-A, International League)

Syracuse was also a stop on my May tour, an ugly 9-4 loss to the Rochester Red Wings (WSH), who at the time had the worst record (12-31) in all of minor league baseball. Brandon Sproat, then the Mets #2 prospect, gave up seven runs (six earned) in the fifth. Syracuse finished the first half of the season with a 31-44 record, 16 games back.

However, in the second half, Syracuse and the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders (NYY) matched records most of the way. Tied at 29-10 at the midpoint, Syracuse lost a little ground in Week 8, then another two games in Week 9, and were unable to make up the three-game deficit over the final five weeks of the season. Of course, the outcome might have been different if the Mets' three top pitching prospects hadn't been called upon to shore up the...

New York Mets (MLB, National League)

Much has been written about the Mets historic slide from the best record in baseball on June 12 (45-24) to missing the postseason by one victory, so I will add only one observation: From August 16 to September 2, the team went 11-4, scoring in the double-digits in four of the wins. There was briefly hope that the Mets could return to their earlier form, or at the least stagger into the postseason.

We know how that turned out. While the Cyclones and Rumble Ponies were advancing to league championships, I also attended a rare Mets victory, 6-1 over the San Diego Padres. With the Cyclones and Rumble Ponies postseason contests, this was the fourth of five games in 11 days, at four different stadiums, and together one of my most satisfying experiences as a baseball fan.

Prior to attending Game 1 od the Easter League championship series, I visited the Roberson Mansion and Museum, where among other work, I saw
Levitation Act (Victor Colby, 1975)