By Steven Shrager
Spring training is upon us, and barring any last minute additions, the Mets 26 player roster is starting to take shape. Once again, we approach the upcoming season with high hopes and low expectations. No one would have predicted a 101 win season back in 2022 but the Mets got there on the backs of their strong starting pitching that included a retread from Cleveland who started 29 games, a collection of free agents who started 30, 29, and 23 games, an often injured star who managed just 11 starts, and a collection of not ready for prime time players who collectively filled out the end of the rotation. They also had the preeminent closer who appeared in 61 games and finished with a 1.31 ERA to go with 32 saves. The hitters played to the 4th best OPS and led the league in hits, team batting average and getting hit by pitches. Ron Hunt would have been proud of that stat. They also managed to finish first in strikeouts, not such a great claim to fame.
2023 was a completely different story as the pitching fell apart early, and the 7-8-9-10 starters pressed into action didn’t show much until the last few months of the season. Several hitters played below their career averages and only an end of the season surge moved some of their statistics to a respectable level. Had the hitters not gone on vacation in the month of June, the Mets might have edged out the Florida Marlins for the last wildcard spot.
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