1991
From The Met Wiki
In 1991, the Mets suffered their first losing record in eight years. The team had 77 wins and 84 defeats for a .475 winning percentage and fifth-place divisional standing. Before the end of the season, Bud Harrelson was dismissed as team manager. The Mets were run by Mike Cubbage for the final seven games.
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April
The ’91 season started well for the Mets. They had a record of 12-8 won-lost record in April. The Mets recorded a 2-1 win over the Phillies in the season opener at Shea Stadium on April 8. One day later, the team defeated Philadelphia, 2-1, in 10 innings at Shea. The Mets won three of four games against the Expos at Shea from April 11 to April 14. They followed up with five wins on a nine-game road trip. The Mets dropped two of three games against the Pirates at Shea between April 26 and April 28. They ended the month with a rain-shortened 6-3 victory over the Padres on April 30 at Shea. The Mets were in third place behind the Pirates and Cardinals in the National League Eastern Division.
May
The Mets stayed above the .500 mark in May. The team won 14 of 25 games played for the month. After beginning May with three wins and three losses at Shea, the Mets won five of nine games on a west coast trip. They lost twice each to the Cubs and Cardinals in consecutive three-game series at Shea from May 21 to May 26. At Chicago, the team won all three game of a series against the Cubs between May 27 and May 29. They closed the month with a 10-5 victory at St. Louis on May 31. The Mets stood in second place in the division standings, four games behind the Pirates.
June
In June, the Mets started to experience some adversity. They had a 13-15 won-lost record and began to drop back in the N. L. East. The team went down to defeat six times in its first eight games of the month. On an ensuing home stand, they won four games and lost five. The Mets split a four-game series at Atlanta from June 20 to June 23. They followed up by sweeping a three-game series against the Expos at Shea. The team ended June with two losses in three games at Shea against the Phillies. The Mets were sitting third in the division with a six and one-half game difference between the Pirates and themselves.
July
The Mets showed signs of rebounding in July. The team had 16 wins and a percentage of .593 during the month. From July 1 to July 7, the Mets won seven in a row at Montreal and Philadelphia leading up to the All-Star Break. After the mid-summer classic in Toronto, they extended their winning streak to ten games. From July 16 to July 21, the Mets won four of six games against the Giants and Dodgers to conclude a home stand. The team followed up with a 2-7 record on an ensuing west coast trip. The month ended with the Mets in second place, five and one-half games behind the division-leading Pirates.
August
It was a long, hot August for the Mets. For the month, they lost 21 times and had a .275 winning percentage. The Mets were swept in a four-game series against the Cubs at Shea from August 2 to August 5. After winning two of three against the Pirates at Shea, the team dropped all ten games on a road trip to Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. In a doubleheader against the Cardinals at Shea on August 21, their skid was extended to 11 games in the opener. The Mets ended the losing streak with an 8-0 victory in the nightcap and followed with a 6-0 win over the Redbirds the next day. After five defeats in their next seven games, the Mets ended August with 3-2 and 8-7 (in 10 innings) victories at Cincinnati. The team found itself in fourth place and three games below the .500 mark at 63-66.
September/October
With no realistic chance for a title, the Mets finished off the season with 14 wins in their final 32 games. The month of September started with a 9-4 win at Cincinnati that completed a three-game sweep over the Reds. At Shea on September 10, the Mets concluded a home stand with a 9-0 win over the Expos on Pete Schourek’s one-hitter. Their four-game winning streak came to and end with a 2-1 defeat at St. Louis (despite a combined one-hitter by David Cone and Jeff Innis) on September 14. At Shea on September 20, Cone pitched the Mets’ third one-hitter of the month with a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals. The team ended a 12-game home stand (on which they won six) with a 4-3 triumph over the Phillies in Cubbage’s first game as manager on September 29. The Mets concluded the year with four losses in six games at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. In the season finale on October 6, Cone struck out 19 batters in a 7-0 Mets win over the Phils.
Award Winners
- Howard Johnson won a National League Silver Slugger Award
- Cleon Jones was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame
