1996
From The Met Wiki
The Mets had their sixth consecutive season below the break-even point in 1996. The team won 71 games and lost 91 for a fourth-place finish in the National League Eastern Division. During the year, Dallas Green was dismissed as manager and replaced by Bobby Valentine.
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April
The Mets began the season with an 11-13 won-lost record in April. In the season opener on April 1, they came from behind for a 7-6 win over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The Mets dropped seven of their next nine games between April 3 and April 12. At Shea on April 20, the team ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Rockies in 10 innings. They closed the month with a 3-2 win over the Expos on April 29. The Mets stood five games behind the division-leading Expos at the end of April.
May
The losses mounted for the Mets in May. They dropped 17 games and had a .393 winning percentage for the month. The team had six defeats in its first eight May games and followed with two wins in a three-game series against the Cubs at Shea. The Mets had a 4-6 record on a west coast trip between May 13 and May 22. Back at Shea, they split their next six games against the Padres and Giants. The Mets ended the month with a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers at Shea on May 31. The team fell into last place in the N. L. East.
June
The Mets compiled a winning record in June. The team went 15-13 during the month. After four losses in six games to start June, the Mets had five victories in their next six games. They ended a three-game losing streak with a 7-6 win in 10 innings at Pittsburgh on June 17. From June 20 to June 26, the Mets won five of seven games against the Reds and Rockies at Shea. The team lost two of three at Houston to close the month. The Mets moved up to fourth in the division standings, thirteen games behind the first-place Braves.
July
In July, the Mets had another 15-13 won-lost record. They started the month with four wins and three defeats at Philadelphia and Montreal. Following the All-Star Break, the Mets went 6-5 on a home stand against the Astros, Phillies and Expos between July 11 and July 21. The team stopped a six-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory at Cincinnati on July 28. The Mets concluded the month with four straight wins over the Pirates at Shea. They found themselves in third place in the N. L. east.
August
The Mets had a disastrous month of August. The team lost 20 of its 28 games for a .286 percentage. After starting the month with three defeats in four games at Shea, the Mets had a 3-4 record on a road trip to Chicago and Florida. They dropped two of three games against the Cubs at Shea and seven of nine on an ensuing west coast trip. The Mets ended an eight-game skid with a 7-2 triumph over the Giants at Shea on August 31. The team dropped back to fourth in the division, twenty-four and one-half games behind the front-running Braves.
September
The Mets concluded the season with an 11-15 record in September. They split four games against the Giants and Dodgers to start the month and followed with two losses in three games at Atlanta. Between September 9 and September 16, the Mets went 4-3 against the Marlins and Braves. They dropped six of nine on an ensuing road trip to Philadelphia and Houston. The Mets lost two of three games against the Phillies at Shea to close out the year. The team ended up twenty-five games in back of the division-winning Braves.
Award Winners
- Mookie Wilson was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame
