1999
From The Met Wiki
In 1999, the Mets finished second in the National League Easter Division. Still, the team reached post-season play for the first time in 11 years with its first ever Wild Card. The Mets accumulated a 97-66 record for the season.
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April
The Mets got off to a strong start in '99. The team won 14 of 23 games in April. After opening the season with five wins in seven games on the road, the Mets recorded an 8-1 victory over the Marlins in the home opener on April 12. At Shea Stadium two days later, relief pitcher John Franco got his 400th career save in a 4-1 win over Florida. The team won three of six at Cincinnati and Chicago between April 20 and April 25. They closed the month with three straight wins at Shea from April 28 to April 30. The Mets stood in second place in the N. L. East, one and one-half games behind the Braves.
May
In May, the Mets stumbled a bit. They had a 13-15 won-lost record for the month. The team won its first three May games, but suffered six defeats in its next seven. In a doubleheader at Shea on May 20, the Mets halted a three-game losing streak with 11-10 and 10-1 victories over the Brewers. They won two of three over the Phillies at Shea and followed up with two wins in three games at Pittsburgh. The Mets ended the month with four consecutive losses at Shea. They were four games behind the Braves in the division.
June
In June, the Mets got back on the winning track. The team compiled 17 victories and a .630 winning percentage for the month. On June 6, the ended an eight-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Yankees. The Mets won five of six games against the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Shea from June 7 to June 13. On an ensuing road trip to Cincinnati and St. Louis, the team posted a 5-2 record. They swept a three-game series against the Marlins at Shea from June 22 to June 24. The Mets concluded the month with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings at Florida on June 30. The team stood at the top of the Wild Card race and three games behind the division-leading Braves.
July
The Mets continued to play winning baseball in July. They compiled an 18-9 record for the month and solidified their role as a contender. The team won three of seven games to start the month before chalking up 5-2 and 9-8 triumphs over the Yankees at Shea on July 9 and July 10, respectively. Following the All-Star Break, the Mets won six of eight games at Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Between July 23 and July 28, they won five of six at Shea against the Cubs and Pirates. At month's end, the team was one-half game behind the first-place Braves in the division and leading the Wild Card by one and one-half games over the Reds.
August
in August, the Mets kept winning. They were victorious 18 times and suffered only 10 defeats. The team started August with five straight wins and had a three-game winning streak from August 10 at August 12. They won four of six at San Francisco and San Diego between August 13 and August 18. The Mets won two of three games against both the Cardinals and Astros between August 21 and August 25 at Shea. At Houston on August 30, they recorded a 17-1 victory as Edgardo Alfonzo went 6-for-6 with three home runs. With an 80-53 season record, the Mets concluded August three games ahead of the Reds in the Wild Card race and behind the Braves by three and one-half in the N. L. East.
September
The Mets played to the break-even point in September. The team had a 13-13 record for the month. At Shea from September 3 to September 8, the Mets won four of six against the Rockies and Giants. They followed with five wins in seven games at Los Angeles and Colorado. The Mets won two of three against the Phillies at Shea before a seven-game losing streak between September 21 and September 28. The team ended its skid with a 9-2 victory over the Braves at Shea on September 29. By the end of the month, the Mets had been eliminated from the divisional race. They were also two games behind for the Wild Card.
October
October was an interesting month for the Mets. It began with the team sweeping a three-game series against the Pirates at Shea to close the regular season in a tie with the Reds for the N. L. Wild Card. At Cincinnati on October 4, the Mets came out with a 5-0 win in a one-game playoff to enter the post-season. They defeated the Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, which ended with a home run by Todd Pratt in Game 4 on October 9. The Mets moved on to the National League Championship Series, where they lost to the Braves in six games.
Award Winners
- Alfonzo and Mike Piazza won National League Silver Slugger Awards
- Rey Ordonez won a National League Gold Glove Award
