Members of the 2007 Mets know a factor or two about what their present-day counterparts are going by way of.
Eighteen years in the past, the Mets held a seven-game division lead with 17 video games to go, solely to go 5-12 down the stretch and miss the playoffs solely.
That collapse stays one of the notorious in MLB historical past.
Now, the 2025 Mets are attempting to keep away from the same destiny.
The Mets entered Saturday on a seven-game shedding streak, reducing their lead for the third and closing Nationwide League wild card spot to solely a half-game over the San Francisco Giants.
However not all hope is misplaced, in accordance with Carlos Beltrán, José Reyes and different members of that 2007 membership.
“Going back to that time and thinking about what I can say to a team that is going through the same, I would say just go for it,” Beltrán stated Saturday at Citi Area earlier than competing within the first-ever Alumni Traditional recreation.
“Don’t be timid. Just be aggressive. Be who you are. Think about what has put you in the situation that you’re in today, because at the end of the day, you are in a position where you are fighting for a playoff opportunity.”
Like the present Mets, the 2007 workforce was contemporary off of an look within the NLCS, elevating expectations for them to take the subsequent step.
That workforce was 83-62 on Sept. 12, however it will go on to endure a pair of five-game shedding streaks, the primary of which included a three-game sweep by the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies (89-73) ended up ending a recreation forward of the Mets (88-74) to win the NL East.
“Even though we all wanted to come out of that situation, it was hard for us to get out,” Beltrán recalled. “I cannot really pinpoint what exactly happened. You wish that you could have it back, but now thinking about this team and what they’re going through, I just hope they forget about the past and focus on these games left.”
The conditions aren’t precisely the identical, contemplating that in 2007, there was just one wild card spot in every league. Right now’s expanded format offers these Mets an additional probability, even after their deficit within the NL East behind the Phillies expanded to double-digits.
However the Mets had a four-game cushion for the ultimate wild card spot as just lately as Sept. 5, earlier than the beginning of their newest shedding skid.
“The advice I can give them is to take it one day at a time,” Reyes stated. “I know there’s 14 games left, and they’ve been through some tough times right now. Whatever happened in the game yesterday, leave it there. Just focus on the game today and go from there.”
The Mets’ droop shouldn’t be contained to September.
They entered Saturday with a 31-48 file since June 13, a stretch wherein their beginning pitchers mixed for a 5.26 ERA and have been averaging fewer than 4.7 innings per begin.
Kodai Senga, a 2023 All-Star, is within the minor leagues to work by way of his prolonged struggles, whereas the Mets have relied this month on three rookies — Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat — of their beginning rotation.
“I like to focus on the positive, so if you told me in February that by Sept. 13, you are going to be holding a wild card spot, I’ll take that any time,” stated Carlos Delgado, the primary baseman on the 2007 workforce. “Continue to play hard. Don’t scoreboard watch. Just one day at a time, one at-bat at a time. Let’s win today.”
Paul Lo Duca, a Brooklyn native and the 2007 Mets’ major catcher, stated he nonetheless watches the Mets on a regular basis. He believes a change to their offensive strategy might assist them snap out of their slide.
“At the end of the day, you have to play the situation that you’re in,” Lo Duca stated. “I got put in a fortunate situation as a two-hole hitter here with José Reyes, so all I did was poke the ball to right field. Could I have hit more home runs? Yeah, but that wasn’t my job.”
Lo Duca believes the Mets “100%” have the expertise to proper the ship.
“I always tell guys [to] trust your teammates,” Lo Duca stated. “And I think that’s one problem they’re having: They’re not trusting their teammates. If you have a 3-0 count, don’t try to hit a six-run homer. It doesn’t exist. Trust your teammate behind you and keep the line moving.”
Willie Randolph, the supervisor of the 2007 Mets, says the specifics of his workforce’s late-season slide are now not high of thoughts, however he remembers feeling assured till the very finish.
He sees causes to be assured on this yr’s Mets, too.
“I think this team still has a chance to get there,” Randolph stated. “I really do, because they have so much talent here that it’s a matter of just getting everybody back in sync. Get back that rhythm going.”
