Despite Sky-High Expectations, Mets Shockingly Miss Playoffs After Collapse
For the seventh time over the last 10 seasons, the New York Mets have missed the playoffs. It came down to the last day of the season, much like 2024, but ended the complete opposite as that storybook 2024 year. At the hands of the Miami Marlins, much like in 2007 and 2008, the Mets dropped a 4-0 decision and, as a result, are returning to Flushing the first team out of the playoffs in the National League with a record of 83-79.
Where do you start. On June 12, the Mets owned a 45-24 record; the best in baseball, and the top in the National League East. Since then, New York went 38-55, a mark that was one of the worst in the league. Despite this, New York was still in the driver’s seat for most of the last week of the season.
So much so, they actually controlled their destiny late on Sunday, as the Cincinnati Reds, the team who ultimately clinched the last playoff spot in the National League, lost at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. However, New York wasn’t able to respond, losing for the 70th straight time when they trailed after eight innings, spelling the end of a 2025 season that once held so much hope.
Preseason expectations looked spot on when the Mets were sitting at 45-24 in June. Prior to the season, New York weren’t only given a 70%-plus chance to make the playoffs but they were also a top-five World Series favorite according to the oddsmakers. Words cannot quite describe how much of a disappointment, based on both, the preseason expectations and how well the Mets were once playing, that the 2025 season ended up being for New York.
Well, what went so wrong? In the simplest of terms, the pitching wasn’t good enough all season long, and the offense, which saw several players smash career-bests in several different categories, took a tad too long to get going; as far as clutch hitting goes. Even when the Mets’ starting rotation owned the best ERA in baseball, they weren’t going deep enough into games, and their expected numbers, almost across the board, alluded to steep regression. Well, when injuries, and that regression finally hit, the Mets’ offense, which was performing as everyone expected it to for much of the second half of the season, was just unable to keep up.
The Mets have a long offseason ahead of them. President of baseball operations, David Stearns, has his work cut out for them. Like they say, “there is always next year.” Specifically, 179 days from now, the Mets are slated to begin their 2026 regular season against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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