Beginning tonight, the Mets will play in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) for the ninth time in franchise history when they take on the Dodgers. Over the years, the Mets have enjoyed some great (and less-than-great) moments in this series, which will determine which team will represent the National League in the World Series.
Let’s take a look at the team’s NLCS appearances over the years.
1969: Mets vs. Braves (Mets win 3-0)
The Miracle Mets, fresh off shocking the world by winning 100 games and claiming their first NL East title, had to play in the first ever League Championship Series for their troubles—of course the Mets would have to be the ones to not get a free ride to the World Series like every team before them. Be that as it may, the Mets wasted little time disposing of the NL West champion Braves, sweeping them in the then-best-of-five series to advance to the first World Series in franchise history, where they would win their first of two titles. Of note in this series was a Game 1 pitcher’s duel between Cy Young winner Tom Seaver and Phil Niekro. Despite a Hank Aaron homer, the Mets prevailed 9-5 thanks to a five-run eighth inning. New York never looked back, winning 11-6 in Game 2 and 7-4 in Game 3 at Shea Stadium to celebrate on their home turf.
1973: Mets vs. Reds (Mets win 3-2)
The Mets returned to the NLCS four years later in equally miraculous fashion behind a late-season surge empowered by Tug McGraw’s now-famous “Ya Gotta Believe!” exclamation. The Mets orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in postseason history over the heavily-favored Big Red Machine. This series is most well-known for a Game 3 fight that broke out between Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson as Rose slid hard into second to try and break up a double play in the fifth. Fans started peppering Rose with debris in the bottom half of the frame, which led to Reds players leaving off the field. The Mets were threatened with a potential forfeit, but Yogi Berra and some of the team’s stars calmed the fans down enough to get them to stop their behavior—the score was 9-2 Mets at that point, with the series tied at one game apiece. While the Mets would go on to lose Game 4 in 12 innings, they rebounded with a resounded 7-2 win behind Tom Seaver in the decisive Game 5 at Shea Stadium, and the party was once again on.
1986: Mets vs. Astros (Mets win 4-2)
The Mets played a best-of-seven NLCS for the first time in franchise history, toppling the Astros in six to earn their third trip to the World Series. You could make a strong argument that this is not only the most eventful NLCS the team has ever played in, but possibly one of the greatest postseason series in baseball history. The Mets had to deal with NL Cy Young winner Mike Scott, whom they could barely touch in Games 1 and 4—the Mets believed Scott was scuffing the baseball. The Mets won Game 2 handily in Houston and sandwiched that Scott masterclass in Game 4 with two of the most memorable postseason wins in franchise history. In Game 3, Lenny Dykstra hit a walk-off, two-run homer to lift the Mets to a 6-5 win, while it was Gary Carter’s turn to play hero in Game 5 with a 12th inning walk-off hit.
The Mets returned to the Astrodome for Game 6 knowing they were staring down a date with Scott in Game 7. A loss in Game 6 almost certainly spelled curtains for the 108-win Amazins. One could write an entire book on Game 6 of this series, but to sum it up: New York mustered no offense through eight innings and fell behind 3-0 after the first. They stormed back with three in the ninth to tie up the game. From there, teams matched zeroes until the 14th, when Wally Backman singled home Darryl Strawberry to give the Mets their first lead. It wouldn’t last, as Jesse Orosco served up a home run to Billy Hatcher to tie the game back up. The Mets went ahead for good with three in the 16th, but Houston would score two against a tiring Orosco, now in his third inning of work. Orosco rebounded to strike out Kevin Bass to end the game and send New York to their third NL pennant (en route to their second World Series title).
1988: Mets vs. Dodgers (Mets lose 4-3)
The Mets lost their first ever LCS in 1988 in seven games. The Mets were heavy favorites and dominated the season series, taking ten of 11 from Los Angeles, but it did not translate to postseason success. The story of this series can be told in two games: Game 4 and Game 7. The Mets took a 2-1 lead in the series and looked to have Game 4 well in hand with a lead in the ninth and Doc Gooden cruising after allowing two runs in the first inning. However, he walked the leadoff batter and surrendered a two-run homer to Mike Scioscia to tie up the game. In the 12th, a struggling Kirk Gibson, a few days before he would hit an even-more iconic home run, launched a go-ahead homer off Roger McDowell to give the Dodgers the advantage for good. After losing Game 5 and winning Game 6, the Mets played a do-or-die Game 7 at Dodger Stadium and, in one of the most painful losses in franchise history, were shut out 6-0 by (cover your ears, MetsFan4Decades) Orel Hershiser. The Mets trailed 6-0 after two innings, but it wouldn’t have mattered if it was just 1-0 the way Hershiser was throwing.
1999: Mets vs. Braves (Mets lose 4-2)
The Mets returned to the NLCS after an 11-year absence to take on the powerhouse Braves, who had made the World Series four times already over the course of the decade. The Mets quickly fell behind 3-0 in the series after losing three close contests. The Mets won Game 4 3-2 thanks to John Olerud’s two-run single against nemesis John Rocker in the bottom of the eighth. That brings us to Game 5, which is up in the echelon of great Mets postseason games. The Mets and Braves traded two-run frames in the first and fourth, respectively, which was all the scoring until the 15th (15th!) inning. Atlanta jumped ahead on a go-ahead triple off Octavio Dotel, but the Mets had one more rally in them. In a dramatic bottom half of the inning, an erratic Kevin McGlinchy walked home the tying run before serving up a Grand Slam (single) to Robin Ventura—his teammates never allowed him to get to second base—to send the series back to Atlanta. In Game 6, Al Leiter couldn’t record a single out as the Mets fell behind 5-0 in the first. The Mets eventually tied it with a four-run seventh thanks in large part to Mike Piazza game-tying homer off John Smoltz. The two teams traded runs in the eighth and tenth, which set up Kenny Rogers walking home the series-clinching run in the bottom of the 11th. For Mets fans of a certain generation, this remains the first lesson in painful Mets postseason losses.
2000: Mets vs. Cardinals (Mets win 4-1)
The Mets won a relatively stress-free NLCS against St. Louis 4-1 to earn their first NL Pennant in 14 years. The Mets picked up two wins at Busch Stadium before returning home to drop Game 3 8-2. That was the lone adversity they’d face, as they won Game 4 10-6 and Game 5 7-0. Mike Hampton, who was masterful in Games 1 and 5, earned MVP honors as his team mobbed him at the Shea Stadium mound following the final out. This series is also famous for then-coach John Stearns proclaiming “The monster is out of the cage!” after Piazza homered in Game 1 of the series. Piazza would homer twice in that NLCS.
2006: Mets vs. Cardinals (Mets lose 4-3)
In a series so many of us would soon like to forget, the LCS rematch with the Cardinals did not go the Mets’ way in 2006. The Mets got off to a good start, winning Game 1 behind Tom Glavine’s brilliance and Carlos Beltrán’s two-run homer. Everyone remembers Game 7, but I still contend Game 2 is the one that got away for New York. The Mets carried a 6-4 lead into the seventh before Guillermo Mota served up a game-tying, two-run triple to Scott Spezio. In the ninth, So Taguchi homered against Billy Wagner to give the Cardinals the lead, and St. Louis won 9-6 to tie up the series. The Mets lost Games 3 and 5, while using homers from David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltrán (x2) helped them claim Game 4. The Mets got a strong performance from John Maine in Game 6 to knot up the series, setting up a do-or-die Game 7. Óliver Pérez pitched a great game, and the score was tied at one apiece when, in the sixth inning, Endy Chavez made possibly the greatest catch in baseball history to rob Scott Rolen of a home run. In the bottom half of the frame, the Mets loaded the bases with out out, but could not push a run across. The game stayed tied in the ninth, when, sigh, Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer off Aaron Heilman. The Mets again loaded the bases in the ninth, but Adam Wainwright, sigh, froze Beltrán on a filthy 0-2 curveball to end the series. So it goes.
2015: Mets vs. Cubs (Mets win 4-0)
The Mets’ last trip to the NLCS was unique in that it was so stress-free. There was truly not a moment where you felt like the Mets were in trouble, which was refreshing after needing the full five games to topple the mighty Dodgers in the NLDS. In fact, the Mets didn’t trail for a single inning and were only tied in two of the 36 innings. Behind their stellar young starting pitching, and the dominance of Murphtober, the Mets easily disposed of the Cubs to extend the Curse of the Billy Goat for one more year. The Mets got stellar performances from Matt Harvey in Game 1, Noah Syndergaard in Game 2, and Jacob deGrom in Game 3, each of whom picked up a victory. In Game 4, Lucas Duda hit a first inning three-run homer, and Travis d’Arnaud went back-to-back with Duda with a solo shot. Daniel Murphy added a homer to give him a long ball in six straight postseason games. He would, of course, go on to win series MVP honors as the Mets closed it out with an 8-3 victory at Wrigley Field on October 21. Incidentally, Game 7 of the current National League Championship Series falls on October 21.
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