Entering the 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB) Postseason, the New York Mets were fifth favorite to win the World Series. However, after Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Padres, the Mets have been eliminated and did not even make it past the wild card round. The Mets split the first two games of the series with the Padres, making Sunday’s game a win or go home. New York failed to show up on the big stage, being held to a franchise record-low one hit in a playoff game. Meanwhile, the Padres erupted for 10 hits bringing in six runs. The Mets held first place in the National League East for over 150 games until losing the lead late in the season to the Atlanta Braves. A division title would have meant a first-round bye for the Mets, allowing them to avoid ever having played the Padres in the first place. Such a sudden and abrupt end to a season with such enormous expectations is certainly jarring to both the fans and the team.

It is difficult to call this season a total failure, even if the postseason run was short-lived.

The Mets ended with a record of 101-61, making them only the fourth Mets team to win 100 games and the first one since 1988. After an underwhelming season last year, Jeff McNeil bounced back to win the National League batting title with a batting average of .326. Edwin Diaz also silenced many doubters after a big season. Diaz was arguably the best closing pitcher in the league, pitching 62 innings and holding an ERA of 1.31. Pete Alonso was tied with Aaron Judge for the most RBI’s in the majors this season at 131. He combined with Francisco Lindor for 238 RBIs, and set a new franchise record in the process.

After last season, the Mets were sent into a rebuilding period. A new manager was brought in and the roster was almost completely overhauled. Unfortunately, something similar may need to happen during this off-season. Several key players, including many members of the pitching staff, will either become free agents or have the option to opt-out of their contracts. Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker are just a few of the bigger names that are not guaranteed Mets next season. It does not seem as though manager Buck Showalter’s job is in jeopardy unless he wishes to retire. Showalter has brought a major culture change to the team and is in large part responsible that they were able to win as many games as they did.

Even with the unfortunate end to the season, there is good reason to be optimistic for the future. An electrifying season like this one is not something often experienced by Mets fans. The biggest glimmer of hope is with Steve Cohen, who just ended his second season as team owner. He has shown he is more than willing to make changes to better the team and, more importantly, he has the funds to do so. Much emphasis has been placed on the trade deadline or rather the lack of beneficial moves the Mets made. The Mets failed to add another bat to kickstart the offense. The silver lining here is that the Mets are so close to being true contenders, only needing a few moves to set them straight. If Cohen can keep most of the major players and add maybe one or two more, then this will not be the last trip the Mets make to the playoffs. Hopefully,  the team remembers this feeling of loss and uses it as motivation in the future to never let it happen again.