Imagine almost making the World Series and starting off a new season as one of the best teams in baseball, just to fall an inch short of the playoffs. This was the reality for the New York Mets during the 2025 baseball season.
They began the season in the spotlight: This would be their first season with Juan Soto following his record-breaking contract signing with the Mets in December of 2024. Following a promising spring training, the Mets started the regular season strong, quickly rising to the top of playoff contention in early April, but it would slowly slip from their grasp over the course of the summer, until they finally lost it on Sept. 21.
They would go on to lose the final National League (NL) Wild Card spot, forgoing any chance at a playoff appearance as the Cincinnati Reds usurped them. But where did they go wrong?
First off, there was a consistent dependency on the big four of the team: Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. In fact, as statistics would show at the end of the season, these four hitters had a batting average of .266, while the rest of the usual lineup had an average of .218. They would also lead the team in home runs and runs batted in (RBIs), as their average was 34.25 home runs and 102.25 RBIs, compared to the rest of the team’s average of 5.44 home runs and 21.06 RBIs. If you’re looking for a playoff spot, you need to be able to rely consistently on more than four players in your lineup.
The Mets also showed fault in the amount of times runners were left in scoring position. This began to be a major problem in June, with the Mets ranked as the fourth worst batting average with runners in scoring position at that time. Despite this issue presenting itself in the first half of the regular season, they continued to struggle with it throughout the second half, which concerned fans about the perceived lack of effort in fixing this problem.
There was also a major issue of pitching. The bullpen was severely lacking, with only a few solid pitchers on the whole roster. The supposed pitching stars Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga significantly underperformed when compared to beginning of the season expectations, and David Peterson fell off following the All-Star break in July. Without a consistently reliable bullpen, there is no hope to advance to the playoffs.
Finally, leaving fans infuriated: The Mets went 0-70 in games where they were losing by the eighth inning. This means that there were no ninth-inning comebacks in 2025, which is something that fans came to rely on following the 2024 season. When you give up trying to win games just because you’re losing in the last inning, it only makes sense that you give up your claim to a playoff spot as well.
Now that the Mets are decidedly not October ready, there is a new question in fans’ minds: Will they be ready for the 2026 season?
Alonso is now a free agent after opting out of the second year of his contract. As he leads the team in home runs and RBIs, the ability to retain him is going to be the biggest factor in how the Mets perform next year. His departure would not only leave a huge gap in the batting order, but it would also be a major stab in the heart for all Mets fans.
The Mets cannot rely on him remaining with the team, even if he elects to stay. The bullpen has to get stronger across the board, and the bottom of the batting order needs to step up and stop relying on the top four.
Owner Steven Cohen posted an apology, telling fans he is already looking into how to do better next year.
“Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology. You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part. We will do a post-mortem and figure out the obvious and less obvious reasons why the team didn’t perform up to your and my expectations. We are all feeling raw emotions today. I know how much time and effort you have put into this team. The result was unacceptable. Your emotions tell me how much you care and continues to motivate the organization to do better,” Cohen shared on X.
Cohen’s words are just words right now, but hopefully they will become reality. Part of being a Mets fan is constantly being let down and still remaining a dreamer. Maybe 2026 will finally be the year fans can meet the Mets at the World Series.
