New York Mets: Top 6 Teams in Franchise History

In the history of the New York Mets franchise, they have had four teams make the World Series and two teams win it all.

The 1969 "Miracle" Mets are one of the biggest Cinderella stories in MLB history. Mets fans are hoping that something like that will happen again this season.

Those Mets won the World Series in just their eighth season in the major leagues. The 1986 Mets are the only other World Series winner in the franchise.

The Mets have been inconsistent at times but have had some good teams over the years.

Let's take a look at the top six teams the Mets have ever had.

No. 6: 1973 New York Mets

I'm going to start this list off with a team that might be semi-controversial.

The 1973 Mets made the World Series despite winning just 82 games during the regular season.

However, those 82 wins were good for first place in the division, so I felt like that, combined with the World Series appearance, was enough to have them make this list.

As this year's World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals proved, it's not necessarily about being the best team for the whole year but about playing the best baseball at the right time. The 1973 New York Mets did just that.

The 1973 Mets starting lineup and rotation looked like this...

C: Jerry Grote

1B: John Milner

2B: Felix Millan

3B: Wayne Garrett

SS: Bud Harrelson

LF: Cleon Jones

CF: Don Hahn

RF: Rusty Staub

SP: Tom Seaver

SP: Jerry Koosman

SP: Jon Matlock

SP: George Stone

The 1973 Mets shocked the baseball world by beating the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Championship Series but fell just short of the title, losing to the Oakland A's in Game 7 of the World Series.

No. 5: 2006 New York Mets

It's still hard for me to think about the 2006 Mets, the team that seemed like it was destined to win it all in the 20th anniversary year of the Mets' last World Series win.

The 2006 Mets cruised through the regular season, winning 97 games and having the division title locked up by mid-September. 

The strength of the 2006 Mets was definitely the lineup, as their rotation was good but not great.

Their lineup was stacked top to bottom and had both run creators and run producers.

They had three guys drive in 114-plus runs in Wright, Beltran and Delgado. Jose Reyes scored 122 runs and Beltran crossed the plate 127 times. The 2006 Mets might have had the best lineup in baseball that year.

The 2006 starting lineup and rotation was as follows...

C: Paul Lo Duca

1B: Carlos Delgado

2B: Jose Valentin

3B: David Wright

SS: Jose Reyes

LF: Cliff Floyd

CF: Carlos Beltran

RF: Xavier Nady

SP: Tom Glavine

SP: Pedro Martinez

SP: Steve Trachsel

SP: Orlando Hernandez

SP: John Maine

The 2006 Mets hit the postseason running, as they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers right out of the playoffs, but then lost a heartbreaking game seven in the NLCS to the eventual World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

No. 4: 1988 New York Mets

Just like the 2006 Mets, the 1988 Mets seemed like a team that was destined to win it all.

However, unlike the 2006 Mets, the 1988 Mets were so good because they had a pitching staff that dominated the league.

None of the Mets' starting five pitchers had an ERA over 3.25.

The lineup produced at a good enough level to combine with that pitching staff to win 100 games in 1988.

It truly looked as though only two years removed from an amazing 1986 World Series win, the 1988 Mets were going to be the continuance of a dynasty. Unfortunately, that never happened, as they were never able to sustain that kind of success.

The 1988 starting lineup and rotation was...

C: Gary Carter

1B: Keith Hernandez

2B: Wally Backman

3B: Howard Johnson

SS: Kevin Elster

LF: Kevin McReynolds

CF: Lenny Dykstra

RF: Darryl Strawberry

SP: Dwight Gooden

SP: Ron Darling

SP: David Cone

SP: Bob Ojeda

SP: Sid Fernandez

The 1988 Mets went 100-62 and won the division. They lost a heartbreaking Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS

No. 3: 2000 New York Mets

The 2000 Mets were heartbreaking, not necessarily because of the quality of the team they had, but because of who they lost to in the 2000 World Series.

Neither the lineup nor the rotation of the 2000 Mets was particularly great, but they were both good.

The 2000 lineup was lead by Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo, who both hit .324 that year. Piazza also chipped in with 38 home runs and 113 RBI.

The rotation was headed by Mike Hampton and Al Leiter, who both posted ERAs in the low threes and had 15-plus wins.

2000 was the last year the Mets made the World Series.

It came only a year after falling in the NLCS in six games after a 97-win season. It once again looked like the Mets had a team that was going to consistently win and make the playoffs—but again, it never happened.

The starting lineup and rotation was...

C: Mike Piazza

1B: Todd Zeile

2B: Edgardo Alfonzo

3B: Robin Ventura

SS: Mike Bordick

LF: Benny Agbayani

CF: Jay Payton

RF: Derek Bell

The 2000 Mets went 94-68. They beat the San Francisco Giants in four games in the NLDS, then the St. Louis Cardinals in five games in the NLCS before finally losing in five games to the cross-town rival New York Yankees in the World Series.

No. 2: 1969 New York "Miracle" Mets

The "Miracle" Mets are a story that baseball is not soon to forget.

Only a year after winning just 73 games and coming in ninth out of 10 teams in the National League, the Mets won 100 games and made the World Series.

The team was spearheaded by a terrific pitching staff, arguably the best in Mets franchise history.

"Terrific" Tom Seaver went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA and Jerry Koosman wasn't far behind, going 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA. Gary Gentry also chipped in with 13 wins.

The Mets lineup was lead by Cleon Jones, who batted .340 that year. Tommie Agee also hit 26 home runs.

The thing that most people will probably remember about the 1969 Mets and World Series is right fielder Ron Swoboda's diving catch in the World Series that is often regarded as one of the best of all-time.

The 1969 starting lineup and rotation was...

C: Jerry Grote

1B: Ed Kranepool

2B: Ken Boswell

3B: Wayne Garrett

SS: Bud Harrelson

LF: Cleon Jones

CF: Tommie Agee

RF: Ron Swoboda

SP: Tom Seaver

SP: Jerry Koosman

SP: Gary Gentry

SP: Don Cardwell

The 1969 Mets went 100-62 and did just as well in the postseason. They swept the Atlanta Braves three games to none in the NLCS and only needed five games against the Baltimore Orioles to claim their first World Series title in franchise history.

No. 1: 1986 New York Mets

Without a doubt in my mind, the best Mets team to ever play the game was the 1986 Mets.

This was the team that seemed destined to win it all, and actually did.

The 1986 Mets had a pretty easy time of the regular season, winning a ridiculous 108 games and easily winning the division.

Once again, the 1986 Mets were led by an amazing pitching staff that was probably the best in the majors.

All four of the Mets' top starters had at least 15 wins, although strangely enough, none of them amassed 20 or more.

The top three 1986 Mets pitchers all had sub-three ERAs and the No. 4, Sid Fernandez, posted a very respectable 3.52.

The power of the Mets lineup was lead by Gary Carter and Darryl Strawberry, who hit 24 and 27 home runs, respectively. The average department was lead by Keith Hernandez and Wally Backman, who hit .310 and .320, respectively. 

The 1986 Mets had a very well-rounded team that excelled in many areas. It was clear from early on in the season that they were the favorites to win the World Series that year.

The starting lineup and rotation were...

C: Gary Carter

1B: Keith Hernandez

2B: Wally Backman

3B: Ray Knight

SS: Rafael Santana

LF: George Foster

CF: Lenny Dykstra

RF: Darryl Strawberry

SP: Dwight Gooden

SP: Ron Darling

SP: Bob Ojeda

SP: Sid Fernandez

The 1986 New York Mets went 108-54, easily the best record in franchise history. They beat the Houston Astros in the NLCS in six games, and that series is widely regarded as one of the best NLCS's in MLB history.

They went on to win the World Series over the Boston Red Sox in seven games, extending the "curse of the bambino". Of course, the most famous moment from that World Series, which is arguably the most famous moment in MLB history, was when Mookie Wilson's slow roller in game six went through Billy Buckner's legs and the Mets went on to win.

Hopefully the 2012 Mets can rekindle some of this magic and make a run that we won't forget.