Schwei's Mets Notes, Stats And Facts: World Series Edition!
By John Schweibacher
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The National League champion New York Mets are in the World Series for the fifth time in club history as they face the American League champion Kansas City Royals in Game 1 Tuesday night.
The Mets-Royals matchup will be the first between two expansion teams in the Fall Classic. The Mets were the first expansion team to reach the World Series, winning it in 1969. Kansas City was the first American League expansion club to play in the World Series -- losing in six games to the Phillies in 1980 -- and the first AL expansion team to win one, defeating the Cardinals in seven games in 1985.
World Series Titles By Expansion Teams:
- New York Mets: 2 (1969 & 1986)
- Toronto Blue Jays: 2 (1992 & 1993)
- Florida Marlins: 2 (1997 & 2003)
- Kansas City Royals: 1 (1985)
- Arizona Diamondbacks: 1 (2001)
- Anaheim Angels: 1 (2002)
Only three teams have appeared in more World Series than the Mets since their first Fall Classic in 1969:
Most World Series Appearances Since 1969:
- New York Yankees : 11
- St. Louis Cardinals: 7
- Oakland A's: 6
- San Francisco Giants: 5
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 5
- Boston Red Sox: 5
- Cincinnati Reds : 5
- Atlanta Braves: 5
- Baltimore Orioles: 5
- Philadelphia Phillies: 5
- New York Mets: 5
David Wright will be playing in his first World Series. The Mets' captain has played 1,546 career regular-season games, the most by anyone in club history before appearing with the team in the Fall Classic:
Most Games With Mets Before First World Series With Amazin's
- David Wright: 1,546
- Daniel Murphy: 903
- Ed Kranepool: 887
- Edgardo Alfonzo: 827
- Mookie Wilson: 800
- Lee Mazzilli: 775
- Lucas Duda: 638
- Ron Swoboda: 622
- Cleon Jones: 588
- Wally Backman: 572
Ruben Tejada (580 games) would be 10th on this list if he was not injured. Here is the list of players who appeared in the most games with the Mets without playing in a World Series:
- Jose Reyes: 1,050
- Rey Ordonez: 916
- Carlos Beltran: 839
- Todd Hundley: 829
- John Stearns: 809
- Kevin McReynolds: 787
- Dave Magadan: 701
- Dave Kingman: 664
- George Foster: 655
- Hubie Brooks: 654
Wright has now appeared in 19 postseason games heading into the World Series. Eleven players have been in 20 career postseason games for the Mets:
- Edgardo Alfonzo: 24
- Robin Ventura: 24
- Mike Piazza: 22
- Benny Agbayani: 22
- Cleon Jones: 20
- Jerry Grote: 20
- Bud Harrelson: 20
- Keith Hernandez: 20
- Lenny Dykstra: 20
- Gary Carter: 20
- Darryl Strawberry: 20
The Mets defeated the Cubs, 8-3, last Wednesday night to complete a four-game sweep of the NLCS, a series in which they never trailed. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only five other teams in MLB history have swept a best-of-seven postseason series without trailing in any game. Four of those sweeps occurred in the World Series (1963 Dodgers, 1966 Orioles, 1989 Athletics and 2004 Red Sox). The other was in the 2012 ALCS (Tigers over Yankees).
Bartolo Colon got the win in relief in Game 4 over the Cubs. Colon became the oldest Mets pitcher to win a postseason game:
- Bartolo Colon: 42 years, 4 months -- Game 4 2015 NLCS
- Tom Glavine: 40 years, 6 months -- Game 1 2006 NLCS
- John Franco: 40 years, 1 month -- Game 3 2000 WS
- Rick Reed: 35 years, 1 month -- Game 3 1999 NLDS
- Turk Wendell: 33 years, 4 months -- Game 2 2000 NLCS
- Guillermo Mota: 33 years, 2 months -- Game 1 2006 NLDS
Prior to his NLCS-clinching win, Colon's last playoff victory came on October 9, 2001 as a member of the Indians. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 14-year, 12-day span between postseason wins is the longest for any pitcher in major league history. The previous mark was held by Milt Wilcox, who won playoff games exactly 14 years apart on October 5, 1970 (with the Reds vs. the Pirates) and October 5, 1984 (with the Tigers vs. the Royals).
Happy Recap: Hat Trick -- Jacob deGrom is the first Mets starting pitcher -- and the second overall -- to record three wins in a single postseason. He joins Jesse Orosco, who won three games in relief in 1986.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Swings and Misses -- The Cubs, who the Mets defeated in the NLCS, struck out 1,518 times, the most in the majors. The Royals, their World Series opponent, fanned 973 times, the least in MLB in 2015.
