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Mets persevere through injury-plagued 2016
- Updated: October 10, 2016
NEW YORK — The Mets were not posturing when, in the aftermath of their National League Wild Card Game defeat, they said they considered this a successful season. A win-or-go-home loss to the Giants may not have been what the Mets had in mind when they set about their NL pennant defense in April. But considering everything that befell them this summer, it was a testament to all they achieved.
Playing long stretches of the summer without three-quarters of their starting infield and three-fifths of their rotation, the Mets recovered from enough injuries to host the Wild Card Game at Citi Field. That they ran into Madison Bumgarner’s buzzsaw there obscured the fact that, in many ways, the Mets were fortunate simply to have reached the point they did.
Injuries may have been the theme of the Mets’ 2016 season, but the team’s ability to overcome them was the takeaway, giving them optimism heading into winter.
With that in mind, here is a look back at the summer in Flushing:
Record: 87-75, second place, National League East.
Defining moment: On the morning of Aug. 20, the Mets were 60-62. They sat in fifth place in the NL Wild Card standings, 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, with their manager on the hot seat and more than a half-dozen of their best players injured. But Yoenis Cespedes hit two home runs that afternoon in San Francisco and another the following night, leading the Mets to the first of three consecutive victories. They wound up constructing the Majors’ best record from that day forward, passing all four teams they trailed en route to hosting the Wild Card Game at Citi Field.
What went right: The Mets shot out to a hot start in April, thanks in large part to second baseman Neil Walker’s nine home runs that month. Then, when injuries and production issues struck, they were proactive in acquiring replacements: James Loney at first base, Jose Reyes at third and, eventually, Jay Bruce in the outfield. All three of those …
