TheJackson Mets were a professionalbaseball team based inJackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990.^[1] Until surpassed by theMississippi Braves in 2021, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jacksonmetropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, they competed in theTexas League as theClass AA affiliate of theNew York Mets, until the club moved toWilliamsport, Pennsylvania for the 1991 season and then toBinghamton, New York, for the 1992 season.

The Jackson Mets came into existence in 1974 when the New York Mets moved their AA club, theVictoria Toros, after only one year inVictoria, Texas.^[2] Civic leaders in Jackson had mounted a campaign to build a new stadium for a minor-league club. At the time, Jackson had not fielded a club since theJackson Senators last played in the Class CCotton States League in 1953. Previous minor-league teams based in Jackson had played downtown at a field on theMississippi State Fairgrounds, but the new park, which would be namedSmith-Wills Stadium, was constructed on Lakeland Drive just east ofInterstate 55 in the more suburban area of northeast Jackson. When the team opened play in 1975, the park still had no lights, an unpaved parking lot, no roof on its press box, and was temporarily locating its club offices in a trailer. In their first few years in Jackson, the Mets drew an average of 1,600 fans a game. Ed Kneip was the Jackson Mets original general manager, helping to lead the charge to bring the team to Jackson.

1976 and 1977 were the only two years the Jackson Mets recorded losing records for the entire season until 1988.

During the 1980s, the Jackson Mets emerged as one of the preeminent clubs in the Texas League. The team made the playoffs nine times between 1978 and 1987, including eight consecutive trips, and appeared in seven Texas League Championship Series, including five in row from 1983-87. They won three Texas League titles, in 1981, 1984, and 1985. Fans in Jackson responded to the team's success: more than 112,000 people flocked to Smith-Wills Stadium in 1981, the year that future big-league managerDavey Johnson piloted the Jackson Mets to their first Eastern Division title. Continued winning seasons by the Mets kept attendance above the 100,000 mark for the next six years.

Several futureMajor-League players spent part of their minor-league careers as Jackson Mets. The 1984 championship squad includedBilly Beane, who hit 20home runs, andLenny Dykstra, who stole 53 bases. The Mets pitching staff was anchored byCalvin Schiraldi, who went 14-3, and also featuredRick Aguilera,Roger McDowell,Jay Tibbs, andFloyd Youmans. The 1985 team that repeated as champs was led byDave Magadan,Randy Milligan,Mark Carreon, andBarry Lyons, all of whom hit over .300. In addition, at various points the Mets fielded future major-leaguersLee Mazzilli,Mike Scott,Jeff Reardon,Hubie Brooks,Jody Davis,Darryl Strawberry,Kevin Mitchell,Terry Blocker,John Gibbons andKevin Elster.

At the close of the 1990 season, the Mets organization announced their desire to move the Jackson Mets closer to the parent club. And so, the team's affiliation was moved to Binghamton, New York, where it became theBinghamton Mets in theEastern League. For the 1991 season, theHouston Astros relocated their AA affiliate to Jackson. This team would be named theJackson Generals (now located inCorpus Christi, Texas; not the same as the now defunctSouthern Leagueteam inTennessee) in a contest, the winning moniker representing GeneralAndrew Jackson, the military army officer who later becamePresident of the United States and for whom the city of Jackson is named.

• Defunct baseball teams in Mississippi
• Defunct Texas League teams
• New York Mets minor league affiliates
• 1975 establishments in Mississippi
• Baseball teams established in 1975
• Sports clubs and teams in Jackson, Mississippi
• Baseball teams disestablished in 1990
• 1990 disestablishments in Mississippi

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