| 1998 New York Mets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Shea Stadium | |||
| City | New York | |||
| Record | 88–74 (.543) | |||
| Divisional place | 2nd | |||
| Owners | Nelson Doubleday Jr.,Fred Wilpon | |||
| General manager | Steve Phillips | |||
| Manager | Bobby Valentine | |||
| Television | WWOR-TV/Fox Sports New York (Ralph Kiner,Tim McCarver,Fran Healy,Howie Rose,Gary Thorne) | |||
| Radio | WFAN (Bob Murphy,Gary Cohen,Ed Coleman) WADO (spanish) (Juan Alicea,Billy Berroa) | |||
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The1998New York Mets season was the 37th regular season for the Mets. Like the previous season, they finished the season with a record of 88–74. Despite placing second in theNational League East, the Mets fell one game short ofplayoff contention following a catastrophic collapse during the final week of the season. They were managed byBobby Valentine. They played home games atShea Stadium.
Despite the collapse, the season is most remembered for the trade acquisition of All-Star and future Hall of Fame catcherMike Piazza in May from theFlorida Marlins (Piazza had been just traded from theLos Angeles Dodgers to the Marlins a week earlier before his Mets trade). Upon the trade to New York, Piazza instantly became the team's best player and face of the franchise.
Despite their collapse toward the end of the season, the 1998 season was notable for the Mets due in large part to the acquisition of All-Star catcherMike Piazza. The Mets were in need of a catcher due to an injury suffered by their own star catcherTodd Hundley, and took advantage of both Piazza's disagreement over a new contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers and the ongoing salary dumping by the defending World Series championFlorida Marlins; unable to negotiate a deal, the Dodgers traded Piazza to the Marlins, who turned around several days later and dealt Piazza to the Mets for outfield prospectPreston Wilson, among others. Piazza contributed a .348 average with 23 home runs and 76 RBI during his time with the Mets and once again was voted to the National League All-Star team. Hundley, meanwhile, attempted to make a move to left field when he rejoined the team, but it did not work. His tenure with the Mets ended when he was traded to the Dodgers after the season.
John Olerud was again the hitting star for the Mets. He recorded a .354 average, the second best in all of baseball behindLarry Walker, and once again led the team with 93 RBI, to go with his 22 home runs. On the pitching side, another Marlins castoff made his presence felt asAl Leiter had his career best marks as a starter. Leiter won a career high seventeen games and added a 2.47 ERA.Rick Reed continued his career renaissance by adding sixteen wins of his own.
The Mets played an unforgettable opening day game atShea Stadium on March 31 against theirdivision rivalPhiladelphia Phillies. Both of them were involved in the longest scoreless opening day game in the National League and the longest one in MLB since 1926 when theWashington Senators beat thePhiladelphia Athletics 1–0 in 15 innings.[5][6][7] The Mets won the game 1–0 in 14 innings when backup catcherAlberto Castillo delivered a full-count, two-out, pinch-hit single to right with the bases loaded off Philadelphia closerRicky Bottalico.[6] This was the first regular season baseball game played in New York in March.[8]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | 106 | 56 | .654 | — | 56–25 | 50–31 |
| New York Mets | 88 | 74 | .543 | 18 | 47–34 | 41–40 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 75 | 87 | .463 | 31 | 40–41 | 35–46 |
| Montreal Expos | 65 | 97 | .401 | 41 | 39–42 | 26–55 |
| Florida Marlins | 54 | 108 | .333 | 52 | 31–50 | 23–58 |
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | — | 1–8 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 6–2 | 4–5 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 6–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 5–8 |
| Atlanta | 8–1 | — | 3–6 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | 6–3 | — | 6–5 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 4–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 8–3 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–4 | 2–7 | 5–6 | — | 4–5 | 9–0 | 3–8 | 5–4 | 6–5 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 5–7 | 1–11 | 2–7 | 8–3 | 7-6 |
| Colorado | 6–6 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 5–4 | — | 6–3 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 7–2 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 4–8 |
| Florida | 2–6 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 0–9 | 3–6 | — | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 4–5 | 8–8 |
| Houston | 5–4 | 5–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 6–3 | — | 3–6 | 9–2 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 9–2 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 10–4 |
| Los Angeles | 8–4 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 5–4 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 5–4 | 3–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 8–5 |
| Milwaukee | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 9–0 | 2–9 | 4–5 | — | 6–3 | 1–8 | 4–5 | 6–5 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 3–8 | 8–6 |
| Montreal | 7–2 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 1–8 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 6–10 |
| New York | 5–4 | 3–9 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 5–3 | 8–1 | 4–8 | — | 8–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Philadelphia | 7-2 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 8–1 | 1–8 | 2–6 | 3–6 | 7–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–6 | 2–7 | 3–8 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 1–8 | — | 5–4 | 2–7 | 6–5 | 6–7 |
| San Diego | 9–3 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 11–1 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 8–1 | 4–5 | — | 8–4 | 6–3 | 6–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 2–7 | 3–7 | 7–2 | 5–7 | 9–0 | 3–6 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 6–2 | 7–2 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| St. Louis | 7–2 | 3–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–3 | 5-4 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 8–3 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 5–6 | 3–6 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 |
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mets Win | Mets Loss | Game Postponed |
| Bold = Mets team member | ||
| 1998 Game Log Overall: 88–74 (Home: 47–34; Away: 41–40) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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March/April: (13–12) Home: 8–7; Away: 5–5
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May: (18–8) Home: 11–3; Away: 7–5
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June: (12–15) Home: 6–5; Away: 6–10
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July: (13–15) Home: 7–9; Away: 6–6
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August: (20–12) Home: 10–6; Away: 10–6
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September: (12–12) Home: 5–4; Away: 7–8
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| 1998 New York Mets | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mike Piazza | 109 | 394 | 137 | .348 | 23 | 76 |
| 1B | John Olerud | 160 | 557 | 197 | .354 | 22 | 93 |
| 2B | Carlos Baerga | 147 | 511 | 136 | .266 | 7 | 53 |
| SS | Rey Ordóñez | 153 | 505 | 124 | .246 | 1 | 42 |
| 3B | Edgardo Alfonso | 144 | 557 | 155 | .278 | 17 | 78 |
| LF | Bernard Gilkey | 82 | 264 | 60 | .227 | 4 | 28 |
| CF | Brian McRae | 159 | 552 | 146 | .264 | 21 | 79 |
| RF | Butch Huskey | 113 | 369 | 93 | .252 | 13 | 59 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis López | 117 | 266 | 67 | .252 | 2 | 22 |
| Tony Phillips | 52 | 188 | 42 | .223 | 3 | 14 |
| Lenny Harris | 75 | 168 | 39 | .232 | 6 | 17 |
| Matt Franco | 103 | 161 | 44 | .273 | 1 | 13 |
| Todd Hundley | 53 | 124 | 20 | .161 | 3 | 12 |
| Rich Becker | 49 | 100 | 19 | .190 | 3 | 10 |
| Alberto Castillo | 38 | 83 | 17 | .205 | 2 | 7 |
| Todd Pratt | 41 | 69 | 19 | .275 | 2 | 18 |
| Jermaine Allensworth | 34 | 54 | 11 | .204 | 2 | 4 |
| Tim Spehr | 21 | 51 | 7 | .137 | 0 | 3 |
| Jim Tatum | 35 | 50 | 9 | .180 | 2 | 13 |
| Jorge Fábregas | 20 | 32 | 6 | .188 | 1 | 5 |
| Wayne Kirby | 26 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Payton | 15 | 22 | 7 | .218 | 0 | 0 |
| Preston Wilson | 8 | 20 | 6 | .300 | 0 | 2 |
| Craig Paquette | 7 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Wilkins | 5 | 15 | 2 | .133 | 0 | 1 |
| Benny Agbayani | 11 | 15 | 2 | .133 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Haney | 3 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Shawn Gilbert | 3 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kinkade | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Milliard | 10 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Reed | 31 | 212.1 | 16 | 11 | 3.48 | 153 |
| Bobby Jones | 30 | 195.1 | 9 | 9 | 4.05 | 115 |
| Al Leiter | 28 | 193.0 | 17 | 6 | 2.47 | 174 |
| Masato Yoshii | 29 | 171.2 | 6 | 8 | 3.93 | 117 |
| Hideo Nomo | 17 | 89.2 | 4 | 5 | 4.82 | 94 |
| Armando Reynoso | 11 | 68.1 | 7 | 3 | 3.82 | 40 |
| Dave Mlicki | 10 | 57.0 | 1 | 4 | 5.68 | 39 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Bohanon | 25 | 54.1 | 2 | 4 | 3.15 | 39 |
| Willie Blair | 11 | 28.2 | 1 | 1 | 3.14 | 21 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Franco | 61 | 0 | 8 | 38 | 3.62 | 59 |
| Dennis Cook | 73 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2.38 | 79 |
| Turk Wendell | 66 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2.93 | 58 |
| Greg McMichael | 52 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4.02 | 44 |
| Mel Rojas | 50 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6.05 | 41 |
| John Hudek | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | 28 |
| Bill Pulsipher | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.91 | 13 |
| Jeff Tam | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.23 | 8 |
| Rigo Beltrán | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 5 |
| Brad Clontz | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Lucie, Capital City[14]