2007 New York Mets Season - Regular Season

Regular Season

The season started similarly to 2006 for the Mets as they swept the season-opening series against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals and jumped into first place. Unlike 2006, the Braves stayed close throughout April and even held sole possession of first place at the end of the month. Also unlike 2006, the Mets were led by an unlikely hero, John Maine, who was undefeated and named the National League Pitcher of the Month for April. David Wright hit only .244 with no home runs and six RBI in April but carried over a hitting streak from 2006 that reached a franchise record 26 games.

New York followed their strong April with an even stronger May. Jorge Sosa replaced Pelfrey in the starting rotation and compiled a 4–1 record for the month. His 8–1 win on May 16 put the Mets alone in first place where they stayed uninterrupted until the last week of the season. Wright led the offense in May with eight home runs and 22 RBI. The Mets went 19–9 in May and finished the month with a 4½ game lead despite starting second baseman José Valentín out for the entire month with an injury and starting outfielders Moisés Alou and Shawn Green missing time as well.

As the calendar turned to June however, the Mets began slumping, losing six straight series against teams with winning records, the last four series part of a stretch of 18 straight games against 2006 playoff teams, facing the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Twins, Athletics, and Cardinals, becoming the first team in MLB history to play six consecutive series against six different teams that made the playoffs the previous season. This stretch started poorly for the Mets, as they lost 9 out of 12 to the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, and Twins. However, they turned it around and won 5 out of 6 against the Athletics and Cardinals to finish this stretch. The Mets entered the All-Star break with 48 wins and 39 losses, with a slim lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves. The Mets acquired Luis Castillo and Jeff Conine before the playoff roster deadline of September 1 to fill holes that were created due to injuries. On July 12, 2007, Julio Franco was released by the Mets.

Shortstop José Reyes was mentioned at mid-season as a possible MVP. Pedro Martínez notched his 3,000th strikeout. Tom Glavine got his 300th win. The team went into Wrigley Field in August and took two of three from the NL Central's first place Cubs, then beat up on the NL West's first place Diamondbacks a week later. Despite being swept by the second place Phillies in a four-game series in Philadelphia on August 27–30 (during which the Mets saw their six game lead evaporate to two), the Mets won nine out of their next ten games, and everything was seemingly going the Mets' way. On September 12, the Mets were 21 games over .500 with a record of 83–62. Over the last three weeks of the baseball season, they won only five games.

Pedro Martínez returned to the Mets starting rotation in time for the September playoff deadline. As of September 17, the Mets were in first place in the NL East with a 83–66 record and a two and a half game lead over the charging Phillies. They had lost four in a row, including a three game sweep by the Phillies. Moisés Alou, as of September 17 had a twenty-one game hitting streak.

Down the stretch, the Mets played poorly including losing five out of six games with the fourth-place Washington Nationals. They lost on September 28 to fall into second place for the first time in over four months but pulled back into a tie with Philadelphia on September 29. On September 30, the Mets faced the Florida Marlins with hopes of winning the NL East or at least forcing a one-game playoff. Unfortunately, Tom Glavine surrendered 7 runs in the first inning as the Mets fell 8–1. The Phillies capped their miraculous comeback with a 6–1 victory over the Washington Nationals to win the National League East. The 2007 Mets collapse is one of the worst in baseball history, mirroring "the Phold" of 1964, where the Phillies lost a 6.5 game lead in the last twelve games. The Mets, who had come back in 1969 against improbable odds to beat out the Cubs, now found themselves on the other side of the equation, coincidentally, against a team in the Phillies that in 1964 had pulled a similar collapse.

The 2007 Mets finished the season with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. They placed second in the National League East, and third in the Wild Card standings. Many would say that the main catalyst to the "collapse" was due to the pitching, or lack thereof. In a 10 game sequence from September 16 to the 25th, the Mets lost six games. In four of these six games, the Mets scored six, eight, seven, and nine runs. These losses were directly related to the weak pitching from the Mets' starters and even into the bullpen.