New York Mets fans are clamoring for the signing of Juan Soto, the biggest bat available on the free agent market. And the fans have gotten their way before and it hasn’t always worked out so well. To wit, three of the biggest free agent hauls made by the Mets turned out to be the biggest targets of their scorn.

Let’s take a look at the three biggest mistakes the Mets made going after the biggest target on the free agent market.

Down the stretch of the 2024 season, New York Mets fans not only watched the scoreboard for the division and wild card races, hoping teams would lose, but there were also those who were doing the scoreboard watching hoping a team would win…the Chicago White Sox.

The 1962 inaugural season of the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club would be an effort in futility, a passion of love, and a symbol of baseball romance. That season of the “lovable losers” has been referenced often, and is viewed upon with reverence. How many times can you say that - that a losing team is revered?

New York Mets fans don’t have a lot to hang their hats on throughout their history, aside from Tom Seaver, 1969, and 1986, so why would they want to be stripped of a legacy where they didn’t even have to win to be cheered?

The 2024 White Sox made the 1962 Mets relevant again. And those 1962 Mets lost again…62 years later…as the White Sox set the record for most games lost with 121.

But was it truly the worst season in Major League Baseball history? Let’s take a look.

Overachieving. The New York Mets were not expected to be contenders. But they somehow came back from the dead and surged to a berth in the National League Championship Series against the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Nobody could have predicted that after starting off at 0-5 and stumbling and bumbling to 11 games under .500 early on, that the Mets would actually finish 16 games OVER .500 with 89 wins.

So where do they go from here?

So now that the MLB trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, New York Mets fans no longer have to worry about whether Pete Alonso will remain a Met…at least for now. And, for that matter, was it really the right decision.

I absolutely love Pete Alonso. I know he was a Florida Gator and as a University of Miami Hurricane, I should despise him. But there is something so endearing about Alonso…his hustle…his passion for the game…his passion for the New York Mets. Sorry Mike Rosenthal…and the rest of you Gator Haters…I like him.

I have been a New York Mets season ticket holder for a few seasons now. And initially, after having given up my grandparents’ season tickets for Shea Stadium Sunday games all those years ago, it was fun to get back to actually being there at the games.

But it has gotten to the point where I am just not into it the way I used to be. And I am seriously considering not continuing my season ticket holder status because 1) the price; 2) the experience; and 3) the product.

Opening Day usually brings optimism. It’s a new and fresh start. Every team is in the same position...no wins and no losses. But the New York Mets have a fan base that has needs, wants, and desires. And a relentless need for criticism.

The comments on the threads of social media are filled with complaints and derogatory remarks about the Mets management and ownership. The new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, has been more maligned in his few months on the job with the Mets than he was in the eight years he spent at the helm of the Milwaukee Brewers. Hey…welcome to New York City David! Steve Cohen was already aware of what he was getting into…I mean…he was already in it and watched while the Wilpons were being hung in effigy.

My complaints as a New York Mets fan are pretty much in line with my fellow sufferers. But if I compartmentalize them, well, I can pretty much break it down to different areas of disappointment and even some overt nitpicking.

Part of my suffering is the in-person experience…going to the games at Citifield. And what ARE my complaints relative to my attendance in Flushing Meadows? Well here are my three biggest complaints as a season ticket holder.

Thankfully it’s over. And if I were Buck Showalter, I would want it to be over. Nobody REALLY wants to leave a managing job, or head coaching job. I know I didn’t…even when I thought it was no longer a workable situation for me. You always have that competitive spirit believing you can turn things around, that this is YOUR baby and you don’t want to let go. But sometimes it is best to move on.

A year ago the New York Mets and the New York Yankees were both in first place. Today, as we are about to enter the month of September and the stretch run…they are both in last. Should fans really have expected anything different?

Did Steve Cohen REALLY sell the Mets fans a false bill of goods as many fans are saying? Of course not.

The fact is that Steve Cohen has the money to give it the best shot even knowing that the odds are less than likely to come out a winner. He is a good businessman but he is also a Mets fan first.

What is happening with the 2023 New York Mets? This is just a BAD team.

The difference between 1973 and 2023?

The 1973 team actually WAS a good team. The team was hit with injuries to key players who would be out for significant time including Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, and Jerry Grote.

And the team floundered. The low point of the season was actually on August 14 following a loss that put them 13 games under the .500 mark at 52-65 and they were 8 ½ games behind.