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On August 5, 1973, the New York Mets were 12 games under .500 with a record of 48-60, 11 ½ games out of first place.
Although they would begin to level off, they would sink to 13 games under .500 with a record of 53-66 on August 17, but would be only 7 ½ games back. So, record-wise, August 17 would be their low watermark of the season.
Then, in coordination with the return of front-liners Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, and Jerry Grote, the Mets went on a tear going 29-13 the rest of the way, a .690 winning percentage.
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.
It was 50 years ago that would, in some ways, turn out to be a more amazing season than the season labeled “The Miracle Mets.” The difference is that the New York Mets were not expected to win, or do anything good, for that matter, in 1969. Because they never had before. But they WERE expected to win in 1973.
In the seasons after 1969, 1970 and 1971, the Mets were truly competitive, with consecutive 83-win, third-place finishes.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
