The Most With The Least: Chris Jones (1995-96)

Pinch-hitting is a thankless job.  It's also one of the most difficult things to do in baseball with any kind of consistency.  Take, for example, former Met Lenny Harris.  No one had more pinch hits in the history of the game than Harris, who finished his 18-year career with 212 safeties as a pinch-hitter.  From 1995 - the first season in which Harris had 50 at-bats as a pinch-hitter - through 2005, Harris batted .300 or higher in a pinch-hitting role in five of those 11 seasons.  However, he batted .220 or lower in four of the other six campaigns.

Another former Met who struggled mightily and succeeded wildly as a pinch-hitter was Ed Kranepool.  From 1966 to 1970, Eddie was not steady in the role, collecting just ten hits in 71 at-bats for a putrid .141 batting average.  But as easy as it was to retire Kranepool as a pinch-hitter when he was in his 20s, it became nearly impossible to keep him off base when he came up as a pinch-hitter in his 30s.  From 1974 to 1978, Kranepool batted .396 (57-for-144) in a pinch, racking up 11 doubles, one triple and five homers as a substitute hitter.

Kranepool and Harris are just two examples of how frustrating it can be for a hitter to come off the bench at a moment's notice.  But Kranepool and Harris weren't always on the bench.  In fact, Kranepool averaged nearly 500 plate appearances per year from 1964 to 1969, making the National League All-Star team as a 22-year-old first baseman in 1965, while Harris was a super utility player in the 1990s, playing every position on the field except catcher.

Meanwhile, one former Met was practically stuck to the bench during his two years in New York, starting just 62 games in his pair of seasons with the team.  When his name was in the starting lineup, he performed rather poorly.  But coming off the bench, he was a completely different player.  In fact, unlike most other pinch-hitters, this player was incredibly consistent as a sub during his time in New York, to the point where he eventually found himself walking off into the team's pinch-hitting record books.

Look!  Up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's another Chris Jones walk-off homer!  (Jim Commentucci/Post-Standard)

In 1970, the Beatles took "The Long and Winding Road" all the way No. 1.  For the Fab Four from Liverpool, it was their final time at the top of the charts.  Fourteen years later, Christopher Carlos Jones began his long and winding trek from Liverpool (New York, not the U.K.) to the top of the professional baseball world, although his rise to the majors took a little longer than he would have liked.

Jones was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1984 and didn't make his major league debut until 1991.  From 1991 to 1994, Jones was an outfielder for the Reds, Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies, but averaged just 100 at-bats per season for the three teams.  It wasn't until he became a member of the Mets that Jones finally played a full season in the majors, even if he never realized his dream of becoming an everyday player.

During the strike-shortened 1995 campaign, Jones started 40 games for the Mets.  He was mostly unproductive as a starting player, batting .247 with a .288 on-base percentage and .373 slugging percentage in 161 plate appearances.  But it was as a pinch-hitter that Jones found otherworldly success.

In just his fourth pinch-hitting appearance for the Mets, Jones took Giants starter Mark Portugal deep, giving New York its only run in a 5-1 loss to San Francisco.  Three days later, Jones came into the game as a pinch-hitter against future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres, who was trying to protect a one-run lead in the tenth inning.  Hoffman had allowed back-to-back singles to Jeff Kent and Joe Orsulak before Jones stepped up to the plate.  Trying to get Jones to ground into a game-ending double play, Hoffman worked the count to two balls and two strikes before Jones unloaded on Hoffman's fifth offering, launching the ball deep down the left field line for a game-ending three-run homer.  Jones's blast was the first walk-off home run ever surrendered by Hoffman and the first game-ending four-bagger by a Met in two seasons (Bobby Bonilla was the last to turn the trick in 1993).

Two months after his teammates celebrated with him at home, Jones invited his fellow Mets to another post-game party at the plate.  On July 29, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mets manager Dallas Green removed first baseman Rico Brogna - who was one of the team's best hitters - for pinch-hitter Jones in the bottom of the tenth inning.  Bucs skipper Jim Leyland had brought in southpaw reliever Ross Powell to face the lefty-swinging Brogna, which forced Green to bring in the right-handed hitting Jones.  The move paid off immediately, as Jones delivered a home run to deep left-center off Powell, giving the Mets an instant 2-1 victory over the Pirates.

Chris Jones in 1995.

Less than four weeks later, Jones was kept in the park in a pinch-hitting role, but the end result didn't change.  Once again, a game-ending hit by Jones pinned a loss on Trevor Hoffman, as the Padres closer allowed three hits, a walk and a wild pitch before being removed for reliever Doug Bochtler.  Bochtler struck out the first batter he faced before surrendering the game-ending single to Jones.  For Jones, the walk-off hit was all the more satisfying because it came just one day after he was denied a game-tying, ninth-inning homer because of a blown call by an umpire.  In that game against the Giants on August 23, Jones hit an opposite-field fly ball off San Francisco starter Terry Mulholland that grazed off the right field foul pole with two outs in the ninth.  However, first base umpire Gary Darling didn't see it that way, calling the ball foul and bringing Jones back to the plate, where he struck out to end the game on the very next pitch.

For the year, Jones posted an incredible .400/.469/.840 slash line in 32 pinch-hitting appearances, a far cry from the .247/.288/.373 figure he put up when his name was in the starting lineup.  In addition, Jones became just the third Met to produce three walk-off hits in the same season, joining Jerry Buchek (1967) and George Foster (1983).

The 1995 Mets didn't have a single outfielder who started more than 88 games at any one outfield position.  Manager Green was constantly tinkering with his starting lineups, especially when it came to the outfield.  He penciled in Brett Butler as the team's starting center fielder 88 times before Butler was traded to the Dodgers in mid-August.  Other than Butler, no player started more than half of the season's 144 games at one outfield position.  Six players started ten or more games in left field, while four players made at least 18 starts in right.  Included in that mix was Chris Jones, who made 17 starts in left and 18 starts as the team's right fielder.  But the team wanted more stability in the outfield for the 1996 campaign, and did so by signing free agent Lance Johnson to play center field and trading for left fielder Bernard Gilkey.  Both players made over 150 starts at their respective positions for the Mets in 1996, leaving Butch Huskey, Alex Ochoa and Carl Everett as a three-headed monster that combined to start 139 games in right field.  As a result, Jones's playing time was significantly reduced in 1996, as Green allowed him to start just 22 of the team's 162 games.  But the Mets' crowded outfield situation allowed Jones to continue to serve as the team's top pinch-hitter, and he did just that in his second year in New York, wasting no time to continue thrilling fans with his late-inning heroics.

On Opening Day, the Mets spotted St. Louis an early six-run cushion, but then chipped away at the Cardinals' lead.  By the time the seventh inning rolled around, the lead had been cut in half.  At the end of the seventh frame, the comeback was complete.  New York scored four runs in the inning to take a 7-6 lead, with the first run of the inning scoring on a single by Jones, who was pinch-hitting for pitcher Jerry DiPoto.  Three weeks later, Jones entered a game against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning as part of a double switch.  The game eventually went into extra innings and ended when Jones took reliever Jeff Shaw - who ended his career with 203 saves and two All-Star selections - out of the yard for his third walk-off homer in less than 12 months, causing his manager to rave about Jones's uncanny ability to contribute in clutch situations.

"Chris Jones is one of my favorite guys, he works very hard to stay ready," said Green.  "I haven't been able to use him as much [as a starter], but whenever I call on him he makes a contribution.  He really hit that one."

Jones continued to serve as the team's top player off the bench, with occasional starts here and there in the congested outfield, but was mostly used in double switches and as a pinch-hitter.  In late July, he came into a game against the Pirates after Carl Everett injured his right leg in the fourth inning.  On the mound for Pittsburgh was left-hander Denny Neagle, who struck out a career-high 12 batters in the game.  But Neagle surrendered a game-tying home run to Bernard Gilkey in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.  The Pirates scored a run in the top of the tenth to regain the lead and brought in three-time All-Star closer Dan Plesac to try to finish off the Mets in the bottom of the frame.  An error by shortstop Jay Bell allowed Alvaro Espinoza to reach base to lead off the inning.  Two batters later, Jones introduced Plesac to the deepest part of Shea Stadium.

YouTube video courtesy of CourtsideTweets

Jones's fourth walk-off home run (and fifth game-ending hit) in two seasons sparked the Mets to their season-high fifth consecutive victory and prompted his manager to once again lament that he couldn't get Jones into more games.

"He wants to play desperately but I can't put him in the outfield with the guys I've got," said Green, who was perhaps better served to keep Jones as a late-inning contributor rather than as a player who accumulated most of his at-bats as a starter.

All told, Jones played in 168 games during his two-year stint with the Mets, starting 62 of the 168 contests.  He compiled just 331 at-bats between the two seasons, but still managed to produce 12 home runs and 49 RBI.  However, one-third of his dozen homers were of the walk-off variety, which puts him in exclusive company.  Through the 2015 season, only four players in franchise history have hit as many as four game-ending home runs for the Mets.  Three of them are Cleon Jones, Kevin McReynolds and Mike Piazza - players who combined to hit 435 homers during their time in New York.  All three players currently rank in the team's all-time top twenty in lifetime home runs.  The unlikely member of the walk-off dinger quartet is Chris Jones, whose 12 career homers as a Met tie him for 125th place on the team's home run list with players such as David Segui, Brian Schneider, Jordany Valdespin and fellow walk-off homer hero Tim Harkness.

Incredibly, Jones delivered a go-ahead RBI ten times in his limited appearances for the Mets - a phenomenal accomplishment for a player who did not have 50 RBI in his career with the team.  In addition, eight of his 12 home runs either tied the game or gave the Mets the lead, including a go-ahead blast against future Hall of Famer John Smoltz in 1996 during his Cy Young Award-winning campaign.

Whereas some of the all-time great pinch-hitters like Lenny Harris and Ed Kranepool had outstanding years as super subs to go along with some stinkers, Chris Jones always had success in the role during his two seasons with the Mets.  A year after batting .400 as a pinch-hitter in 1995, Jones put together another solid season, batting .318 in 25 appearances.  For the two years, Jones put up a .362/.439/.617 slash line as pinch-hitter, which dwarfed his numbers as a starting player over the same time period (.243/.290/.370).  In addition, Jones produced half of his dozen home runs with the Mets in games he didn't start.  He also had 21 of his 49 RBI when he came into the game as a late-inning defensive replacement, as a part of a double switch, or as a pinch-hitter.  Jones did this despite having far more at-bats as a starting player (235) than he did as a substitute (96).

The Mets did not have much to celebrate in 1995 and 1996, as those seasons came during a dark six-year period in which the team employed five managers and failed to finish above .500 in any of the six seasons.  But Chris Jones's late-inning contributions made it worthwhile for Mets fans to maintain interest in games until the very last out was recorded.  No lead was safe as long as Jones was still on the bench, waiting for his name to be called.  He was very quietly one of the best late-inning clutch performers in team history despite having a relatively short career with the Mets.

Chris Jones waited seven years to make his major league debut after he was originally drafted in 1984.  He waited another four years before he made a name for himself as a member of the New York Mets.  And very few Mets players, past or present, have been able to duplicate what Jones was able to accomplish in the toughest of situations.  Jones is a true example of what it means to make the most of the few opportunities he was afforded.

"I don't leave anything on the table.  You're in the majors a short period of time and you have to give 100 percent."

--Chris Jones (after yet another walk-off homer)





Note:  The Most With The Least is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who performed at a high level without receiving the accolades or playing time their more established teammates got, due to injuries, executive decisions or other factors.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 4, 2016: Benny Agbayani
January 11, 2016: Donn Clendenon
January 18, 2016: Tim Teufel
January 25, 2016: Hisanori Takahashi

The Best On The Worst: Rico Brogna

There have been numerous occasions in which a Mets player burst onto the major league scene, captivating fans with a jolt of rookie energy.  But for every Tom Seaver, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, who parlayed quick fame into long and successful careers, there exists the other side of the neophyte spectrum.  This side is home to players like Mike Vail, whose 23-game hitting streak in 1975 set a franchise record for rookies, but was the lone bright spot for a player who collected just 153 total hits as a Met.  Another such player is Benny Agbayani, who launched ten home runs in his first 73 at-bats in 1999, but only hit 25 more homers in a four-year career with the Mets.

Another former Met had a fantastic late-season performance for the team nearly two decades after Vail captured the hearts of the Flushing faithful.  But unlike Vail, this Met continued to play exceptionally well after his torrid start, becoming a fan favorite who appeared to have a bright future on a rebuilding Mets team.  But injuries slowed the progress of this sweet-swinging first baseman, and less than two years after making his debut with the team, he had played in his final game as a Met before he got a chance to play for a winning team.  Such was the unfortunate Mets career of Rico Brogna.

Photo by Otto Greule/Allsport

Rico Joseph Brogna grew up in Watertown, Connecticut, just a three-hour drive from Shea Stadium.  Brogna's talent on the diamond turned to gold in 1988 when he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the June amateur draft.  But Brogna was a first baseman, and although he was named by Baseball America as one of baseball's top 100 minor league prospects in 1990, 1991 and 1992, the Tigers already had the über-powerful Cecil Fielder firmly entrenched at the position.  That made Brogna expendable.  On March 31, 1994, Brogna was traded to the Mets for fellow former first round draft pick Alan Zinter.  It didn't take long for Brogna to get his first extended stay in the majors.

In six years with the Tigers organization, Brogna collected only 26 at-bats at the major league level.  But after an impressive start at AAA-Norfolk in which Brogna was averaging an extra-base hit every eight at-bats, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Mets to keep him in the minors.  Brogna finally got his first chance at regular action in the majors when first baseman David Segui was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury in late June 1994.  The Connecticut kid made sure to take full advantage of the opportunity.

After going for 0-for-5 in his first three games with the Mets, Brogna responded with three consecutive multi-hit games.  He also hit five home runs in a two-week stretch from June 28 to July 10, which was the final game before the All-Star Break.  The Midsummer Classic did nothing to slow the red-hot Brogna, as he went on the type of tear that hadn't been seen by Mets fans in several years.  From July 15 to August 2, Brogna batted .473 with nine extra-base hits in 17 games.  The Mets, who had just come off their first 100-loss season in over a quarter century in 1993, won 11 of those 17 affairs.

Brogna had two particularly memorable games during his summer sizzle.  On July 25, Brogna became the 11th Met to go 5-for-5 in a single game.  His three singles and two doubles helped the Mets defeat the Cardinals, 7-1.  The next night, Brogna was held to just two hits, but one of them was a two-run homer that broke an 11th-inning tie.  Brogna drove in a career-high four runs in the Mets' thrilling, 10-9 victory over St. Louis.

It wasn't just Cardinals pitchers who had a tough time with Brogna in 1994; it was the entire league.  In fact, the only thing that stopped Brogna in '94 was the players' strike that ended the season prematurely on August 11.  But what an incredible seven-week run it was for Brogna.  In 39 games, Brogna hit .351 with 11 doubles, two triples, seven homers and 20 RBI.  He also played stellar defense, making Mets fans quickly forget about David Segui.  Although the strike ended the team's run at the .500 mark (they were 55-58 at the time of the work stoppage), Mets fans were no longer feeling as negative about the team as they were during its 103-loss season in 1993.  And Rico Brogna was part of that new positive feeling at Shea Stadium.

Brogna went into the 1995 campaign as the team's starting first baseman.  He began his first full season in the majors as if the strike had never occurred, batting .410 with five doubles and three homers in his first 12 games.  But then the Mets went into a tailspin for two months going into the All-Star Break, losing 36 of 55 games from May 12 to July 9.  The main reason for the poor stretch was the pitching, as the Mets allowed five or more runs in 28 of the 55 games.  But it wasn't just the pitching.  In fact, the Mets' slump in the win column coincided with Brogna's first extended slump in the majors.

During the 55-game stretch prior to the All-Star Break, Brogna posted a .247/.294/.379 slash line, producing just seven doubles, six homers and 23 RBI while striking out 49 times.  After giving fans hope by approaching the .500 mark in 1994, the Mets were a pitiful 25-44 at the break in 1995.  But once again, the Mets came together as a team in the second half of the season, with Brogna serving as the catalyst for the team's resurgence.

From July 13 to September 20, Brogna batted .319 with 14 doubles, two triples and 13 homers.  He also scored 40 runs and drove in 39.  The Mets, who were a season-high 22 games under .500 in early August, went 34-18 in their last 52 games to finish the year with a 69-75 mark, which tied them with the Philadelphia Phillies for second place in the NL East.  Brogna finished his first full season in the majors as the team leader in doubles (27), home runs (22), runs scored (72) and RBI (76), becoming just the fifth player in franchise history to lead the team in all four categories.  The other four were Frank Thomas (1962), Tommy Davis (1967), Lee Mazzilli (1980) and Howard Johnson (1989, 1991).

After two seasons in which the Mets finished close to the break-even point, the team had reason to be optimistic going into the 1996 season.  The Mets added a leadoff hitter in Lance Johnson, a defensive wizard in shortstop Rey Ordoñez, and a productive left fielder in Bernard Gilkey.  They were also about to unleash former No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Wilson, the third member of the much-heralded "Generation K" trio of young starting pitchers.  It looked as if Rico Brogna was finally going to be part of a winning team in New York.  And then he wasn't.

Brogna was healthy throughout the 1995 season, playing in 134 of the Mets' 144 games.  But he was far more brittle in 1996.  After undergoing off-season arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Brogna missed four games in early May, then sat out nine straight games a month later, both times because of right shoulder pain that required cortisone shots.  When he was able to play, Brogna continued to produce at the plate.  In 188 at-bats, Brogna collected 18 extra-base hits and drove in 30 runs.  He even hit a walk-off homer on May 11 to defeat the Chicago Cubs in a brawl-filled game at Shea.  But Brogna's aches and pains never subsided, and the team placed him on the disabled list on June 21.  Ten days later, Brogna underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.  He never played for the Mets again.

After completing their sixth consecutive losing season in 1996 (their third with Rico Brogna as the team's first baseman), the Mets decided to upgrade their bullpen.  The team felt that they were fine offensively and were also not ready to give up on Generation K even though Wilson and Jason Isringhausen combined to go 11-26 with an ERA over 5.00 in 1996.  (Bill Pulsipher did not pitch for the team in '96.)  So Jerry Dipoto (4.19 ERA), Paul Byrd (4.24 ERA) and Doug Henry (4.68) became ex-Mets, and Greg McMichael, Takashi Kashiwada, Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan joined the team's relief corps in 1997.  The latter two hurlers were acquired by the Mets after the team completed a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies.  The cost?  Rico Brogna.  And no one was more surprised by the trade than the 26-year-old Brogna himself.

"I've come to learn that anything can happen in baseball, but I didn't figure I would be traded.  I came here when the Mets were rebuilding and I thought I'd be a mainstay with them.  It's a sad time, but I guess it's part of the game."

Borland and Jordan combined to pitch 35 games for the Mets in 1997.  Neither pitcher was with the team in 1998.  Meanwhile, Brogna became a star in Philly, averaging 21 HR and 92 RBI per season from 1997 to 1999.  Brogna recorded back-to-back 100-RBI campaigns in 1998 and 1999, becoming just the ninth Phillie to record consecutive seasons of 100 or more RBI in team history.  But as successful as he was on a personal level in Philadelphia, Brogna couldn't shake being "the best on the worst" in his new city.  The Phillies never won more than 77 games in any of Brogna's three full seasons with the team.  Meanwhile, Brogna's replacement in New York, John Olerud, helped the Mets record the first of five consecutive winning seasons in 1997.

Just as the injury bug helped end Brogna's career with the Mets in 1996, several maladies contributed to the end of his playing days in 2001 after playing one season with the Atlanta Braves.  Brogna was just 31 when he left the game as a player for good, retiring to become a high school football coach in his home state of Connecticut after an eight-year career in the big leagues.  After a 12-year absence, Brogna is now back in majors, working as a special assistant to Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto - the same Jerry Dipoto who was part of Mets general manager Joe McIlvaine's Great Bullpen Purging of 1996.

Rico Brogna played in his first game with the Mets on June 22, 1994.  Less than two years later, on June 19, 1996, he played in his final game with the team.  But in one full season and parts of two others, Brogna became a fan favorite on a Mets team that had very few players who were worth rooting for.

Although he only played in 228 games with the team, he still managed to hit .291 and posted a .495 slugging percentage.  Only four players in Mets history have batted .290 or higher, while posting a slugging percentage of .490 or greater in at least 200 games with the team.  Those players are Mike Piazza (.296 BA, .542 SLG), David Wright (.301 BA, .506 SLG), John Olerud (.315 BA, .501 SLG) and - like you need to ask - Rico Brogna.

Brogna never played for a winning team when he was on the Mets.  But he was still a beloved player.  He also never played for a winning team in Philadelphia, even though he had his best years in the majors as a member of the Phillies.  The fans in Philly, who don't love much of anything, cheered for Brogna.  That's a testament to how special a player Brogna was.  It wasn't his fault the teams he played for had so many flaws.

A sweet swing.  A solid glove.  A great player.  That was Rico Brogna in a nutshell.

Note:  The Best On The Worst is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting the greatest Mets players who just happened to play on some not-so-great Mets teams.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 6, 2014: Todd Hundley 
January 13, 2014: Al Jackson
January 20, 2014: Lee Mazzilli
January 27, 2014: Steve Trachsel

It's Not The Same, But...

I promise you won't be seeing this scene at Citi Field today.

Today at Citi Field, the Mets will not be scoreboard-watching.  They also do not have champagne being chilled.  And don't expect the Braves game to be on in the clubhouse.  However, there is a chance the Mets can "clinch" something today.

Should the Mets win their 4 o'clock game today against the Brewers and the Braves defeat the Phillies in their 7 o'clock tilt tonight, the Mets would officially clinch third place in the NL East, which would be their highest finish in the division since 2008, when the team still received its mail at Shea Stadium.

Technically, the Mets could clinch third before the Phillies take the field in Atlanta, as the Mets won their season series against Philadelphia, taking 10 of 19 games from Cole Hamels and the Phunky Bunch.  Therefore, finishing in a tie with Philly at season's end would essentially give the Mets third place anyway.

Of course, finishing in third place with a record that is still well below .500 isn't exactly a great accomplishment.  However, think of the 1968, 1983 and 1995 Mets.  The 1968 squad "improved" from last place to ninth place in the ten-team National League, then won the World Series a year later.  Naturally, no one expects the Mets to win the World Series next year, but many people do think the Mets will improve in 2014, similar to what the 1984 team did following a lackluster 1983 campaign.

In 1983, the Mets won 68 games, which on the surface looks like a bad year.  However, it was the most wins by the team during the seven-year Grant's Tomb era which began when the Mets traded away Tom Seaver in 1977.  One year later, the Mets shocked the baseball world by improving to 90-72.  The Mets were relevant again, and by 1986, they had won their second World Series championship.

But not too many teams win 22 more games from one year to the next as the Mets did in 1984.  If the 2014 Mets improve by 22 wins, they'd have a good chance to finish with the best record in the league.  Again, that might be too much to expect.  And that's why I bring up the 1995 Mets.

In 1995, the Mets finished the strike-shortened season with a 69-75 record.  Although it was a losing record, the team still managed to finish in second place, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies.  It was the fifth consecutive sub-.500 season for the Mets, but it was also their highest finish in the standings in five years (similar to what the 2013 Mets are shooting for).

The following season, in 1996, the Mets struggled, going 71-91.  But there were flashes that the team was about to turn the corner.  And in 1997, that's exactly what they did.

The Mets farm development paid dividends in 1997, with Edgardo Alfonzo (.315, 10 HR, 72 RBI, 11 SB), Butch Huskey (.287, 24 HR, 81 RBI) and Bobby Jones (15-9, 3.63 ERA) posting breakthrough seasons.  The team also made shrewd trades, acquiring John Olerud for Robert Person.  Olerud solidified the infield and gave the team a proven bat.  And don't forget the acquisition of Rick Reed following the 1995 campaign.  The Mets gave him a shot in the starting rotation in 1997 and he became the team's ace (13-9, 2.89 ERA, 1.04 WHIP).

The Mets finished in a lofty position in the division despite a losing record in 1995, then slowly but surely added more pieces to a young team that already had a good nucleus.  That's kind of like what the 2013 Mets are doing.  This year's squad has been about building a nucleus and this year's offseason is about patching up the holes with quality players who will help the team continue its ascent to relevancy and competitiveness.  It may take a few years for the Mets to be a perennial contender, but the pieces are there for it to happen.  They just have to be put together properly by Sandy Alderson and his Merry Men.

Despite a losing record, the 1995 Mets finished in their loftiest division position in five years.  The 2013 Mets are trying to repeat that feat.  It's not the same as clinching a division title, but I'd sure love the Mets to finish ahead of the Phillies for third place in the NL East this year.  History shows that that type of finish leads to better days in the near future.