2005 New York Mets

Though they are usually overshadowed by their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets have a storied history of their own, with plenty of great players who have played their best years at Shea Stadium. The 2005 season promises to be an exciting one, with the addition of outfielder Carlos Beltrán and 2004 World Series hero Pedro Martínez adding spark to the roster. Though the Mets have not had their best years recently, playing in New York guarantees that a lot of tickets will flow to the fans, and the Mets are not as bad as they were in 1962, which would be a cause for despair.

The Mets were formed in 1962. That year, the Mets posted a league-worst 40-120 record. The team's first manager was 71-year-old Casey Stengel. Stengel had led the New York Yankees to seven World Series championships in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite Stengel's leadership and lineups that featured Gil Hodges, Roger Craig, Richie Ashburn, and Frank Thomas, New York finished at or near the bottom of the league during the franchise's first seven seasons, perhaps because their lineups also featured Choo Choo Coleman and Marv Throneberry.During their first two seasons the Mets played at the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants. The Mets moved to Shea Stadium before the start of the 1965 season.

In 1968 Hodges replaced Stengel as manager. His young, talented pitching staff included starters Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver (NL rookie of the year) and reliever Tug McGraw. In 1969 the Mets swept past the Chicago Cubs late in the season to win the East Division title. In the World Series, New York defeated Baltimore to complete one of the most surprising championship seasons in major league history.

Hodges died of a heart attack before the start of the 1972 season and was replaced by former New York Yankees star Yogi Berra, who guided the club to a third-place finish. In 1973 the Mets again became unlikely champions. The team rose from last place to first in the East Division in the season's closing weeks by winning 29 of its last 43 games. Seaver won his second Cy Young Award, and the Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds for the NL pennant, but New York lost to the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

In 1986 New York won a franchise-record 108 games and a third NL pennant. Strawberry, veteran catcher Gary Carter, and Hernandez powered the team's offense as New York met the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Mets were one strike away from elimination in the tenth inning of Game Six, but two crucial Boston errors gave the Mets the win and pushed the series to a seventh game, in which New York captured the championship. The Mets won another division title in 1988 and placed second in 1989 and 1990 before dropping to the bottom of the division from 1991 through 1993. The Mets began to improve in the mid-1990s. Stars included catcher Mike Piazza, second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, and pitchers John Franco and Al Leiter. In 2000 the relatively young team reached the World Series, playing a Subway Series against the New York Yankees. The Mets lost the series 4 games to 1.