"This isn't a positive to me" - MLB Twitter thinks $350 million New York Mets should be doing better
With a payroll of about $345 million all-in, the New York Mets are the heaviest-spending team in the MLB. Unfortunately for fans, players, and management, their massive payroll has not been reflected by recent performances.
Although the team won 101 games in 2022, crossing the 100-win threshold for the first time since 1988, their season ended at the hands of the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card series.
In 2023, the team has shown promise but has still failed to achieve divisional dominance. At the time of this writing, the team has a record of 28-27, putting them four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East.
Recently, well-known MLB analyst Jon Heyman took to Twitter to remind fans that things may not be as bad as they seem. The USA Today baseball writer refreshed collective memory by informing his followers that the New York Mets still occupy a playoff spot, owing to the change in the postseason format.
For all their issues, the Mets are tied with the Marlins and Giants at 28-27 for the final two playoff spots in the NL
"For all their issues, the Mets are tied with the Marlins and Giants at 28-27 for the final two playoff spots in the NL" - Jon Heyman
Unlike the previous year where two Wild Card teams were featured, three Wild Card teams from each league will play past September. Although Heyman demonstrated that the Mets are tied with the San Francisco Giants and the Miami Marlins for the last spot, many of his followers believed the Mets should be striving for more.
@JonHeyman Mets are also a 350 million dollar team off a 101 win season. This isn’t a positive to me. They need to play better. Good start yesterday.
@JonHeyman And that’s why this new playoff format is a joke
@JonHeyman fairly certain this says more about the new playoff format than anything else
In addition to having the largest payroll ever, the New York Mets are also paying record-setting amounts of money to individual players. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, two of their top pitchers, will both make $43 million this season.
@JonHeyman Nothing to be proud of there, Jon. Despite all their injuries, they have substantially more talent than those teams
@JonHeyman Yeah that still sounds like an issue for a team with the highest payroll
@JonHeyman being tied with the marlins on june 1st is a pretty big issue jon
Despite holding on to the final playoff spot, the prevailing feeling among onlookers is that the New York Mets do not deserve to make the postseason. Offensively, the team has been very mediocre, ranking 18th in runs scored, 14th in home runs, and 17th in team batting average.
@JonHeyman Being alongside the Giants and Marlins actually makes me feel worse.
@JonHeyman Being tied with those teams is a god damn embarrassment and disgrace
@JonHeyman hilarious comparison. Mets only paying their players $160 million more than the Giants and $250 million more than the Marlins…
New York Mets are proof that money cannot buy wins
Between Scherzer and Verlander, the Mets are shelling out $86 million, and significantly more for their entire pitching staff, who has a cumulative ERA of 4.69.
By comparison, the Tampa Bay Rays are paying their entire staff $22 million, and have a team ERA of 3.71.
If deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen really wants to win, he will need to learn that there is more to baseball than spending lavishly.