Since 2009, the Mets have been very consistent, winning between 70 and 79 games each year. Meanwhile, the Yankees have been even slightly more consistent with a range of eight wins between their highest and lowest total over the past four seasons. While the Yankees have been good in this span, the Mets have not. So their combined win totals have not been very impressive.
But there have been times when both teams were good in the same year. Since the Mets started play in 1962, here are the Top 10 Combined Mets-Yankees Win Seasons.
T. 10th – 2000 and 1987 181 Wins
2000 was the year of the only Subway Series between the two teams, which the Yankees won in five games. But what many fans forget is that the Mets had a better regular season record with 94 wins to 87 for the Yankees. In 1987 the Mets won 92 games and the Yankees won 89 but neither team made the playoffs. The Mets finished three games behind the Cardinals while the Yankees were nine games behind the Tigers. The Mets had the second-best mark in the National League but were left home in the pre-Wild Card days.
9. 2007 182 Wins
The Yankees saw a nine-year streak of winning the AL East snapped in 2007 when they won 94 games but they still made the playoffs as a Wild Card entrant before losing in the opening round to the Cleveland Indians. The Mets had a seven-game lead on September 12th but proceeded to lose 12 of their last 17 games to finish with 88 wins, which was a game behind the Phillies in the NL East.
8. 1976 183 Wins
The Yankees ended a 12-year World Series drought by winning 97 games during the regular season and then edging the Royals 3-2 in the ALCS. The defending champion Reds swept the Yankees in the World Series. The Mets won 86 games but finished 15 games behind the Phillies. At the time, it was the second-most wins in franchise history, trailing just the 100-win season in 1969. But it was also the last good Mets team until Davey Johnson took over in 1984.
7. 1997 184 Wins
The defending World Series champion Yankees finished in second place with 96 wins and lost in the ALDS to the Cleveland Indians as Jaret Wright defeated Andy Pettitte in the deciding Game Five. Meanwhile, in Bobby Valentine’s first full season as Mets manager, he guided the team to 88 wins, the first time the team had a winning record since 1990.
6. 1988 185 Wins
The Mets won 100 games and cruised to the NL East title by 15 games over the Pirates. Heavy favorites in the NLCS against a Dodgers team they had beaten 10 of 11 times in the regular season, the Mets came out on the wrong end of a 4-3 series as Orel Hershiser shut them out in Game 7. The Yankees won 85 games but that was good for just fifth place as they finished 3 ½ games behind the Red Sox.
5. 2006 194 Wins
Each team won 97 games this season. The Mets finally ended the Braves reign atop the NL East as they won the division by 12 games over the Phillies. The Mets were upset in the NLCS by the Cardinals, 4-3, with St. Louis going on to an easy World Series victory. Meanwhile it was the ninth straight AL East title for the Yankees, but they fell to the Tigers in the ALDS, 3-1.
T 3. 1985 195 Wins
After improving by 22 wins in their first season under Davey Johnson, the Mets improved eight more games in 1985, to a 98-win season. It still was not enough to make the playoffs, as the Cardinals won 101 games. The Yankees finished in second in their division, as their 97 wins put them two games behind the Blue Jays. The Bronx Bombers won 58 games at home in 1985 but finished under .500 on the road with a 39-42 record.
T 3. 1999 195 Wins
The Yankees lost eight of 12 games to the second-place Red Sox but thanks to a 19-3 record versus the 1977 expansion teams, they won the division by four games with a 98-win season. In the playoffs, the Yankees won 11 of 12 games and cruised to their third World Series win in four seasons. The Mets played 163 games during the regular season and won their final game to finish with 97 wins. After defeating the Reds to make the playoffs as the Wild Card team, they upset the Diamondbacks to advance to the NLCS. But the first Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees had to wait a season, as the Braves prevailed in a thrilling six-game set.
2. 1986 198 Wins
After two near-misses, the Mets made the post-season for the first time since in 13 years when they established a franchise record with 108 wins. The team that dominated the regular season had a much more difficult time in the playoffs. Their 4-2 NLCS win included a one-run win and back-to-back extra inning victories. And they dropped the first two games of the World Series at home before rallying for an improbable seven-game win. The Mets appeared to lose the series in Game Six but a three-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the 10th kept them alive and after falling behind by three runs early in Game Seven, they rallied for an 8-5 win to become the first expansion team to win two World Series titles. The Yankees won 90 games and finished in second place, five-and-a-half games behind the Red Sox.
1. 1998 202 Wins
The Yankees established a franchise record with 114 wins, bettering the 110-mark established by the legendary 1927 Murders Row Yankees that featured six Hall of Famers. Unlike the 1986 Mets, the Yankees were just as dominating in the playoffs, as they went 11-2, including a sweep in the World Series. Only the Indians, the defending AL pennant winners, were able to put a scare into the Yankees in the post-season. Cleveland, which knocked New York out of the playoffs the year before, won two of the first three games in the ALCS. But the Yankees scored 18 runs in the next three games en route to winning their final seven games of the season. The Mets won 88 games but finished in second place, 18 games behind the Braves.
*****
It’s unlikely that the 2013 Mets and Yankees will wind up on this list. The Mets seem a year away from solid contention and it appears that age might have finally caught up with the Bombers. In fact, it’s more likely that the 2013 combined totals would compete for a spot on the fewest wins list. Check back tomorrow for that breakdown.
I find it intriguing that half of these came in 1997 or later, and how 1976 is the oldest date on the list. Does that mean the Yankees were so good during their stretch in the 90s or the Mets were better than we thought in the mid-2000s? Inquiring minds want to know!
I think it means the Mets were putrid in most of the 60s and by 1969 the Yankees were no longer good.
Exactly.
1965…they destroyed their organization going after Johnny Keane. Which in turn led to Berra being a Met-torganization plus…or minus. I STILL rue ’73.
I was actually thinking aloud this the other day.
If you were starting a team from scratch and had your choice of a Yankee or a Met for the next 7-8 years who would choose:
C-D’Arnaud or Romine? Mets
1b-Ike or Tex (or whoever you got in the minors)? Mets
2B-Murp or Cano? Yanks
SS-Jeter or Tejada? For one or two years of course Jeter, but for the purposes of the parameters listed, it’s the Mets
3b-Wright or A-Rod? Mets
Best OF-Duda or Granderson? Granderson but barely because of his declining skills and BC Duda is an unknown quantity
2nd best OF- Gardner or Nieuwenhuis? Yanks
3rd best OF- Ichiro or Cowgill? Mets- Ichiro has only two good years left in him
Top 3 or four Pitchers-
Niese, Harvey, Wheeler, Gee or Sabathia, Kuroda, Nova, Hughes, Betances, Buenelos? Mets
Granted I don’t know who else is high on the Yanks farm list, but the future of the Mets is immensely brighter than the Ynaks and as soon as next year, we could have a better record than them and could for years to come.
As for the Yankees prospects, I think Gaby Sanchez has passed Romine as the top catcher, although I still prefer d’Arnaud. Also, a bunch of their top prospects – Tyler Austin, Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott – are outfielders so I think they easily sweep the OF. But assuming Harvey and Wheeler develop as we hope, to say nothing of other top pitching prospects, we still stack (recognized the pun while I was writing it!) up well.