Why the 2007 Mets’ Collapse is the Worst in MLB History

This is the third piece in a series of articles I will be writing for an Associated Content “magazine” of sorts regarding the collapse of the 2007 New York Mets. Being a fan of the Mets, these pieces will most likely not have the same tone or nature of my other articles. They will be from the point of view of the fan and not the analyst. Hopefully these articles will give some insight on the greatest collapse in the history of Major League Baseball as well as allow us, the fans of the New York Mets, some much needed peace heading into the 2008 season.

Statistically speaking, nothing like the collapse of the 2007 New York Mets had ever happened before. No team in history had ever coughed up a seven game lead with only three weeks left in the season. Is it the biggest collapse in the history of professional sports? It’s definitely up there. The 2007 New York Mets are without a doubt guilty of the biggest choke/collapse/cough-up/whatever you want to call it in the history of Major League Baseball.

Many Mets fans are pointing to the Yankees of 2004 as the biggest choke-job in Major League Baseball history. That team, as is well known, took a 3-0 lead in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox before losing four straight, the first team to ever lose a series after taking the first three games in the history of the Major Leagues. Nice try, Mets fans. It’s time for fans to realize that the collapse of the 2007 is even worse than what the Yankees “accomplished” in 2004. Here are the reasons why that is true.

First reason why the 2007 Mets’ collapse is the worst in MLB History: The Mets lost to bad teams at home

Regardless of the fact that the Yankees had a 3-0 in the ALCS, they were still playing a very good team. Schilling, Martinez, Lowe, Ramirez, Ortiz, and Damon are just the big names that were playing for the Red Sox in 2004. The 2007 Mets finished just one game behind the Phillies in the NL East. That means that all the Mets had to do was win two more games during their home stand at the end of the season in order to win the NL East. Instead, the Mets lost to the Nationals (73-89), the Cardinals (78-84) and the Marlins (71-91) in six out of the last seven games of the season. I want to reiterate that all of those games were played at Shea. At least in 2004 the Yankees only dropped the final two games of the series at home.

Second reason why the 2007 Mets’ collapse is the worst in MLB History: They had two distinct chances to bury the Phillies

At the end of August the Mets played a four-game series at Philadelphia. At that point New York still had the division well in hand. A split of the series would have done huge damage to the psyche of the Phillies, not to mention all but end the chance that Philly would come back and take the NL East. Instead, the Mets got swept on the road in a series that included Billy Wagner blowing the final game after the Mets made a comeback of their own by scoring five runs in the top of the eighth.

In the middle of September the two teams faced off again, this time at Shea. The Mets had just finished taking two out of three from the Atlanta Braves, thus completely burying the Braves in the NL East. Instead of doing the same to the Phillies the Mets were swept again, blowing leads in the first two games of the series. How big are those two games now? Those two games are the difference between the Mets playing baseball in October and sitting on the couch watching those ridiculous Dane Cook “Actober” commercials.

Those two reasons say it all. The 2007 New York Mets were in a position that any team would love to be in. They had a sizeable lead heading into the last month of the year and they had the schedule in their favor. The Mets had a chance to bury the second place team at home and blew it. Then, when all they had to do was win three out of seven games to make the playoffs the Mets were playing terrible teams at home. There is no reason that the Mets should not be playing in the playoffs this season. That is why the 2007 Mets are guilty of the biggest choke in the history of Major League Baseball.