To follow up the 10 best offensive clubs since the 80s, it’s only fitting to list the 10 lease offensive (or depending on the context – the most offensive) teams since 1980. While we are not too far removed from the Times-O-Plenty, we’ve recently been mired in Several Seasons of Drought.
The 10 Worst Scoring Mets Teams since 1980
1. 1981 – 547 runs – 3.38 runs per game
2. 1983 – 575 runs – 3.55
3. 1992 – 599 runs – 3.70
4. 1982 – 609 runs – 3.76
5. 1980 – 611 runs – 3.77
6. 2013 – 619 runs – 3.82
7. 1991 – 640 runs – 3.98
8. 2003 – 642 runs – 3.96
9. 2001 – 642 runs – 3.96
10. 2012 – 650 runs – 4.01
*In the strike shortened season of 1981, the Mets played 103 games and scored 348 runs. The 547 figure is prorated over a 162 game season.
From 1980-1983 (and quite frankly, before that at the end of the 1970s), the Mets were awful. The Mets of the “Worst Team Money Could Buy” era of 1991-1992 was bad. 2001 and 2003 were bleak (although interestingly enough, 2001 was right on the tail of two of the team’s best offensive seasons). Oh… the 2012-2013 seasons were right up there, too.
So who were the primary starters on these forgettable offenses?
1980-1983:
C – Alex Trevino / John Stearns / Ron Hodges
1B – Lee Mazzilli / Dave Kingman / Keith Hernandez
2B – Doug Flynn / Wally Backman / Brian Giles
SS – Frank Taveras / Ron Gardenhire / Jose Oquendo
3B – Elliott Maddox / Hubie Brooks
OF – Steve Henderson / Lee Mazzilli / George Foster
OF – Jerry Morales / Mookie Wilson
OF – Joel Youngblood / Ellis Valentine / Darryl Strawberry
1991-1992:
C – Rick Cerone / Todd Hundley
1B – Dave Magadan / Eddie Murray
2B – Gregg Jefferies / Willie Randolph
SS – Kevin Elster / Dick Schofield
3B – Howard Johnson / Dave Magadan
OF – Kevin McReynolds / Daryl Boston
OF – Vince Coleman / Howard Johnson
OF – Hubie Brooks / Bobby Bonilla
2001, 2003:
C – Mike Piazza / Vance Wilson
1B – Todd Zeile / Jason Phillips
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo / Roberto Alomar
SS – Rey Ordonez / Jose Reyes
3B – Robin Ventura / Ty Wigginton
OF – Benny Agbayani / Cliff Floyd
OF – Jay Payton / Timo Perez
OF – Tsuyoshi Shinjo / Roger Cedeno
And finally, the most recently forgettable 2012-2013* squads:
C – Josh Thole / John Buck
1B – Ike Davis
2B – Daniel Murphy
SS – Ruben Tejada / Omar Quintanilla
3B – David Wright
OF – Scott Hairston / Eric Young
OF – Andres Torres / Juan Lagares
OF – Lucas Duda / Marlon Byrd
*Lucas Duda made 89 starts in 2013 (58 in the Outfield, 31 at 1B)
Thoughts From David C.
Once again you brought back memories of my days as a child when all my friends would make fun of me because I rooted for a team that truly was bad. In the early 80’s, prior to the organizations successful turnaround, Shea Stadium was a ghost town and we basically could get front row seats at any game we wanted. Now I don’t regret that time because it was more of a bonding time with my mother, but there wasn’t much to root for. But I eventually won a childhood bet when the Mets finally prevailed in 1986, but it wasn’t before all the heartache of listening to my friends make fun of the only team I ever rooted for. The only hope I have left is that the organization brings in some quality bats to compliment the team now and start to bring exciting baseball back to Queens, and a huge opportunity to win. Lets Go Mets.