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The New York Mets were at one point 45-24 and had the best record in baseball but ended the season at 83-79 and missed the postseason.
One-time American League MVP Mo Vaughn talked with Fox News Digital about the Mets’ collapse and where it went wrong. Vaughn discussed how the team’s National League Championship Series run in 2024 may have played a factor.
“They went all the way to the league championship series last year. They knew how to do that. They knew how to get there. And what happens is, is that you spend a lot of energy getting to that point. Now you, now you’re reset. You got another season, but you’re not as sharp,” Vaughn told Fox News Digital.
“You’re not as on point, you’re not as particular because it just takes that concentration. You know, if you have that opportunity to get there, you’re gonna turn it, turn it on. And that’s what I felt about the Mets.”
If the Mets had won just one more game, they would have had a better record than the Cincinnati Reds and made the playoffs. Vaughn said the Mets lacked the “fine-tuned concentration” to get there.
“They just have to reconvene, reconfigure their brains,” Vaughn said. “And it’s not that you’re not taking it seriously. I want fans to understand. It’s not like anybody was lollygagging or anybody was not playing harder. It just needed that fine-tuned concentration to get yourself to the playoffs.”
Vaughn said the Mets will have a new mentality going into spring training next season.
“I think now what’s gonna happen is they’re gonna go back to spring training. And they’ve had that year where they didn’t make it. They’re gonna be thinking about the year that they did make it, and now they’re gonna go about the business of everything matters,” Vaughn said.
“When everything matters, that’s when you get the best baseball that’s played. But they’ll learn it, they’ll get there. They’re too talented. They got too many guys. They got too many guys that know how to play.”
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Vaughn also praised Juan Soto for having an “awesome” first season with the Mets.
“There’s a lot of hype of being the highest-paid player. You got that whole Yankee Mets. Why did he go, where did he go? Did he stay? He should have stayed. Blah blah, this that, man, everybody kick back, let this guy do his work,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn mentioned how it might have taken some time for Soto to adjust at the beginning of the year.
“You kind of like in a little fog, you’re not sure where you are. But once he got his feet on the ground, he was the best guy out there. So he came out and had a, you know, had a, it was 40 home runs, 30 stolen, 30 stolen bases, a hundred walks, a hundred RBI.”
In 160 games, Soto had a .283 batting average with 43 home runs, 105 RBI, and 38 stolen bases, which led the National League. Soto’s on-base percentage of .396 also led the National League.
Unfortunately for the Mets, it wasn’t enough to propel them to the postseason.
Vaughn played in the major leagues for 12 seasons. He spent eight with the Boston Red Sox, two with the then-Anaheim Angels, and two with the Mets.
The three-time All-star had a .293 career batting average with 328 home runs and 1,064 RBI. He has a podcast called “The Mo Vaughn Podcast,” which debuted in August. He has interviewed former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, six-time All-Star Kenny Lofton, and many other former players.
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