Mets fans deserved better.
That was the message from owner Steve Cohen after the Mets’ drawn-out collapse ended with them missing the postseason.
“I owe you an apology,” Cohen wrote to Mets fans on social media. “You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part.”
Citi Field drew 3,182,057 fans this year, breaking the 17-year-old ballpark’s single-season attendance record and exceeding its 2024 total by nearly a million people.
After Cohen expressed displeasure that the Mets ranked 18th among MLB teams in attendance last year, they shot up to fifth place in 2025.
The Mets entered this season with heightened expectations after making a surprise run to the NLCS last year and signing star slugger Juan Soto away from the Yankees on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract in December.
Their $341.7 million payroll, including the 40-man collective bargaining tax, was the second highest in baseball, according to Cot’s Contracts.
But after jumping out to a 45-24 record, the Mets went just 38-55 over the season’s final three and a half months and finished 83-79.
“We will do a post-mortem and figure out the obvious and less obvious reasons why the team didn’t perform up to your and my expectations,” Cohen wrote. “We are all feeling raw emotions today. I know how much time and effort you have put into this team. The result was unacceptable.”
A win in Sunday’s regular season finale would have clinched the National League’s third and final wild card spot, but the Mets lost 4-0 to the Miami Marlins. That playoff spot went to the Cincinnati Reds, who also finished 83-79 but earned the tiebreaker over the Mets after winning the head-to-head season series.
Over the season’s final 93 games, the Mets’ starting pitchers posted a 5.27 ERA, which ranked 27th among MLB staffs. Their starters totaled an MLB-low 428.2 innings over that stretch — an average of only 4.6 innings per start.
Addressing the rotation is hardly the only thing on the Mets’ to-do list this offseason. Pete Alonso, who led the team with 126 RBI this season, said he plans to decline his player option, sending him to free agency for the second winter in a row.
Cohen, who has owned the Mets since 2020, ended his message to the fans with a bit of reassurance.
“Your emotions tell me how much you care and continues to motivate the organization to do better,” Cohen wrote. “Thank You to the best fans in sports.”
