Just when you think you’ve seen it all, almost every season a player on the New York Mets makes headlines for a surprising off-the-field issue. The multitude of inappropriate actions and embarrassing behavior by the team feels more like a soap opera than a professional baseball organization.
While the New York Yankees perennially grace the cover of local newspapers for winning championships, the Mets created news over the years with locker-room brawls, drug scandals and throwing fireworks into a crowd of fans.
With Johan Santana on the disabled list until mid-season, fans are not expecting the 2011 version of the Mets to be a playoff-caliber team that can compete for the National League East division title. Realistically, all we can hope for is that the squad displays some professionalism to get the focus back to baseball.
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, so here is a look back at the most embarrassing moments in New York Mets history.