2008 New York Mets

2008 New York Mets
Major league affiliations
National League (Since 1962) Eastern Division (Since 1969)
Location
Shea Stadium (Since 1964) New York, New York (Since 1962)
2008 Information
Owner(s)	Fred Wilpon
Manager(s)	Willie Randolph (34-35) Jerry Manuel (0-0)
Local television	SportsNet New York
Local radio	WFAN
Baseball-Reference	2008 New York Mets

2008 New York Mets / Franchise: New York Mets / BR Team Page

Record: 89-73, Finished 2nd in NL Eastern Division (2008 NL)

Managed by Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel

Coaches: Luis Aguayo, Sandy Alomar, Guy Conti, Howard Johnson, Tom Nieto, Ken Oberkfell, Rick Peterson and Dan Warthen

Ballpark: Shea Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

On June 17, manager Willie Randolph was fired along with pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto, with the Mets mired in 4th place, 6 ½ games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets had been expected to compete for the division title, after falling only a game short after their historic late-season collapse in 2007 and trading for ace pitcher Johan Santana in the off-season. Bench coach Jerry Manuel was promoted to interim manager, AAA New Orleans Zephyrs manager Ken Oberkfell replaced him as bench coach, Zephyrs pitching coach Dan Warthen replaced Peterson, and minor league instructor Luis Aguayo became the new first base coach. The announcement, made in the middle of the night after an interleague win in Los Angeles, came after weeks of speculation that Randolph's firing was imminent.

The 2008 Mets were the first team since the 1977 Cubs to allow two grand slams in one year to opposing pitchers. Félix Hernández hit a grand salami off of Johan Santana on June 23 and Jason Marquis repeated the feat on September 22 versus Jon Niese.

New York led the NL East by 3 1/2 games on September 10 then went 7-9 the rest of the way to fall behind Philadelphia. On the last day of the season, they lost the wild card race to the Brewers to complete their second major collapse in the last two summers.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Billy Wagner and David Wright
• NL Gold Glove: Carlos Beltran (OF) and David Wright (3B)
• NL Silver Slugger Award: David Wright (3B)

Team

New York Mets
Infield
Catchers: Brian Schneider, Ramon Castro	First basemen: Carlos Delgado, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley
Second basemen: Luis Castillo (castilu01), Damion Easley	Third basemen: David Wright, Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis
Shortstops: Jose Reyes, Damion Easley
Outfield
Left fielders: Endy Chavez, Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Moises Alou, Angel Pagan	Right fielders: Ryan Church, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, Trot Nixon
Center fielders: Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez
Pitchers
Starting: Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez
Relieving: Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Smith (smithjo05), Carlos Muniz, Matt Wise
Other
Coaches: Luis Aguayo, Sandy Alomar, Sr., Guy Conti, Howard Johnson, Tom Nieto, Ken Oberkfell, Rick Peterson, Dan Warthen	Manager(s): Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel

2008 MLB season by team