These former Mets are ready for October

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In a free moment during Old-Timers’ Day on Saturday, Pedro Martínez stepped into the Mets' clubhouse to speak with, as he put it, “two of the most talented pitchers that we have on the team, which are Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.”

“I don’t normally ask for much, but this time I did,” Martínez recalled of the interaction. “I said, ‘Can you get it done for me?’ Because I felt like it was unfinished business.”

Although Martínez will never be as beloved as a Met as he was for the bulk of his career in Boston, his desire to win during his 2005-08 tenure in Flushing was significant. In the second of those seasons, the Mets made the National League Championship Series only to stumble, with Martínez injured, a game shy of the World Series. In 2007, Martínez was one of the Mets’ lone bright spots down the stretch as the team suffered a historic collapse. The following year, he lost three of his four September starts while struggling with his health and form.

Those years left a mark on the Mets who lived through them. David Wright has described 2007 as one of the most significant disappointments of his life. When Carlos Beltrán briefly became Mets manager in 2020, he used the same phrasing as Martínez to describe his relationship with the franchise: “unfinished business.”

The mid-aughts Mets are not the only ones who feel that way. It’s been so long since the Mets have won a World Series -- 36 years and counting, the ninth-longest title drought among Major League teams -- that former players are as restless as their fans for another. Members of the 1986 club have discussed their eagerness to welcome another title winner into franchise lore. They consider this particular version of the Mets, because of how they compete and how Buck Showalter manages them, a perfect fit for the pantheon.

“They play the game right,” 1986 third baseman Ray Knight said. “When you’re playing under Buck, you’re going to do things correct. He doesn’t accept anything but that. There’s a lot of talent on this ballclub. They’ve got power. They’ve got speed. They’ve got a lineup that’s deep. And any time you have Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom 1-2, that’s going to win you a lot of series. I’ve watched the Mets. For the first time in a long time, I feel like there’s just something special there.”

José Reyes, who occasionally shares his thoughts about the Mets on social media, compared this version of the team to the ‘06 club, which is widely considered one of the most talented in franchise history. Daniel Murphy, a member of the Mets’ last pennant winner in 2015, also frequently watches games from his home in Florida.

“I really enjoy them,” Murphy said. “I think competing is a choice, and this ballclub is choosing to compete on every pitch. That’s how you get to where you want to go.”