Unofficial fan projectPiazza, Alfonzo, and the Return to October
Mike Hampton
Starting pitcher · Mets 2000
The part fans remember
What the numbers leave out.
Hampton spent only one season with the Mets, but it ended with a pennant. He saved his best work for the National League Championship Series.
The Mets acquired Hampton from Houston before the 2000 season in a major trade designed to finish a contender. His year began awkwardly, including control problems and questions about whether he wanted to be in New York. Once the season settled, he became the durable left-handed starter the rotation needed and won 15 games.
Hampton saved his best pitching for the NLCS against St. Louis. He won Game 1, then threw a three-hit shutout in Game 5 to clinch the pennant at Shea. Across 16 innings in the series, he did not allow a run and earned NLCS MVP. One season in Queens had already produced the biggest result possible short of a championship.
He left for Colorado in free agency and became famous for mentioning the school system when explaining the move, a quote Mets fans turned into a permanent joke. The departure still helped the franchise: the compensation draft pick became David Wright. Hampton delivered a pennant, left immediately, and indirectly helped create the next face of the Mets. That is an unusually full story for one year.
The honest version
The best stretch
Hampton’s entire Mets career was one season, which makes 2000 both his arrival and his peak. The first half was uneven as he adjusted to New York, but he became stronger as the games grew more important. He finished with 15 wins and gave the rotation a left-handed starter who could match up with the best teams in October.
The part that got messy
The NLCS made the year unforgettable. Hampton won Games 1 and 5 against St. Louis, closing the series with a three-hit shutout at Shea. He was named series MVP after allowing no runs across 16 innings. Piazza and Alfonzo were the faces of the team, but Hampton was the pitcher standing on the mound when the Mets secured their first pennant since 1986.
Why fans still care
He left for Colorado in free agency and famously mentioned the school system, a quote that became an easy joke. The departure also gave the Mets the compensation pick used to draft David Wright, adding an unexpected final chapter. Hampton did not stay long enough to become beloved, but one dominant October and the draft pick that followed gave his single season an unusually large effect.
Hampton was a Met for one year, complained about little, won 15 games, and became NLCS MVP when the club needed him most. Then he left for Colorado and famously mentioned the schools, giving Mets fans a punchline that has lasted longer than the contract. The compensation pick became David Wright. Somehow, even Hampton leaving turned into an important part of Mets history.
Signature Mets momentPitched a three-hit shutout to clinch the 2000 National League pennant.
The short list
The stuff worth remembering.
- 012000 NLCS MVP
- 022000 National League champion
- 0315 regular-season wins