How 2020 actually went.
The pandemic delayed the season until late July, shortened it to 60 games, and kept fans out of Citi Field. Baseball returned with health rules, empty seats, expanded playoffs, and the universal designated hitter. Nothing about the rhythm felt normal, which made every losing streak much harder to overcome.
deGrom remained excellent, Michael Conforto hit at an All-Star level, and Dominic Smith produced the strongest stretch of his career. The pitching behind deGrom was thin, the defense cost runs, and the bullpen remained uneven. A team with enough offense to stay alive could not prevent opponents from scoring.
The Mets finished 26–34 and missed an expanded postseason that included more than half the league. Luis Rojas’s first season as manager was impossible to judge normally. The most important change came after the schedule: Steve Cohen purchased the franchise, ending the Wilpon ownership era and immediately raising expectations for everything that followed.
An empty Citi Field made a strange season feel even stranger; Cohen’s arrival was the real event fans carried into winter.