NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The New York Mets was 45-24 at one point and had the best record in baseball, but ended the season at 83-79 and missed the post-season.
Once American League MVP Mo Vaughn spoke with Pakinomist Digital about Mets’ collapse and where it went wrong. Vaughn discussed how the team’s National League Championship series ran in 2024 may have played a factor.
“They went all the way to the League Championship series last year. They knew how to do it. They knew how to get there. And what’s happening is is that you spend a lot of energy getting to that point. Now you’re reset. You have another season but you’re not so sharp,” Vaughn told Pakinomist Digital.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso collects his belongings in Dugout after Mets lost to Miami Marlins in a baseball match in Miami, Florida, on September 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
“You aren’t at point, you’re not that special because it just takes that concentration. You know, if you have that opportunity to get there, turn it on, turn it on. And that’s what I felt at Mets.”
If Mets had won only another game, they would have had a better record than Cincinnati Reds and made the final game. Vaughn said Mets lacked the “fine -tuned concentration” to get there.
“They just have to restore, configure their brains,” Vaughn said. “And it’s not that you don’t take it seriously. I want fans to understand. It’s not like any lollipagging, or someone didn’t play harder. It just needed the fine -tuned concentration to get yourself to the end game.”
Vaughn said that Mets will have a new mentality that goes into spring training next season.
“I think now what will happen is that they will return to spring training. And they have had the year when they did not. They have to think about the year they did, and now they have to start everything that matters,” Vaughn said.
“When everything matters is when you get the best baseball played. But they learn what they get there. They’re too talented. They got too many guys. They got too many guys who know how to play.”
Foul Ball Shatterers Broadcast Camera Behind Homeplate Under Exciting Tigre-Guardians Al Wild Card Game
The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Left, stands with Francisco Lindor after flying out with the bases loaded during the fifth round of a baseball match against Miami Marlins in Miami, Florida, on September 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Vaughn also praised Juan Soto for having a “fantastic” first season with Mets.
“There’s a lot of hype about being the highest paid player. You got it all Yankee Mets. Why did he go, where did he go?
Vaughn mentioned how it might have taken some time for Soto to adapt at the beginning of the year.
“You like in a little fog, you’re not sure where you are. But once he got his feet on the ground, he was the best guy out there. So he came out and had one you know had one, it was 40 homemade, 30 stolen, 30 stolen bases, hundred walks, a hundred RBI.”
In 160 games, Soto had a .283 batting average with 43 home runs, 105 RBI and 38 stolen bases, leading the National League. Sotos on-base percentage of .396 also led the National League.
Former Red Sox player Mo Vaughn goes to Kandehaugen before the ceremonial first pitch on opening day at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 2022. All players carry (42) in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Mets, it wasn’t enough to run them for the post season.
Vaughn played in the big leagues for 12 seasons. He spent eight with Boston Red Sox, two with the then Anaheim Angels and two with Mets.
The three-time All-Star had a .293 career-batting average with 328 home runs and 1,064 RBI. He has a podcast called “The Mo Vaughn Podcast,” which debuted in August. He has interviewed former MLB Commissioner Bud Selige, six-time all-Star Kenny Lofton and many other former players.
