Members of the 2007 Mets know a thing or two about what their present-day counterparts are going through.

Eighteen years ago, the Mets held a seven-game division lead with 17 games to go, only to go 5-12 down the stretch and miss the playoffs entirely.

That collapse remains one of the most infamous in MLB history.

Now, the 2025 Mets are trying to avoid a similar fate.

The Mets entered Saturday on a seven-game losing streak, cutting their lead for the third and final National League wild card spot to only a half-game over the San Francisco Giants.

But not all hope is lost, according to Carlos Beltrán, José Reyes and other members of that 2007 club.

“Going back to that time and thinking about what I can say to a team that is going through the same, I would say just go for it,” Beltrán said Saturday at Citi Field before competing in the first-ever Alumni Classic game.

“Don’t be timid. Just be aggressive. Be who you are. Think about what has put you in the situation that you’re in today, because at the end of the day, you are in a position where you are fighting for a playoff opportunity.”

Like the current Mets, the 2007 team was fresh off of an appearance in the NLCS, raising expectations for them to take the next step.

That team was 83-62 on Sept. 12, but it would go on to suffer a pair of five-game losing streaks, the first of which included a three-game sweep by the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies (89-73) ended up finishing a game ahead of the Mets (88-74) to win the NL East.

“Even though we all wanted to come out of that situation, it was hard for us to get out,” Beltrán recalled. “I cannot really pinpoint what exactly happened. You wish that you could have it back, but now thinking about this team and what they’re going through, I just hope they forget about the past and focus on these games left.”

The situations aren’t exactly the same, considering that in 2007, there was only one wild card spot in each league. Today’s expanded format gives these Mets an extra chance, even after their deficit in the NL East behind the Phillies expanded to double-digits.

But the Mets had a four-game cushion for the final wild card spot as recently as Sept. 5, before the start of their latest losing skid.

“The advice I can give them is to take it one day at a time,” Reyes said. “I know there’s 14 games left, and they’ve been through some tough times right now. Whatever happened in the game yesterday, leave it there. Just focus on the game today and go from there.”

The Mets’ slump is not contained to September.

They entered Saturday with a 31-48 record since June 13, a stretch in which their starting pitchers combined for a 5.26 ERA and were averaging fewer than 4.7 innings per start.

Kodai Senga, a 2023 All-Star, is in the minor leagues to work through his extended struggles, while the Mets have relied this month on three rookies — Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat — in their starting rotation.

“I like to focus on the positive, so if you told me in February that by Sept. 13, you are going to be holding a wild card spot, I’ll take that any time,” said Carlos Delgado, the first baseman on the 2007 team. “Continue to play hard. Don’t scoreboard watch. Just one day at a time, one at-bat at a time. Let’s win today.”

Paul Lo Duca, a Brooklyn native and the 2007 Mets’ primary catcher, said he still watches the Mets all the time. He believes a change to their offensive approach could help them snap out of their slide.

“At the end of the day, you have to play the situation that you’re in,” Lo Duca said. “I got put in a fortunate situation as a two-hole hitter here with José Reyes, so all I did was poke the ball to right field. Could I have hit more home runs? Yeah, but that wasn’t my job.”

Lo Duca believes the Mets “100%” have the talent to right the ship.

“I always tell guys [to] trust your teammates,” Lo Duca said. “And I think that’s one problem they’re having: They’re not trusting their teammates. If you have a 3-0 count, don’t try to hit a six-run homer. It doesn’t exist. Trust your teammate behind you and keep the line moving.”

Willie Randolph, the manager of the 2007 Mets, says the specifics of his team’s late-season slide are no longer top of mind, but he remembers feeling confident until the very end.

He sees reasons to be confident in this year’s Mets, too.

“I think this team still has a chance to get there,” Randolph said. “I really do, because they have so much talent here that it’s a matter of just getting everybody back in sync. Get back that rhythm going.”

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/13/mets-alumni-game-nl-east-collapse-reyes-beltran/