New York Mets: Why it’s not ‘just April’ for the Amazins

People always say, “It’s only April,” when fans get excited about hot starts in baseball, but for the New York Mets, April is the most important month of the year.

Fans of the New York Mets shouldn’t get excited about their 10-1 start, right? Wrong! The “it’s only April” crowd needs to slow down, back up, and realize how important April is to the Mets historically. The magic number for the team in April is 13 and here’s why.

The goal for every team is to play meaningful baseball in October. In order to play meaningful baseball in October, though, the Mets will have to win their share of games in April-September. That said, since 1986, April has been the most important month for the Mets in determining their postseason fate.

From 1986-2017, the Mets have made the playoffs seven times. All seven playoff appearances have one thing in common — 13 or more wins in the month of April.

They have missed the playoffs six times when having 13 or more wins in April, so nothing is guaranteed by that number. That said, they have yet to make the playoffs in that time span without having 13 or more wins in the month of April. All 17 times the Mets failed to reach 13 wins in the month of April, they failed to play a meaningful game in October.

So don’t put a damper on your excitement for the 10-1 start. It’s a historic start for the New York Mets. You can’t make it to the World Series without making the playoffs first, and the first step to that dream is 13 wins in April.

Next: Pros and cons of Mets' red-hot start

The baseball season is a long grind. As is commonly said, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. However, it’s harder to succeed in a marathon if you stumble out of the gate. So before saying, “it’s only April,” we need to look at the long-term ramifications of a good start from the New York Mets.