The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens, New York. They play in Major League Baseball's National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two MLB clubs based in New York City, the other club being the New York Yankees. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League teams: the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. The Mets' colors are composed of the Dodgers' blue and Giants' orange (which also comprise the outer two bands of the New York City Flag). During the 1962 and 1963 seasons, the Mets played their home games at the Polo Grounds. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets' home ballpark was Shea Stadium. In 2009, they moved into their current ballpark, Citi Field.
In their 1962 inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40–120, the worst regular season record since Major League Baseball went to a 162-game schedule (two games were canceled). The team never finished better than second to last until the 1969 "Miracle Mets" beat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in World Series history. Since then, they have played in three additional World Series, including a dramatic run in 1973 that ended in a game seven loss to the Oakland Athletics, a second championship in 1986 over the Boston Red Sox, and a Subway Series loss against their cross-town rivals the New York Yankees in the 2000 World Series.
The Mets have made one playoff appearance since then, when in 2006 they came within one game of the World Series, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 National League Championship Series. The Mets missed the playoffs with losses on the last day of the regular season in 2007 and 2008 and have finished with losing records every year since. In 2010, the Mets hired a new general manager, Sandy Alderson, and a new manager, Terry Collins.