Despite him having a very solid season by an average MLB player's metrics, there's no way to justify New York Mets slugger Juan Soto's season when considering t

Going into Thursday, the Mets had seen a whopping 33.1% increase in attendance from 2024, when they drew an average of 29,484, which was 17th in MLB. Mets owner Steve Cohen said in spring training that last season’s attendance numbers “bothered” him.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

In Queens, the Mets are in a drastic tailspin. After starting 21-9 and leading the National League East by 5.5 games on June 12 with a 45-24 record, the Mets have lost 12 of their last 14 and are now five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the division.

We know what they know of course, what we always know about baseball seasons and baseball fans, especially about this baseball season and these baseball fans: Summers like this sanctify the

The New York Mets still harbor hopes of securing a postseason berth, drawing inspiration from the achievements of the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers in previous seasons.

The Mets, on the other hand, face a gauntlet of baseball's best teams: the Brewers, Phillies, San Diego Padres, Dodgers. It's as if the Mets have to run a double marathon and the Yankees are doing a corporate fun run. The Yankees have a better shot of lasting because the challenge is simply not the same.

This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Hot town, summer in the city; the Yankees and the Mets playing hurt and … uh, bad. Plus: Let’s check in on the AL Cy Young race,