New athletic teams typically take years to turn into winners. The New York Mets, a National League expansion team in 1962, provide a great example.
The Mets, affectionately known then as the Mutts (among other things), lost three-quarters of their games in their inaugural season, going 40-120. They didn’t improve quickly, finishing 10th in a 10-team league five times in their first seven years. In the other two seasons during that time span, 1966 and 1968, they ended up in ninth place.
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