title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The Court did find that President Fox and the CCE had interfered in the elections by campaigning for Felipe Calderón, which is against electoral laws. The TEPJF determined that it was unfeasible to accurately evaluate the influence this interference had on the election results but estimated the impact of Fox's interference as insignificant. Similarly, the tribunal stated that it could not gauge the importance of CCE's interference. Consequently, the Court ruled that both interferences could not be considered a sufficient judicial cause to annul the election. In response to fraud allegations, the Court stated there was a lack of enough evidence to annul the election.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador and his coalition had alleged irregularities in many polling stations and requested a national recount. Ultimately, the TEPJF, in a unanimous vote, ordered a recount of about 9% of the polling stations. The Supreme Court later ruled that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the occurrence of sufficient irregularities to change the election outcome.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In response to this result, in a move reminiscent of Francisco I. Madero declaring himself provisional President of Mexico after calling the 1910 elections against Porfirio Díaz fraudulent, López Obrador's followers proclaimed him the "Presidente Legitimo" (Legitimate President), inaugurated him in a ceremony in the Zócalo, and called for the creation of an alternative, parallel government.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador announced his victory to his supporters on the night of the election, stating that exit polls declared he had won by 500,000 votes. He did not cite any polls at the time and later referenced Covarrubias and IMO. Several days later, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) published its final tally, which had him down by a margin of 0.58%, or approximately 243,000 votes. López Obrador then initiated legal actions, claiming election irregularities in 54% of polling stations, and demanded a "vote by vote" recount in all polling stations.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) discussed the case and eventually dismissed it. The IFE called for the candidates to refrain from proclaiming themselves as the winner, president-elect, or president until the final resolution. Both candidates disobeyed this call. In an interview with U.S. Spanish-language TV network Univision, López Obrador referred to himself as "President of Mexico."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador held several gatherings in downtown Mexico City with hundreds of thousands of people attending. On 31 July, as an act of civil disobedience, he organized a blockade of 12 kilometers of Paseo de la Reforma, one of the city's most important roads, which houses several hotels, corporate headquarters, and the Mexico City Stock Market. Business groups said the blockades cost Mexico City businesses in the area millions of pesos in losses.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: On 5 August, the TEPJF met in a public session to decide the outcome of the complaints the PRD and its coalition partners had filed. The seven magistrates voted unanimously to order a recount of 11,839 ballot boxes in 155 districts (9.2% of the total), despite López Obrador's public demand for a total recount. The TEPJF based its decision for a partial recount on its finding that, despite publicly demanding a vote-by-vote general recount, López Obrador's party filed legal challenges for 71,000 polling stations (54%). Therefore, the TEPJF found it could by law order a recount of only those 71,000 polling stations contested. The TEPJF ruled that it could not order a recount of the votes not in controversy because "the certainty asked by the [López Obrador] Coalition is tied to the respect for the tallies certified by the citizens in the polling stations not in controversy."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The TEPJF did certify that principles of certainty were grounds for a recount in some stations, since there was evidence of possible irregularities. López Obrador rejected the resolution as too narrow, and he and his followers intensified their civil resistance. For about two hours on 9 August, protesters took over the tollbooths on four federal highways linking Mexico City to Cuernavaca, Querétaro, Toluca, and Pachuca. The protesters prevented personnel from charging tolls on some roads and allowed vehicles to pass freely. Also, hundreds of López Obrador supporters surrounded four of the main offices of foreign banks, including Citibank, Banamex, BBVA, and the Mexican subsidiary of HSBC, closing them for about four hours, claiming that foreign banks "ransack the country" and "widen the barrier between rich and poor" alleging banks had become involved in Mexican politics by supporting Calderón.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: On 8 August, López Obrador sent a message to the press regarding the blockades, where he explained his reasons to continue the "peaceful civil resistance." López Obrador held a rally called "National Democratic Convention" on 16 September, Independence Day, when a military parade was scheduled. The convention started after the military parade. Claiming he country's institutions to be colluded, López Obrador said that they "no longer work" and called for creating new ones.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador led a rally on the day of the state of the union speech, where sympathizers prevented president Vicente Fox from delivering a speech inside the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro. They claimed that the President "had created a police state" in the area around Congress and interpreted it as an unconstitutional act that made it impossible for Congress to be called into session. López Obrador told his followers not to be lured into violent confrontations with the police, declaring, "We aren't going to fall into any trap. We aren't going to be provoked." He exhorted his followers to remain in the Zócalo instead of marching to the Legislative Palace.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: According to a poll published on 1 December 2006 in "El Universal""," 42% thought that Calderón's victory was fraudulent, and 46% thought it was not.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: On 20 November 2006, during the federal holiday commemorating the Mexican Revolution, López Obrador's sympathizers proclaimed him the "Legitimate President" at a rally in the Zócalo in Mexico City. The action was planned in another rally, the "National Democratic Convention," in which supporters gave him the title. At the convention, López Obrador called for establishing a parallel government and shadow cabinet. He also advocated for the abolition or reform of several institutions, alleging they had become lavish and corrupt, and asked for changes to the constitution to ensure the institutions work "for the people," providing welfare and assistance to the elderly and other vulnerable groups.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: After supporters proclaimed him as the "Legitimate President of Mexico," López Obrador created a "Cabinet of Denunciation" to protest actions made by President Felipe Calderón. In his speech at the proclamation ceremony, López Obrador promised to "procure the happiness of the people" and announced twenty "actions of government," such as fostering a process for renewal of public institutions and defending the right to information and demanding openness of communication media.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Days later, López Obrador announced that he would earn a salary of 50,000 pesos (US$2,500) a month, provided by donations.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Reactions to the "legitimate presidency" varied widely. An opinion by "El País" said that López Obrador's "lack of consideration for democratic institutions and the rule of law seriously endanger civil peace in Mexico." After speculation on whether or not López Obrador's self-proclamation was against the law, the PRI stated that this political action was not a crime. Liébano Sáenz, chief of staff of former President Ernesto Zedillo, said López Obrador "will become the conscience of the nation, which will do much good for Mexican democracy." José Raúl Vera López, the Roman Catholic bishop of Saltillo, Coahuila, declared that the so-called "legitimate presidency" was a result of the "profound discontent with how the country has been run" and that López Obrador had "very deep moral backing."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: A poll conducted by Grupo Reforma indicated that 56% of Mexicans disapproved of López Obrador taking the title, while only 19% approved. Sixty-three percent of those polled also said that the former candidate had lost credibility. Other responses in the poll included 82% describing the political atmosphere in Mexico as "tense," and 45% of those polled blamed it on the PRD, 20% blamed it on the PAN, and 25% blamed both parties. The poll was a telephone survey of 850 adults on 18 November with 95% confidence interval of +/-3.4% margin of error.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In the first few months of his term, President Calderón's announced initiatives that mirrored those of López Obrador. These included price ceilings for tortillas through the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact, that protected small corn producers, reductions to the president and cabinet minister salaries, and the proposal for a constitutional amendment that,if passed, would have lowered wages for public servants and impose caps on their remuneration. Some interpreted this measures as "seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to incorporate the agenda of election rival Andrés Manuel López Obrador into his government." Others saw them as intending to undercut the opposition government.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In 2008, the PRD held leadership elections. López Obrador's candidate, Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez was opposed by Jesús Ortega. Allegations of fraud on both sides halted recounts and raised doubts about the legitimacy of the election. Media figures commented that, while López Obrador had used phrases such as "fraud", "illegitimacy", "corruption", etc. in the 2006 presidential election, the same phrases were now used to describe the PRD's election, and many feared that, no matter what the outcome, there would be a "legitimate" and a "spurious" President inside the Party. According to exit polls conducted by Mitofsky and IMO, Encinas won by 5% and 8% points, respectively.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Congress was also taken by legislators of the Broad Progressive Front (FAP), the PRD, Labor, and Convergence parties on 10 April 2008 because they disagreed with the Government regarding energy policy discussions, claiming they were unconstitutional. López Obrador's followers, using chairs and tables and barricades, took both chambers of Congress and had them chained, thus avoiding the passage of secondary laws which modified the legal framework of the Mexican state-owned oil company, Pemex. López Obrador and his followers opposed these laws and viewed them as leading to the "de facto" privatization of the company. López Obrador requested a four-month debate on energy policies instead of the 50-day one presented by the PAN, PRI, Green Party and New Alliance.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador ran again as the PRD, Labor Party, and Citizens' Movement candidate under the coalition "Movimiento Progresista" in the 2012 presidential election.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador had been a firm critic of Felipe Calderón's crime strategy and promised to reduce military presence on the streets, offering reparations to victims of the Mexican Drug War and emphasizing the protection of human rights in the country. López Obrador proposed a single police command that would gradually assume the activities of the Mexican Navy and the Mexican Army, as well as a single intelligence agency to tackle the financial networks of criminal organizations. The new police force would promote "civic and moral values." He promised to increase the salaries and benefits given to law enforcement officials throughout Mexico. His security strategy was composed of ten proposals, but all of them had the main theme: organized crime cannot be tackled if the government is responsible for the erosion of human rights.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: He also stated that if elected, he would reject any intelligence activity from the United States, including money and weapons in aid. This policy would stop the operations in Mexico of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration, including the use of drones. But it could also discourage U.S. aid to Mexico (US$1.6 billion since 2008). The proposal intended to appeal to discontent over U.S. actions in "Operation Fast and Furious," where ATF agents were involved in a gun-walking scandal.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador promised to reactivate the economy and social growth so more people could have access to a "better life" without joining cartels and abandoning the rule of law. He also pledged to improve the education system and create more jobs before the criminal groups have a chance to recruit them. He also spoke of taming corruption, impunity, drug consumption, addiction, and elite privileges. The security Cabinet he proposed would work directly with the municipal and state forces in a unified command.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador summed up his security policy as ""Abrazos, no balazos"" (Hugs, not bullets). At the start of his campaign, he said he would remove Mexican Army personnel from the streets, but in May 2012 stated the military would continue to operate until Mexico had a "trained, skilled and moralized police force."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The election was won by Enrique Peña Nieto of the PRI, with 38.2%, to 31.6% for López Obrador. López Obrador did not accept the preliminary results, as the majority of votes had not been counted. Subsequently, he claimed vote buying and other irregularities and demanded a full recount by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE). The IFE found irregularities but confirmed the results on 6 July. López Obrador rejected this announcement, and filed a complaint for invalidation of the election. He alleged vote-buying, spending above election regulations, illegal fundraising, and vote fraud. On 30 August, the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary formally rejected his complaint.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: At a news conference, López Obrador claimed that the election was "plagued with irregularities" and accused the PRI of vote buying. He also claimed that the PRI handed out gifts to lure voters into casting their vote for that party with the cooperation of Soriana, a retail chain. On the day of the 2012 presidential elections, people who voted for the PRI would receive pre-paid gift cards. Nonetheless, the PRI and the store denied those accusations and threatened to sue López Obrador. Peña Nieto vowed to imprison anyone – including members of the PRI – if they were found guilty of electoral fraud. Despite Peña Nieto's statement, videos by citizens about the Soriana cards surfaced on the internet.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Following the 2012 presidential election loss, López Obrador told a rally in Mexico City's Zócalo on 9 September 2012 that he would withdraw from the Democratic Revolution Party "on the best of terms". He said he was working on founding a new party from the Movement for National Regeneration ("Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional" in Spanish), or MORENA, for its acronym in Spanish. A couple of days after his departure from the PRD, federal deputy Ricardo Monreal stated it was a "divorce for convenience," and that López Obrador did the most responsible thing to avoid polarization of the country. According to polls and surveys, in 2012 most of the Mexican public had a negative view of the establishment of MORENA as a political party. On 7 January 2014, Martí Batres, president of MORENA, presented the documentation to the INE to be acknowledged political party.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In 2014, López Obrador revealed why he left the PRD, stating, "I left the PRD because the leaders of that party betrayed the people, they went with Peña Nieto and approved the Pact for Mexico, which is nothing more than a Pact against Mexico. I can not be in a party where tax increases were approved and it was approved that they will increase the price of gasoline every month. Gasoline in Mexico costs more than in the United States, the salary in Mexico is the lowest in the entire North American continent, and instead of asking for wage increases, the PRD rose to the podium to ask for an increase in the price of gasoline, it's an embarrassment." After Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas criticized him for forming his political party, on 7 July 2014, López Obrador posted on social media that, "PRD leaders and most of its legislators voted for the fiscal reforms [raising taxes and gas prices] and with their collaboration they paved the way for privatization of the oil industry." On 10 July 2014, the INE approved MORENA as an official political party to receive federal funds and participate in the 2015 legislative elections.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador participated again in the 2018 presidential election, his third presidential run. In the election, he represented MORENA, the left-wing Labor Party (PT), and the socially conservative right-wing Social Encounter Party (PES) under the coalition "Juntos Haremos Historia". Pre-election polls indicated he had a double-digit lead over candidates Ricardo Anaya, José Antonio Meade, and Jaime Rodríguez Calderón.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In 2018, the Mexican publication "Aristegui Noticias" criticized Vicente Fox for what it characterized as "extreme" verbal insults on Twitter towards López Obrador's crackdown on institutional corruption.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: On 24 June 2017, the PT agreed to fight the 2018 election in an electoral alliance with MORENA; however, the coalition had not officially registered with the National Electoral Institute (INE), the country's electoral authority. For MORENA, the alliance consolidated after the withdrawal of the PT's candidate Óscar González Yáñez, who resigned his candidacy and called for votes in favor of Delfina Gómez Álvarez, the standard-bearer in the state elections of the State of Mexico in 2017.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In October 2017, at PT's National Congress, as party president Alberto Anaya was reelected to another 6-year term, PT formalized its coalition with MORENA.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: At first, there was speculation about the possibility of a front grouping all the left-wing parties: MORENA, the PRD, PT, and the MC. However, López Obrador rejected any agreement due to political differences, especially after the 2017 State of Mexico elections, where the candidates of the PRD and MC continued with their campaigns and refused to support the MORENA candidate. At the end of November 2017, the leaders of MORENA and the PES announced that they were in talks to form a possible alliance: Hugo Eric Flores Cervantes, president of the PES, said: "We don't negotiate with the PRI, we have two options, go alone or with MORENA."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: On 13 December 2017, PES joined the coalition between MORENA and the PT, and it was formalized under the name "Juntos Haremos Historia" (Together We Will Make History). Following the signing of the agreement, López Obrador was appointed as a pre-candidate for the three political groups. It was a partial coalition that supported López Obrador as the presidential candidate and divided the legislative elections between the three: MORENA chose candidates in 150 federal electoral districts (out of 300) and 32 Senate rates, while the PT and the PES each nominated 75 candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and 16 for the Senate.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The alliance received criticism as it was a coalition between two left-wing parties (MORENA and the PT) with a formation related to the evangelical right (PES). In response, MORENA national president Yeidckol Polevnsky said that her party "believes in inclusion and teamwork to rescue Mexico" and that they will continue to defend human rights; in turn, Hugo Eric Flores Cervantes, national president of the PES, said that "the only possibility of real change in our country is the one headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador" and that his party had decided to be "on the right side of history".


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Andrés Manuel López Obrador said this would be his last attempt to become president, rejecting the idea of becoming a permanent moral leader for the Mexican left-wing.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In Paris, France, there is the "Official French Committee of MORENA", on which several occasions have presented their support to the candidate in small rallies in that European country. In February 2018, French deputy and former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of the La France Insoumise party, met with López Obrador, before the official start of the electoral campaign in Mexico, and described his possible victory in the following terms: "If they manage to thwart the plans against them and win the elections, it will be a great change for Mexico and all of Latin America."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Miguel Ángel Revilla, president of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, Spain, mentioned López Obrador in an interview on the "El Hormiguero" program, where he spoke of the possibility of victory for the presidential candidate in 2018: "I think he's going to win because Mexico needs a change to a good person, because they are presenting him as a Chávez-type populist, or Fidel Castro-type, but really, because he wants to end corruption and inequality within [the limits of] what he can do because the country does not deserve what it has until now; I want to send my support to this man, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from here."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has been referred to as the "ideological twin" of the US's progressive leader Bernie Sanders and the UK's Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the latter having visited López Obrador and invited him over to the British Parliament.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has been described as left-wing and populist. Other outlets have claimed that López Obrador toned down his rhetoric for the 2018 election, allying with business figures and narrowing his criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In his inauguration speech, he inveighed against neoliberalism, calling it a "disaster" and a "calamity" for the country, and promised "a fourth transformation," in reference to three major events in Mexican history, the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the Reform War (1858–1861) and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: He proposed the cancellation of the under-construction New Mexico City International Airport, the conversion of the president's official residence and office complex, Los Pinos, into a cultural centre, as well as universal health care, free internet, and a sale of the presidential aircraft. López Obrador has offered to hold referendums on various issues, among them a performance evaluation halfway through his term during the 2021 legislative elections (instead of his former proposal of every two years)) that would cut his six-year term short if he lost the consultation. He proposed dispersing the cabinet throughout the country's states, with the objective of "promoting development throughout the national territory," while the Presidency and the Ministries of National Defense, the Navy, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Finance and Public Credit would remain in the capital.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Corruption, geological, and environmental problems related to the construction of a new airport in Texcoco, State of Mexico, were major issues during López Obrador's 2018 presidential campaign. After winning the election but before taking office, he sponsored a citizen referendum on replacing the Texcoco airport with rebuilding the military airport Santa Lucia in Zumpango, State of Mexico. The referendum passed with 70% of the 1 million votes cast. Canceling the airport cost MXN 75 billion (US$3.98 billion). The new airport in Zumpango was named "Felipe Ángeles International Airport," and construction began on 17 October 2019. The airport opened in March 2022.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador's chief pledge was to eradicate institutional corruption by enacting a series of constitutional laws and policies aimed at making corruption more difficult. One example are two laws enacted that make corruption and voter fraud a criminal act without bail, as well as removing corrupt government officials with due process. López Obrador pledged a combination of zero tolerance and personal honesty to sweep it out "from top to bottom like cleaning the stairs." He asked international organizations to come to Mexico to help investigate cases of corruption and human rights abuses and announced a willingness to allow the creation of a body akin to the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, to help local prosecutors build graft cases. He also proposed to amend an article in the constitution to make it possible to try presidents for corruption.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has had mixed views on the privatization of oil that was signed into law in 2013. He has called for a referendum over the 2013 energy reform () that ended Pemex's monopoly in the oil industry. , his top energy adviser, has called for a freeze on future deepwater drilling auctions and a review of contracts with international oil companies. In February 2018, his business adviser, Alfonso Romo, said, "[he] reviewed most of the oil tenders awarded to private drillers and found them to be beneficial for Mexico." He has also pledged to end oil exports to focus internally, as well as invest in refineries along with ending the importation of gasoline from the United States, saying the nation must recover energy self-sufficiency "as a principle of national security" and should make loss-making state refineries operable and assess biodiesel production. López Obrador has promised no more "gasolinazos" as well as no more hikes in electricity and gas prices. On 30 November 2018, López Obrador told the press that the previous administration's oil reforms, which permitted auctioning oil field rights to private companies, would not continue under his administration.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Shortly after taking office, López Obrador cracked down on the robbery of motor fuels: Huachicolero. Despite the 18 January 2019 Tlahuelilpan pipeline explosion that cost the lives of at least 119 in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, and local fuel shortages, gasoline theft was cut by 95% from 81,000 barrels in November 2018 to 4,000 barrels in April 2019 with a savings of 11 billion pesos ($581 million).


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: By 2023 Mexico plans to have seven oil refineries, including a new one that is being built at the Dos Bocas port in Paraíso, Tabasco. Construction on the Dos Bocas refinery began in August 2019, with an estimated cost between US$6 billion and $8 billion.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: With his saying, "" (Scholarship recipients, yes; hitmen, no), López Obrador promised guaranteed schooling and employment to all young Mexicans, through universal access to public colleges, and proposed monthly scholarships of 2,400 MXN to low-income university students. López Obrador is against the educational reform passed into law in 2013, stating he opposes the use of standardized test scores as a basis for firing teachers, saying, "It is an ideological problem of the right, of conservatism; deep down they do not want public education, they want education to be privatized, that is the mentality that prevails in these people. I ask them to be serene and if you really want to help improve education, do not polarize or disqualify [the teachers]." He also argued that: "children go to school without eating and that is not addressed in the so-called education reform."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The educational reform laws passed during the Peña Nieto administration were overturned in September 2019. The new laws promise to assess teachers' opinions and preserve the public nature of the school system.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: As the Mexican Drug War that started under President Calderón (2006–12) dragged on into its 12th year, he reiterated his 2012 presidential run strategy of ""Abrazos, no balazos"" (Hugs, not bullets), arguing that jobs and better wages, especially for younger people and the rural populace, are necessary to combat crime, not the use of more military force. He has proposed amnesty for some drug war criminals, for which he would seek the aid of international NGOs, Pope Francis, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Héctor Vasconcelos, a former diplomat, said a López Obrador government would gradually pull back the Army and Navy from the streets where they have been engaged. López Obrador is willing to establish a truth commission to bring closure to tens of thousands of people exposed to murders and disappearances of their friends and families, such as the 2014 Ayotzinapa kidnapping. He declared that he would consider legalizing certain drugs as part of a broader strategy to fight poverty and crime.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador declared an end to the Drug War, announcing that he wished to shift from capturing "capos" (drug lords) to reducing violence and paying more attention to health and socioeconomic concerns. Nonetheless, the murder rate increased during his first year in office. López Obrador has sent the newly formed, militarized National Guard to fight crime, but they have not been any more successful than previous police and military efforts. A major setback was a failed attempt to arrest Ovidio Guzmán López in October 2019, which set off fierce gun battles in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and had to be called off. López Obrador later explained that his primary concern was saving lives. When three adults and six children, American citizens belonging to the LeBaron family, were killed near the border between Sinaloa and Chihuahua, President Donald Trump briefly threatened to declare the cartels terrorist organizations. López Obrador persuaded him not to do so.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Lopez Obrador describes himself as an adherent of a mixed economy. At an event on 3 June 2018, he explained that "there will be a mixed economy; the State with public investment could not face the challenge of growth in Mexico, private investment is required and the social sector is also required." Based on his economic proposals, he wants the country to be "self-sufficient" and to "rescue the agriculture industry" affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement. He has also doubled compensations to both, pensions to two million five hundred senior citizens, and the nation's minimum wage. López Obrador has also created a special zone along Mexico's northern border with lower value-added taxes, lower rent taxes, and a higher minimum wage. His advisers also said that the same measures could also be directed at Mexico's southern border and elsewhere to contain migration. He has planned a host of infrastructure projects in partnership with the private sector, including rail links in the forests of Yucatán and across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, to spark economic growth in Mexico's economically depressed south. At a major banking conference in March 2018, he made promises to maintain economic stability and respect the autonomy of the Bank of Mexico, saying: "We will support banks and we won't confiscate assets. There won't be expropriations or nationalizations."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has criticized NAFTA, arguing small Mexican corn farmers have been affected, as well as proposing to defend avocado farmers from agricultural tariffs. He has asked Peña Nieto's administration to postpone the current renegotiation of the agreement, arguing both Donald Trump and Peña Nieto do not have a strong, amicable relationship, tainted by a cancelled foreign trip. During the general assembly of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, he said he does not want the agreement cancelled, arguing it benefits the three member nations. In June 2018, during a presidential debate, he argued that if there is a failure in the NAFTA renegotiation, the domestic economy must be strengthened, saying, "[it] cannot be fatal for Mexicans, our country has a lot of natural resources, a lot of wealth." López Obrador has argued in favor of increasing workers' salaries "because wages in our country are very low; they are the lowest wages in the world and we need to strengthen the domestic market and improve the income of workers; you can not be paying the workers of the maquilas 800 pesos a week."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Mexico and the United States reached a new trade agreement on 27 August 2018, and Canada agreed on 30 September. The new trade agreement is called the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).The USMCA increases environmental and labor regulations, and incentivizes the domestic production of cars and trucks. The agreement also provides updated intellectual property protections. Then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Deputy Minister for North America Jesús Seade Kuri signed a modified agreement in Mexico City on 10 December 2018. The Mexican Senate ratified the treaty on 19 June 2019, the US on January 29, 2020 (Public Law No: 116–113), and Canada on March 13, 2020.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Arguing he would be fiscally conservative, López Obrador proposed raising social spending without tax hikes or accumulation of public debt, via proposed austerity measures on politician and bureaucrat salaries and subsidies, including the president's salary and post-presidential pension, as well as fighting private corruption and tax fraud.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has reduced the presidential salary by 60% to MXN 108,000 (US$5,000) per month and has limited what public servants and members of the judiciary can earn. He opened the presidential housing complex of Los Pinos to the public, taking up residence in the National Palace. On top of this, he has sold off government assets, including vehicles and real estate; proceeds have gone to social programs for the poor. An austerity law passed in October 2019 restricts remodeling of government offices, bans government employees for ten years from working in private companies they regulated while in office, and cuts presidential pensions. The president flies commercial airlines, but has not yet found a buyer for the presidential airplane.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Following accusations by interest groups and the opposition, which have alleged influences by the Venezuelan government and drawn comparisons with Donald Trump, López Obrador stated, "No to "Chavismo", no to "Trumpismo"; yes to "Juarismo", yes to "Maderismo", yes to "Cardenismo", yes to "Mexicanismo"." He has repeatedly stated that he wants to continue the bilateral relationship with the United States based on mutual respect and friendship, "and not of subordination", insisting that "Mexico will not be a piñata of any foreign government". He has also said, "we no longer want Mexico to be seen as a country of conquest, the looting is over." During a presidential debate, López Obrador argued that "the best foreign policy is domestic policy," in that if the country has no corruption and crime, it will help develop trust for investment and tourism because the image of Mexico would improve the perception of Mexico in the international arena. He has campaigned on Mexico's former foreign policy of non-interventionism and the Principle of the self-determination of the peoples' nations, the Estrada Doctrine, stated in the Mexican constitution, article 89. López Obrador reiterated his commitment to non-interventionism with the statement he made during his presidential victory speech, "We will be friends of all the world's people and governments. The principles of non-intervention, self-determination, and the peaceful settlement of disputes will be applied again."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: After the 2019 election victory in Argentina, López Obrador developed a close relationship with President Alberto Fernández in what "El País" described as a "progressive alliance," with Fernández making one of his first official trips abroad to Mexico (the first being to Israel). The two countries later developed a closer bond in cooperation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. López Obrador also expressed support for Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands and has urged the United Kingdom to negotiate an end to the dispute with Argentina.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: As President Donald Trump accused Mexican illegal immigrants of "bringing drugs [and] crime" during his presidential campaign, López Obrador took a stance against Trump's proposals for the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the deportation of undocumented immigrants in the United States. In 2017, he called on the Peña Nieto administration to "[present] a lawsuit at the United Nations against the U.S. government for violation of human rights and racial discrimination". He promised to convert the 50 Mexican consulates in the United States into "procurators" for the defense of migrants, suggested appointing Alicia Bárcena, current Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, as Mexico's permanent representative to the UN, and pledged to put pressure on the United States through organizations like the United Nations. He accused the establishment parties of the corruption that keeps migrants from receiving the support they need.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Regarding migration to Mexico, he asserted his government would not "continue the dirty work" of the United States and detain Central American migrants at the country's southern border. Following his proposed idea of decentralizing the nation's cabinet away from Mexico City, he would move the National Institute of Migration to Tijuana, Baja California. He suggested that the NAFTA renegotiations should create a development plan for Central America as a means to address emigration in the region, including a proposed "alliance for progress" including Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Central America to foster job creation, grow the economy and pacify the region. López Obrador said he wants to broker a deal with President Trump to stem illegal immigration through jobs and development rather than a border wall.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador's pick for the proposed re-establishment of the Secretariat of Public Security, Alfonso Durazo, declared in July 2018 that there are plans to create a border police that would mainly patrol Mexico's southern border to halt illegal immigration, drugs, and weapons. In October 2018, López Obrador declared working visas for Central American immigrants. Days later, following the arrival of Central American migrant caravans into Mexico en route to the United States, he asked for solidarity with the migrants.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador won the election on 1 July 2018 with 53% of the popular vote–the first candidate to win an outright majority since 1988, and the first candidate not from the PRI or its predecessors to do so since the Mexican Revolution.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In terms of states won, López Obrador won in a landslide, carrying 31 out of 32 of the country's states.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Around 30 minutes after polls closed in the country's northwest, José Antonio Meade, speaking at a news conference from PRI headquarters, conceded defeat and wished Andrés Manuel López Obrador "every success". Ricardo Anaya also conceded defeat within an hour of the polls closing, and independent candidate Jaime Rodríguez Calderón recognized López Obrador's victory shortly afterward.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador took office on 1 December 2018. When he was president-elect, he announced he would take a 60% salary pay cut.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Before taking office, from 22 to 25 October, he held an impromptu vote, organized by supporters of his party, on whether or not the New International Airport for Mexico City was to be scrapped, citing that the project was rife with corruption, cronyism, and a waste of taxpayer's money. About 70% of the results voted against the continuation of the project. López Obrador proposed expanding the Santa Lucía Air Force Base instead.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In December 2018, López Obrador ordered the creation of a truth commission to re-examine one of the country's most notorious unsolved crimes: the kidnapping and presumed murder of 43 trainee teachers who disappeared after an attack by cartel gunmen and police officers.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: After the 2018 presidential election, media organizations, including "Forbes," reported that López Obrador said the victory of his party, MORENA, was ""La Cuarta Transformación"" (The Fourth Transformation). The phrase is a reference to three major historical reforms, namely Mexican independence, the Reform War, and the Mexican Revolution.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Just before his 1 December inauguration, a documentary on López Obrador was broadcast on Now This World.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In his first year, López Obrador did not have to contend with any major new issues. His approval ratings were high, approximately the same as previous administrations at the same point in their terms. Despite that, there has appeared to be little progress on issues on which he campaigned, which critics pointed out. "The Economist" criticized his first year as lacking in statecraft and abundant in theatrical gestures. In August 2019, Bloomberg News did an extended interview with López Obrador. The China Global Television Network did a short special assessment of López Obrador's first year in office.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: He argues his presidency is the "Fourth Transformation" in Mexican history, with the first three being the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the War of the Reform (1857–1861), and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). He invokes imagery likening his presidency to the work of Jesus Christ, with concern for the less fortunate being a top priority under López Obrador. Direct communication with the electorate has become a key feature of his presidency. He holds daily briefings ("mañaneras"), broadcast on state media.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador has made citizen forums, consultations, and referendums a key part of his decision-making process. Such consultations have been held on major infrastructure projects such as the construction of a new airport, an oil refinery, an electric plant, and the Mayan Train. Other consultations have been held on various social issues, and more are planned for the future—including LGBTQ rights and amnesty for low-level drug offenders. He also plans a popular vote of confidence when he reaches the middle of his term in 2022. The consultations held in 2018 and 2019 have enjoyed widespread support (70% or more), but they have been criticized for low turnout (2% or less) and other reasons.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Morning Consult's Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, which evaluates the approval rating of 13 world leaders on a weekly basis, positioned López Obrador as the second highest in terms of net approval rating as of February 10, 2022.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: A top priority during López Obrador's campaign was his pledge to end corruption. In 2018 Mexico was on a par with Russia at 138 (of 180 countries) by the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. López Obrador has made some high-profile gestures against corruption, but his critics see them as not getting at the core issue. He stated his administration will no longer employ the agency designed to uncover corruption in government spending, the National Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (INAI), citing its complicity in covering up high-profile scandals such as the Odebrecht case. Enrique Krauze has criticized López Obrador's move, saying "Now there is absolutely no transparency in the use of public money, and, at the same time, the awarding of contracts to companies owned by the president's friends."


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador's anti-corruption efforts have concentrated in five areas: illegal fuel sales known as "Huachicolero", accounting methods and tax fraud, illegal outsourcing, judicial corruption, and money laundering. The "Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera" on 27 December 2019, announced that it has opened investigations into four former governors. In August 2019 Rosario Robles was sent to prison for her involvement in the MXN $7,760 million (US$420 million) "Master Scam" (Spanish: "Estafa Maestra"), and charges against former Pemex officials such as CEO Emilio Lozoya Austin and union leader Carlos Romero Deschamps. In October 2019, a justice of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) was forced to resign due to irregularities involving an irregular bank deposit worth MXN $80 million (US$4 million).


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Despite initial praise from human rights group Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) in October 2019, regarding Lopez' ambitious plan which introduced anti-corruption prosecutors both at federal and state levels through an independent National Anti-Corruption System, its 2021 report concluded that, while the structure of the System could theoretically work, it had been essentially crippled by the lack of independence or any real autonomy, amongst other factors.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In 2019 López Obrador consolidated some projects to support the educational system in Mexico, some of them being the creation of one hundred public universities and the approval of the reforms to articles 3, 31 and 73 of the Mexican Constitution, about education, in which parents, teachers and authorities participated. That same year, he also implemented the scholarship program "Bienestar Benito Juárez" in all educational levels of public service, in order to encourage the permanence of students and also reverted the Education Reform implemented during the Peña Nieto administration, replacing it with one that would guarantee free education at all levels.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, face-to-face classes were suspended since March, in order to avoid contagions of the disease. In August, the president signed an agreement with the television networks Televisa, TV Azteca, Imagen Televisión and Grupo Multimedios so that preschool, primary and secondary school students could begin receiving classes and educational content on television. In December, he announced Delfina Gómez Álvarez as the new secretary of Public Education, replacing Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, who would become Mexico's ambassador to the United States. In 2021, a protocol was announced with which students could gradually return to face-to-face classes, but only in those states that were on a green light of the epidemiological traffic light during the COVID pandemic. The exchange between Delfina and Moctezuma was officially carried out on 15 February. The return of face-to-face classes since the beginning of the pandemic took place on 7 June in Mexico City, San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes, and on the 14 of the same month in the State of Mexico. However, this return was silently canceled again when cases of children infected with COVID-19 began to be registered inside schools, little student presence, and the beginning of a third wave of infections by the disease. Despite this, the president announced that the return of face-to-face classes would be "rained, thundered or lighted" in August, one of his motivations being to avoid the supposed "addiction to video games" that kids have today.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador's energy policy has prioritized the state over the market. Petroleum is at the centre of his strategy, with the construction of a refinery in Tabasco, and has in essence banned private investment in the sector. There was low or flat economic growth in his first year of office. He implemented a minimum wage increase of 16.21% in 2019, before uplifting the wage increase to 20% the same year. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause lasting damage to the economy, with some critics arguing López Obrador has not effectively planned and responded to economic uncertainty, with the peso falling in the first months of the pandemic. López Obrador made good on his promise to cancel the building of a new airport (Texcoco Airport) to serve Mexico City, with $13.3 billion already spent. Instead, the Felipe Ángeles International Airport was reworked to replace it.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The trade deal with the U.S. and Canada was ratified by all three nations and went into effect in July 2020. López Obrador traveled to the U.S. to sign the agreement, but Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of the third partner, Canada, did not attend, claiming the coronavirus as the reason. Trump and López Obrador signed the agreement at the White House. With the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances from Mexicans in the U.S. have fallen. In addition, with the U.S.-Mexico border increasingly difficult to cross, Mexicans in the U.S. are now aging and dying, often being buried in their home towns and villages.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: According to "Los Angeles Times", the initial response by López Obrador's government was as late as March 2020, and was met with significant criticism. The president continued to hold rallies, be tactile with crowds, and downplay the threat of coronavirus to Mexicans' health and to the Mexican economy. When COVID-19 arrived in Mexico, the government took few steps to ramp up preparedness. The healthcare system is undergoing reforms to lessen the possibility of corruption and to shift from the existing insurance system to a universal one. In March 2020, López Obrador pledged to donate a quarter of his salary to help the country weather the pandemic.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Rates of crime remain high in Mexico and conflict and violence of drug mafias has not been stemmed. The number of murders nationwide in 2019 was over 34,000. Although the rate of women's murders is only about 10% of that number, femicide (murders of women specifically because they are women), has risen and resulted in major demonstrations in early 2020.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador initially backed away from the policy of taking out mafia heads. His policy was not a harsh crackdown, offering ""abrazos, no balazos""" ("hugs, not gunshots"), which confused and demoralized the security forces. He then gave the army nation-wide control of security. A high-profile situation developed in Sinaloa in October 2019 when Ovidio Guzmán López, son of imprisoned drug mafia head Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was captured by a small government force. The mafia responded there with a shootout on the Culiacán city streets, resulting in the government freeing Ovidio Guzmán. He has acceded to U.S. requests to extradite criminals to the U.S. In Michoacán, drug mafias have been extorting avocado producers, an ongoing issue especially following the rise in demand in the U.S. for the crop.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In April 2020, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Mexican drug cartels had been handing out food relief in their core regions. López Obrador called on them instead to end the violence. Cartels have been acting with continued impunity in Mexico City, with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel targeting the chief of its police force, Omar García Harfuch for assassination in an early morning. He survived wounded, but two of his bodyguards and a civilian were killed. López Obrador's policy toward drug cartels has been criticized in the press in the United States on an ongoing basis.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Since 2020, a gradual decrease in intentional homicides has been shown nationwide in Mexico. As López Obrador reported on 6 January 2022, in the year 2020, the amount of reported intentional homicides was 0.4% less than 2019, and it decreased further in 2021, with 4.6% less homicides than 2020. López Obrador stated in the report that he plans to continue this trend throughout the rest of his presidency. Despite this, 2019 was one of the most violent years in Mexican history, with 34,690 reported intentional homicides. Though these reports address the intentional homicide rates nationwide, violence has increased in some states. The biggest increase was seen in the state of Zacatecas, where the number of total homicides per 100,000 people increased from about 64 to 90 in the first 11 months of 2021, showing 41% more homicides than 2020. Other states where an increase was reported were Sonora (about 11% increase) and Michoacán (1% increase).


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Plans to legalize the personal use of marijuana missed a 24 October 2019 SCJN deadline, which was extended to 30 April 2020, as users, growers, and businesses could not agree on details. In June 2021, the Supreme Court in effect legalized the recreational use of cannabis.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: As of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted supply chains from China to Mexico that provided the precursor chemicals to create fentanyl and methamphetamine, usually then exported to the U.S.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: López Obrador's government has been criticized for failing to combat violence against women in Mexico and its high rate of femicide, which has risen dramatically since 2018. López Obrador has been accused of being slow to respond to women's demands to act on the issue of femicide. After a particularly well-publicized femicide of a kidnapped girl, women marches spiked nationally; as a result, the Head of Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum (who is also a member of MORENA) announced new measures to prevent further femicides in the city, while López Obrador also announced a package of new measures to address the issue. Soon after, women's groups called for two days of action, a massive demonstration in Mexico City on International Women's Day (8 March), following by a strike on 9 March 2020. The Mexico City demonstration had some 80,000 participants. On Monday, 9 March 2020, the second day of action was marked by the absence of women at work, in class, shopping and other public activities. The "Day Without Us" ("Día Sin Nosotras") was reported in the international press along with the previous day's demonstrations.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: The Trump administration in the U.S. pressed for building a wall on Mexico's northern border, and it also implemented measures attempting to stem the flow of migrants from Central America and other regions of the world. Although López Obrador expressed sympathy with migrants during his campaign, when the number of migrants surged, the U.S. threatened his government with trade sanctions, which led him to solidify the southern border. Government forces broke up migrant caravans heading through Mexico to the U.S. At the northern border, Mexico is now the stopping point for migrants sent back to Mexico by U.S. immigration authorities awaiting adjudication of their claims for asylum. Citing widespread corruption, López Obrador dismantled the Federal Police and incorporated elements of it into the recently created National Guard, which has been employed to stop Central American immigrants at the southern border.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was forced to resign amid allegations of fraud in October's presidential election, fled Bolivia during the night of 11 November 2019, on a plane for Mexico, which offered him asylum. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said his country decided to grant asylum "for humanitarian reasons, and given the urgent situation faced in Bolivia".


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: Major historical commemorations took place in 2021. The events are the founding of Tenochtitlan (although the date of its founding is often given as 1325); the 1521 fall of Tenochtitlan; and the 1821 consummation of Mexican independence. The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral is being repaired, along with other colonial-era buildings in advance of the commemorations. During conmemorations, he apologized in the name of Mexico to indigenous peoples and Mexicans of Chinese descent for historical abuses. López Obrador invited King Felipe VI of Spain and Pope Francis to Mexico for the commemorations, and asked them to apologize for the conquest of America. The Pope declined the invitation, saying he had apologized in 2015.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In June 2021 midterm elections, López Obrador's left-leaning Morena’s coalition lost seats in the lower house of Congress. However, his ruling coalition maintained a simple majority, but López Obrador failed to secure the two-thirds congressional supermajority. The main opposition was a coalition of Mexico's three traditional parties: the PRI, the PAN and the PRD.


title: Andrés Manuel López Obrador

text: In October 2019, López Obrador said that once he leaves the presidency he wants to retire in peace and does not want any streets or statues named for him. Nevertheless, on 18 July 2020, the newspaper "El Universal" published a list of places that bear his name:


title: New York Mets

text: The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other being the American League's (AL) New York Yankees. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed NL teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The team's colors evoke the blue of the Dodgers and the orange of the Giants.


title: New York Mets

text: For the 1962 and 1963 seasons, the Mets played home games at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan before moving to Queens. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets played their home games at Shea Stadium, named after William Shea, the founder of the Continental League, a proposed third major league, the announcement of which prompted their admission as an NL expansion team. Since 2009, the Mets have played their home games at Citi Field next to the site where Shea Stadium once stood.


title: New York Mets

text: In their inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40–120, the worst regular-season record since MLB went to a 162-game schedule. The team never finished better than second-to-last in the 1960s until the "Miracle Mets" beat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series, considered one of the biggest upsets in World Series history despite the Mets having won 100 games that season. The Mets have qualified for the postseason ten times, winning the World Series twice (1969 and 1986) and winning five National League pennants (most recently in 2000 and 2015), and six National League East division titles.


title: New York Mets

text: Since 2020, the Mets have been owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, who purchased the team for $2.4 billion. As of 2022, "Forbes" ranked the Mets as the sixth valuable MLB team, valued at $2.650 billion.


title: New York Mets

text: After the 1957 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated from New York to California to become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, leaving the largest city in the United States with no National League franchise and only one major league team, the New York Yankees of the American League (AL). With the threat of a New York team joining a new third league, the National League expanded by adding the New York Mets following a proposal from William Shea. In a symbolic reference to New York's earlier National League teams, the new team took as its primary colors the blue of the Dodgers and the orange of the Giants, both of which are colors also featured on the Flag of New York City. The nickname "Mets" was adopted: being a natural shorthand to the club's corporate name, the "New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc.", which hearkened back to the "Metropolitans" (a New York team in the American Association from 1880 to 1887), and its brevity was advantageous for newspaper headlines.


title: New York Mets

text: The 1962 Mets posted a 40–120 record, a major league record for the most losses in a season since 1899. During the 1963 season the team featured a pitcher, Carlton Willey, who was having a great year, pitching four shut-outs, when he incurred an injury and finished with a 9–14 win–loss record. The '63 squad also had Duke Snider, who hit his 2,000th hit and later his 400th home run and earned a berth to the 1963 All-Star Game. In 1964, the Mets hired Yogi Berra as a coach under Casey Stengel's coaching staff.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1966, the Mets famously bypassed future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the amateur draft, instead selecting Steve Chilcott, who never played in the majors. But the following year, they acquired future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in a lottery. Seaver helped the 1969 "Miracle Mets" win the new National League East division title, then defeat the Atlanta Braves to win the National League pennant and the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles to win the 1969 World Series.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1973, the Mets rallied from 5th place to win the division, despite a record of only 82–79. They shocked the heavily favored Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" in the NLCS and pushed the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics to a seventh game, but lost the series. Notably, 1973 was the only NL East title between 1970 and 1980 that was not won by either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates. Star pitcher Tom Seaver was traded in 1977, on a day remembered as "the Midnight Massacre", and the Mets fell into last place for several years.


title: New York Mets

text: In January 1980, the Payson heirs sold the Mets franchise to the Doubleday publishing company for $21.1 million, a record amount at that time. Nelson Doubleday, Jr. was named chairman of the board while minority shareholder Fred Wilpon took the role of club president. In February, Wilpon hired longtime Baltimore Orioles executive Frank Cashen as general manager who began the process of rebuilding the Mets much in the same way he developed the Orioles in the late 1960s and early 1970s.


title: New York Mets

text: The franchise turned around in the mid-1980s. During this time the Mets drafted slugger Darryl Strawberry (#1 in 1980) and 1985 Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden (#5 in 1982). Former National League MVP and perennial Gold Glove winner Keith Hernandez was obtained by the Mets in 1983. After finishing their first three campaigns of the 1980s decade in either 5th or 6th (last) place, in 1984, new manager Davey Johnson was promoted from the helm of the AAA Tidewater Tides. He led the Mets to a second-place, 90–72 record, their first winning season since 1976.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1985, they acquired Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter from the Montreal Expos and won 98 games, but narrowly missed the playoffs. In 1986, they won the division with a record of 108–54, one of the best in National League history. They then won a dramatic NLCS in six games over the Houston Astros.


title: New York Mets

text: The sixth game of the series lasted sixteen innings, the longest playoff game in history until 2005. The Mets came within one strike of losing the World Series against the Boston Red Sox before a series of hits and defensive miscues ultimately led to an error by Boston's Bill Buckner which gave the Mets a Game 6 victory. The Mets won their second World Series title in seven games.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1987 the Mets declined to re-sign World Series MVP Ray Knight, who then signed with the Baltimore Orioles and also traded away the flexible Kevin Mitchell to the Padres for long-ball threat Kevin McReynolds. Weeks later Mets' ace Dwight Gooden was admitted to a drug clinic after testing positive for cocaine. Despite Gooden struggling in the first few months of the 1987 season, "Dr. K" rebounded, as did the team. It was during the tough times that the Mets made a great long-term deal, trading Ed Hearn to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher David Cone.


title: New York Mets

text: They surged to battle St. Louis for the division title. They suffered two painful losses to the Cardinals. The first came on Seat Cushion Night where Tom Herr hit a walk-off grand slam. A greater loss came on September 11 in a game against St. Louis, 3rd baseman Terry Pendleton hit a homer to give the Cardinals a lead, and eventually the NL East title. One highlight of the year was Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson becoming the first teammates' ever to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season. After posting a 100–60 overall record, the Mets won the division in 1988, but lost in the NLCS that year and declined into the 1990s.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets struggled for much of the 1990s, finishing with a losing record for six consecutive seasons between 1991 and 1996. The Mets would not return to the postseason until 1999 after a one-game playoff against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1999 National League Division Series, the Mets were defeated by their NL East rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in the 1999 National League Championship Series in six games.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2000, the Mets finished the season with a 94–68 record and clinched a wild card spot in the playoffs. In the NLDS, the Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants 3–1 in the series and the St Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. After winning the National League pennant, the Mets earned a trip to the 2000 World Series against their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, for a "Subway Series". The Mets were defeated by the Yankees in five games. The most memorable moment of the 2000 World Series occurred during the first inning of Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Piazza fouled off a pitch which shattered his bat, sending a piece of the barrel toward the pitcher's mound. Pitcher Roger Clemens seized the piece and hurled it in the direction of Piazza as the catcher trotted to first base, benches briefly cleared before the game was resumed with no ejections.


title: New York Mets

text: During the 2001 season, the Mets finished with a record of 82–80 finishing third in the division. After the September 11 terrorist attacks Shea Stadium was used as a relief center and then saw the first sporting event in New York City since the attacks, in a game vs. the Atlanta Braves on September 21. In the bottom of the 8th inning the Mets were trailing 2–1 when Mike Piazza came to bat with a runner on first. Piazza dramatically sent Shea into a frenzy by crushing a home run to give the Mets a 3–2 lead and the eventual win. The game is considered to be one of the greatest moments in the history of the franchise.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2002, despite the off-season signings of Tom Glavine, Mo Vaughn, and Roberto Alomar, the Mets finished the 2002 season with a 75-86 overall record and last in the NL East. During that same season the Mets dealt with off field distractions when co-owners Wilpon and Doubleday were in a legal battle which was later settled with Wilpon becoming the sole owner on August 23 that year.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets nearly missed the playoffs in 2001 and struggled from 2002 to 2004. In the aftermath of the 2004 season, the Mets hired a new general manager, Omar Minaya, who immediately turned the franchise around by signing pitcher Pedro Martínez and hiring a new manager, Willie Randolph. The Mets finished 2005 four games over .500, and the franchise's resurgence was complete by 2006 as they won 97 games and the NL East title behind new acquisitions Carlos Beltrán and Carlos Delgado, as well as young superstars José Reyes and David Wright. The Mets eventually succumbed to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2007, the Mets entered the final 17 games in the season with a seven-game lead in the NL East. But the team went on an ill-timed losing streak, losing 11 of the next 15 games, resulting in the Philadelphia Phillies winning the division by one game.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets held a more modest 3.5-game lead after 145 games of the 2008 season, their final season at Shea Stadium. On June 16, Omar Minaya fired Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson, and Tom Nieto. Jerry Manuel was named interim manager. While their 7–10 mark down the stretch was better than the previous season's 5–12, it still allowed the Phillies to pass them once again for the division crown.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2009, the Mets moved into the newly constructed Citi Field. On April 17, Gary Sheffield, who just days earlier was signed by the Mets as a free agent, hit his 500th home run against the Milwaukee Brewers. Sheffield became the first pinch hitter to reach this milestone, as well as the first to do it in a Mets uniform. The season was mainly a tough one for the Mets which was marred by numerous injuries suffered by its players, with 20 of them having been on the disabled list at one point or another during the season and losing star (and also replacement) players like J. J. Putz, John Maine, Óliver Pérez, José Reyes, Carlos Beltrán, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, and Gary Sheffield.


title: New York Mets

text: As a result, the Mets finished in fourth place, with a record of 70–92 and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season. Mets players spent more than 1,480 days in the disabled list in 2009, more than any other team in the majors. Second-half turnarounds of Jeff Francoeur and Daniel Murphy helped the Mets finish the season with the best batting average in the National League, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2012, Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz settled a lawsuit brought against them on behalf of the victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme for $162 million. As a result of this agreement the liquidator, Irving Picard, agreed to drop the charges that Wilpon and Katz blindly went along with the scheme for their personal benefit. Picard had originally sought to recover $1 billion from the Wilpon family and Katz, but settled for $162 million along with the admission that neither the Wilpons nor Katz had any knowledge of the Ponzi scheme. In 2011–2012, Mets ownership sold twelve minority 4% shares (totaling 48%) of the franchise at $20 million apiece to provide a cash infusion of $240 million for the team.


title: New York Mets

text: Though the first half of the 2010s saw limited success for the Mets, who failed to finish with a winning record between 2009 and 2014, this period coincided with a number of milestones for the franchise, including the first no-hitter in franchise history by Johan Santana in 2012. R.A. Dickey won the NL Cy Young Award pitching for the Mets that same season.


title: New York Mets

text: On September 26, 2015, the Mets clinched the NL East division title, and thus their first postseason berth since 2006, by defeating the Cincinnati Reds 10–2. They defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, three games to two, and swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS for their first pennant in 15 years. In the 2015 World Series, they were defeated by the Kansas City Royals in five games.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets returned to the postseason in 2016, marking only the second time in franchise history that the team qualified for the postseason in consecutive years. With an 87–75 record, the team qualified for the wild-card game, only to lose 3–0 to the San Francisco Giants. The Mets failed to make the playoffs for the rest of the decade, finishing no higher than third place in 2019 when they finished with a winning record of 86–76 (the highest of any team not to qualify for the postseason).


title: New York Mets

text: The end of the decade also coincided with David Wright's retirement, Jacob deGrom being awarded two consecutive Cy Young Awards (including for the 2018 season when the pitcher finished the year with a 1.70 ERA) and first-baseman Pete Alonso winning the 2019 Rookie of the Year Award and finishing the season with a major-league-leading 53 home runs, the most by any rookie in MLB history. On October 3, 2019, the Mets fired manager Mickey Callaway. On November 1, 2019, the Mets named Carlos Beltrán as the new manager replacing Callaway.


title: New York Mets

text: On January 16, 2020, Beltrán stepped down as manager before the start of the 2020 season due to his involvement in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. Two days later, the Mets hired Luis Rojas as manager. The team finished the shortened 2020 season with a 26–34 record and a last-place finish in the NL East.


title: New York Mets

text: On October 30, 2020, Steve Cohen became the majority owner of the Mets, owning 95% of the team, making him the current richest owner in baseball. He bought the team from the Wilpon family for $2.475 billion, with the Wilpons keeping the remaining 5%. On January 7, 2021, the Mets acquired pitcher Carlos Carrasco and all-star shortstop Francisco Lindor in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. On April 1, 2021, Lindor and the Mets agreed to an extension worth $341 million for the next 11 years. At the trade deadline, the Mets acquired All-star infielder & world series champion Javier Báez in trade with the Chicago Cubs. The Mets finished third place in the NL East with an overall record of 77–85.


title: New York Mets

text: On November 19, 2021, the Mets hired Billy Eppler as the new general manager. During the 2021–2022 off-season, the Mets signed free agents Nick Plummer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha. On December 1, the Mets signed three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer with a three-year $130 million deal. On December 18, the Mets announced hiring Buck Showalter as their manager via owner Steve Cohen's Twitter account. On April 29, 2022, Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz pitched the second no-hitter in franchise history. At the trade deadline, the Mets added 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach from the Pirates, OF Tyler Naquin from the Reds, and OF Darin Ruf from the Giants. On September 19, 2022 Jacob deGrom set a new MLB record by allowing three or less earned runs. On September 25, 2022 Pete Alonso broke the Mets single season RBI record which was previously set by former franchise stars Mike Piazza and David Wright. Also during the season, the Mets called up three of their top prospects Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Álvarez.


title: New York Mets

text: Throughout the 60-year history of the franchise, the Mets have won 2 World Series Championships in total.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1998, the Independent Budget Office of the city of New York published a study on the economic effect of the city's two Major League Baseball teams. The study found that 43% of Mets fans lived in one of the five boroughs of New York, 39% in the tri-state area outside the city, and 12% elsewhere. Mets fans were more likely to be found in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Mets, Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays fans are shared in Western New York. Notable fans of the Mets include Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin James, Julia Stiles, Ty Burrell, Bill Maher, Ben Stiller, Jimmy Kimmel, Hank Azaria, Jim Breuer, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Dylan O'Brien, Glenn Close, Billy Joel, Ad-Rock, MCA, Nas, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Chris Christie, Patrick Mahomes, and Donovan Mitchell.


title: New York Mets

text: The "7 Line Army" are a group primarily consisting of passionate and die-hard Mets fans occupying the Big Apple Section of Citi Field during home games for the Mets. The group was founded in 2012 by Darren Meenan who owns The 7 Line, an apparel company that produces Mets-themed clothing.


title: New York Mets

text: Mr. Met is the official mascot of the New York Mets. He was introduced on the cover of game programs in 1963, when the Mets were still playing at the Polo Grounds in northern Manhattan. When the Mets moved to Shea Stadium in 1964, fans were introduced to a live costumed version. Mr. Met is believed to have been the first mascot in Major League Baseball to exist in human (as opposed to artistically rendered) form.


title: New York Mets

text: Mrs. Met (formerly Lady Met) is the female counterpart to Mr. Met, and the couple sometimes appears with 2–3 smaller "children".


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets have had two mascots other than Mr. and Mrs. Met at different points in its history. The franchise's original official mascot was Homer, a beagle trained by Rudd Weatherwax that lived at the Waldorf-Astoria, was sponsored by Rheingold Beer and had his own platform behind home plate at the Polo Grounds. The dog was not included in the ballclub's transition to Shea Stadium. The brainchild of team owner Lorinda de Roulet's daughter Bebe, Mettle the mule represented the Mets for only the 1979 season. The name was the result of a contest won by Dolores Mapps of Mercerville, New Jersey whose explanation was that it typified the team's "spirit, ardor, stamina and courage, all of which the Mets have in abundance." Mettle was not retained after the franchise was sold to Nelson Doubleday Jr. and Fred Wilpon the following year.


title: New York Mets

text: "Meet the Mets" is the Mets' signature song, written in 1961, one year before the first season, by Bill Katz and Ruth Roberts. It is played on the radio, during television broadcasts and at Mets' home games. Other songs traditionally sung at Mets home games include "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and the Sicilian song "C'è la luna mezzo mare" during the seventh-inning stretch and Billy Joel's "Piano Man" in the middle of the eigth inning.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets' colors are blue and orange, originally chosen to honor the city's history of National League baseball; blue for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and orange for the New York Giants. Blue and orange are also the colors of New York City, as seen on its flag.


title: New York Mets

text: In 1998, black was added to the color scheme, although beginning with 2012 the black elements in the uniform began to be phased out, and were eliminated in 2013.


title: New York Mets

text: The primary logo, designed by sports cartoonist Ray Gotto, consists of "Mets" written in orange script trimmed in white across a blue representation of the New York City skyline with a white suspension bridge in the foreground, all contained in an orange circle with orange baseball stitching across the image. Each part of the skyline has special meaning—at the left is a church spire, symbolic of Brooklyn, the borough of churches; the second building from the left is the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, the tallest building in Brooklyn at the time of the team's founding; next is the Woolworth Building; after a general skyline view of midtown comes the Empire State Building; at the far right is the headquarters of the United Nations. The suspension bridge in the center symbolizes that the Mets, by bringing National League baseball back to New York, represent all five boroughs; many of New York's major bridges are suspension designs. In 1999, the logo received a slight alteration; a small "NY" originally placed to the left of the team script was removed. No other notable changes have ever been made to the logo.


title: New York Mets

text: The cap logo consists of an orange, interlocking "NY" identical to the logo used by the New York Giants in their final years, and is on a blue cap reminiscent of the caps worn by the Brooklyn Dodgers.


title: New York Mets

text: With the introduction of black as an official color, an alternate team logo was created in 1999. It is identical to the original logo, but the skyline is black instead of blue and the "Mets" script is blue trimmed in orange and white instead of orange trimmed in white (the alternate black jerseys displayed the primary blue and orange logo on the left sleeves in 1998; in 1999 this was changed to the alternate black and blue logo). The logo fell into disuse after the Mets dropped the alternate black jerseys and caps in 2012. In 2021, alternate black jerseys returned.


title: New York Mets

text: The home uniforms are white with blue pinstripes and feature "Mets" in blue script with an orange outline across the chest, and block letter player names and numbers also in blue with an orange outline. The uniforms are paired with a blue cap featuring an "NY" logo in orange, plus blue undersleeves, belts and socks.


title: New York Mets

text: The gray road jerseys feature a radially-arched "NEW YORK" in Tiffany style letters across the chest, block letter player numerals and names in blue outlined in orange, and blue placket and sleeve piping. Like the home uniforms, the road grays are worn with the same blue caps, undersleeves, belts and socks.


title: New York Mets

text: The blue alternate uniform, introduced in 2012, features the "Mets" script and block lettering and numbers in orange with white outline, and orange piping. The blue alternates are worn with a secondary blue cap featuring the "NY" logo in orange trimmed in white.


title: New York Mets

text: The black alternate uniform, introduced in its current form in 2022, is a modified version of the uniform worn from 1998 to 2012 and reintroduced for Friday home games in 2021. The lettering is blue with white trim and orange drop shadows, lacked the blue piping of the previous iteration, and has the primary logo (sans black) on the left sleeve. The set is worn with an alternate black cap featuring the "NY" logo in blue trimmed in white with orange drop shadows. Belts and socks worn with it are also black. Both the blue and black alternate uniforms are worn with plain white pants with blue piping.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets' standard blue batting helmet, with the "NY" in metallic orange, is currently used for games worn with the primary home, road and blue alternate jerseys. A black alternate helmet is used in games with the black jerseys.


title: New York Mets

text: Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's number 42 on April 15, 1997, when the Mets played the Dodgers at Shea Stadium. Butch Huskey wore the number throughout the rest of his Mets career because of a grandfather clause placed on the retired number by MLB. Mo Vaughn also wore 42 during his stint with the Mets, because of the same clause.


title: New York Mets

text: On the final opening day at Shea Stadium, April 8, 2008, the Mets unveiled a sign bearing the name "Shea" next to the team's retired numbers honoring William Shea and his contributions to the franchise.


title: New York Mets

text: In 2014, a special memorial logo honoring broadcaster Ralph Kiner, depicting a microphone along with his name and the years 1922–2014, was displayed on the left-field wall adjacent to, but not as a part of, the Mets' retired numbers, from 2014 to 2016. In the 2016 Mets yearbook, a sidebar in an article on Mike Piazza's upcoming number retirement implies that Kiner has been "retired" a la William A. Shea. This was confirmed when the Mets' retired numbers were moved to the roof facade during the 2016 season to accommodate Mike Piazza's number 31; the Kiner logo was placed next to the Shea and Jackie Robinson numbers, no longer separated from the others. On August 28, 2021, Jerry Koosman's No.36 was retired by the Mets. On July 9, 2022, the Mets retired Keith Hernandez's number 17. They retired number 24 worn by Willie Mays on August 27, 2022.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets – New York Yankees rivalry is the latest incarnation of the Subway Series, the competition between New York City's teams, the American League New York Yankees and the National League Mets. Until Interleague play started, the two teams had only met in exhibition games. Since the inception of interleague play the two teams have met every regular season since 1997, and since 1999 they have met six times each season, playing two three-game series, one in each team's ballpark. From the 2013 season however the number of games was reduced to four, two at each ballpark with the Mets winning six of the last eight games in that span. They have made the postseason in the same year four times: 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2015, and faced off in the 2000 World Series.


title: New York Mets

text: The Braves–Mets rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the National League East, featuring the Atlanta Braves and the Mets.


title: New York Mets

text: Although their first major confrontation occurred when the Mets swept the Braves in the 1969 NLCS, en route to their first World Series championship, the first playoff series won by an expansion team (also the first playoff appearance by an expansion team), the rivalry did not become especially heated until the 1990s, when a division realignment in 1994 put the Mets and the Braves in the NL East together (from 1969 to 1993, the Braves were in the NL West). The two teams faced each other again in the 1999 NLCS, and the Braves won the series four games to two. However, they would go on to lose to the Yankees in the 1999 World Series.


title: New York Mets

text: The rivalry between the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies from 2006 to 2008 was said to be among the "hottest" rivalries in the National League.


title: New York Mets

text: Aside from several brawls in the 1980s, the rivalry remained low-key before the 2006 season, as the teams had seldom been equally good at the same time. Since 2006, the teams have battled for playoff position. The Mets won the division in 2006 and contended in 2007 and 2008, while the Phillies won five consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2011. The Phillies' 2007 Eastern Division Title was won on the last day of the season as the Mets lost a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining while losing 12 of 18 games that season to the Phillies, including being swept at home in the first 3 games of the remaining 17, dropping their lead from 7 games to 3.5.


title: New York Mets

text: A registered 501(c)(3) charity, the New York Mets Foundation is the philanthropic organization of the New York Mets. Founded in 1963, it funds and promotes charitable causes in the Mets community. One of these causes is Tuesday's Children, is a non-profit family service organization that "has made a long term commitment to meet the needs of every family who lost a loved one in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001". The Mets host the annual Welcome Home Dinner, which raised over $550,000 for the Mets Foundation in 2012. All proceeds were distributed to Katz Institute for Women's Health and Katz Women's Hospitals of North Shore-LIJ Health System and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.


title: New York Mets

text: Most Mets games are carried by SportsNet New York (SNY), a joint venture of the Mets and NBC Sports Regional Networks. The team's terrestrial broadcast home is WPIX, where the team has broadcast games since 1999.


title: New York Mets

text: Longtime Mets radio announcer Gary Cohen does the play-by-play, having moved to television with the launch of SNY in 2006. Former Mets Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are the color commentators with Steve Gelbs being the on-the-field reporter.


title: New York Mets

text: In early January 2016, Keith Hernandez re-signed with SNY. Reports indicate that Hernandez received a raise and three-year contract.


title: New York Mets

text: Since 2019, Mets games have been broadcast on WCBS-AM 880. Howie Rose is the main play-by-play announcer; Wayne Randazzo, who previously hosted the pre- and post-game shows, is Rose's partner. Longtime Mets beat reporter Ed Coleman took over the pre- and post-game role for most games.


title: New York Mets

text: The Mets' previous radio flagship was WOR-AM from 2014 to 2018. The Mets were previously carried by WFAN-AM, which inherited the team's broadcast rights from WHN when it took over its frequency in 1987, and in later years by WFAN-FM which simulcasts the AM signal.


title: New York Mets

text: Spanish-language broadcasts are carried by WEPN 1050 AM featuring Juan Alicea and Max Perez-Jimenez. It was formerly broadcast on WQBU-FM 92.7, Que Buena from 2020 to 2021. Both English and Spanish broadcasts are also aired on the Audacy internet radio service.


title: New York Mets

text: Rose, who has spent much of his career covering the Mets, replaced Bob Murphy as Gary Cohen's broadcast partner in 2004 following Murphy's retirement. Cohen then left the radio booth for the SNY television booth in 2006 and was replaced by Tom McCarthy, who departed after two seasons and was replaced by Wayne Hagin. Josh Lewin joined the broadcast after the team parted ways with Hagin following the 2011 season; he departed when broadcasts moved to WCBS.


title: New York Mets

text: Coinciding with the move to WCBS, the Mets, abruptly and without public announcement (other than a brief e-mail to its affiliates days before the season began), stopped syndicating its games to other stations outside the New York City area, shutting down the New York Mets Radio Network.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen (; stylized in all caps or as SVT) is a South Korean boy band formed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consists of thirteen members: S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: The group debuted on May 26, 2015 with the extended play (EP) "17 Carat", which became the longest-charting K-pop album of the year in the US and the only rookie album to appear on "Billboard"'s "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015" list. Seventeen has released four studio albums, twelve EPs and three reissues.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen is considered a "self-producing" idol group, with the members actively involved in songwriting and choreographing, as well as many other aspects of their music and performances. They perform as one group and are divided into three units—hip-hop, vocal, and performance—each with a different area of specialization. They have been labeled "Performance Kings", "Theater Kids of K-Pop", and "K-Pop Performance Powerhouse'" by various domestic and international media outlets.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: The name Seventeen is derived from the expression "13 members + 3 units + 1 group", representing how the 13 members divided into three different units come together to form one cohesive group.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Beginning in 2013, Seventeen appeared in regular live broadcasts of a series called "Seventeen TV" on the online streaming platform UStream. The show aired for multiple seasons, in which trainees were introduced and shown practicing for performances, with some seasons culminating with Like Seventeen concerts. Prior to their debut, Seventeen also appeared in the reality television show "Seventeen Project: Big Debut Plan" on MBC from May 2 to 26, 2015. The show concluded with the group's debut showcase.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen officially debuted on May 26 with a live showcase televised by MBC, the first male K-pop group to debut with a one-hour live showcase on a major broadcasting channel, with labelmates Lizzy and Raina serving as MCs. Three days later, Seventeen's first extended play (EP) "17 Carat" was released digitally. "17 Carat" became the longest-charting K-pop album of the year in the US and was the only rookie album to appear on "Billboard"'s "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015" list.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: On September 10, 2015, Seventeen released their second EP "Boys Be", which later became the highest-selling rookie album of the year. The EP's success earned the group awards at the Golden Disk Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. Seventeen became the only K-pop group on "Billboard" "21 Under 21 2015: Music's Hottest Young Stars" list. Seventeen held a four-show concert series in Seoul titled 2015 Like Seventeen – Boys Wish from December 24 to 26 as an end-of-year celebration. After the concerts' success, Seventeen held two more in the following February in 2016, the Like Seventeen – Boys Wish Encore Concert.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen's first studio album "Love & Letter" was released on April 25, 2016. In addition to success on domestic charts, the album charted on the Oricon Weekly Pop Album Chart in Japan. Seventeen received their first win on a music show with the album's lead single "Pretty U". "Love & Letter" was later re-released as a repackaged version on July 4 along with the lead single "Very Nice". Promotions were immediately followed by Seventeen's 1st Asia Tour 2016 Shining Diamonds, which included venues in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and China. On December 5, the group released their third EP, "Going Seventeen".


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen held a concert tour, 17 Japan Concert: Say The Name #Seventeen, in Japan between February 15 and 24, 2017. They attracted a total of 50,000 spectators despite the group not having officially debuted in the country. On April 1, Seventeen became the first idol group to have a second season of the show "One Fine Day", filming the series during their stay in Japan. The second season was titled "One Fine Day in Japan" and created in collaboration between South Korean broadcaster MBC and Japanese network Music On! TV.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen's fourth EP "Al1" was released on May 22. It peaked at number one in South Korea and sold over 330,000 copies by the end of the year. The lead single "Don't Wanna Cry" became one of the group's most popular tracks, with its music video becoming Seventeen's first to reach 200 million views on YouTube. Later, a series of videos titled "2017 Seventeen Project" and three music videos subtitled "Chapter 0.5 Before AL1" were uploaded to the platform. The group completed their first world tour, 2017 Seventeen 1st World Tour "Diamond Edge", on October 6. The tour visited thirteen cities across Asia and North America. On November 6, the group released their second studio album, "Teen, Age".


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen released a special album on February 5, 2018, titled "Director's Cut". Although it contained tracks from the original "Teen, Age" album, it was promoted as a special album instead of a repackaged one due to the addition of four new tracks, including lead single "Thanks". Five days later, "Time" magazine included Seventeen on their list of the six best K-pop groups to know. Seventeen officially debuted in Japan on May 30 with their first Japanese EP "We Make You". Seventeen released their fifth Korean EP "You Make My Day" on July 16, their first to be certified platinum domestically. Promotions for the album took place in between the Ideal Cut tour concerts in Seoul and the tour shows in other Asian countries.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: Seventeen released their sixth EP "You Made My Dawn" on January 21, 2019. The lead single "Home" won ten trophies on weekly music shows: two triple crowns and a grand slam, having achieved three consecutive wins on any one weekly music show and winning trophies on "Music Bank", "Inkigayo", "M Countdown", "Show! Music Core", and "Show Champion" in a single promotion period. On May 29, Seventeen released their first Japanese single, "Happy Ending", which peaked at number one on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and went on to receive a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). On June 24, Seventeen announced their world tour Ode To You, with stops in Asia, North America, and Europe. The last leg of the tour was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Seventeen released the digital single "Hit" on August 5 ahead of their upcoming third studio album, "An Ode". Following its release on September 16, the album sold 700,000 copies in its first week and won the group their first Daesang (grand prize) for Album of the Year. It was also named the best K-pop album of the year by "Billboard".


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: On April 1, 2020, Seventeen released their second Japanese single "Fallin' Flower", which debuted atop on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week, securing the first-place position on "Billboard" Japan Hot 100 Chart.


title: Seventeen (South Korean band)

text: On May 13, Seventeen released the first installment of "Hit The Road", a documentary series on their YouTube channel that follows the group behind the scenes during their Ode to You tour.