The year was 1992, Bill Clinton was our newly elected President, Brett Favre played his first game in the NFL, Nirvana’s Nevermind and Dr. Dre’s Chronic were released and the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning record.  1992 was the last year the Pirates had a winning season with a 96-66 record. Their roster included a slim Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, Zane Smith, Tim Wakefield and Doug Drabek. They lost to the young upstart Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.

While we’ve been severely disappointed over the past few seasons with the end to the Mets seasons, the majority of MLB teams and their fans would love to be where the Mets were. The Mets have not had a losing season, meaning a record below .500, since 2004 when they ended 71-91.

Although they recently swept the banged up Mets in a shortened three game series, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had sixteen straight losing seasons! That’s sixteen straight seasons not only not making the playoffs, but not even finishing with a .500 record. If they have another losing record this year, which is more than likely after recently trading their best player, they will break the Major League baseball record for most consecutive losing seasons by a franchise currently held by the Phillies. Pittsburgh is a huge sports town and they built a new baseball stadium just a few years back, but barely ten thousand people go to the games now a days. Of course this is the result of putting a poor product on the field.

Now I hope this kind of steak  never happens with the Mets, but I wonder after how many straight losing seasons would you give up on the Mets? I think there has to be a breaking point, I mean I considered myself a die hard Knick fan as most New Yorkers were in the 90’s but how many of us can actually say we follow the Knicks like we used to? It’s because, until recently there was no hope in sight with the franchise. As a kid growing up, I can honestly say I followed the Mets every day in some of the worst baseball seasons they’ve ever had. As much as I love the Mets, I really can’t say as an adult, with a multitude of responsibilities, I would continue to watch the Mets every day after say eight straight losing seasons.

So what would be your breaking point? What is your Mets pain threshold? I know we’re all die-hard fans, but after how many straight losing seasons would you stop watching the Mets on a daily basis?

Photo: Cataffo/Daily News