The Mets finished two games shy of the World Series in 1999, after which then-GM Jim Duquette made a run at super star outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times (Jan.6, 2015).
"We thought there was a chance, especially coming off the year that we had, and with the expectation that we would be good again," Duquette told Kepner. "We would have had Edgardo Alfonzo, Griffey and then Mike Piazza. We were salivating over that."
New York and Seattle were believed to have agreed in principle on a deal that would exchanged pitchers Armando Benitez, Octavio Dotel and outfielder Roger Cedeno for Griffey.