Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the clinching of the last Mets world championship. That means a Mets fan younger than 20 has never seen the Mets win a World Series.

Each year the Mets do not win extends the longest draught in team history. Mets fans in 1969 only had to wait eight years before experiencing a World Series victory. It was a 17 year gap after that before the Mets won it all again.

The Mets will be heading into their 49th season come 2010. In that time, the Mets have only won two World Series. They have been in four however, the last being 2000 when they lost to the Yankees in five games.

Twenty three years ago this evening, Jesse Orosco chucked his glove high into the night after striking out Red Sox hitter Marty Barrett for the final out. It was a game the Mets trailed early before rallying late to win 8-5.

To put it into perspective how long ago 1986 was, consider the following. The Space Shuttle Challenger had been destroyed shortly after liftoff the previous January to suspend America’s manned space program that year. There was no Internet, at least not as we know it today. Ronald Regan was still president and windows was something you opened to get fresh air. One of the most popular movies of the summer was “Aliens”, the rollercoaster sequel to the 1979 classic. A lot has passed since that evening.

Since then, the Yankees have won four World Series and are about to attempt to win another. The expansion Florida Marlins, who did not exist in 1986, have won two World Series, matching the Mets total. Another expansion club, the Arizona Diamondbacks, also won a World Series since the Mets last did.

Closer to home, the Mets passed through the Vince Coleman/Bobby Bonilla era. Then came Bobby Valentine along with Steve Phillips who brought in Mike Piazza. The Mets got good again and made it to the World Series where they proved to be no match for the mighty Yanks.

The Art Howe era came and went and was a total disappointment before we got Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya. And what seemed so promising after getting so close in 2006 came crashing down since.

Yes, twenty three years is a long time. Cubs fans don’t want to hear it. They have waited over a century now. But we don’t care about them. We care about our team, the Mets, a New York team. The Mets are a team that for whatever reason, cannot seem to sustain success.  Each trip to the playoffs is a one-off.

The Phillies are a cruel reminder of what we thought the Mets future was going to be after the 2006 season. It hasn’t happened. Will we see a dominant Mets team in our lifetime, like the one from the 1980s, but one that makes the post season several times in a seven to ten year period? Who knows but I hope it does not take another twenty three years to find out.