 The Mets spent 34 days of the 1999 season leading the Eastern Division , but following a seven @-@ game losing streak from September 21 – 28 along with an eight @-@ game winning streak by their division rival Atlanta Braves from September 19 – 28 the Braves took a commanding 8 @-@ game lead in the division that they did not relinquish . Meanwhile , the Reds and Houston Astros were locked in a tight race for the Central division . The Astros led the division for much of the season , but did not lead by more than three games after August 1 except for one day . Ultimately , the Astros won the division with a 97 – 65 record , one game ahead of the 96 – 66 Reds . The Astros won their 97th game on the final day of the season . If Houston had not won that game the Astros , Reds , and Mets would have instead been locked in a three @-@ way tie . Bob Costas suggested that MLB was lucky to avoid this situation as he believed they had " no reasonable tiebreaker " to deal with it . Had this three @-@ way tie arisen the Mets would have won the wild card while the Astros and Reds would have played a tie @-@ breaker for the Central division title . 
