CHICAGO -- The New York Mets couldn’t be happier with their season as they enter the All-Star break.

Even with a 3-2 loss against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon, the Mets now stand at 58-35 on the year and 23 games above .500. Only the 1986 World Series champion Mets entered the All-Star break with more games above .500 with a 59-25 record (34 games).

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“I’ve been proud of them,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We should be in good standing when we start the last two-fifths of the year. It’s a horse race. We still obviously have a lot of games.” 

The Mets enter the All-Star break with a 2 1/2-game lead in the National League East. It’s also the first time that New York has reached 50-plus wins before the All-Star Game since 2006, when they went 53-36.

And that 2006 team and this 2022 team are coincidentally built the exact same way.

Each team features a veteran, future Hall of Fame pitcher who's dominated. Tom Glavine at 40 years old was the Mets’ ace in 2006 in his 20th MLB season. He made his 10th All Star appearance and finished the year with a 3.82 ERA in 32 starts.

Max Scherzer -- who is in his 15th MLB season -- has given the Mets’ rotation a big boost at the top. Both pitched at a high level for so many years and came to New York through free agency. Although Scherzer missed almost two months of the season, his 2.22 ERA explains just how dominant he is when healthy.

Add in Jacob deGrom, who can return as early as July 24, and that gives the team two of the most elite pitchers in baseball.

The pitching similarities, however, don’t end there. Both teams also featured an elite closer. The ‘06 team had seven-time All-Star Billy Wagner, who finished the year with 40 saves and a 2.24 ERA.

This year, Edwin Díaz is having a career year and has been one of the best closers in the game with 20 saves and a 1.69 ERA. The right-hander also ranks in the 100th percentile in whiffs, K rate and expected ERA, led by his 18.1 K/9.

“He’s unbelievable this year,” Adam Ottavino said. “I always knew he was awesome, even the year he struggled. His strikeouts are insane, nobody strikes out guys quite like Sugar. But watching it every day, he’s in a great place. We’re really lucky to have him.”

Of course, the offense has to feature some big-time players, too. The 2006 team had David Wright, José Reyes and Carlos Beltrán. Is that the equivalent of Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte?

It sure seems like it: a player who breaks a franchise record, a shortstop who can do it all and an All-Star outfielder.

Wright had the franchise record for most RBIs at the All-Star break -- with 74 in that 2006 season. But Alonso surpassed that mark over the weekend with three RBIs on Saturday and one on Sunday to finish the first half with an MLB-leading 78.

Then there’s Reyes and Lindor, two shortstops who thrive in all aspects of the game.

Reyes finished that year with an impressive 19 home runs, 81 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. And while Lindor won’t reach the 64 stolen base mark, he’s a player who does a little bit of everything. He has 16 home runs, 66 RBIs and 10 stolen bases on the year and showcased that all-around game when he had two hits and a stolen base on Sunday.

“Happy,” said Lindor of the team’s success this season. “We played good ball in the first half and showed a lot of professionalism.”

Finally the solid All-Star outfielder, who can hit for a good average and make some highlight plays in the outfield. Beltrán had power on his bat in ’06 -- with 41 home runs and 116 RBIs -- but Marte’s .295 average, 41 RBIs and 12 stolen bases this season are helping the team in other ways.

These Mets hope there’s one big difference between the two teams: The 2022 squad doesn’t want to settle for a loss in the National League Championship Series. They want to win the World Series.

And they surely have the talent on paper to do so.

“We will seek our level,” Showalter said. “I look forward to hopefully being [in the playoffs] and seeing what develops. It’s fun to watch. We have a good group of people that I enjoy watching compete every day.”