The mess the New York Mets were in regarding money they had been sued for by the trustee for the victims in the Bernie Madoff scandal could have gotten real ugly had it gone to trial.

Fortunately for the Mets, that won’t happen. ESPN New York:

The New York Mets’ owners and the trustee for Madoff fraud victims have settled for $162 million.

The announcement came Monday morning as jury selection was set to begin in the civil trial that would have determined how much the Mets’ owners would have owed other investors who trusted their money to corrupt financier Bernard Madoff.

The Mets owners will not pay anything for three years.

Perhaps the most important note there is “three years” — that could give Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz enough time to get the financially troubled franchise back to solid ground, or perhaps even sell the team. Even better news for the Mets:

Had they gone to trial, they could have owed another $303 million. Lawyers for the Mets have said they planned to call pitcher Sandy Koufax to testify on their behalf. He invested with Madoff, too.

So they saved some money and didn’t have to embarrass a Hall of Famer by putting him on the witness stand.

The Mets may not have very many wins on the field in 2012, but they can likely count this as one.