JUPITER, Fla. — Mets fans are quite aware their team’s last playoff moment culminated with Adam Wainwright freezing Carlos Beltran to end NLCS Game 7 in 2006.

What might not be as readily known is that represented the sixth time in seven years the Cardinals had made the playoffs and is now part of a 15-season stretch in which St. Louis has reached the postseason 11 times (including the past four years) while making four World Series and winning two (including 2006).

David Wright knows. He drove in the Mets’ lone run in that 3-1 loss, felt the disappointment naturally. But he was just 23. The Mets had a strong core. This was just the beginning. But, now at 32, he still waits for his next shot at October baseball.

So while the Nationals are the team to beat in the NL East and the Yankees in New York, the Cardinals signify the gold standard for consistent excellence. Yep, Wright has noticed. He has had conversations with Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and Wainwright, tapping into the wisdom of the Cardinals’ clubhouse leadership.

It is a big reason why the Mets travelled en masse — every healthy player still in camp — to Sunday’s game against St. Louis. This is not common in spring. Usually, just those who could appear in games go on the road. The rest work out and head to friends, families or golf courses. That is particularly true of veterans.

Yet even Tuesday at Viera against the Nationals when most regulars are not scheduled to start, the plan is for even non-playing vets such as Wright to make the 144-mile round-trip.

The Cardinal veterans shared a policy with Wright that they had established in which in the final week of exhibition games all position players — but not starting pitchers — travel. The concept is to prepare a team to travel together and get used to sitting on the bench for an entire game and — perhaps most important — provide another chance to bond.

Wright liked it so much he polled Mets veterans, received unanimous support for doing this and then got approval from manager Terry Collins to have all the healthy players — even starting pitchers — make the trip. So even though Dillon Gee was starting Sunday in Jupiter, there were Bartolo Colon and Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom in a crowded dugout.

“David talked about another way to pull together,” Collins said. “So I said, ‘Sure, let’s try it.’ ”

The Cardinals are known for their winning culture. St. Louis reliever Randy Choate, who has played in seven organizations, described what Holliday, Molina and Wainwright have established for fraternity and internal accountability as unique in his travels.

“No one does what these guys do,” Choate explained.

Young players or new players arrive and are absorbed seamlessly into the Cardinals’ world and, in exchange, the expectation is that all in a St. Louis uniform are professional, accept high expectations and unite for a common purpose.

“They have a pretty good thing going over there,” Wright said. “There is something to them having success every year and you want to pick brains when you get the chance to learn.”

Obviously, all teams attempt to build clubhouse morale. And, just as obvious, conviviality will not overcome a lack of talent. But in a small-area workspace with few off-days in nine months, the ability to share the burden and be motivated not to let the guy next to you down establishes an environment that better fosters success.

The Mets will need this. They finally have expectations again, and teams can either pull together to withstand the pressures or fray.

The early signs — and keep in mind there is nothing in the majors as easygoing as spring training — are positive. The atmosphere is more business-like than in recent years, the confidence higher. It helps that another respected leader, Michael Cuddyer, has entered the clubhouse.

The addition of hitting coach Kevin Long from an organization (the Yankees) used to dealing with the highest level of New York stress/expectations is a benefit. Mets hitters seem more willing to try new drills and approaches. As Collins said, “I think our two hitting guys [assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler also comes from the Yanks] have made a huge impact.”

And Harvey is back. Like Harvey’s fastball, there is force to his personality. He has a gravitational pull. On Friday, for example, before Harvey boarded a bus to start in Jupiter, it seemed as if every teammate not making the trip found the Mets ace to share a hug or secret handshake.

Of course, it is only March. No losses yet, no true fires under Collins’ hot seat, no results that question the excitement of spring.

But for an organization that has not been to the playoffs since 2006, the Mets at least have recognized the Cardinal rule of picking the proper role model to emulate.