The Mets are tired and numb from injuries. They're trailing the Phillies by an impossible 18 games in the NL East. They trail the Colorado Rockies by an equally insurmountable 18-1/2 games in the NL Wild Card race. It's time to put their long, miserable season to sleep.
But not before a bedtime story.
The year is 1969.
The Mets are playing in a new ballpark—playing quite terribly, too. Coming into this season, New York has gone a dismal 321-648 since the opening of their new stadium. Shea Stadium.
The Mets are, simply put, dreadful. As an expansion team in the National League's new Eastern Division, they set the record for losses in a 20th century season, with 120 in 1962. Only the Boston Braves of 1935 had a worse winning percentage, narrowly edging out the Mets .248 to .250. In the 10-team league format, the New York Mets have never finished higher than ninth.
The chances are up for the Mets this season. They finished with a club record 73-89 last year. Some young arms (namely Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Nolan Ryan) have their future in a good place. But that's years away.
The Mets start out normally enough. They win a series against the Expos (who would end up 52-110), but falter against the superior teams, like the Cubs or Braves. They finished off the first 40 games with a record 18-22. Their next game was a 3-2 loss to San Diego.
The Mets have shown no signs of winning, or of consistent offensive output.
Until they go on a tear.
Over the next 11 games, the previously Miserable Mets outscore opponents 43-22, winning all 11 games to vault themselves into the race for the first time in their short history.
The Mets get ridiculously hot, blistering their way towards the playoffs with a 82-39 record the rest of the way. They would finish with a 100-62 record—by far their greatest season ever.
However, even the smoothest road is not without its bumps.
The Mets fell to three-game sweeps at the hand of the Astros twice. They were no-hit by Pirates pitcher Bob Moose, just five days after becoming the first team to strike out 19 times in a nine-inning game versus the Cardinals' Steve Carlton (although they won the game 5-4).
The playoffs arrive and the Mets are squared to face off with the Atlanta Braves, who had won the National League's Eastern Division with a record of 93-69. While the Mets had a better record, some still have trouble believing in them.
Tug McGraw is not one of those people.
"You Gotta Believe" had become the Mets slogan down the stretch. And many people around Queens began to.
In a year where Woodstock became synonymous with a generation, and troops began leaving Vietnam, the Mets were a feel-good story that New York, and a nation, could embrace.
In the NLCS, the Mets' offense erupted. They scored nine runs per game, and the pitching was good enough for the Metropolitans to pull of a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. But they hadn't even faced their toughest test yet.
In the 1969 World Series, the Mets would face the Baltimore Orioles, who had just come off of a dominating 109-win season.
In Game One, the Orioles seemed to prove the Mets haters right. They were able to get to Tom Seaver, the Mets' ace, for four runs. The Orioles proved victorious, 4-1.
Game Two comes, and Jerry Koosman dominates. Koos allows only one run, our heroes win the game 2-1, and the Mets even the series at one all.
Game Three is the least exciting of the series. New York scores three runs in the first two innings and don't look back.
Game Four was once again a thrilling contest. The Mets were up 1-0 in the top of the ninth when the Orioles were able to push across a run on three consecutive one-out hits. The Mets pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the 10th when J.C. Martin tried to lay down a bunt. Pete Richert's throw hit Martin on the wrist. Pinch-runner Rod Gaspar was able to score from second.
Game Five was the accumulation of a season of hopes and dreams. It was what the Miracle Mets deserved.
Orioles starter Dave McNally shut out the Mets over five innings and helped his cause with a two-run homer. Frank Robinson's homer put Baltimore up 3-0 and well on their way to a must-win victory.
However, in the bottom of the sixth, McNally (allegedly) hit Cleon Jones in the foot with a pitch. The Orioles protested that the ball had hit the dirt, but umpire Lou DiMuro awarded Jones first after manager Gil Hodges showed DiMuro a ball with a scuff of shoe polish. McNally then gave up World Series MVP Don Clenendon's third home run of the series.
In the seventh, light hitting Al Weis tied it up with a solo shot.
The Mets took the lead in the eighth on a Ron Swoboda double. Swoboda scored then scored on an error.
The sign held by "The Sign Man" Karl Ehrhardt best described it: "There Are No Words."
So there's your story. I hope Mets fans don't get to down on themselves. Come to think of it, neither should Nationals fans. Or Pirates. Or Royals. Because this is baseball. Anything is possible.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments