The start of the regular season is cause for fans to celebrate. And Mets fans have celebrated more often than the rest. From the familiar stars like Tom Seaver and Gary Carter to unlikely heroes such as Alberto Castillo and Collin Cowgill, the New York Mets are an Opening Day juggernaut.

In their 60 openers, they have a .650 winning percentage. No major-league club is better at making a first impression. And this after losing their first eight. Yes, the Mets won a World Series before ever starting 1-0. There is concrete logic here. Because for seven seasons, the law of averages suggested their chances of winning weren’t very good. And from 1962 through 1969, the law of averages prevailed.

Ahead of their first first game, the Mets were doomed before it began. After the originally scheduled date was washed away by rain, several players were stuck in an elevator in the team hotel. It took about 30 minutes until they got help. The Cardinals were of little assistance.

In ’69, still carrying an o-fer on openers, they were all-t0o-hospitable hosts of the Expos in their inaugural game. Montreal exploded for 11 runs and staved off a late New York rally. Of course, the ending of the season made the beginning an afterthought.

As the Mets basked in the glow of a championship, they still were trying to figure out how to get off on the right foot. The drought ended in 1970. Neither Tom Seaver nor Pirates ace Steve Blass factored into the decision as a  3–3 tie lasted into the eleventh, when the Mets were beneficiaries of shoddy Pittsburgh defense. A sacrifice and an intentional walk let World Series MVP Donn Clendenon show he had another big hit to spare. The former Pirate singled to bring in the deciding runs.

From there, the Mets were off and winning — taking 18 of their next 20.

Included in that hot streak were two of the iconic moments in franchise history — which happened to occur two years apart.

With 16, no pitcher has more Opening Day starts than Tom Seaver. He and fellow Hall of Famer Steve Carlton matched up on five occasions, none more memorable than when “The Franchise” returned to the team he’s forever associated with.

At age 38, by baseball standards, he was an old Tom Seaver. But when he took the mound against Carlton and his Phillies — a glorious sun-drenched afternoon — a packed Shea Stadium got to witness something resembling the Tom Seaver of old. He shut out Philadelphia for six innings in a vintage performance despite a no-decision.

Two years later, the arrival of Gary Carter marked the most anticipated season yet. In another storybook outcome, the new catcher from Montreal provided the heroics. On a cold, blustery afternoon at Shea, Carter hit a Neil Allen curveball in the tenth inning that cut through the biting wind and found its way over the left-field fence.

A walk-off homer in your debut is just about as good as it gets for an opener. But how about six home runs? That’s what the Mets did in 1988 at Olympic Stadium. Darryl Strawberry and company gave new meaning to lift-off, as the club racked up a record number of round-trippers in Montreal. Strawberry hit two, the second a titanic blast that struck the roof.

The Mets’ success has been immune to home run barrages against them. Take Tuffy Rhodes. He hit 13 over six seasons. Three came on one afternoon — April 4, 1994 at Wrigley Field off Dwight Gooden. Luckily, the wind was blowing out for both sides. Winning 12-8, New York took full advantage with three home runs.

While offense prevailed in ’88 and ’94, defense saved the day in 1996.

Rey Ordóñez, making his big-league debut, showed why he was being hailed as the second coming of Ozzie Smith. He cut down a potential run in the seventh inning with a perfect relay throw from his knees on the outfield grass. Shortly after, Ordóñez keyed a rally that helped the Mets cap a six-run comeback.

Two years later, nobody could score. Manager Bobby Valentine used 19 players. The last was Alberto Castillo, who put an end to the four-hour affair. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th, Castillo singled to finally break the scoreless tie and beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

Opening Day is an opportunity to elevate yourself above most other regular-season games. Just ask Castillo and Collin Cowgill. The outfielder made just 61 at-bats as a Met and played in only 23 games. Yet he’s remembered better than most thanks to his seventh-inning grand slam to left field — punctuating a terrific team hitting display against San Diego.

The Mets began their most recent World Series season in unusual and historic fashion. At age 41, Bartolo Colón became the oldest Opening Day starter in Mets history and 37-year-old Buddy Carlyle recorded his only save in the orange and blue after Lucas Duda thwarted Max Scherzer‘s no-hit bid in the sixth thanks in part to a Washington Nationals fielding misplay.

The randomness of Opening Day success extends to those who contribute it. With 39 wins in the last 52 years, the only thing we can count on is (usually) a Mets victory.  Then we can worry about the rest of the schedule tomorrow.