The words on the giant Shea Stadium scoreboard captured the seminal moment: “Look Who’s No. 1.” The Mets swept a doubleheader from the Montreal Expos and got a solid from the Philadelphia Phillies as they beat the Chicago Cubs. On the board in right-center field, a snapshot of the up-to-date standings with the accompanying headline. Just a night earlier, the Cubs had left New York...
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The Mets came into Nationals Park having lost a series in Miami facing a Washington team that had won five straight narrowed the New York division lead. The team emerging as the NL East favorites was trying to withstand a challenge from the presumed favorites at the start of the season. They came in seemingly vulnerable and four games ahead. They left stronger and seven up. In between was a set...
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No Mets pitcher—not Tom Seaver, not Jacob deGrom, and not Matt Harvey—began his career with a better blend of fanfare and success than Dwight Gooden. He debuted on April 7, 1984 at all of 19 years old and embarked on one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. With his blazing fastball, “Dr. K” set down opposing hitters at an astonishing pace. His 276 strikeouts in ’84 set a major...
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Two months earlier, Gary Carter tore the cartilage in his right knee. It forced him to skip the All-Star Game and nearly derailed his season as he contemplated surgery. Instead, Carter postponed any operation in favor of vying for the postseason, wore a brace, and opened up his stance to prevent further pain. By September, he was the Mets’ best power hitter while calling pitches for an...
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Edgardo Alfonzo is beloved by Mets fans and under-appreciated outside of Mets circles. It’s hard to go relatively unnoticed in New York, but Alfonzo did that among many other feats. No accomplishment was better than his night at the Astrodome in Houston on August 30, 1999. In fact, it might be the best performance any Met has ever had. Twelve Mets in history have blasted three home runs in...
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