Not even all the greatest scribes in the world could have dreamed up and written a better script than what has unfolded at Citi Field in the last 48 hours.
It is moments like this that makes baseball the greatest sport in the world. Nothing can match it’s drama, nothing comes close to the agony and the ecstasy it puts us through game in and game out. It’s a pastime that transfixes us, tugs at us, grabs hold of our hearts and never lets go.
After watching a broken hearted Wilmer Flores shedding tears of sadness at the mistaken knowledge that he was playing his final game for the New York Mets, me and tens of thousands of other Mets fans cried along with him.
Watching him take the field with red swollen eyes and using his sleeve to wipe away his tears every two minutes, was gut-wrenching to say the least.
We’d soon find out after the game that he wasn’t traded at all. For some reason that message never got out until after the game was over. For many of us there was gladness that Flores was still with us, but there was also disappointment that a much-wanted deal had fallen through.
As a fan base, we were torn because we didn’t know how to react. We didn’t know how to feel. This was something new to us and it transcended anything we’ve ever experienced before in an unfamiliar but remarkable way.
A baseball player, who was not even a big star and was probably not well-known outside of the city limits of New York, showed us his soul and his humanity, and with that he touched all of our hearts. We all bonded with him that night, we connected. We all thought, “wow, this guy is really one of us.”
Fast-forward to Friday night… the scene of the crime. Another thing that makes baseball so unique and so beautiful is the ability it has to reset itself after each game. A rebirth like no other.
Whatever happened yesterday, doesn’t matter anymore. The only thing we care about now is what happens tonight. In most cases the evening is divided into nine chapters, but on this night there would be 12. And why not, after all, this was going to be a special night. The Washington Nationals were in town.
It’s crunch time. Nobody in a packed Citi Field needed to be reminded about how crucial this game was. We all knew the Mets were three games behind the Nats. We all knew they had just gotten back Jayson Werth, a notorious Met-killer. We all knew that Cespedes was still a day away.
If we were going to win this thing, it was going to be because Matt Harvey was on the mound and that somehow we’d be able to eke out at least a couple of runs. But that’s never an easy task for these Mets. Still, the stage was set and the drama was ready to unfold. Play ball.
There was ice running through Matt Harvey’s veins tonight. This was the overpowering Matt Harvey, the one that mesmerized us with his sheer dominance in 2013. The Nationals were literally helpless and overmatched as Harvey retired the first 16 batters he faced and took a perfect game into the sixth.
And on the offensive side of the ball, wouldn’t you know it, our reluctant hero Wilmer Flores drives in the first run of the game with a single in the fourth, and the Mets are up 1-0. An overjoyed Citi Field resounded with applause as Flores wiped the sweat off his brow at first base and took it all in. Oh, but hold your horses… this soon to be classic was just getting started.
Harvey cruised along through seven innings as the Mets held tight to their slim one run lead. But Harvey was tiring, and some of his pitches were creeping higher and higher in the strike zone. A clear sign he was running out of gas.
As he took the mound for the top of the eighth, he suddenly found himself in trouble, and with an assist from the umps after a blown call, both the tying and winning runs were now on base.
Most of us thought for sure that the Dark Knight had tossed his final pitch. But unpredictable and maddening as ever, Terry Collins left Harvey in despite being at a season-high 108 pitches.
It was a costly judgment call and the Nationals took advantage as third baseman Yunel Escobar stroked an RBI single to tie the game. A deafening silence swallowed what had been a boisterous and vocal crowd. That was followed by jeers for Collins as he came out to pull his weary right-hander. As usual, Collins was a day late and a dollar short.
Now what? Only seconds ago we were just four outs away from our biggest win of the season. And now we had to gut it out, with our insides twisted, as we prayed and hoped that somehow our team would prevail. We needed a hero.
Predictably, our Mets failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and we were off to extra innings. Anxiety levels and blood pressures were up all over Flushing. Things were looking bleak. We’ve seen this passion play all too often already this season.
But not a soul left the park. These fans were in it for the long haul. And their faith was about to be rewarded.
It’s now the bottom of the 12th inning on a very hot, sticky and humid night. And in the sky there was a rare sight – a blue moon. We haven’t seen one of those in over three years. And just as if it had been written in the stars, here comes Wilmer Flores strolling to the plate to lead off what would be the final frame of this contest.
The kid had a look of determination in his eyes as he brushed what was left of the batter’s box with his left foot. He looks up at Felipe Rivero on the mound… It’s a southpaw… Flores digs in. The Nats reliever quickly has Wilmer in a 1-1 count as an anxious fan base looks on. But the Mets’ second baseman remains steadfast and focused, his eyes fixed on Rivero. Here’s the windup… Here’s the pitch… It’s a four-seamer…
And then it happens… Crack! Wilmer Flores swings and blasts Rivero’s offering over the left-center field wall and deep into the moonlit night as Citi Field erupts into sheer and utter madness!
It’s a 12th inning walk-off home run, the first of this young man’s career and the place is going nuts!
As pandemonium rains down onto the field from the cheering and delirious masses, Wilmer Flores is mobbed by his stunned and ecstatic teammates in an emotional exaltation of joy and happiness at home plate.
What a sight to see as Kevin Plawecki, Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada hugged Flores tight and wouldn’t let him go, while everyone else – players, coaches, trainers – circled around them jumping up and down and screaming as if they’d just won a pennant. And then came the Gatorade… These were our Mets, our amazing Mets!
The feelings shooting through our bodies were indescribable. There are no words, only an incredible rush of emotions that were part surreal and part astonishing. It was something we haven’t felt in years. The kid who was nearly traded two nights ago had just delivered – on a silver platter – the greatest and most thrilling victory of the season in gloriously stunning fashion.
With the electrifying and gratifying win, the New York Mets climbed to within two games of first place in the NL East, with two games to go in this all-important weekend series that started off with a resounding bang. And it’s just amazing to me that the only two runs of the game came off the bat of Wilmer Flores, who has now enshrined himself forever as a part of Mets folklore.
I still have goosebumps. It’s way past 1 AM and I’m still hammering away on my laptop, trying to immortalize what I just saw with this sorely inadequate article. More so, I’m quickly finding out that you can’t describe something as incredible as this in words no matter how hard you try.
This is something you have to feel, and believe me, we all felt it tonight. It felt good, it felt invigorating, and it felt right. It was all so fitting and all so perfect. A rare delight that comes along, well… once in a blue moon.
So what else can I say… Wilmer Flores absolutely deserved this magic moment, but so did all the rest of us. It was our reward for being human and forming that special bond 48 hours ago with one of our own… A reluctant hero who touched them all – and in doing so he touched us all. From tears of sadness to tears of joy… This is the magic of baseball.
