By Joe D.
It was improbable and perhaps even impossible. The odds were long and completely against them. But despite all that, those upstart New York Mets were on their way to pulling off one of the most incredulous championships not only in baseball history, but in the history of all sports.
And on this day fifty years ago, in front of 54,928 delirious fans at Shea Stadium, the New York Mets clinched their first ever division title after a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rookie right-hander Gary Gentry tossed an absolute gem, going all the way and holding the Cards to just four hits while striking out five. It was the third shutout of the season for the 22-year old Gentry and his 12th win.
All the scoring came courtesy of three home runs, one by third baseman Ed Charles and two by newly acquired slugger Donn Clendenon including a mammoth three-run shot in the first off Hall of Fame southpaw Steve Carlton.
Needing some punch in the middle of the lineup, the Mets acquired Clendenon on June 15 for Steve Renko and Kevin Collins and he immediately became a game changer for the Amazins.
“When we got him,” said shortstop Buddy Harrelson years later, “we became a different team. We never had a 3-run homer type of guy.”
“We were still young kids. He was the veteran that came in and made us better. When you threw him into the mix, we became a dangerous force.”
“Until he showed up,” explained right fielder Ron Swoboda, “we had no chance of winning anything.”
With the Mets now heading to their first postseason in franchise history, they would go on to sweep the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series and then stun the sports world by beating the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
Clendenon went on to become the World Series MVP, crushing three homeruns, the most ever in a five game series. The record was tied in 2008 by Ryan Howard.
On September 17, 2005, at age 70, Donn Clendenon died at his home in South Dakota.
