Yes, there were some forgettable moments in 2011, but they weren’t all bad. These were five of my favorite moments last season.

Best Moment #5

The Mets beat the Phillies 2-1 in a 14 inning nail-biter at Citizens Bank Park. But the best moment of the night came in the middle of the game when the crowd began to chant ‘USA – USA” as news broke that President Obama announced that terrorist Osama Bin Laden had been killed by Navy Seals.

Best Moment #4

Jason Isringhausen pitches a scoreless tenth inning to preserve a Mets 5-4 win over the Padres. In doing so, Izzy becomes the 23rd closer in baseball history to record 300 saves, joining John Franco and Billy Wagner as the only men to do it in a Mets uniform. Wrestling with the decision to retire rather than return after missing two seasons, Izzy came to Mets spring training camp for an audition and was signed the next day. After the Mets traded K-Rod in July, Isringhausen became the team’s closer and the most reliable arm in the bullpen.

Best Moment #3

Carlos Beltran hit a career-high three home runs – all two-run shots – in a 9-5 win over the Rockies. The six RBIs matched a career high for the Mets rightfielder who was finally healthy and having a great season. Beltran became the eighth Mets player to hit three home runs in one game – the last player to do it was Jose Reyes who hit three homers against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 15, 2006. “I have never seen a day like that before,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Best Moment #2

After bunting for a single in his final at-bat of an amazing 2011 season, Jose Reyes becomes the first Batting Champion in Mets franchise history. The hit lifted Reyes’ average to .337 which was too much to overcome for Ryan Braun who finished five percentage points behind with a .332 average. It was a remarkable season for Reyes who also led the National League in most at-bats per strikeout (13.1) as well as multi-hit games and sharing the league lead in triples.

Best Moment #1

Chris Capuano pitched the game of his life – a complete game, two hit shutout, striking out 13 and facing only one over the minimum as the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-0. Cappy had a perfect game until a broken bat single by Dan Uggla in the fifth inning. It was considered by most as the best pitched game in the major leagues in 2011. For Capuano it was his first complete game since 2006.

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Honorable Mentions

Justin Turner, who was a nice surprise this season, became the first Met to win the NL Rookie of the Month award.

How about that four-game span during interleague play in late June.. The Mets exploded for 52 runs by beating the Rangers 14-5 and 8-5,and then the Detroit Tigers 14-3 and 16-9. The 52 runs were the most the Mets have ever scored in a four game stretch.

During that Tigers series in Detroit on June 28, Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran both hit grand slams in a 14-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers. It was only the second time in Mets history that they slugged two grand slams in the same game.

The 9/11 Ceremony at Citi Field was very emotional for all of us, but what a beautiful job the Mets did in putting it all together. It was certainly one of the more memorable moments of the season.

There were a couple of brilliant starts by R.A. Dickey and even Ronny Paulino ignited a sweet comeback against the Yankees during the Subway Series.

These are some of the best moments I will take away from the 2011 season.

I hope you enjoyed all of my Mets art and graphics in 2011, and I look forward to creating more Mets graphics in 2012. Happy New Year, everybody!