Nine years ago today, Johan Santana took the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals and tossed one of the most memorable games in New York Mets history.

It was a beautiful Friday night, and as a Mets fan, before every game, you always think to yourself: “Maybe tonight will be the night they finally do it.” Because up until that point, no Mets pitcher had ever thrown a no-hitter (as we all know).

So Santana is dealing, and he is setting down these Cardinal hitters and escaping each inning unscathed, despite allowing a few walks.

It didn’t get serious for me until after he finished off the sixth inning. “Johan only has nine more outs to go. There’s a real possibility we might see history tonight.” I said to myself.

Then in the seventh inning, Mike Baxter made that magnificent catch going back on a line drive blast off the bat of Yadier Molina. I watched as Baxter slammed against the left field wall and injured his shoulder with that incredible grab, a sacrifice that would end up sidelining him for two months.

After that game-saving play, I knew… I could feel it… Every no-hitter has that one outstanding defensive play to keep the no-hitter intact. (See Dewayne Wise, Hunter Pence, Steven Souza).

Nail-biting time as Santana gets through the eighth, and goes back out for the ninth, despite his high pitch count. He retired the first two batters with relative ease and now it was just David Freese standing between Johan and history.

When Freese struck out to end the game, it was euphoric. Nothing else mattered in that moment. After 8,019 regular season games and fifty years into the Mets franchise history, no one had done what Santana had just accomplished for the Amazins. Tom Seaver never did it, Dwight Gooden never did it, but Johan Santana on that June night four years ago, today finally did it.

What made it all the more amazing was Santana did this in his first season back from a shoulder surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2011 season. It reminded fans what Santana was capable of, and brought them back to how he had consistently dominated when he first joined the Mets in 2008.

To top it all off, a Mets fan wearing a 1986 Gary Carter jersey ran on to the field after the last out and joined the Mets celebration around Santana. He was subdued by team security, but it seemed to me a sign that Carter was there that night watching over the team. He had passed away a few months prior after losing his prolonged battle with brain cancer.

This would be Johan Santana’s last shining moment as a Met, however, and after a few more starts he was placed on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. It also marked the end of his Mets career. He re-injured his shoulder in 2013 and missed the entire year. The Mets cut him loose at the end of that season, and he hasn’t appeared in the majors since.

Terry Collins gets a lot of heat for allowing Johan to throw all those pitches to accomplish that unforgettable feat, but I don’t look at it that way. Santana was dealing all night and later said he was feeling it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m glad Santana was the one to throw it… and I’m sure he is too.