If the country wasn’t aware of the rapidly improving New York Mets — in second place at 53-39 and five games behind the Chicago Cubs — by the time the All-Star Game arrived, it soon would. Three players who provided the biggest contributions to the turnaround were selected for the 40th midsummer classic at Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium. 

Cleon Jones started in left field for his first All-Star appearance and went 2-for-4, Jerry Koosman pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and eventual Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver was present but was not called on to the mound in what turned out to be a 9-3 National League victory. 

Heavy rains forced a postponement from the original Tuesday evening start to the following afternoon. Jones joined Matty Alou and Hank Aaron in the outfield and was penciled sixth in the batting order by manager Red Schoendienst. Sporting a .341 batting average with ten homers and 56 RBIs during the first half, it was well-earned.

Leading off the top of the second against future Met pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre with his team up 1-0, Jones legged out an infield single and came around to score on Johnny Bench’s home run. On his next plate appearance in the top of the third, he reached base again on an error by shortstop Rico Petrocelli — part of a five-run frame. Then in the sixth, he got a taste of an October match-up when he faced Orioles lefty Dave McNally and delivered a single to center field. 

Jones exited before the bottom half of the sixth, and Koosman entered — his second appearance in as many years after going 8-5 with a 1.96 ERA. Following up on a save in the 1968 contest, he came in to protect a sizeable advantage. A leadoff double by Petrocelli was the only blemish, as Koosman never let the AL get any closer. Of the next five batters, three were retired on flyballs, one on a grounder, and the other via strikeout. 

Seaver didn’t need this game to enhance his reputation as one of baseball’s premier pitchers. From April 30 through July 9, he went 13-1 with a 1.10 WHIP and ensured he’d be an All-Star in each of his first three big-league seasons. 

But Seaver, Koosman, Jones, and the rest of the Mets — even after entering the All-Star break by winning 13 of 18 and enjoying the most successful start in franchise history — the best was yet to come.