I think it was George Will who once said that people who think baseball is just a game probably think the Grand Canyon is just a hole in Arizona.
When Abner Doubleday invented baseball on some sandlot in Cooperstown, New York over a century ago, I wonder if last night’s game between the Mets and Rays was exactly what he had envisioned? Because I’ve got to tell you, what we saw on Friday night was everything you could ever want in a baseball game. It was a magical evening for the baseball lovers and purists in all of us.
The game had it all. It was poetry in motion. Two teams that fought their hearts out and played with such passion, such bravado, and such fire, it was a shame that one team had to lose this gloriously hard-fought contest.
But that’s the beauty of this pastime… There has to be a winner and a loser. It completes the intricate tapestry that makes up each marvelously unique and individual game. And last night, the New York Mets and the Tampa Bay Rays gave us one for the ages.
With neither side willing to give an inch, it was an incredible display of sheer competition and an epic battle of wills on a scale so grand, that no other sport can ever match it in its intensity, its majesty, and the raw emotions it draws out of all of us – players and fans alike.
And when it was all over and the dust had settled, it was our New York Mets standing tall and relishing yet another indescribable and improbable victory. It was a feast for our eyes and a thrill for our senses that none of us will soon forget.
Our Mets fought valiantly, overcoming deficits in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings and persevering to defeat the Rays 4-3 in what was easily their biggest win of the season as well as the most thrilling.
“We never gave up,” said Wilmer Flores. “We were down three times, I think, and we just kept pushing. That’s what good teams do.”
There were many heroes for the Mets in this one. You had Juan Uribe and Daniel Murphy who each homered to erase early deficits, Jacob deGrom who battled hard throughout, young Michael Conforto who delivered a clutch RBI double in the ninth to tie it, and of course Wilmer Flores who drove in the game-winner. It epitomized the concept of teamwork in every imaginable and even unimaginable way.
It was high drama from the start and it never let up until the final out of the game. And adding to the excitement was an electrified crowd that were mostly there to cheer the Mets on. It was amazing and at times it felt like the Mets were home at Citi Field.
When the game finally ended, words were insufficient to describe what we just saw and how all of us were feeling. It was wonderful and it was incredible and we all just soaked in. Our Amazin’ Mets had just won their seventh game in a row, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next!
