The slate of postseason games Wednesday contained loads of fireworks as home runs were slugged and tickets were punched. The day started out in Philly, where Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos both sent two balls out of the park on their way to a 10-2 win over the Braves and a 2-1 series lead.

The Diamondbacks took over the nightcap as they lit Lance Lynn up like a Christmas tree, smashing four home runs in the third inning alone en route to taking down the 100-win Dodgers in a three-game sweep. However, the Houston Astros stole the headlines yet again as they moved on to their seventh consecutive ALCS, knocking off the Twins in four games.

This rendition of the Astros’ dominance will meet an obstacle that they’ve never seen before, as they will take on their in-state rival Texas Rangers in the postseason for the first time ever. The Astros and Rangers’ historic lineups will take most of the attention leading up to their battle, but one of the underlying stories is the meeting of former Mets Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Scherzer, who missed most of the last month of play, including the previous two postseason series, is on track to return for Texas in the ALCS. While he will not be built up to go the usual starter length, Scherzer should still be able to give the Rangers some valuable innings throughout the series. Verlander, on the other hand, has been his steady self in his return to Houston, including a scoreless outing as he went six innings in his start in game one against Minnesota. 

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow on Tuesday, per Metsmerized‘s Mike Mayer. Andy Martino later announced from SNY that Lindor had been dealing with this elbow injury all throughout his 30-30 season, which he first felt in Spring Training. The Mets expect him to be fully healthy by the start of 2024 Spring Training.

Latest MLB News

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that Texas Rangers associate manager, Will Venable, has been contacted by multiple MLB teams regarding their managerial openings. The former 9-year major leaguer is highly regarded around the league, but has reportedly told clubs that he is staying with the Texas Rangers. Texas will be playing in their first Championship Series game in over a decade this coming weekend. 

Yuki Matsui, who is a left-handed closer from the Rakuten Eagles of the NPB league in Japan, will be exercising his international free agent rights, per the Yakyu Cosmopolitan. The stud closer holds a 2.43 ERA, 1.107 WHIP and 12 K/9 in his 10-year career and will be looking to pursue an MLB contract this upcoming offseason while he heads into his age 28 season. 

Latest on MMO

Tyler Antonelle found some positives in the Syracuse Mets’ disappointing season. 

Ross Bentley analyzed the Mets organization catcher depth.

With 2023 being the 50th anniversary of the Mets’ 1973 miracle run, Brian Wright looked back at Cleon Jones‘ part in the run.

On This Date in Mets History

2015: The Mets play their first home postseason game at Citi Field, winning the game 13-7 and taking a 2-1 lead in the NLDS over the Dodgers. A Yoenis Céspedes three-run home run in the fourth inning sent the New York faithful into a frenzy as Curtis Granderson led the way for the Mets with five RBIs.

2006: Tom Glavine twirls a gem for the Mets, going seven innings of shutout ball in game one of the NLCS against the Cardinals. Carlos Beltrán‘s two-run sixth inning home run off the right field scoreboard would be all the Mets needed in a 2-0 victory, taking a 1-0 series lead. 

2000: In a 5-5 tie in the ninth inning, Jay Payton puts the Mets ahead with a go-ahead RBI single to give the Mets a 6-5 win and a 2-0 NLCS lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.

1969: The Mets win their first World Series game in franchise history behind a marvelous performance from Jerry Koosman, who went 8 2/3 innings while only giving up a single run. Ed Charles, Jerry Grote, and Al Weis string together base hits in the ninth inning to take a 2-1 lead and even the series against the Orioles at 1-1.

Birthdays: José Valentín (54), Sid Fernandez (61)

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Tommie Agee.

On January 22, 2001, the Mets’ center fielder from their 1969 championship team, Tommie Agee, suffered a heart attack in Manhattan and passed away hours later. The Magnolia, Alabama native was 58 years old.

Agee was traded to the Mets by the Chicago White Sox before the 1968 season, in a deal that also brought Al Weis to Queens. Weis would go on to hit a famous home run in the 1969 World Series. Agee struggled in the 1968 season (the year of the pitcher), posting a slash line of .217/.255/.307 with five home runs. Things turned around for him (and for the Mets) in the 1969 season.

Agee served as the leadoff hitter in the Mets’ 1969 lineup, and slashed .271/.342/.464 with 26 home runs, 76 RBI, and 12 stolen basses, good for a 5.2 bWAR. In the postseason, spanning eight games, he hit .250 with three home runs, two of which in the World Series.

Tommie’s best statistical season was 1970, .286/.344/.469 with 24 home runs and 31 stolen bases, leading to a bWAR of 5.4. After a solid 1971 season (bWAR of 3.5), Agee dropped off dramatically. He posted a 0.1 bWAR in 1972, and was traded to the Houston Astros after the season. His playing career ended after the 1973 season at just 31 years of age.

When Mets’ fans think about Tommie Agee, his two outstanding catches in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series immediately come to mind. In Game Three, he also belted a home run. You can his highlights from that pivotal game in the video below.

While Agee was a gifted fielder with outstanding speed, he had tremendous power as well. He is the only player in history to hit a fair ball into the upper deck at Shea Stadium. On April 10, 1969, he blasted a home run to left field off Expos’ pitcher Larry Jaster (he hit two home runs in the game). The spot where the ball landed was marked with a sign by the Mets. The sign, with Agee’s name and the date, was sold to a private collector when Shea Stadium was demolished.

With the current labor dispute and the money available in the game today, it’s interesting to note that Tommie Agee, a World Series hero, earned approximately $200,500 over his twelve year career and six major league contracts.

Here’s an MMO hat tip to a Mets‘ World Series hero, the late Tommie Agee.

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It goes without saying that the Mets had many weaknesses during their early years. But center field stood out more than the rest. For such a prominent and important position, it was a gaping hole the franchise could not fill.

That began to change shortly after Gil Hodges left his managerial post with the Washington Senators to take over the Mets’ job in November 1967.

“The first thing Hodges wanted to do when he became the manager was to acquire Tommie Agee,” the late general manager Johnny Murphy said. “He wanted a guy to bat leadoff with speed [who] could hit for power. He also . . . needed a guy in center to run the ball down.”

Less than a month after Hodges’ arrival, New York traded for the 25-year-old as part of a six-player swap. Also coming to the Mets was Al Weis, a little-known light-hitting 29-year-old infielder with just three home runs to date. Sent to Chicago were four players including veterans Tommy Davis and Jack Fisher.

Within two years, both players the Mets received basked in the World Series spotlight. Agee complemented an outstanding 1969 regular season with an incredible takeover of Game 3 against Baltimore: those two unforgettable catches which collectively saved five runs and a homer to lead off the bottom of the first. Weis, meanwhile, was the unsung hero — coming from nowhere to bat .455 capped by the tying home run in the clinching Game 5.

The origins of the trade began during Agee’s introductory major league season in 1966. Hodges — like many American League managers — was impressed with the eventual Rookie of the Year when he slugged 22 homers and stole 44 bases, and displayed potential on defense.

He would turn out to be one of the best center fielders in franchise history, but not without some struggle. A rough first year in the NL might have been duplicated if not for Hodges’ brilliance at the beginning of ’69.

After slugging two homers in the third game of the year, including a prodigious upper-deck shot at Shea Stadium on April 20, Agee went into a severe tailspin: 3-for-29. That prompted Hodges to give Tommie a 10-day respite which proved brilliant. Agee batted .311 in May and went on to be National League Comeback Player of the Year — leading the Mets in home runs with 26, runs scored with 97, and RBIs with 76.

Weis remained a modest power threat during his days with New York. Entering the World Series, he had never hit a home run at Shea Stadium and his only two homers during the ’69 regular season came on consecutive days at Wrigley Field in July. What timing — with the Mets rallying in Game 5 yet down a run in the bottom of the seventh and a chance to defeat the Orioles for good, Weis took Dave McNally deep to left field. New York tacked on the deciding runs an inning later.

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Six months earlier, such a scenario would have defied comprehension. For a civilization which recently witnessed a moon landing, the Mets — cellar dwellers for the better part of their first seven years — were on the brink of an accomplishment registering as much awe as what took place 239,000 miles from earth.

Even 100 regular-season wins and a sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS  did not convince skeptics that New York was capable of toppling the 109-win Orioles in the World Series.

Despite dropping Game 1 in Baltimore, the magic refused to fade. Three straight wins turned skeptics into believers. And now a win away, the elements bringing the Mets to this juncture — superb starting pitching and timely hitting — carried them to the top.

But fate intervened once more with Orioles up 3-0 and the poised to take the series back to Baltimore. The first pitch from Baltimore starter Dave McNally in the bottom of the sixth dove in on Cleon Jones and rolled toward the Mets dugout.

Jones went up the first base line thinking it hit him in the foot before home plate umpire Lou DiMuro called him back. Hodges stoically approached DiMuro and presented what turned out to be indisputable evidence: a ball with a small smudge of shoe polish. DiMuro was convinced. Jones was awarded first base.

Donn Clendenon, soon to be named MVP, stepped in and belted his third homer of the series to pull New York to within a run. Al Weis, anything but a power threat, delivered in the seventh with the game-tying home run (the only round-tripper he hit at Shea all year) to finish off a fabulous .455 batting average over the five games. Two doubles and two Oriole errors in the eighth resulted in a 5–3 Mets lead.

It was an advantage the Mets’ superb big-game pitcher would protect. Through three innings, Jerry Koosman allowed four hits and three runs. He yielded just one hit the rest of the way while his hitters mounted their comeback.

Koosman’s pitch in the top of the ninth to O’s second baseman (and future Mets manager) Davey Johnson was sent to deep left field. Jones, on the warning track, began to kneel as he secured the clinching out—almost as if to acknowledge the heavens for the miracle that had occured. Koosman jumped into the arms of catcher Jerry Grote as the masses congregated on a Shea Stadium turf that was ready to be torn to shreds.

What had been inconceivable in March was reality in October. The Mets, hundred-to-one odds to win it all when the season began, were World Champions. Amazin’.

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