Good morning, Mets fans! On Wednesday night, the MLB season officially ended as the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series, four games to one. Winning Game 5 of the series by a score of 5-0, the 2023 Rangers gave the franchise their first-ever World Series trophy since its inception in 1961. Game 5 was the definition of a pitcher’s duel, even though each...
Dramatic confrontations between the Mets and Cardinals are nothing new. The incredible ninth-inning comeback and the bench-clearing incident in April was just the latest in a lineage of notable games. Here are a few of the best—ranging from historic, thrilling, devastating, and unending. April 11, 1962 It all goes back to day one. The Cards were host to the inaugural regular season game in Mets...
It wasn’t so much a pennant race as it was two teams passing each other in the midst of their respective, opposing late-season streaks. From August 16 through September 23, the New York Mets — which spent its initial seven years in or near the National League cellar — won 32 of 42. The Chicago Cubs — who held first place for much of ’69 — went 14-23. Greeting and effectively,...
Recently while thumbing through some old baseball cards, I came across the 1978 Felix Millan shown below, card number 505 from the Topps set that year. Felix Millan was one of my favorite Mets growing up. Partly because he was a gritty ballplayer who played the keystone well, and partly because I also had the following card from the 1976 set, which showed the Mets second baseman with one of the...
The 1969 Mets clinched the National League Eastern Division on September 24th in a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. They had two more steps to take on their way to a championship. On October 6th, 1969, they took the first of those steps. In the first year of divisional play, the Mets had to face the Braves, who had won the NL Western Division, in a best-of-five series for National...
There are times when it’s tough to be a Mets fan. Perhaps you remember when the Mets held a commanding seven-game lead with 17 games to play in 2007, and then collapsed to their rival from down the Turnpike. Or perhaps you recall 2008, when the Amazin’s held a 3.5 game lead in September with only 17 games to play, before becoming the first team ever to blow a 3.5-game lead in...
In our continuing attempt to help fill the baseball void, we present the first-ever World Series home game in Mets history — better known as the “Tommie Agee Takeover.” Agee thwarted the Baltimore Orioles’ chances to gain a 2-1 edge in a series they were almost universally expected to win. His bat helped give New York the early lead, then his dazzling defense took over...
As most of you know, 2019 is the 50 year anniversary of the 1969 World Champion Mets. Here is Part Two of my four part series entitled, How The Miracle Mets Were Built. You can read Part One by clicking below. Part 1 – The Spring Of 1968 Part 2 – The 1968 Off-Season Part 3 – The Spring of 1969 Part 4 – The Summer of 1969 The Mets had just completed their most successful...
I was just reading our Morning Briefing and learned that today was the birthday of Danny Frisella. Wow, I thought. There’s a name I haven’t heard of in a while. I always had fond memories of Danny Frisella, a right-hander who the Mets selected in the third round of the 1966 Amatuer Draft out of Washington State University. It didn’t take long before he’d make his way to...
2014 is the 45 year anniversary of the 1969 Mets. Enjoy this special feature and welcome to Part One of my four part series entitled, How The Miracle Mets Were Built. Turn Back The Clock 46 Years – It’s the Spring of 1968. Spring training of 1968 saw the Mets coming off another last place finish but with a few glimmers of hope for the future. There was a new manager in Gil Hodges and a new...
To even the casual observer, it would appear that building a productive farm system in baseball is undertaken with the same predictive science and art as trying to pick the winning lottery ticket before scratching off the numbers. Lack of talent, career altering injuries, failure to translate potential, bad luck — the rise to the big leagues, never mind achieving stardom, is statistically...
In the National League, the pitcher’s spot comes up to the plate once every nine batters. A good hitting pitcher can help himself out with the bat. So who are the best hitting pitchers the Mets have seen in their history? Let’s take a look at the 10 Best Hitting Pitchers in Mets History (minimum 100 at bats). 10. Jonathon Niese – .167 batting average – 35 hits with 2...
