When it began in 1997, it was more than just a novelty. City bragging rights were on the line, and the stakes were heightened further when the teams met in the World Series just a few years later. The energy is almost always electric, and this weekend is certainly no exception, providing another chance to etch new moments into Subway Series history.

June 16, 1997

The inaugural regular-season meeting turned into Dave Mlicki‘s finest hour.

The 29-year-old started this historic meeting and proceeded to become the only Met to throw a shutout at Yankee Stadium—current or previous. Although he allowed nine hits and two walks over 119 pitches and managed to record a 1-2-3 inning just once, he struck out eight and avoided trouble.

Bernard Gilkey scored three times, with his initial run coming on a John Olerud first-inning double off Andy Pettitte as the Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They added two more on Olerud’s seventh-inning single and another on Gilkey’s ninth-inning sac fly. The Yankees had more traffic on the bases in the ninth, but despite three singles, Mlicki preserved his scoreless effort—striking out Derek Jeter to finish off the 5-0 victory.

July 10, 1999

Mariano Rivera and the Yankees had won 124 straight times after taking a lead into the eighth. That wasn’t going to stop the Mets, even if they had to overcome six home runs.

A Mike Piazza 482-foot moon shot in the seventh was countered by the power of Yankee bats.

Down to their final out and behind by a run, Matt Franco helped defy the odds. His bases-loaded single to right field brought in Rickey Henderson and Edgardo Alfonso to put an exclamation point on a 9-8 win that remains arguably the best Mets victory of the Subway Series era.

June 27, 2008

Carlos Delgado came out of a slump in historic fashion by setting the Mets’ single-game record for RBIs in a 15-9 rout. This was the opener of a cross-town, two-stadium doubleheader, but Delgado helped make Yankee Stadium feel like Shea. With the score tied at four, Delgado drove in two with a fifth-inning double into the right field corner. His next opportunity came in the sixth with the bases loaded. One swing turned a relatively close game into a blowout on a no-doubt grand slam to right center.

His 443rd career homer put him ahead of Dave Kingman on the all-time list, the same man who previously held the single-game franchise mark for RBIs. The contest was 12-5 in the eighth, but Delgado didn’t ease up. Locking in on a LaTroy Hawkins pitch, he rocketed it into the right field stands that were now half-empty, and many of those who remained were happy.

June 12, 2009

You know the Subway Series has weight when a regular season loss still stings. I needed a drink just to help while researching on Baseball Reference. For those who saw it, I’m sorry. For those actually at Yankee Stadium, I’m really sorry. For those who were lucky to miss it, don’t watch. Here it is in excruciating detail.

The Yankees trailed by one and were down to their last out with runners on first and second as Francisco Rodríguez graced the mound. Alex Rodriguez popped it up in the vicinity of second baseman Luis Castillo, who drifted to his left for an easy game-ending catch … not.

It clanked off the heel of his glove. Jeter scored, as did Mark Teixeira. Yankees 9, Mets 8. The career of Castillo, as well as the ’09 season, never recovered.

May 28, 2013

Matt Harvey continued his stellar first full season with ten strikeouts and one run allowed, but encountered tough luck.

Hiroki Kuroda’s seven shutout innings, followed by David Robertson’s easy eighth, made Harvey prime for a loss. That Yankee lead disappeared after a rare spurt of Amazin’ offense, however. The Mets honored Rivera in his farewell season by having him toss out the series finale’s honorary first pitch. He also threw the last pitch—but this time, the only ceremony was to initiate a Mets win.

He came back onto the Citi Field mound with the Yanks up 1–0 in the ninth. When he left, the Yankees had lost 2-1 and Rivera didn’t record an out. Three straight hits by Daniel Murphy, Wright and Lucas Duda engineered the game-ending rally.

September 12, 2021

This game rekindled the tension and combativeness of the Subway Series. The Mets opened the three-game set with a 10-run outburst, followed the next night by an emotional 8-7 Yankees victory on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Then came the finale: also known as Francisco Lindor‘s first signature Mets moment.

For all his struggles during his initial season in Queens, this night was a turning point. His home run in the second turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. His next long ball in the sixth increased the Met lead to two. After exchanging words with the opposition (with support from Javy Báez) an inning later, Lindor backed up the talk with more action: a tie-breaking blast to deep right field that put his team in front for good in the eighth.

June 25-26 & July 23-24, 2024

The Yankees hold a 84-67 advantage dating back to ’97. The Mets, however, have had the edge of late, including last season’s four-game sweep. Outscoring them 36-14 and hitting 13 homers, it was just the second time the orange and blue went unbeaten against the Bombers in a single season.

How well did it go for the Mets? Lefty reliever Jake Diekman, sporting an ERA of 5.63, was given the chance to face Aaron Judge in the ninth inning of a 3-2 game…and struck him out. Just like we all thought he would.

The finale was a Mets party in the Bronx: a 12-3 victory at Yankee Stadium in which Gerrit Cole was inefficient for the second time on the year while Lindor hit two homers and drove in five.

The post Big Apple Battles: Greatest Subway Series Moments appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

It had been 124 straight games in which the New York Yankees won after taking a lead into the eighth inning. But that wasn’t going to stop the Mets, nor were six home runs. Even if it took facing Mariano Rivera at the end.

Matt Franco defied the odds and defeated the defending champions with a single to right field that brought in Rickey Henderson and Edgardo Alfonso to put an exclamation point on the best Mets win in Subway Series history.

The last time the two New York teams faced off in June, the Mets were in the midst of their worst stretch. They had lost eight in a row, but soon rattled off 21 wins in 29 games. The hot streak continued in the opener at Shea on July 9, highlighted by a key Mike Piazza homer off Roger Clemens

The Yankees used power to their advantage a day later. The Mets fell behind on a first-inning two-run homer by Paul O’Neill, but came back. Leads were hard to hold on to throughout the afternoon.

Poor Yankee defense allowed the Mets to pull ahead in the fourth, but it was tied by the top of the fifth on back-to-back long balls. Two more Bronx bombs swung the momentum, but only for a bit.

Piazza still had some pop in his bat. Alright, a lot of it. He completely destroyed a Ramiro Mendoza pitch in the seventh, launching it over the picnic tent beyond the visiting bullpen, and added a casual bat flip in the process. The three-run home run was estimated to have traveled 482 feet. Howie Rose often jokes that this was the first home run to take place on the grounds of Citi Field.

Not long after after Piazza’s ball landed, the Mets’ one-run lead became a one-run deficit thanks to Jorge Posada‘s blast and the Yanks’ sixth (and thankfully) final round-tripper.

It appeared that would be enough, especially when Mariano Rivera came trotting out of the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the ninth. More often than not, Yankee victories followed. Rivera got Brian McRae out on a harmless grounder. But after a one-out walk to Rickey Henderson and Bernie Williams misjudged an Edgardo Alfonzo fly ball, the invincible force of the late-inning Yankees showed vulnerability. John Olerud grounded out to first base, failing to advance the runners.

One hit could win it, and one out would lose it. Joe Torre wasn’t going to give Mike Piazza the chance to do either. The Yankees walked him to set up a force at any base. Franco came up to bat for Melvin Mora, fell into an 0-2 hole. He then took a pitch that would be in the strike zone of most umpires. Luckily for Franco, the Mets, and Mets fans, Jeff Kellogg’s zone was small enough.

Franco swung at the next pitch—a single in the hole between first and second. Henderson scored easily and O’Neill’s throw came in too late to get the sliding Alfonzo, giving the Mets a sensational 9-8 walk-off win.

This marked the first time the Mets had taken a series from that team from the Bronx. They marked the occasion by celebrating beyond any ordinary regular season victory.

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It’s one of the enduring memories of David Wright. Hitting a drive to deep center field, leaping several times as it drifted toward the warning track, and celebrating after it went beyond the reach of Johnny Damon.

As the ball landed near the wall, it brought in Paul Lo Duca and ensured a thrilling victory in one of the best games in the history of the Subway Series—a series that carried extra significance for the Mets as they enjoyed one of their best regular seasons in recent memory with the emergence of their new face of the franchise.

In the bottom of the ninth with two outs came a match-up of two of the biggest baseball figures in the city—Wright facing future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera.

David got the better of the legendary Yankees closer, a feat accomplished by few.

But at first, the match-up didn’t appear even on paper: 31-year-old Geremi González, a right-hander who two weeks ago was at Class-AAA Norfolk after five unremarkable seasons with three teams, up against left-hander Randy Johnson—another pitcher bound for Cooperstown.

As might have been expected, González found early trouble against a potent batting order. All nine Yankees batted in the first. Five recorded hits. Four of them scored.

But Carlos Beltrán nearly got all of it back on his own. After José Reyes walked and Lo Duca singled to open the bottom of the inning, Beltran parked one over the left-field fence.  Johnson, who uncharacteristically had an ERA close to 5.00, prolonged his struggle.

Robinson Canó added to the Yankee lead in the third with a sacrifice fly, but the Mets scratched their way back to even on the strength of another homer—this one a two-run shot by Xavier Nady.

The score remained tied, 6-6, heading into the ninth. The Mets’ closer, Billy Wagner, did his job—striking out the side—which now left it to the Yankees distinguished ninth-inning performer.

Tasked with facing the top of the Mets’ order, Rivera retired Reyes. But Lo Doca doubled. Beltrán struck out swinging and with first base open, the Yanks had a decision: face Delgado or go after Wright.

The power hitting lefty was intentionally walked in favor of the 23-year-old third baseman.

On a 2-2 pitch, Rivera threw his patented cutter down in the strike zone. The Mets’ future captain delivered the signature moment in his young and bright career.

“To come through in the Subway Series, versus a team like the Yankees, it’s special,” Wright said. “You can say as much as you want that it’s just another game, but there was a lot more energy tonight.”

The post OTD 2006: David Wright’s Subway Series Walk-Off appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

On January 7, 1992, Tom Seaver was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame along with Rollie Fingers.

Seaver was elected with 98.8%  of the vote in his first year of eligibility, which was the highest percentage for any player at the time (Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Ken Griffey Jr. have since been elected with higher percentages).

So much has been written about Seaver, especially since his passing on August 31, 2020. He had the nickname of “The Franchise” for a reason, as he was the most popular and accomplished player ever to wear a Mets uniform. He was the first player to enter Cooperstown sporting a Mets cap.

On the anniversary of his election into baseball’s hallowed hall, here is a reflection on Seaver’s accomplishments that earned him the honor of Hall of Fame inductee, with such a large, almost unanimous vote.

Personal Statistics

12-time all star

1967 NL Rookie of the Year

3 Cy Young Awards (1969, 1973, 1975)

Career WAR of 109.9

3 NL ERA titles (1970, 1971, 1973)

311 career wins

3 time leader in NL in WHIP (1971, 1973, 1977)

6 time leader in NL K/9 (1970, 1971, 1973, 1973, 1974, 1976)

5 time leader in NL in Strikeouts (1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976)

2 time leader in NL in shutouts (1977, 1979)

4 time leader in NL in FIP (1971, 1973, 1975, 1976)

MLB Ranking in Key Statistics

Wins- 18th with 311

Strikeouts- 6th with 3640

Innings pitched- 17th with 4782.2

WHIP- 23rd with 1.12

Opponent BA- 13th with .226

Ranking Among Mets Pitchers

Wins- 1st with 198

ERA- 1st with 2.57

Innings pitched- 1st with 3045.2

Strikeouts- 1st with 2541

Games started- 1st with 395

Complete games- 1st with 171

Shutouts- 1st with 44

Pitcher bWAR- 1st with 76.1

It’s unfortunate, and almost hard to imagine, that a player with such overwhelming team accomplishments could have had anything other than a harmonious relationship with the organization. However, Seaver’s time in uniform and in retirement were choppy in terms of his dealings with the Mets.

In 1977, Seaver wanted to renegotiate his salary to have it more closely align with the higher salaries pitchers were earning through the newly established free agency system. He had a difference of opinion on the matter with Chairman of the Board M. Donald Grant, which resulted in Seaver’s being traded to the Reds.

After being reacquired from Cincinnati for the 1983 season, Seaver was left unprotected in a free agency compensation draft after the season. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, and won his 300th game in a White Sox uniform at Yankee Stadium.

When he retired, Seaver had a lukewarm relationship with the Mets, returning to Shea Stadium for Tom Seaver Day on July 24, 1988. After that, he worked in the Yankees’ television booth from 1989-1993. As a sign of detente with the Mets, he worked in the Mets’ television booth from 1999-2005, before becoming infrequently publicly available after that point.

The issue of the Tom Seaver statue at Citi Field is set to come to resolution on Opening Day 2022, which (lockout willing) will take place on March 31. Citi Field now sits on 41 Seaver Way. The Mets are slowly coming around to permanently recognizing their most iconic player, which for many fans cannot come a day too soon.

Here is an MMO hat tip to The Franchise, Tom Seaver.

The post OTD 1992: Tom Seaver Elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

It would’ve been difficult for anything to exceed the hype of the first World Series pitting two New York teams in 44 years, but the personal clash between the Mets power-hitting catcher and the Yankees’ most renowned starting pitcher did just that.

Few hitters gave Roger Clemens as much trouble as Mike Piazza. The two faced off 25 times. Against a pitcher who would strike out more than 4,000 batters over his lengthy big-league career, Piazza struck out just twice. He batted .364, had an on-base percentage of .440, and a slugging percentage of .955. He hit four home runs, each of them carrying its own importance.

The intensity of this duel of two superstars was ratcheted up ten-fold on July 8, 2000 when Clemens drilled Piazza with a pitch just above the brim of his helmet, concussing the perennial All-Star catcher and prompting strong ill-feelings.

If Game 1’s extra-inning thriller — highlighted by costly Mets baserunning and a late Yankee rally to prevail in the 12th — didn’t offer enough drama, Game 2 brought about the pinnacle of the Clemens-Piazza saga on the ultimate stage.

What took place with two outs in the top of the first is not lost on Mets and Yankees fans alike, re-lived countless times over the past two decades. Piazza broke his bat on a foul ball. The meat part of the bat ended up in Clemens’ grasp. Piazza jogged to first. Clemens flung the jagged piece of wood back in Piazza’s vicinity.

Both benches emptied as Piazza walked towards Clemens, as much perplexed as he was angry. On the field and after the game, Clemens’ claimed he had confused the bat with the ball, which is about as believable as his claim that he never used steroids.

Once the soap opera subsided and “The Rocket” inexplicably was allowed to continue, Clemens proceeded to have a typically vintage outing: eight shutout innings, two hits, no walks, nine strikeouts.

It wasn’t until he was out of the game when the Mets began to hit. Unfortunately, they began hitting after the Yanks had built a 6-0 cushion against Mike Hampton, Glendon Rusch, and Rick White.

Piazza began a furious, but ultimately futile comeback with a two-run homer that caromed off the left-field foul pole. Two singles and two outs later, Jay Payton connected for an opposite-field home run off Mariano Rivera.

A 6-5 Yankees victory was secured when Kurt Abbott struck out looking one batter later, but all anyone remembers from this night — and perhaps from this World Series — is the moment when a brief, but red-hot rivalry reached new and bizarre heights.

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The Mets finished the 2010s in the middle road of most offensive categories with the highlights few and far between outside of their magical run in 2015.

Their 1661 home runs ranked 9th out of 15 National League teams for the decade and their 6828 runs scored came in 10th.

As the Mets enter a new decade with a strong offensive core of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, and J.D. Davis, let’s look at the top 10 offensive highlights from the last 10 years.

Assman Steals the Show (9/22/16)

It was a wild game that included numerous lead changes, six home runs, and the rarity of Addison Reed struggling, but Asdrubal Cabrera would wrap it up with a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning and a glorious bat flip.

Captain Rocks Citi Field in October (10/30/15)

It was a long ride, painful ride for David Wright to play in a World Series game in front of Mets fans. What he did when he finally got that moment was poetically perfect, a crushed two-run homer that gave the Mets an early lead and had Citi Field rocking.

Polar Bear Breaks Rookie Record (9/28/19) 

The rookie season for Pete Alonso was one for the record books, and now he sits all alone in Major League history with 53 home runs in his first season. He broke Aaron Judge‘s previous record of 52 set back in 2017.

Wright Return Homer (9/24/15)

There were questions about whether David Wright would ever play again, well he did and returned with a bang. In his first at-bat in over four months, the Captain hit a towering blast off that was so emotional that even some of the home fans in Philadelphia stood up and applauded the long-time Met.

Nieuwenhuis Goes Deep Thrice (7/12/15)

First Mets hitter in team history to hit three homers in a home game? Yup, that would be former top high school football player Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The outfielder entered the game with no big league home runs that season then hit all three by the bottom of the fifth inning.

Later that season, Kirk would have one of the biggest hits of the season with a solo homer off Jonathan Papelbon to cap the Mets comeback from a 7-1 deficit to the Nationals.

The win pushed the Mets six games ahead of the Nationals and was the middle game of what turned out to be a monumental sweep in Washington.

The Impossible Has Happened (5/7/16)

Bartolo Colon went deep and Gary Cohen had one of the best calls in major league history. It was also one of the slowest home runs trots in history as Bart took his time around the bases in San Diego.

Enter Tears of Joy (7/31/15)

Just two days after Wilmer Flores cried on the field because of a trade that never went through, he blasted a walk-off home run against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Teammate Michael Cuddyer called it one of the best walk-off homers he had ever seen, and it will certainly be remembered in Mets history for a long time.

Postseason Power Surge (Postseason 2015)

Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy hit 14 home runs in 499 regular season at-bats in 2015, the playoffs were a completely different animal. He would hit three in the NLDS against the Dodgers including in back-to-back games to close out the series win.

The he would hit a home run in all four of the National League Championship Series games in the sweep of the Cubs. Murphy became the first player to hit a home run in six consecutive postseason games.

Yo Breaks It Open (10/15/2015)

Yoenis Cespedes was everything the Mets had hoped for when they acquired at the trade deadline in 2015. He had 35 extra base hits and 44 RBI’s in only 57 games as the Mets won the division.

He would also hit two homers in the playoff run, including a massive dong to left field that put the Mets on top 10-3 in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Beating the Best (5/28/13)

Walking off against Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is not something that happened often, though the Mets did that in late May of 2013 with three straight hits to begin the and end the inning.

With the Mets down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Murphy started with a double, Wright singled to score Murphy, and then Lucas Duda singled to score Wright for the walk-off win.

Top 10 Defensive Plays

Top 15 Games

Minors Minors All Decade Team

Top Offensive Players

The post Top 10 Mets Offensive Highlights of Decade appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

There are sports writers who did not cast votes for Babe Ruth.  Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mets great Tom Seaver were all first ballot Hall of Famers who voters found a reason not to vote for.  Yogi Berra was not elected to the hall of Fame until the third ballot.

While only Mariano Rivera has been a unanimous Hall of Fame electee in the 80 year history of the Hall of Fame, one of the more common and reasonable ways for both fans and sports writers to determine who is deserving of a spot is to see if the statistics of the player they are considering for Hall of Fame membership has statistics that are similar, or exceed, the statistics of an already elected Hall of Fame player.

Let’s compare the career statistics of two players. For our comparison, we’ll call them Player A and Player B.

We’re looking at two outstanding, really similar ballplayers. Note both were power-speed guys, with 400+ home runs and 300+ stolen bases. Both sluggers plated many men, with over 1,500 RBIs each. Very similar statistically, both players had the same lifetime batting average, player B had three more home runs, four more RBIs and two additional stolen bases in 159 more at bats. We can note that player B scored 209 fewer runs which is something to consider as we continue to compare the two ball players.

Well, now we see that Player A had a significant advantage in on base percentage compared to Player B. With the same batting average, Player A was able to get on base more than Player B, which led to Player A scoring 209 more runs than Player B.

We can also see that while Player A had a tick higher slugging percentage (.004), it was really his higher on base percentage that made his OPS higher than Player B. Despite having different OPS’s though, the two players had the same OPS+, which is OPS adjusted for the offensive era and the player’s home ball park. We can surmise that Player A played in a higher  offensive era than Player B, which is why his higher offensive output is adjusted downward compared to Player B.

As we review some of the hardware the two players collected, Player A had one more All Star appearance, and both players were Rookie of the Year in their respective debuts. Player B did win two additional Silver Slugger Awards, but the biggest difference in the chart above is that Player B won five additional gold gloves.

Both Player A and Player B were consistently excellent, with 16 years of MVP votes among them. Player B does have the advantage though, as he won 1 MVP and had two more top-5 finishes than Player A.

Interesting to note that despite the different number of gold gloves noted earlier, both players had the same career dWAR, and Player A actually had more offensive value (remember the better on base percentage and the greater number of runs scored) than Player B. Player B had a few better peak years, considering the top-5 MVP finishes, but for their career, Player A had the more productive career of these two very statistically similar players.

Player A  played 20 years in the majors, with the majority of that time in center field, although several seasons were spent in right field and DH. Player B played 21 seasons in the majors with a significant percentage of those games played in center field, although the majority of his games defensively were played in right field.

Player A is Carlos Beltran.

Player B is Andre Dawson.

Andre Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010, after never receiving less than 45% of the vote while on the ballot. Carlos Beltran becomes eligible in 2023. Carlos Beltran, as a player, had a Hall of Fame career.

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An MMO Fan Shot by Harris (Lindro88)

If you love baseball, you have felt that sick feeling when you know your teams closer is about to blow a game. It usually starts with a lead-off walk. As a Mets fan, I’ve been in the ballpark, when ball one was all it took for the low murmur to start. Some combination of anxiety, anger, and fear. Sometimes the walk would be followed by an out. Okay, maybe we were wrong. More often than not, we were right. The inning would eventually go sideways, whether it came quickly, or dragged on until two outs and a 0-2 count.

There is one group of fans that never had to go through this. For most of his 18-year career, Mariano Rivera made the ninth inning nothing more than a formality. Lead-off walks rarely led to problems. Big error made behind him? Not to worry, he’d find a way out of it. That’s during the regular season, when one inning was all he was called on for. Come playoff time, the Yankees needed to get 21 outs before turning the ball over to Rivera. In really crucial times, 18 outs were enough.

As a fan of New York’s other team, I did not watch Mariano’s career as closely as a Yankee fan. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to have him sitting in the bullpen. Despite that, I did get to see quite a bit of him and those great Yankees teams he anchored. From 1997-2000 the Mets had very good teams. Mets vs Yankees regular season games were a big deal, and while we had our moments, each series seemed to go the same way. If the Mets won the first game, you could count on the Yankees winning the next two.

For the most part, it was the same movie. It all culminated in 2000 when they met in the World Series. The Yankees had finished off the regular season terribly. The Mets had a terrific season, winning 94 games, capturing the NL Wild Card.

After a few shaky moments in Game 1 against the San Francisco Giants, (hello Armando Benitez), they waltzed their way to the World Series. Of course, the Yankees straightened themselves out by then, and while this wasn’t a vintage Yankee season, here they were, back in the World Series.

Games against the Yankees seemed too long. Yes, there were nine innings, but no lead, big or small, felt safe. At some point, the rally was coming. Often it started with a break. An error on a routine play. A walk after getting ahead of the hitter 0-2. Give them a tiny opening and they would shove the whole team through.

While Yankees fans can reel off dozens of examples, for me Game 1 of the 2000 World Series stands out. The Mets were the better baseball team that night. When you’ve been watching baseball as long and as closely as I have, nine times out of 10 you can tell when a ball is a home run off the bat. In the top of the sixth inning, with Timo Perez on first base, Todd Zeile hit a line drive to left field that looked gone off the bat. In the World Series, the prevailing theory is not to take anything for granted.

Unfortunately, that didn’t occur to Perez, as he made his way to second base as if he expected the ball to land 30 rows deep. At best this was going to be two or three rows deep, and in the cool October weather, the ball hit off the top of the wall. Perez had better than average speed, and once he realized the ball stayed in the park, he tried to make up for his slow trot out of the gate.

Had the Mets been playing any team besides the Yankees, I’m convinced one of three things happens. The ball leaves the park, Perez runs hard right away, or the Yankees don’t make two perfect throws to nail Perez at the plate. Of course, it was the Yankees, the ball hit the top of the wall, Perez didn’t run hard out of the gate, and the Yankees did execute perfectly. David Justice, to Derek Jeter, to Jorge Posada.

Instead of a 1-0 lead, the game stayed tied. The Mets would take a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning, only instead of Mariano Rivera on the mound, we had Armando Benitez. Benitez had an excellent regular season, but once the playoffs came around, you never knew what you were going to get, and more often than not, it wasn’t going to be good.

Paul O’Neil came up with the bases empty and one out. After falling behind 1-2, he walked after a tremendous 10 pitch at bat. Two singles, and a sacrifice fly later the game was tied. Three innings later the Yankees won on a bloop down the left field line by legendary slugger Jose Vizcaino. Yanks win 4-3. They’d win the series in five games, celebrating deep into the night at Shea Stadium.

This week Mariano Rivera was the first player in MLB history to be a unanimous selection into the Hall of Fame. His unanimous selection put an end to the silly tradition of not letting anyone enter the Hall with a perfect ballot. It was ended by arguably the most valuable postseason player of all time. I know many people will ask, “how can a player who might not get in a game, be considered the most valuable?”

Next October when the playoffs roll around, watch a few games. It won’t take long to understand. Mariano Rivera was the most dominant weapon any team had the luxury of deploying. Teams knew if they didn’t have the lead, or at least have the game tied, by time number 42 trotted in, it was over. No other player in baseball history had that impact.

* * * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO community member and die-hard Mets fan Harris (Lindro88). Have something you want to say about the Mets? Send your article to GetMetsmerized@aol.com or use this Contact Form. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

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New York Yankee pitching legend Mariano Rivera made history on Tuesday, January 22, 2018.

He became the only baseball player in history to be voted unanimously into the Hall of Fame being named on all 425 ballots submitted. In the 75 year history of the Hall of Fame, no player has been perfect in the Baseball Writer’s voting (although many will argue that several others should have).  The previous high was the 99.3% of the vote earned by Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016.

Rivera, a 13-time All-Star, is the all-time leader in saves both during the regular season with 652 and in the playoffs with another 42. He is the fifth Yankee to be enshrined into the Hall in his first year of eligibility joining Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson.

Rivera, 49, spent his entire 19-year career with the Yankees, from 1995-2013. He faced the New York Mets 34 times in regular season games with 4 more appearances in the 2000 World Series. Although Rivera was consistent in his excellence throughout his career, the Mets had a few special moments against him which we now examine as we look back at Mariano Rivera’s career against his cross-town rivals.

Interleague play in baseball began in 1997, so the Mets did not face Rivera in the first two years of his career. From 1997 until 2013, the last year of Rivera’s career, the two teams faced each other 94 times. During these 17 years, the Mets had three memorable walk-off wins against Mariano, the first coming in 1999.

In a game that saw five lead changes, the Mets, down one in the bottom of the ninth, sent Matt Franco to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. Franco laced a single to right scoring Ricky Henderson and Eduardo Alfonso to give the Mets a thrilling 9-8 victory. Rivera pitched two-thirds of an inning allowing two earned runs and two hits as he suffered his first loss against the Mets.

In 2006, the two teams played the opener of the Subway Series at Shea Stadium. It was a typical tense game between the rivals that was tied at six going to the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and Paul Lo Duca on second, a young third baseman named David Wright cracked a Rivera cutter over Johnny Damon‘s head sending Lo Duca home with the winning run.

The third walk-off win came in 2013, Rivera’s final year. It was a game that featured a superb pitching duel between Matt Harvey and Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees were leading 1-0 as the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the ninth with Rivera on the mound for the save. Daniel Murphy led off with a double and scored on a single by David Wright who went to second on a bad throw. The next batter was Lucas Duda who blooped a single to shallow right to send Wright home with the winning run. Rivera gave up three hits and two earned runs without retiring a batter in the frame. It was the only save he blew in the last year of his career.

Overall, in 34 regular season meetings, the Mets went 4-4 against Mariano with a 3.53 team ERA. They scored 14 earned run against him with 28 strike outs and managed only eight walks in 35.2 innings pitched. Rivera had 20 saves against the Amazins’.

In the 2000 World Series between the Mets and Yankees, Rivera saved two of the four games, games four and five. He gave up two ER to the Mets and pitched to a 3.00 ERA. He struck out eight and walked one in 6.0 innings pitched while allowing four hits.

As far as individual  ‘accomplishments’ against Mariano Rivera, only two Mets hit a home run against him: Jay Payton and Damion Easley.  Two Mets, Todd Zeile, and David Wright, managed three hits off of Rivera both going three-for-eight. Four other Mets–Paul Lo Duca, Daniel Murphy, Edgardo Alfonso, and Lucas Duda–collected two hits. Rivera allowed only eight doubles and no triples against the Mets in his career.

Mariano Rivera is widely considered the greatest closer of all time. He helped the Yankees win five World Series titles garnering a World Series MVP in 1999 as he closed three games in a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. His sustained excellence over nearly two decades was remarkable.

However, the Mets, a team that certainly did not tear the cover off the ball against Rivera, nevertheless had some wins against him that will remain forever in New York baseball lore. The Mets ERA against Rivera was a full run better than his lifetime 2.21 ERA and they managed a .500 record against him. They battled him hard in many games even in instances when Rivera completed the save.

In the end, though, Mariano Rivera proved time and time again the mark of all great champions: winning and achievement over a sustained period of time. He was humbled upon learning of his impending enshrinement saying in a conference call to reporters, “…this is the pinnacle of every player that plays the game of baseball. To be unanimous…is an honor”.

For true baseball aficionados, Yankees fans or not, it was an honor to watch him pitch.

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The Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected four new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening, Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina.

Those four will join Harold Baines and Lee Smith, both voted in by the Hall of Fame’s Era Committee in December, in Cooperstown, New York this July for their inductions.

Mariano Rivera became the first player in the history of baseball to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame after being named on all 425 ballots.

Over the Panamanian native’s 19-year major-league career, Rivera’s cut fastball led him to an MLB-record 652 saves with a 2.21 earned-run average, 1,173 strikeouts, 286 walks, a 2.76 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.00 WHIP, and a 4.10 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 1,115 appearances (all but 10 in relief).

Rivera was a 13-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, whom he spent his entire career with.

Edgar Martinez, in his final year on the ballot, was named on 85.4 percent of the BBWAA’s ballots (363 votes) to become the first full-time designated hitter to gain election to the Hall of Fame.

Martinez, born in New York then raised in Puerto Rico, was a seven-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and two-time American League batting champion (1992, 1995) during his 18-year MLB career, all with the Seattle Mariners.

The current Mariners’ hitting coach accrued a .312/.418/.515 slash line, along with 2,247 hits, 514 doubles, 309 home runs, and 1,261 runs batted in over 2,055 major-league games.

Roy Halladay became the sixth player in MLB history to be posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame, receiving the same 85.4 percent of the votes as fellow inductee Edgar Martinez.

Over the Colorado native’s 16-year major-league career, Halladay won two Cy Young Awards (2003, Toronto; 2010, Philadelphia), was named to eight All-Star teams and became the first pitcher since Don Larsen in 1956 to throw a no-hitter in the postseason with his gem versus Cincinnati in Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS.

Halladay finished his career with a 203-105 win-loss record, 3.38 earned-run average, with 2,117 strikeouts, 592 walks, a 3.39 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.178 WHIP, and a 3.58 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 416 career appearances (390 starts; 2,749.1 innings).

Roy Halladay passed away in 2017 when the airplane he was piloting crashed. He was 40.

Mike Mussina, a native of Montoursville, Pennsylvania was named on 76.7 percent of the writers’ ballots (326 votes) to gain election in his sixth year on the ballot.

Over the course of his 18-year career, the right-hander they called Moose won 270 games for the Baltimore Orioles (1991 to 2000) and the New York Yankees (2001 to 2008), pitching to a 3.68 earned-run average with 2,813 strikeouts, a 3.57 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.192 WHIP, and a 3.58 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

Mussina was named to five American League All-Star teams and won seven Gold Glove Awards over the course of his career.

Congratulations to all four inductees!

Full voting results can be found here.

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