It helps to be in the right places at the right time. It also helps be a very good pitcher. Al Leiter was both. Those circumstances helped him achieve a feat that, at the time, was unique only to him. The left-handed pitcher went seven strong innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark on April 30 of 2022, only allowing one unearned run. Thanks to the Mets’ offense...
This was a no-hitter regardless of how you viewed it or how many pitchers it took. The Mets waited more than 50 years for their first: Johan Santana providing the entirety of the 134 tosses on a Friday night at Citi Field. They waited nearly 10 years for the next one: also on a Friday night, also at Citi Field, but using five pitchers to deliver the 159 needed against the Philadelphia Phillies....
By the end of the 1984 season, the New York Mets had crawled out from their cellar-dwelling. They improved by 22 wins from the 1983 season and finished second in the NL East. New York was strong at first base with Keith Hernandez, powerful in the outfield with a young Darryl Strawberry, and potent in the rotation with an even younger Dwight Gooden. The glaring weakness of this team was...
