It’s impossible to think about the Miracle Mets season and not think about Cleon Jones. The catch in left field to end the World Series of course, but also as the most significant offensive contributor throughout the season.

He had his best year in 1969. As it turned out, so did the Mets. Four years later, Jones struggled to stay healthy. It was almost a lost season both for the individual and the team. But, Jones healed up enough in September. As it turned out, so did the Mets. Jones was a crucial part in New York’s 11th-hour charge to the division title. He batted .278 after September 19,  belted six home runs, and collected 14 RBIs, leading the charge as the Mets emerged from a crowded six-team scramble with the division crown.

Cleon Jones – Photo Courtesy of NewYorkMets.medium.com

Jones had been a part of the franchise dating back to the inaugural season. Drafted on July 5, 1962, the team got looks at Jones in ’63 and ’65, with a significant minor-league stint in between. He gave brief glimpses of what was to come, but not before learning some hard lessons. Jones got himself into a tailspin he couldn’t get out of in 1967. Prolonged slumps, benchings, and public criticism from manager Wes Westrum: a thumbnail sketch of a forgettable year.

Transformative changes were on the horizon for Jones. First, Gil Hodges was brought on as manager that November. A month later, New York acquired Tommie Agee, a fellow Mobile, AL native as well as Cleon’s high school friend and teammate. The trade for Agee to the Mets from the White Sox provided more than just a familiar face in the clubhouse. It moved Jones from center field, a spot with which he was never comfortable, to left field.

A relaxed Cleon started fast in 1969, hitting .410 for April, blasting five homers in May, and posting a June batting average of .341 to catapult the Mets into challenging the Cubs for first place. It made Jones an All-Star starter and, he eventually finished third in the batting race. While the ’69 season was undoubtably Jones’s best, his best two weeks came during the pennant chase of 1973 as he salvaged what was nearly a lost year.

Jones, like much of the Mets roster, couldn’t escape an onslaught of injuries threatening to keep New York out of NL East title contention. Heading into September, Cleon’s bum leg had reduced him to 70 games. His bat and body were almost completely void of power with only five home runs (two on Opening Day) and 12 doubles. Despite the bothersome knee, Jones rediscovered his potent swing.

New York didn’t as much win the East as they survived it. The Mets showed they were the best team—and the luckiest. Never was there a better example than on September 20, when Jones took part in a play that indicated there was still some magic left from ’69.

With two outs and Richie Zisk on first in the top of the 13th against first-place Pittsburgh, Dave Augustine sent one beyond Jones’s reach in left field—destined to land in the Mets bullpen. But this ball had Mets destiny written all over it. The trajectory bounced it squarely off the top of the fence and back toward Jones. An inch farther, it’s a home run. An inch shorter, it’s an awkward ricochet. In either instance, a run scores.

Jones caught it from the rebound, turned, and fired to cutoff man Wayne Garrett while Zisk rounded third and headed home. Garrett threw to catcher Ron Hodges, who laid down the tag on a sliding Zisk.

“We were very fortunate to be able to make a play on that,” he said. “That was the turning point in the Mets winning the championship.”

Jones’s contributions to the Mets as they journeyed again through the NLCS and up to the seventh game of the World Series were timely if not nearly as significant.

His power subsided, but his Game 2 ninth-inning RBI single made way for three additional runs and provided the necessary cushion in a 5-0 victory. A wall-banging double in the bottom of the fifth in Game 5 broke a 2–2 tie in what would become a 7–2 pennant-clinching victory. Clutch hits were harder to come by in the seven-game World Series defeat to Oakland. He went 8-for-28 with three extra-base hits and a Game 2 homer.

The injuries proved too much to overcome afterwards and an unfortunate dismissal from the team in 1975 made for an abrupt ending to a terrific Mets career. Upon his exit, Jones had more hits, more home runs, and more RBIs than any other Met while playing a significant part in two pennant-winning teams and a world championship. It’s clear that no everday player in the first dozen years of this franchise was more impactful.

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Perhaps the most important trade in Mets’ history wasn’t even for a player. In the story of a franchise, there are a few seminal moments. The acquisition and appointment of Gil Hodges as manager is definitely one of them.

He had been a Met, a member of the original 1962 club in the twilight of his playing career. More famously, Hodges was a significant part of the Dodgers’ success in the late 1940s and 50s. The leadership qualities which made him a respected first baseman weren’t lost on organizations seeking a manager. And for more than four seasons, he oversaw an inexperienced Washington Senators club which improved incrementally each year.

Mets’ vice president Johnny Murphy sought a replacement for the recently-departed Wes Westrum. He had a connection in Washington: George Selkirk, the Senators’ general manager and Murphy’s former roommate when they were Yankee teammates.

Selkirk wouldn’t give in so easily. But shortly after Murphy took over GM duties from Bing Devine, the offer was Hodges for right-handed pitcher Bill Denehy and $100,000 as compensation to release Hodges from his deal with Washington. Realizing the possibility of no return if he decided to leave when the contract expired following the 1968 season, Selkirk relented.

Inheriting a club that had suffered 100 or more defeats in five of its first six seasons, he instilled a confidence that future Mets teams would be different than their predecessors.

Hodges proved to be more patient than most disciplined leaders and less vocal also. But there was never any doubting whose word mattered in the Mets’ clubhouse. Many leaders are usually feared or loved. Gil was both. No player was immune from his authority. And no player would dare question it.

As for in-game strategy, he maximized the talent at his disposal—coaxing and adjusting a lineup to create the greatest chance of victory. He allowed inexperienced players to work through tough situations and out of any rough stretches. By the end of 1968, the Mets made a significant step toward respectability, even if it didn’t appear that way in the standings.

New York improved by 12 games with a franchise-best 73 wins and a ninth-place finish—just the second time the Mets had emerged from the cellar. That was nothing compared to what took place the next year.

There were many reasons why the Mets became champions in 1969—Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman’s brilliant pitching, stellar defense, and timely hitting. But none of that would have been possible without Hodges’s unwavering leadership. That, in short, is his Mets’ legacy.

His way overdue election to the Hall of Fame—better late than never—is based on his success as a player, but Hodges’ influence as a manager in New York certainly should certainly be included.

The post OTD 1967: Mets Trade for New Manager Gil Hodges appeared first on Metsmerized.

1969 New York Mets

The words on the giant Shea Stadium scoreboard captured the seminal moment: “Look Who’s No. 1.”

The Mets swept a doubleheader from the Montreal Expos and got a solid from the Philadelphia Phillies as they beat the Chicago Cubs. On the board in right-center field, a snapshot of the up-to-date standings with the accompanying headline.

Just a night earlier, the Cubs had left New York humbled. They dropped two in Queens to be on the precipice of being overtaken after having as large as a nine-game edge in mid-June. Now they were hanging on to first place by a thread. The ladder Mets victory was highlighted by a black cat scurrying near the visiting dugout. So if symbols were any indication, the Cubs were doomed.

But a Wednesday night in New York officially confirmed it.

The post OTD 1969: For First Time, Mets Go into First Place appeared first on Metsmerized.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Latest Mets News

The Mets opened up Summer Camp 2.0 in MCU Park, the Mets’ alternate training ground. The club sent a bevy of minor-leaguers, including David Peterson, Ryley Gilliam, Drew Smith, among others, to the site.

Jacob deGrom left his simulated game yesterday after pitching an inning due to a sore back. It must be tired from carrying the team on it.  ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Tim Britton of The Athletic recapped the Mets’ unique draft strategy.

Per Scott Soshnick of Sportico.com, four parties have made it to the second round of the Mets’ sale. Those four groups include Steve Cohen, the JRod group, the Harris/Blitzer party, and a mystery team. Soshnick also reported that SNY will not be included in any deal.

Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic wondered how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Mets’ valuation.

After a week of not showing up to Citi Field, Robinson Cano finally appeared at Citi Field yesterday.

SNY will broadcast 56 of the Mets’ 60 games this summer. The only exceptions are on July 26th, which will be shown on ESPN,  and July 30, September 19, September 26, which will be broadcasted on FOX.

Yo’s all ready for this season.

Yo is going for style points. 😱

(via @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/XUsQJj8rXv

— MLB (@MLB) July 14, 2020

Latest MLB News

Andy McCullough of The Athletic talked to 20 MLB executives, who agreed that there are only 4 undisputed aces currently in the MLB.

After needing a golf cart to leave Sunday’s game, Byron Buxton was diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com.

Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com heard that the Red Sox are interested in Zack Godley.

Latest NL East News 

City officials declared that the Phillies won’t be allowed to have fans in Citizens Bank Park this year.

The Braves inked Yasiel Puig, ending his months-long free agency journey.

Latest on MMO

Brian Wright reminisced on the 2000 Mets.

Tim Ryder talked to The Record’s Justin Toscano in the latest edition of Simply Amazin’.

Jacob Resnick looked into how pro-rated agreement between the MLB and the MLBPA will affect the Mets.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: James Baldwin (49), Fernando Nieve (38), Wilson Delgado (48)

Three Mets, Jon Matlack, Tug McGraw, and Tom Seaver, appeared in the 1975 All-Star game.

Stay safe, folks!

The post Morning Briefing: SNY Not For Sale appeared first on Metsmerized.

On this date in 1962, the Mets signed 17-year-old Ed Kranepool. He would make his Major League debut later that year at 17 years and 318 days old.

Kranepool, 75, recently battled renal disease and had a successful life-saving kidney transplant.

Eddie was on a waiting list for two years before he finally found a donor who was a perfect match, Deborah Barbieri, a 56 year old Mets fan from Nassau County.

Barbieri’s husband had also undergone a successful kidney transplant and they both wanted to “pay it forward.” Eddie’s wife Monica, who had been hoping and praying for a donor for two years, called the transplant “a miracle.”

Kranepool was signed by the Mets in 1962 as a wide-eyed 17 year-old from the Bronx, and over a 18 year span, he would play a franchise record 1,853 games for the Mets. He became very close with then manager Casey Stengel who became sort of a father figure for Eddie.

Casey, who could rival Yogi Berra with his quick wit and oftentimes amusing quips, once had this to say about his youngster Eddie Kranepool…

“We’ve got a couple of kids here named Kranepool and Goossen, and they’re both 20 years old. In 10 years Kranepool has a chance to be a star. In 10 years Goossen has a chance to be 30.”

I became a huge Eddie Kranepool fan towards the end of his career in the mid-seventies. By then, Eddie was limited to a bench role and was the team’s top pinch-hitter – and what a pinch-hitter he was.

I recall one particular game I attended during the summer of 1974, when the Mets were hosting our latest arch-rival, the Cincinnati Reds. I remember it like it was yesterday. Tom Seaver was on the mound for the Mets but he wasn’t his usual dominant self and the team was down  3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

With a somewhat packed house, the fans were clamoring for some offense as the Mets were running out of outs. Manager Yogi Berra could be seen patting Seaver on the back as Ed Kranepool grabbed a bat and stepped to the plate as the chants of “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!” rained down from a boisterous crowd hoping for a big hit. I still get goosebumps whenever I think about it.

Almost as if on cue, Kranepool lined a two-out single that sparked a two-run rally that would eventually end on a towering home run by The Hammer – John Milner for you unwashed younger Met fans. Shea Stadium shook to it’s foundation as the crowd, delirious with satisfaction, were up on their feet cheering at the top of their lungs as the entire stadium resonated with bursts of, “Lets Go Mets! Lets Go Mets.” It was awesome.

Of course, what I didn’t know then, was that Ed Kranepool would go on to become one of the most preeminent pinch-hitters in the history of the game, and to this day, he still holds the record for the highest pinch-hitting batting average in a season, .486 in 1974 (min 30 PA).

Ed Kranepool wasn’t a big-time bat, as his career .693 OPS would attest, but if ever there was a shining example of a clutch hitter – Eddie was it. He was also an integral part of that 1969 Miracle Mets team, rising to the occasion whenever the game was on the line in that magical season.

In 48 plate appearances with two outs and runners in scoring position, Kranepool batted an incredible .342 in 1969, with a .479 on-base percentage, and a .953 OPS in 1969, with four walk-off hits.

Ed Kranepool has earned his place in Mets royalty, and it’s not because he played for them longer than any other player. Eddie was as clutch as they came, but he was also one of the classiest players ever to wear the Orange and Blue and a true fan favorite. He remains of the true great ambassadors the Mets have ever had.

The post On This Date: Mets Sign 17-Year-Old Ed Kranepool appeared first on Metsmerized.

Brian Wright selects: 

Cleon Jones 

Statistically, some of his overall rankings in Mets history have been overshadowed mainly due to the offense-friendly eras that followed him and the era in which he played — when offense was more at a premium. Even among left fielders like Kevin McReynolds, he falls short in home runs, slugging percentage, and adjusted OPS.

But when we measure the weight of impact, this doesn’t just tip the scale in his favor — it slams it down with authority.

The 1969 season is where Jones made his biggest mark on the franchise. On a team that leaned heavily on its pitching and defense, Jones was the bat the Mets could rely on most. And more often than not, he didn’t disappoint. He batted .410 for April, hit five homers in May, and posted a June batting average of .341 as the Mets matured into contenders. This spectacular first part of the years earned him a starting spot on the All-Star team.

Injuries during the second half didn’t stop Cleon from challenging the likes of Pete Rose and Roberto Clemente for the batting crown. After hitting safely in 24 of 29 games in August, Jones was leading the NL in batting as late as early September, only for cracked ribs to slow his chase and leave him five points shy of Clemente and eight behind Rose at season’s end. However, his .340 mark would go unmatched by any Met until John Olerud surpassed it 29 years later. Jones also led the ’69 team in on-base percentage at .422, was second in RBIs (one short of Tommie Agee), and finished seventh in the Most Valuable Player voting.

But Cleon was by no means a one-dimensional contributor to the “Miracle Mets.” Among all NL outfielders, his .991 fielding percentage ranked second while his range factor was the best.

Any ailments Jones was nursing late in the regular season did not play a factor during the playoffs. He went 3-for-5 with a homer in Game 2 and tallied two more hits in four at-bats in the clinching Game 3. Cleon hit under .200 in the World Series, but was supported by the hitting heroics of Donn Clendenon and Al Weis. Jones was by no means invisible in the victory over Baltimore, as his series-ending catch of Davey Johnson‘s fly ball on the left-field warning track at Shea Stadium remains an indelible image.

Four years later, Jones was key to another pennant chase. This time overcoming a nagging knee injury, Jones belted six home runs and 14 RBIs over the final two weeks of the regular season as the Mets emerged from a crowded six-team scramble with the division crown.

When his career in New York ended during the 1975 season, Cleon had produced more hits, more home runs, more RBIs, and a better offensive WAR than any other Met. He may not have been as consistently productive as others in team history, but the crucial role he had in helping to bring this franchise two pennants and a world championship can’t be overstated.

Matt Musico selects: 

Kevin McReynolds 

So, I have the unfortunate pleasure of arguing against Cleon Jones being the best left fielder in Mets history. That’s a tough battle to fight, but I’ll give it a try anyways.

While I did think about following the way of a recent MMO Roundtable and tab Yoenis Cespedes with these honors, I decided to go for the very well-known Kevin McReynolds.

There are likely many Mets fans my age and younger thinking….who? After beginning his career with the San Diego Padres, McReynolds spent five productive years with the Mets between 1987 and 1991.

He was the picture of consistency at the plate, hitting 20-plus home runs, collecting 80-plus RBI, and scoring 70-plus runs in four straight seasons before falling short in each category in 1991. He also added three years of at least 14 stolen bases, and his year-to-year fWAR progression wasn’t too shabby: 2.2, 4.0, 3.4, 3.6, and 1.3.

When we head over to FanGraphs and look at the players who have graced left field during the history of the Mets, Jones’ name is leading at the top with 18.1 fWAR. However, you’ll see McReynolds right beneath him with 15.1 of his own. Jones does also come out on top in runs scored (563 to 405), RBI (521 to 456), and stolen bases (91 to 67), but Jones also played 414 more games in a Mets uniform than his counterpart did.

McReynolds actually has the edge on Jones in homers (122 to 93), walk rate (8.2% to 7.6%), strikeout rate (14.6% to 10.6%), and wRC+ (120 to 112). While these two did play in different eras, wRC+ is league and park adjusted, which makes it easier for us to look at those numbers specifically.

It’s tough to compare these two because their sample sizes are so different – McReynolds donned the orange and blue for five years, while Jones did so for parts of 12 seasons. Jones had the greater peak in Flushing (6.3 fWAR in ’69 and 4.6 in ’71), but if we purely look at the number of years he produced 2.0 or more fWAR (five times), McReynolds nearly caught him (four times).

Being a critical part of a world championship team boosts Jones’ stock significantly in this conversation, especially since that’s when he had the best year of his career and McReynolds didn’t leave Queens with a ring. However, he was one of the best players on a 1988 squad that had the talent to achieve October glory and even finished third in NL MVP voting that year.

Is Kevin McReynolds the best left fielder in Mets history? It’s tough to go against Cleon Jones, but when looking at pure opportunity and the production that resulted from it, this should be much more of a discussion than it’d seem at first glance.

The post MMO Crossfire: Greatest Left Fielder in Mets History appeared first on Metsmerized.

Well, the Mets lost.

It’s not as if that’s a shock. Let’s face it, the Mets rarely win. Aside from the Miracle Mets of 1969 and the New York squad of 1986, the Mets have fallen short of a World Series championship during their other 55 campaigns.

But this time was supposed to be different.

It was online baseball.

Instead of playing in the spacious Citi Field with LaGuardia imports roaring ahead, the setting was reduced to an online format. Players were reduced to pixels, whose only interaction with fans took place via the video-sharing platform, Twitch.

And this difference invited the return of normalcy. Jeff McNeil, the Mets’ player thought to have the superior MLB The Show talents among the current group of Mets’ players, was dubbed to take over the controls to the Mets’ 2019 virtual roster and compete head-to-head against the best talents in baseball in MLB The Show’s Players League.

There’s no real baseball taking place in the US, but it was certainly fascinating to see players in a way that hadn’t been afforded to us fans yet. I associate Pete Alonso with record-setting home runs. Jake with two consecutive Cy Young awards. Luis Castillo for his missed catch at Yankee Stadium. You get it. But fans rarely get the chance to see a player’s personality. That’s what this streaming provided. It was just guys being dudes.

In the beginning, I was skeptical that this would work. I doubted the idea would gain much traction and MLB would quickly shut down the whole thing, calling it a failed experiment. With college canceled and so many other events postponed over the last few months, what hope did I have? Not much.

But as I watched more, I became more hooked. The Mets actually began winning. It was something I was unaccustomed to. Sure, they had their moments over the last few seasons. But this was sustained winning. Winning that could result in a playoff berth.

McNeil’s Mets quickly ripped off an eight-game winning streak and never looked back. At the outset of the tournament, not many expected a competitive squirrel to be a serious contender in The Players League. But 18 games in, McNeil owned a 14-4 record with walk-off wins over Hunter Pence of the Giants and Carlos Santana of the Indians. Midway through the season, he was the clear favorite in the NL East.

Baseball’s biggest names. Fallen thanks to the aptitude of Jeff McNeil‘s digits. Rhys Hoskins. Defeated. Lance McCullers Jr. Beaten. Juan Soto. Conquered.

As McNeil’s season went on, it didn’t go unnoticed that he was steadily climbing up the leader board of the NL East. Jake Marisnick was hitting bombs. Jacob deGrom was doing Jacob deGrom things. And McNeil’s adopted dog, Willow, was providing all of the Puppy Power she could muster to help her owner clinch a playoff spot.

On April 27th, McNeil had the chance to do what the Mets franchise had only done nine times: clinch a spot in the playoffs. And even though he was defeated by Blake Snell and the Rays, Tommy Kahnle and the Yankees lost, granting McNeil the fourth seed in the playoffs.

Let me state the obvious. Virtual playoffs aren’t the same as real-life playoff games. But still, it invigorated those who had been watching McNeil’s stream and gave them something that’s been tough to find over the last few weeks: hope. What if McNeil advanced? What if he won the whole damn thing? There would probably be no ticker tape parade, but maybe a CAD designer could be hired to create a virtual one.

In the first round of the playoffs, McNeil was matched up against the Orioles’ Dwight Smith Jr.. Smith Jr., the fifth seed, had ridden an Orioles team who didn’t have much talent to a postseason berth, making a run reminiscent of the Miracle Mets of  ’69.

On May 1, McNeil and Smith Jr. faced off on Fox Sports 1. First player to two wins would earn a spot in the semifinals, which would take place the following night. A Robinson Cano RBI double scored the first run of the game, giving New York an early advantage. But pinch-hit dinger from Chris Davis soon tied the game up.

This game would advance into extras. Edwin Diaz jogged from the bullpen and within two minutes, the Orioles had their first lead of the game. The Mets had one last chance to bring the series back to Baltimore with a 1-0 lead.

The middle of the order was up. So there was still hope. But it was dwindling. And the collective hope of all watching Mets fans fell even lower after Michael Conforto recorded the first out of the frame. Pete Alonso was then walked. Mychal Givens smartly pitched around the slugger, intending to go after the next hitter, J.D. Davis.

“Just Dingers” made him pay, driving a first-pitch fastball over the left field fence for a game-ending, two-run home run. And the Mets and their virtual fan base regained that what-was-thought-to-be-lost hope, emulating the real-life Mets.

JD Davis clutch as always comes through off the bench with a walk off two run shot, and Jeff McNeil is fired up after a big Game One win. pic.twitter.com/v3ew1y81Fz

— John Flanigan (@JohnFlanigan_) May 2, 2020

Game two was a lot less dramatic. Noah Syndergaard had his troubles in the first inning but escaped with only one run allowed. A home run from the ever-so-clutch virtual Robinson Cano knotted the game up at one. A couple of batters later, blasts from Brandon Nimmo and McNeil himself put the champagne on ice.

Jeff McNeil is fired up as he goes back to back with himself and Brandon Nimmo to push his Mets into the next round of the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/GTVl2nuxDR

— John Flanigan (@JohnFlanigan_) May 2, 2020

The next round wasn’t going to be easy. Blake Snell and his 24-5 regular season record was awaiting McNeil and Willow. David versus Goliath. The first seed versus the fourth seed.

McNeil had Willow alongside him the entire time, but alas, it was not meant to be. McNeil had Snell within a game of elimination after a victory in Game One, but the lanky southpaw prevailed in Games Two and Three and was off to the finals. Thus concluded a journey that involved a dog, a cat, a lot of squirrel emojis, and the first sense of normalcy.

This baseball season will be different in so many ways due to COVID-19. But for a brief period in April, we regained a bit of normalcy.

Virtual baseball isn’t the same as real-life baseball, but the similarities were there. We enjoyed the ups and downs of a baseball campaign. The euphoria of a walk-off win and the frustration of a postseason loss. Pete hitting homers, Jake striking out opponents, Brandon sprinting to first, Michael stroking doubles into gaps. They were all there.

But baseball’s more than just the players themselves. It provides entertainment. At 7:10 p.m., my TV is usually tuned to SNY, where Gary, Keith, and Ron indulge me for the night. For the next three hours, I’m glued to my TV, hoping the team can pull off a victory.

That’s what McNeil’s streams provided. It wasn’t only a chance for baseball’s biggest names to gain a platform, it represented an opportunity to regain normalcy. It represented hope. Hope that the Mets could finally do something right and win the championship that’s eluded them for so long. And in this age of COVID-19, we need all of the hope and normalcy we can get.

https://twitter.com/DeeH_NYC/status/1256761616730853377?s=20

We might have not won the whole thing, but nothing’s replacing this banner.

The post Jeff McNeil, Video Game Master appeared first on Metsmerized.

You could say that center fielder Tommie Agee never hit the ground running when the New York Mets acquired him along with Al Weis from the Chicago White Sox for Jack Fisher, Tommy Davis and a pair of minor leaguers.

In fact, after consecutive All Star campaigns for the White Sox, Agee had a dreadful ’68 season for the Mets. It started out by getting beaned by the hard-throwing Bob Gibson in a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals and then things only got worse from there. It resulted in a .217′.255/.307 batting line with five home runs and just 17 RBIs in 132 games that season.

However, the Alabama native would weave a much different tale in 1969 and he wasted no time in letting the baseball world know that he was back and he meant “back with a vengeance.”

On April 10, 1969, in a game against the Montreal Expos, Tommie Agee strode to the plate in the second inning and hit a home run into the upper deck in left field at Shea Stadium. It was a mammoth shot that measured an estimated 505 feet from home plate and would remain the longest home run ever hit in the 46-year history of Shea.

Unfortunately. the game was not televised and there is no footage of the majestic blast, only the accounts of the roughly 8.500 fans in attendance and the players who were in absolute awe. Right fielder Rod Gaspar was in the on-deck circle and said, “I’ve never seen a ball hit like that.”

Later in the game, Agee would homer yet again as the Mets defeated the Cards by a score of 4-2. And the next day the Mets marked the spot where the historic home run landed with the date and Agee’s name and uniform number, and it remained a permanent fixture of Shea Stadium until the ballpark’s final days.

The former AL Rookie of the Year would be a catalyst for the New York Mets that season excelling both in the field and at the plate. Agee led the team with 26 home runs, 76 RBI and 97 runs scored that season while batting .271/.342/.464 and posting a 5.4 bWAR. He finished sixth in the MVP voting and was named NL Comeback Player of the Year.

The rest of Agee’s many incredible exploits with the Mets is a matter of history and he’ll always be remembered for his two World Series catches and how he helped to turn the Lovable Losers into Champions of the World.

Sadly, on a cold winter morning in January of 2001, in the shadows of the World Trade Center, Tommie Agee was seen clutching his chest and collapsing onto the frozen New York City sidewalk.

An ambulance was quick to arrive, but attempts by first responders to revive him failed. Tommie Agee was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest at 58 years-old. An iconic New York Met and a 1969 World Series hero was no more.

We miss you Tommie… Thank you for all the memories.

The post Tommie Agee Goes Deep… Real Deep… appeared first on Metsmerized.

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 — with a pair of catches that still remain a part of World Series lore.

Here are a few highlights:

• Check out the player introductions — no pyrotechnics, no flashy graphics, no overlaying music.
• The man introduced at 1:40 might make a good manager one day.
• Calling the game for NBC is the legendary Curt Gowdy and longtime Mets’ broadcaster Lindsey Nelson (back when the team’s everyday announcer would assist with the national broadcasts of the World Series).
• Agee, the Mets’ leadoff hitter, began asserting control at 21:50 at the expense of starting pitcher (and Hall of Famer) Jim Palmer.
• With runners on the corners in top of the fourth and Elrod Hendricks at-bat, Agee’s remarkable range and deft glovework became the story at 56:51.
• If that play wasn’t stunning enough, at 1:44:24, Agee added to his highlight reel to rob Paul Blair‘s bid for extra bases.

The post Mets Video Vault: 1969 World Series Game 3 appeared first on Metsmerized.

One of the greatest trades the New York Mets ever made was in the offseason of 1965, when they traded reliever Tom Parsons (who?) to the Houston Astros for a 23-year-old catcher by the name of Jerry Grote.

He took over as the team’s starting catcher and would go on to become “one of the best defensive catchers the game has ever had.” Those are the words of Johnny Bench.

Grote was fiercely competitive and he instilled that killer instinct among all his teammates, especially his young pitchers who all credited him for their fearlessness and success.

In the summer of 1969,  the Mets swept the Montreal Expos in a doubleheader, with Grote catching all 21 innings, and on that day the Mets moved into first place for the first time in their history.

If you wanted to piss Jerry Grote off, just refer to that 1969 World Series team as the Miracle Mets and he’d rip your head off.

“It was no fucking miracle, we were the best team in baseball. Period.”

They dont make catchers like Grote anymore. He would end up catching every inning of the 69 and 73 World Series for the Mets, and was their Opening Day catcher for a franchise record – nine seasons.

Which brings us to this weeks edition of So You Think You Know The Mets!

Can you name every Mets Opening Day catcher since the 1980 season?

You have four minutes!

Good Luck!

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