As the Kansas City Royals continue to weave their own miracle finish, Hall of Famer Tom Seaver told Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post that he doesn’t believe the 1969 Mets should be remembered as “The Miracle Mets.”
Seaver, who went 25-7 that year, acknowledged that he understands why they were called the Miracle Mets, but simply doesn’t see it that way.
“I understand why people got caught up in what we did. We had been a horrid franchise, and suddenly we weren’t. But we also had a guy who won 25 games. We had a guy Cleon Jones who hit .340. We had one of the best catchers in the game in Jerry Grote, and a great, great manager. And by the way? We won a hundred games!”
Seaver is not the only ’69 member who feels that way, Ed Kranepool, Ron Swoboda, Art Shamsky and Jerry Koosman have all made similar remarks over the years, and you know what, from their perspectives they’re all right.
The 1969 Mets were perfect in so many ways. A team built on the backbone of elite pitching with a a mediocre lineup that could score runs when they needed them, and buy, could they play stellar defense. Add to that a manager in Gil Hodges who was a brilliant strategist and a great motivator.
What an amazing team… It was a magical season when baseball was still pure and innocent… We rooted for players who’d probably get torn apart these days because their OPS wasn’t good enough… So many endearing personalities. Those were such good times…
The “miracle” tag came mostly from a stunned country and a shocked and emotional fan base who had endured seven straight losing seasons including an 89 loss season the previous year in 1968. From our perspective we had no doubt that divine intervention played a huge role in what would transpire in 1969.
It was the year of miracles, especially for New Yorkers. The Jets won the Super Bowl, the Mets won the World Series, and Apollo 11 astronauts – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – landed and walked on the Moon.
Trust me on this one Tom, I was there, it was a Miracle…
