The Mets: An Amazin’ Season

Through more than 125 years of the annals of history, our great national pasttime has passed from generation from generation treasuring itself on its spectacular moments and folk-like heroes. Those old enough to remember Babe Ruth’s called shot, Bobby Thompson’s shot heard around the world, or even Bill Buckner’s infamous error that brought home the ‘86 series, know that New York has always held a special place for playoff baseball in its heart.
Queens’ very own New York Mets may have given their fans one of the most spectacular moments in the history of the game last Sunday in the longest marathon of post-season history. To call the game an epic is a severe understatement. With their backs against the wall, as it has been every day for the last month, the Mets pulled off one of the capers of all time. In a record five hours, 46 minutes, the Amazins’’ ran on pure adrenaline to a 4-3 victory over the mighty Atlanta Braves. It took a full tension-gripping fifteen-innings, but in the end it was the Mets playing out every childhood dream.
Most every kid at one time or another has lifted their magic bat and imagined themselves hitting the game-winning Grand Slam, followed by a swarm of teammates congratulating them on their phenomenal feat. Robin Ventura lived out the dream as he blasted the game winner over the right-field wall at 9:57pm. While the blast was was ultimately ruled an RBI single as he never rounded the bases, the outcome was the same. The Mets were victorious and had another game to play.
Through the pouring rain and biting cold, the nearly packed crowd at Shea that remained through the 14th inning stretch. Even after the game was over and Ventura delivered one of the most dramatic hits in New York history, the crowd remained nearly twenty minutes more pounding the stadium walls, literally rocking the stadium. The crowd was witness to a treat that they will remember forever, but it is the city of New York and the borough of Queens that was given the gift that keeps on giving.
"It was by far the best game I’ve ever seen," said Ajay Wadhwa, a Bayside resident. "I watched every minute of it. You just couldn’t turn away. It was really an epic."
Those who are fans of New York’s favorite comeback team or even if you have been within the vicinity of Queens in the last two weeks, know fully well the lengths the Mets have had to travel to even face Atlanta. It is part of the reason that Met loyalists remain with them year after year.
Unlike the juggernaut Yankees, the Mets were not foregone conclusions to make the playoffs. When the Bronx Bombers won their 36th pennant on Monday, it was expected. The team that has won 24 World Championships was a shoe-in to defeat the Boston "Beantown" Red Sox, the team many believed they cursed since 1918. But the Mets, despite their huge payroll, were underdogs all season long and were never expected to journey as far as they have.
From their three game sweep over the Pirates that enabled them to reach the playoffs, to the game-winning 10th inning home run to overtake the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets have lived up to their fabled come-from-behind history. They did it as the miracle team that defeated the 108-win Baltimore Orioles in 1969, then as the team with the lowest winning percentage ever to make it to the Fall Classic in 1973, and finally by beating the Red Sox themselves in 1986.
Despite their history for resurgence when it mattered most, many thought the Mets would bow down to the Braves in four, especially when Atlanta took a 3-0 lead. After all, the Braves may be the team of the decade after winning their ninth consecutive division title and trekking to the World Series five times before their season even began. After Glavine’s 1-0 shutout Friday night at Shea, Atlanta had beaten the Metropolitans 12 of 15 times this year and 16 of 17 times at Turner Field. But the Mets are creatures of habit and once again battled back.
"I knew they would do it," said William Belina who attended the extra-inning game. "It was so tense that it didn’t seem that long. It was cold, but thrilling." He continued, "I hate Atlanta. I hate everything about them. I knew (the Mets) wouldn’t lose to them. I knew they would pull it out in the end."
Sufficive to say, despite the doubts, many believed. Even when Atlanta scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 15th inning, they still maintained their allegiance. But even the faithful fans could not have imagined the wild outcome that would transpose, that would eventually help them to become only the second team in history to force a sixth game after being on the verge of elimination.
"A lot of people doubted them, even I did at one point," said Whitestone resident Jeff Koster, a long-time Mets fan. "But they’ve done what everybody thought they couldn’t. It looked like they were out of it so many times, but they battled like they always have. They have had an unbelievable year.
In the end, Met’s coach Bobby Valentine used a team-record nine pitchers and every pinch hitter available on the bench. Veterans in their forties, Orel Hershiser and Rickey Henderson set up the amazing victory, while rookies Octavio Dotel and Melvin Mora closed it out. No matter what happened the next day or for the rest of their lives, the players and fans experienced a gem not soon to be forgotten.