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Remembering Mets History (1969) Tommie Agee Hits Longest HR Ever Hit at Shea Stadium

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Thursday April 10th, 1969: I n just the third game of what was to be the amazing season, there were already some positive vibrations around the 1969 New York Mets.  On this afternoon the Mets hosted one of MLB's brand-new expansion teams, the Montreal Expos, led by manager Gene Mauch. The Expos were the first MLB team to play their home games outside of the United States, as they began playing at Jary Park in Montreal, Quebec Canada. Montreal had been home to the baseball Royals, which were the AAA affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1961. After the team moved to Syracuse NY, the bids were put in for an MLB franchise which was awarded to the city in 1969. The Expos were named after the Expo 1967 World's Fair. The Expos beat the Mets on Opening Day & the Mets took the second game of the series. On this Wednesday afternoon, a small crowd of just 8,606 came to Shea Stadium, for the rubber match of the series. Mets Gil Hodges sent his 22-year-...
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Remembering Mets History (1974) Mets Raise the N.L. Championship Flag in the Shea Home Opener

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The 1974 season opened with the New York Mets as the reigning National League Champions. The previous season the Mets had struggled thru injuries, finding themselves in last place by the summer.  But no team was running away with the tight NL East. A September stretch run of 24-7 got the Mets to capture the divisional title on the last day of the regular season.  In the NLCS they upset the Big Red Machine in five games which featured a legendary bench clearing brawl during the Bud Harrelson Pete Rose fight. In a classic World Series with the mighty Oakland A's, the Mets left New York up three games to two but dropped the last two games back in Oakland settling for the NL Championship title. The Mets left Spring Training 1974 with the same cast from the pennant season hoping for good things again. They had expectations for young outfielder Dave Schneck & rookie pitcher Bob Apodaca. The Mets had lost pitcher Buzz Capra who went to Atlanta & would lead the NL in ERA. The ...
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Remembering Mets History (1985) Gary Carter Hits Walk Off HR in a Triumphant Mets Debut in Home Opener

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Thursday April 9th, 1985: The New York Mets had just come off one of their best seasons in years. 1984 was their first winning season since 1976. Their 90 wins were the most since the 1969 Championship season, when they won 100 games.   There was a lot to be excited about coming into the new season. The Mets had a lot of young talented players, mixed in with some solid veterans. They had great starting pitching & a deep bullpen.  The Mets had the games most exciting pitcher in 19-year-old Dwight Gooden, who's blazing fastball burned rookie strike out records all across the league the previous year.  A young Ron Darling was the number two man behind Gooden & the bullpen that featured Jesse Orosco & Roger McDowell who would both save 17 games each. The line up had power; speed & good bench players ready to fill in. T he lineup was highlighted by young slugger Darryl Strawberry who had won the Rookie of the Year Award two seasons ear...
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Gary Carter: Hall of Fame Catcher (The Mets Years Part Two: 1987 - 1989)

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  After the Championship:  In 1987 Gary Carter was 33 years old, age as well as a dozen years in the major leagues behind the plate began catching up to him. This would be his last productive season. His average fell to .235 on the season & he wasn’t leading the team in power numbers anymore. Carter did hit 20 HRs (4th on the club) with 18 doubles while driving in 83 runs (5th best on the club). He was behind the plate for 135 games, posting a .991 fielding % (4th best in the league) with 874 put outs (2nd in the league) throwing out 27% of base runners.  On Opening Day, he began the year with two hits, in the Mets 3-2 win over the Pirates. On April 12th, he hit his first HR of the season, a two-run shot off the Braves Randy O'Neal in the Mets loss. Two days later he homered in the Mets 4-1 win at Philadelphia, starting a stretch where he drove in runs in three straight games. He would do that twice in the month. Four RBI Game: On April 20th, Carter had the...
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