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Remembering Mets History (2022) Tom Seaver Statue Unveiled & the Mets Home Opener

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Good Friday April 15th, 2022: On this day, the new Mets ownership finally did what should have been done many years ago, they unveiled a statue of the greatest Met of all, The Franchise, Tom Seaver.  A spectacular bronze statue of Tom Terrific in mid delivery, with his knee just about to touch the ground, as was his trademark, will forever live outside Citi Field. For those of us who idolized him in his glory days, it was an emotional event, worthy of shedding a few tears. Tom's wife Nancy, his daughters Sara & Anne, as well as other family members, were on hand for the event. Tom & Nancy, once the darling young handsome couple, of New York in the swinging sixties & exciting seventies.  They would often appear together, in the newspapers, on magazine covers,  advertisements & TV spots.  We saw his daughters grow up through the years, in the annual Mets yearbooks, as his family were part of ours. Those were great days, two pennants, a world championshi...
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Remembering Mets History (1976) Tom Seaver Becomes The First $200k Pitcher

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April 1976: In the 1975 season, Tom Seaver earned his third Cy Young Award. He set an MLB record striking out over 200 batters for eight straight seasons. He led the NL in strike outs (243) for the fourth time, & led the league in wins (22) for the second time. He also posted a 2.38 ERA. Seaver began negotiations for a new contract with the Mets, but the two sides were far apart. Things began to get ugly as the feuding went public in the press. The Mets fans didn't want to hear any of this nonsense, just give their beloved Tom Terrific, anything he wanted. They knew he was the best pitcher in all of baseball. Seaver did want more money, by 1976 baseball salaries began to rise in the dawn of what was soon to become free agency.  Seaver had asked for $825,000 for three years, saying that he would consider playing out his option then go elsewhere if he didn't get what he felt he deserved.  With the Mets original owner Mrs. Joan Payson passing away recently, M. Donald Grant w...
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Remembering Mets History (1968) Mets Lose 1-0 in a Six Hour 24 Inning Game - the Second Longest Game in Franchise History

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April 15th, 1968: On a warm south Texas night, 14,219 fans came to see the Astros host the New York Mets. This was just the Mets fifth game of the season, having started out in California with the Giants & Dodgers.  The Mets had beaten Houston the game before with a combined shut out from Nolan Ryan & Danny Frisella.  Houston Astrodome Trivia: It was called the Eighth Wonder of the World at the time of it's opening. The Astrodome was the very first indoor air-conditioned stadium & would be home of the MLB Astros from its opening in 1965 thru 1999.  The Astrodome was also home for the NFL Houston  Oilers (1968-1996) & the NBA Rockets (1971-1975) The stadium held concerts, rallies, expos, as well as other events such as the Houston Livestock & Rodeo which was held annually from 1966-2002.  The 1968 MLB All Star Game has held at the Astrodome. The Mets Jerry Koosman struck out Carl Yastrzemski to end the game saving the 2-1 ML win....
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Remembering Mets History (1968) Jerry Koosman Tosses Back to Back Shut Outs As Mets Win 1st Home Opener

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Thursday April 11th, 1968:   The 1968 Mets opened the season with optimism as their new manager Gil Hodges was now at he helm. The former Met & Brooklyn Dodger great was a popular figure in New York & he would soon to become a legendary manager. The Mets brought over Tommie Agee to play center as well as Al Weis from the White Sox. They also added Art Shamsky & J.C. Martin to the team. Most important, the Mets had two of the most exciting young arms in the league in Tom Seaver & Jerry Koosman. In the Mets first game of the season, they took a 5-4 loss t the Giants in San Francisco. In the bottom of the 9th, Danny Frisella came in relief of Seaver who had just given up an RBI single to Jim Ray Hart bringing the Giants to within a run. With two men on Jesus Alou delivered the walk off two run single. In the second game of the season, the Mets went down the coast to Dodger Stadium, Gil Hodges sent Jerry Koosman to the mound.  In April 1967 Kooz debuted pitching i...
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