Remembering Mets History (2000): NLCS Game #4: Mets Score Ten Runs & Are One Win Away From the NL Pennant

Sunday October 15th, 2000: NLCS Game #4- Shea Stadium, New York

With the Mets up two games to one, Manager Bobby Valentine sent Bobby Jones (11-6 / 5.06 ERA) to the mound for Game #4. This was Jones first start since his one hitter against the San Francisco Giants to clinch the NLDS. His Cardinal opponent tonight; Daryl Kile (20-9 / 3.91 ERA). 55,665 excited Mets fans filled up Shea Stadium on a beautiful fall evening.

Starting Lineups

	St. Louis Cardinals				New York Mets
1	Fernando Vina	2B		1	Timo Perez	RF
2	Edgar Renteria	SS		2	Edgardo Alfonzo	2B
3	Jim Edmonds	CF		3	Mike Piazza	C
4	Will Clark	1B		4	Robin Ventura	3B
5	Ray Lankford	LF		5	Todd Zeile	1B
6	Fernando Tatis	3B		6	Benny Agbayani	LF
7	J.D. Drew	RF		7	Jay Payton	CF
8	Carlos Hernandez	C		8	Mike Bordick	SS
9	Darryl Kile	P		9	Bobby Jones	P

Tonight’s start wasn’t anywhere near as good as Bobby Jones' last, he surrendered six runs in four innings. In the first the Cards started off with a two run HR from Jim Edmonds to take the early lead.

The Mets answered right away, they hit five doubles in the bottom of the 1st inning; Timo Perez led off with a ground rule doble. Edgardo Alfonzo doubled to right bringing in New York's first run. Mike Piazza followed with a double but Alfonzo was unable to score. 

Robin Ventura then doubled past Edmonds in deep center field bringing in both Alfonzo & Piazza making it 3-2 Mets. After Todd Zeile grounded out, Benny Agbayani hit the fifth double of the inning giving the Mets a 4-2 lead.

The Mets got seven runs off twenty game winner; Daryl Kile in the first two innings.
In the home 2nd, seven Mets came to the plate, with one out Timo Perez singled & stole second base. 

After Alfonzo flew out to center field, Manager Tony LaRussa walked Mike Piazza intentionally. Kyle then walked Robin Ventura as well. With the bases loaded, Todd Zeile lined a double to left field bringing in two more runs. Agbayani followed with a base hit bringing in Ventura to make it 7-3 Mets.

Mike Piazza added a HR in the 4th inning off reliever; Mike James to extend the Mets lead to 8-2. In the 5th St. Louis got three straight hits including an Eric Davis RBI double. Bobby Valentine went to his bullpen & brought in Glendon Rusch, normally a starter. He gave up two more hits as the Cards made it a close game as it was now 8-6.

In the home 6th, Mike Bordick walked & was bunted over by Rusch. The Cards third baseman; Fernando Tatis made two errors in the inning, one off the bat of Mike Piazza which scored a run. Pitcher; Mike Timlin hit Edgardo Alfonzo with a pitch & then Robin Ventura added a sac fly RBI making it 10-6, which would be the final score.

Glenden Rusch earned the victory as he threw three solid innings (5-6-7) of shutout baseball. John Franco threw a scoreless 8th & Armando Benitez earned the save, although he allowed a hit as well as a walk in the 9th inning.

Former Mets First Round Pick Pitcher: Rich Folkers (1970)

Richard Nevin Folkers was born in Waterloo Iowa on October 17, 1946. The tall six foot two left handed pitcher with the thick black framed eye glasses always looked older on his baseball cards than he actually was.

Folkers was a highly touted prospect attending two colleges, including Parsons College in Iowa at the same time former Met pitcher Charlie Williams, attended the school. 

He was picked by three different teams, choosing to sign with the New York Mets, as a first round pick (20th overall) in 1967 during their pitching rich days of the late sixties.

He pitched well in the minors going 13-9 at AA ball, with his best pitch being a screwball. He then went to serve in military service, doing a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969. 

In 1970 Folkers was 4-0 at AAA Tidewater when he got called up making his MLB debut on June 10th, 1970 at the Houston Astrodome. That day he pitched two innings allowing only a run in the Mets 5-3 loss. He pitched only in relief at the start and earned his first save on July 3rd against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In early July at San Francisco he got his first start and was roughed up for six runs in five innings taking the loss. He would get another loss against the Giants again at Shea Stadium a week later.



He went 0-2 with two saves and a 6.44 ERA in 16 appearances in his only season with the Mets in 1970.

He spent 1971 in the minors going 7-11 with a 4.50 ERA as a starting pitcher. That off season he was traded along with Art Shamsky, Jim Bibby, & Charlie Hudson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jim Beauchamp, Harry Parker and Chuck Taylor. 

He spent three seasons in the Cardinals bullpen going 10-6 with ERAs in the mid threes, earning five saves overall.

He was traded to the San Diego Padres and they tried to make him a starter again in 1975. He went 6-11 with a 4.18 ERA striking out just 87 batters in 142 innings on the season.

He pitched in relief & as a starter for two seasons in San Diego and finished up his career in Milwaukee with the Brewers going 0-1 in 1977.

The former first round pick ended his seven season career in 1978, going 19-23 with 11 saves. He struck out 242 batters with 170 walks & a 4.11 ERA in 195 appearances. At the plate he batted .143 with six RBIs.

Retirement: He coached at Eckerd College in the late eighties / early nineties and then did some coaching for the Cardinals. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Old Time New York Giant Who's Career Was Overshadowed By An Infamous Error: Fred Snodgrass (1908-1915)

Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass was born on October 19, 1887 in Ventura, California. His family owned a number of hotels throughout Los Angeles and Fred traveled there playing baseball in the parks of Los Angeles.

He later attended Loyola Marymount College, winning the Inter collegiate championship. The school played an exhibition series against the New York Giants and not only did his play make an impression on the team, but also an argument he had with manager John McGraw. On a trip to California, McGraw tracked down Snodgrass and offered him a contract to play in New York.

He would make two brief appearances in 1908 & 1909, before becoming the Giants everyday outfielder in 1910. That season Snodgrass went on to hit .321 (4th best in the league) with a .440 on base % (second in the NL). He walked 77 times (tenth in the NL) hit 22 doubles 8 triples 44 RBIs & stole 33 bases. Snodgrass secured himself in the Giants line up for five seasons, winning three straight pennants 1911-1913.

Although he never hit over .300 again he batted over .290 twice, and posted high on base percentages. He would be among the league's top ten in walks three times (1910-1912) and was third in stolen bases in 1911 & 1912. Snodgrass was also considered one of the best defensive outfielders of his time, with a strong throwing arm. Unfortunately a good career is overshadowed by one famous error he made in the 1912 World Series..

In the early part of the 20th century, John McGraw's Giants were the elite team in the National League. As mentioned they won three straight pennants during Fred Snodgrass's career in New York, but they lost each time in the World Series. In 1912 the Giants were beaten by the Boston Red Sox, in both 1911 & 1913 they were beaten by Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. Snodgrass didn’t do too well in any of those World Series. He only hit .105 against the A’s in 1911, going just 2-19 with a first inning RBI sac fly off Chief Bender in Game #4.

Two years later he saw action in just two games of the 1913 Series going 1-3. It was in the 1912 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, that Snodgrass made his infamous history. The Series was tied at three games apiece and the decisive game was played at the new Fenway Park.

Game #2 ended in a tie, so this was Game #8. The game went into extra innings when the Giants went ahead in the top of the 10th on Fred Merkle’s RBI single. Merkle had his own problems living with a base running muff he had made in a tight 1908 game against the Chicago Cubs. The incident became known as Merkle's boner.

In the 1912 Series, The Giants ace Christy Mathewson took the mound with a one run lead, three outs away from a World Series championship. Boston’s leadoff batter Clyde Engel looped a fly ball to center field where usually the sure handed Snodgrass would have made the play. Instead he dropped the easy fly ball, and the Red Sox Engle slid into second. On the next play Snodgrass made up for it, by robbing Harry Hooper oh hit on a deep fly ball over his head. He saved a run as Engel advanced to third base.

The next batter was walked intentionally , then Hall of Famer Tris Speaker, popped up a foul ball that Fred Merkle stood and watched while catcher Chief Meyers attempted to catch. Speaker missed the fly ball & Speaker had another chance to hit. Sure enough the clutch Speaker came through, singling home the tying run. The next batter Larry Gardner hit a long fly ball to right field, the winning run scored from third and the Series was over.

The error is forever remembered as “Snodgrass’ muff” or “the $30,000 muff”. That was the that dollar amount the Giants would have won for the championship. Like his Giants team mate Fred Merkle, the two would forever be linked their errors for the rest of their lives and beyond.

Quotes: In 1940 Snodgrass said: "There is hardly a day in my life, hardly an hour, that in some manner or other the dropping of that fly doesn't come up, even after 30 years."

The fans & the news papers may have blamed him, but his team mates defended him. Christy Mathewson manager John McGaw both publicly denied blaming Snodgrass for the loss. McGraw even gave him a $1000 raise the next season for his accomplishments of the 1912 season.

Snodgrass would play for the New York Giants for a total of seven and a half years, and then was released in August of 1915. He signed on with the Boston Braves and finished up his career in 1916. He finished up his career playing in 923 games, batting .275 with 11 HRs, 143 doubles, 42 triples, 351 RBIs and 215 stolen bases.

Retirement: After baseball Snodgrass became a successful banker and councilman in Oxnard, Ventura County, California. In the 1960’s he recalled his error in the classic baseball book “The Glory of their Times”. Snodgrass passed away in 1974 at the age of 77 in California.

Remembering Mets History (1999): NLCS Game #5- Robin Ventura's Walk Off Grand Slam Single

Sunday October 17th 1999: NLCS Game #5- Shea Stadium, New York. After the Mets had salvaged a win in Game #4 there was some hope & reason to believe. The mighty Atlanta Braves had taken the first three games but now if the Mets could win this one, they were right back in it. That they did in dramatic & classic fashion. It is a game that goes down forever as a Mets classic.

The game began in the afternoon & would last five hours & forty six minutes into the evening. Bobby Valentine would use 23 total players in the game, fourteen position players & nine pitchers. For Atlanta; Bobby Cox would use 22 players, sixteen position players & six pitchers.

 Starting Lineups

	Atlanta Braves				New York Mets
1	Gerald Williams	LF		1	Rickey Henderson	LF
2	Bret Boone	2B		2	Edgardo Alfonzo	2B
3	Chipper Jones	3B		3	John Olerud	1B
4	Brian Jordan	RF		4	Mike Piazza	C
5	Ryan Klesko	1B		5	Robin Ventura	3B
6	Andruw Jones	CF		6	Melvin Mora	RF
7	Eddie Perez	C		7	Darryl Hamilton	CF
8	Walt Weiss	SS		8	Rey Ordonez	SS
9	Greg Maddux	P		9	Masato Yoshii	P

The game began with Masato Yoshi (12-8 / 4.40 ERA / 105 Ks) on the mound against Greg Maddox (19-9 / 3.57 ERA / 136 Ks) in front of 55,723 fans at Shea.

The Mets struck first; Rickey Henderson led off the home 1st, with a single. Then, John Olerud really got the crowd going with a two run HR. But Greg Maddox settled down after that, pitching through the 7th inning. He would allow two runs on seven hits, with a pair of walks & strike outs. He exited with a 2-2 tie.

Masato Yoshi held the Braves scoreless until the 4th inning. Bret Boone led off with a double, Chipper Jones doubled as well & Brian Jordan singled to tie it up at two. Bobby Valentine yanked Yoshi & brought in the veteran; Orel Hershiser (13-12 / 4.58 ERA/ 89 Ks).

Hershiser known as "the Bull dog" gave the Mets an outstanding middle relief performance. Although he walked three batters, he held the Braves scoreless over 3.1 innings allowing just one hit. Bull dog struck out five along the way, as he got the Mets to the 7th inning.

Hershiser had entered the game with two runners on & no one out, he struck out the side to end the threat. In the 5th inning, with two men on he struck out Brian Jordan to end that inning as well. In the 6th, a Met error, an intentional walk & another walk loaded the bases. Hershiser then struck out Greg Maddox & Mike Piazza nailed Ryan Klesco trying to steal home as he was running on the pitch.

The Mets would have Turk Wendell pitch in the 7th inning. He then gave way to Pat Mahomes who pitched into the 8th inning with two outs. John Franco would come on & get to the 10th inning, where Armando Benitez took over getting it to the 11th inning, still tied at 2-2.

Kenny Rogers pitched two scoreless for New York & was relieved by Octavio Dotel. Dotel pitched two scoreless innings but not without drama. In the 13th, Keith Lockhart singled & Chipper Jones doubled to right field. Melvin Mora now in right, grabbed the ball threw to Edgardo Alfonzo who threw home to nail Lockhart at the plate & end the inning.The drama continued in this epic nail bitter.
In the 15th inning, Dotel gave up what looked like thew final fatal run. Walt Weiss singled & stole second base. With two outs, Keith Lockhart tripled to center field scoring Weiss & silencing the crowd. 

By now the rain was falling on a damp cool autumn evening in New York. This epic game was more than five hours old & all it's excitement came down to the Mets being down 3-2 in the 15th inning. The Braves pitcher was Kevin McGlinchy.

Shawon Dunston led off with a base hit & boldly, stole second base, bringing life to the crowd once again. Pinch hitter; Matt Franco then drew a walk. Edgardo Alfonzo sacrificed the runners over & the Mets were in business. John Olerud was intentionally walked to get to Todd Pratt. Pratt was now in the game having replaced Mike Piazza behind the plate. It was McGlinchy's game, as Bobby Cox had pretty much run out of options. He walked Pratt bringing in the tying run. Shea was reborn & went wild.

Robin Ventura came to the plate, Ventura on a bad knee was struggling in the series. He had gone 0-16 prior to his 11th inning single. But this time he was destined to be a hero, he took a 2-1 fast ball & drove it just over the classic 371 foot marker in right center field. It was a HR, a  grand slam walk off game winning HR, in the post season. It was awesome.

Luckily Roger Cedeno scored from third base quickly, because the runner on first base; Todd Pratt was so excited at the blast, he hugged Robin Ventura, scooping him up in the air. He was estatic but because of that action, Ventura's blast would go down in the books as a walk off single & the Mets had a 4-3 win.

Ventura joked to the media, "Maybe tonight when you guys go home, I'll run the bases" "It's no big deal, as long as I touched first base we won, so that's fine with me."  He also said  "We just play for another day. It seems like we've been saying that for a month now".


Darryl Hamilton said it best for the players on the bench describing this one: "It was getting crazy, it was getting to the point where your stomach was coming out of your guts".

2000 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Player: "Super" Joe McEwing (2000-2003)

Joseph Earl McEwing was born October 17, 1972 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The five foot ten right hand hitter was drafted down in the 28th round of the 1992 draft, by the St. Louis Cardinals. It took him seven years in minor leagues before he got his chance in the big leagues.

 In 1998 he was still at AA where he hit .354, after getting promoted up to AAA Memphis he hit .334.

In 1999 he made the Cards team after a strong Spring Training. He would play in 152 games as Tony Larussa’s all around guy, playing 96 games at second base & 66 games in the outfield. He came in fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. McEwing hit a solid .275 with 9 HRs, 28 doubles, four triples & 44 RBIs.

At the end of Spring Training in 2000 he was sent to the New York Mets for 47 year old Jesse Orosco who was in camp trying out for a Mets roster spot.

In New York he became known as “Super Joe” to the fans as Bobby Valentine used him in the outfield (52 games), third base (19 games) second base (16 games) & at short (4 games). McEwing debuted on May 13th batting leadoff in a home game against the Marlins. He got his first Mets hit that day as well. On may 21st he hit one of his two HRs on the year, leading a Mets come back rally against the Arizona Diamond Backs.

His other HR came in Toronto during inter-league play, as he hit a two run HR off Pasqual Coco and later drove in another run on a fielder's choice.

On July 19th he helped the Mets come from behind with an 8th inning pinch hit base hit driving in two runs, to put the Mets ahead in the 5-4 win. On that road that week he got a chance to play often & he made the best of it driving in runs in four straight games.

Overall hit .222 with two HRs but had 14 doubles & 19 RBIs in 87 games in the 2000 Mets N.L. pennant season.

2000 Post Season: In the post season he was primarily used as a pinch runner & defensive replacement. He was successful in those roles as he scored three runs. McEwing did get two official at bats getting a hit in the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. 

2000 NLCS: In the NLCS he scored a run in the first two games, both Mets wins at St. Louis. 

2000 World Series: In the World Series he appeared in three games, going 0-1 in Game #1 as a pinch hitter. In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he scored the Mets fourth run in the bottom of the 8th inning, on Bubba Trammell's sac fly.

In 2001 he had his best season hitting .283, posting a .342 on base percentage while leading the team in hits by pitches (10). He got into 116 games, hitting 8 HRs with 17 doubles, three triples 30 RBIs, 41 runs scored & stole eight bases.

Super Joe soon became a fan favorite, another folk type hero, & very popular around Shea Stadium. On April 17th with the Mets down 5-3 in St. Louis, McEwing blasted a two run top of the 9th inning HR off Steve Kline. The Mets would mount a 6-5 winning comeback.

On June 10th he hit his second HR & had a three RBI day in an interleague game at Tampa. Four days later he hit a HR off Andy Petite during the subway series & then drew a bases loaded walk off Ted Lilly two days later in an 8-7 Mets win.

On June 27th he led another comeback at Wrigley Field with a two run HR off Kerry Wood. He got himself over the .300 mark in July with a ten game streak, hitting safely in 15 of 18 games.

In an August series at Shea Stadium, against the Milwaukee Brewers he continued his hot hitting. He first drove in a pair of runs in a 3-0 win in the Opener. In the next game he hit a 7th inning HR breaking a 3-3 tie, with what turned out to be the winning run.

In the first game played after the 911 attacks, McEwing scored the first Mets run with a solo HR off  the Pirates; David Williams in Pittsburgh. In the 5th he doubled, driving in Jay Payton but was thrown out at third base, the Mets went on to a 7-5 win.

In 2002 he struggled batting just .199 but still got into 105 games. In 2003 he hit .241, walking 25 times posting a .309 on base%. In 119 games and 278 at bats he only managed 12 extra base hits with 16 RBIs. 

He played every infield & outfield position that season, posting a .995 fielding % while only making just one error. He played 55 games at second, 42 games at short 5 in the outfield & one at first base for a Mts team that fell to fifth place.

His fifth and final season with the 2004 Mets where he hit .254 in 75 games. In early August he drove in five runs gathering up four hits in a series against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

 Later in the month he singled off former Met David Weathers, breaking a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 7th inning. The run proved to be the game winner over the Houston Astros.

By August 19th he season was over as he went down with an injury. After a bad 2005 Spring Training the Mets released him & he signed with the Kansas City Royals. There he played 83 games in 2005 batting .239. At the end of Spring Training '06, his contract was purchased by the Houston Astros. He played in just seven games closing out his career.

In a nine year career, Super Joe was a lifetime .251 hitter, playing in 754 games, with 443 hits, 25 HRs 89 doubles 10 triples 33 stolen bases, a .302 on base % & 158 RBIs.

Defensively, Super Joe played 256 games in the outfield, 238 at second base, 99 at short, 92 at third base, & 61 at first base.

Retirement: After his playing days he coached & managed in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox organization. In 2012 he became the White Sox, third base coach under former Mets team mate; Robin Ventura.

Super Joe was considered for the Mets managerial position after Terry Collins. In 2017 he moved on to the White Sox bench coaching position.

Remembering Mets History (1969): World Series Game #5: Koosman Clinches Amazing Mets World Series Championship

Thursday, October 16th 1969: World Series Game #5- Shea Stadium, New York. 

On this day, the biggest miracle in sports history became a reality. On this day the New York Mets, once loveable losers, became Champions of the World, the Miracle Mets. On this day the team became officially known the Amazing Mets, a title that would stay with the team forever.

The Mets began the year as 100-1 odds to be world series champions. They would forever define the underdog winner in sports. As Bud Harrelson recently said, any under dog team that ever comes back to win, is always compared to the '69 Mets. In just eight short seasons, a team that had finished last six times were now the Champions of the baseball world. What a way to end the sixties.

Manager Gil Hodges, sent Jerry Koosman (17-9 / 2.28 ERA / 180 K's) to the hill. Koos was the winner of Game #2 at Baltimore, he was soon to become the best Mets post season pitcher in team history. 

He got the call for Game Five, facing off against Earl Weaver's Oriole pitcher; Dave McNally (20-7 / 3.22 ERA / 166 K's). McNally was the loser to Koosman in Game #2.

57,397 fans filled Shea Stadium to witness the Miracle of all baseball miracles. There was no stopping the Mets on this day even after they fell behind early on. 

The Mets drew two walks in the 1st inning, but nothing came of it. Koosman had a shaky 3rd inning, first allowing a single to Mark Belanger. He then served up a two run HR to the opposing pitcher; Dave McNally & then a solo blast to Frank Robinson. All of a sudden it was 3-0 Orioles.

Koosman came in to the Mets dug out angry at himself, he threw his glove down to the ground. He told his team "I'll hold them right there, you guys go out & score some runs."

Koosman did exactly that, holding the mighty Orioles down the rest of the way, allowing just one more hit & one walk. He retired 19 of the next 21 batters & no other bird even got near second base.


In the 6th inning, Frank Robinson complained he was hit by a pitch. Umpire Lou DiMuro did not agree. 

Robinson left the plate & went to the dugout, dropped his pants & put ethyl chloride on his leg. Dimuro did not change his mind or look at the wound, he just told Weaver to get him back at bat or he'd be out.

It wasn't until the bottom of the 6th inning, when the Mets made another Amazing come back. It all started when Gil Hodges pulled the famous "shoe polish incident". 

Dave McNally threw a pitch to Cleon Jones, that either bounced first or hit Jones in the foot. The ball then rolled into the Mets dugout. Hodges picked up the ball & walked out to home plate umpire; Lou Dimuro. 

He showed DiMuro a ball with a shoe polish smudge on it, saying "Lou the ball hit him". Seeing the polish as proof that Jones indeed was hit by the pitch, Umpire Dimuro agreed & awarded Jones first base. 
 
Gil Hodges: "There was a big polish mark across the ball, I'm just glad our club house gut keeps our shoes nice & polished."

Trivia: Years later, Jerry Koosman said that Hodges had come over to him in the dugout & told him to rub a ball on his shoe. That made the smudge & that was the ball that Hodges had brought to the umpire. Even Art Shamsky stated that Gil always kept a ball with polish on it in his jacket.

Baltimore manager Earl Weaver (who had already been thrown out of one Series game) came out to argue the call. He was bit more careful this time & pretty much knew he had no case. He also felt the same aura going around New York, that his team was about to be done.

Next up came World Series MVP Donn Clendenon, in amazing 1969 Mets fashion, he followed with his third HR of the Series. He put the Mets with in a run, it was now a 3-2 game, sending Shea Stadium into a frenzy.

In the Mets home 7th, the weak hitting; Al Weiss who had never homered at Shea Stadium, and only had hit two HRs all season (in 247 at bats) blasted a HR over the left field wall tying the game. Shea Stadium, the whole city of New York & the whole world it seemed went nuts. 



The underdog little guys every where found a new hero in Mr. Al Weiss. He would hit an amazing .455 in the World Series.

Al Weiss said: " I knew I hit it good, but I didn't know how far it go. I dont have enough experience in judging those things."  His father was ecstatic,it was a dream to see my boy in a World Series, but to see him be the batting hero is too much!"

All Star short stop Bud Harrelson made some outstanding fielding plays in the Series & it was acknowledged by broadcasters Curt Gody & Tony Kubek. Harrelson had made 17 assists in the five game series. 

On Al Weiss, Harrelson said "I thought we had them when Weiss hit it out to tie it. You could almost see them collapse & go whoosh. Heck Clendenon is getting paid to hit, Al isn't. In my mind he's the MVP." 

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Cleon Jones doubled off O's reliever Eddie Watt to lead off the inning. Ron Swoboda, then came through with his second hit of the day. It was his fifth hit in the last two games as well. Swoboda doubled down the left field line, scoring Cleon Jones with the go ahead run. Swoboda then scored as well when Jerry Grote reached base on pitcher Eddie Watt's error.

 

Koosman came out to complete his five hit World Series victory. Frank Robinson led off with a walk, but Koosman got Boog Powell to ground out in a force play & Brooks Robinson to fly out to right field.

The final out was made by future Mets manager; Davey Johnson. He hit a fly ball to left field, Cleon Jones got down on one knee, made the catch and sealed the Championship. At first Koosman later said, he thought it may have been a HR saying to himself "ut oh". But he was relieved as he saw Cleon Jones kneel down with his glove up. 

At 3:17 PM, Cleon Jones closed his glove on the final out of the 1969 World Series, it is an image that is now iconic in Mets history. Jones jumped & hugged his buddy Tommie Agee & the two ran to the dugouts for saftey, as fans poured onto the field.

Koosman's line score was: nine innings, three runs on five hits, five strikeouts with one walk. After the final out, Koosman leaped into the air into catcher; Jerry Grotes arms. The Glider; ed Charles leaped in the air & did a jig style of a dance. This scene is forever etched into the minds of Mets fans, as the 1969 World Series win became real.

 

It was his second win of the World Series going an overall 2-0, allowing four runs on seven hits in 17.2 innings. He could have easily been the Series MVP as well, but the honors went to slugger; Don Clendenon who set a five game World Series record (at the time) hitting three HRs . "I know the whole thing seems like a dream, but if it is I don't want to wake up" said Clendenon.

 

 

The fans poured onto the field & celebrated wildly. They tore apart the grass taking turf for souvenirs. After the players jumped for joy & hugged each other on the field, they ran for the safety of the Mets club house. In side it was a wild celebration, as champagne flew every where.

The media crowded in & all the lost game coverage began. Mets broadcasters Lindsey Nelson & Ralph Kiner did interviews for television, as did NBC's Tony Kubek,

 Gil Hodges received a phone call from the President of the United States. Hodges told the press "It's been a year of miracles & I'm just thanking God it's over. It was a colossal thing they did. These young men showed that you can realize the most impossible dream of all. I'm so proud of them all."

Ron Swoboda said " This will give heart to every loser in America, we are the saints of lost causes".

Quotes: Tom Seaver "It was the greatest collective victory by any team in sports."