Remembering Mets History: (2006) Mets Clinch NL Eastern Division

-
Monday September 18, 2006: On this night Shea Stadium was filled with 46,729 fans hoping to see the Mets clinch their first NL Eastern Title since 1988.

 There had been two wild card births since then, but this was more special, after 18 yeas, finally a Divisional Title.

In 2006 the New York Mets took over first place on April 6th, they never lost possession of that spot & finished up 12 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Coming into this game they were on a three-game losing streak.

Willie Randolph's Mets (91-58) hosted Joe Girardi's Florida Marlins, as Steve Trachsel (14-7) went to the mound, against Brad Moehler (7-8).



At the time, starting pitcher Steve Trachsel was the longest tenured Met, having been with the club since 2001, the year after the teams last pennant & post season appearance. 

Trachsel pitched into the 7th inning shutting out the Marlins, scattering just three hits. He walked just one & struck out three Marlins. 

In the Mets 3rd inning, Shawn Green was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Then, that night's hitting star, veteran Jose Valentin hit a two run HR making it 2-0 Mets. 


Valentin would homer again in the 5th inning, a solo shot making it 3-0 New York, as the Shea
fans went wild. Jose Valentin now had 17th HRs & 58 RBIs on the year.

Trivia: The Mets had signed Valentin in December 2005, he hoped to make the team as a utility player. The 36-year-old Valentin ended up having one of his best seasons, becoming the Mets primary second baseman, as they traded away Kaz Matsui & Anderson Hernandez never worked out. Valentin hit .271 with 18 HRs 24 doubles & 62 RBIs .

In the 6th inning, Carlos Beltran walked & advance on an infield error. Cliff Floyd then singled to right field, bringing in Carlos Beltran with the Mets fourth & final run.

Steve Trachsel earned his 15th win of the year (15-7) as relievers Guillermo Mota & Aaron Heilman (8th inning) led the way to closer, Billy Wagner who finished it out with a perfect 9th inning. 

The Marlins, Josh Willingham flew out to left fielder Cliff Floyd for the final out of the game & the Mets celebrated on the field in victory.





Quotes- Cliff Floyd: "I got that ball in my back pocket. For a small fee, I might give it up." 

In the joyful Mets clubhouse, the team celebrated with cigars & champagne. The lockers were covered so none of the fancy clothes got wet. 

Now as the current times ushered in a new era, the players wore goggles to protect their eyes from the burn of the bubbly.

Back on the field after the game, the two young faces of the current franchise, David Wright & Jose Reyes celebrated together & posed for pictures with the press in celebration.

There would be 13 more regular season games before the Mets opened up the post season, facing the LA Dodgers in the NLCS.




Comments

DyHrdMET said…
that was a fun night. i remember the Valentin homers and Trachsel's start. they were on the field, spraying champagne for a long time after the game ended. such a buzz during BP.

i posed a video and a couple of pics on RememberingShea.
September 18, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Bobby Ojeda's Tragic Boating Accident (1993)

-
Image
Steve Olin, Tim Crews & Bob Ojeda March 22 nd 1993: was an off day from Spring Training, for three Cleveland Indians pitchers; Former Mets 1986 World Champion pitcher; Bobby Ojeda, Tim Crews & Steve Olin. The three friends, took out an 18-foot open-air bass boat & went out fishing & gator hunting in the darkness of the evening on Lake Nellie in Clermont, Florida. Tragedy struck, when the boat rammed into a private dock that jutted out some 250 feet into the still waters. Two other Cleveland Indians personnel had arrived to meet the fishing party just as the horror took place. They heard Bob Ojeda saying they needed help. The two men jumped into the water and called out for someone to call 911. 27 year old pitcher; Steve Olin was killed instantly. 31 year old pitcher; Tim Crews was alive but was struggling to breathe suffering from massive head wounds. Bobby Ojeda was in & out of shock, he was suffering from head lacerations but was coherent. The
Read more

Remembering Sal Bando: Former Italian / American All Star (1966 - 1981)

-
Image
Salvatore Leonard Bando was born February 13, 1944, in the Little Italy section of Warrensville Heights, 16 miles southeast of Cleveland, Ohio.  His father Ben was a self-employed carpenter & accomplished softball infielder. His mother Angela was a home maker who also enjoyed sports playing both softball & basketball. Ben & Angela had a daughter Victoria & sons Salvatore & Christopher. The six-foot third baseman played baseball at Arizona State University with his future Oakland teammate Rick Monday & seven others who made the major leagues.  There his manager was the legendary coach Bobby Winkles who would later go on to coach Bando in Oakland in 1974. Winkles would also manage the California Angels. In 1965 Bando batted .317 was All Conference & batted .480 (12-25) with 9 RBIs in the College World Series. Bando was selected in the sixth round of the 1965 draft after Rick Monday who was the first-round pick of the Kansas City Athletics. MLB Debut: He got
Read more

Remembering Vixen Founder / Guitarist; Jan Kuehnemund (1961-2013)

-
Image
centerfieldmaz was shocked to learn of the sudden passing of Jan Kuehnemund, the founding member of the all female metal band Vixen. Jan was a fantastic guitarist, song writer & women pioneer in Heavy Metal. I am a huge fan of hard rock all girl bands & Vixen were one my long time favorites. Janice Lynn Kuehnemund was born November 18th, 1961 in St. Paul Minnesota. The female guitarist formed one of the first all female Metal bands in Minnesota with singer Janet Gardner while in high school in 1980. By 1985 they moved the band to Los Angles California, to be part of the Heavy Metal scene. In 1987 the classic Vixen line up of Jan Kuehnemund (lead guitar) Janet Gardner (vocals/ guitar) Share Pederson (bass) & Roxy Petrucci (drums) formed & released their debut album the following year. Vixen 1988 In a world of all male Heavy Metal bands during its heyday, Vixen were groundbreaking in being an all female metal band. The Runaways, with Joan Jett & Lita Ford
Read more

The 1970's Oakland A's Ball Girls- (MLB's First)

-
Image
In the days of the early seventies the Oakland A's won three straight Championships & changed the face of baseball forever.  The team's controversial owner was known to be cheap in paying his star players & known to meddle in the teams on field affairs. He drove managers crazy & even had Dick Williams resign after winning his second straight World Series. But Finley also revolutionized baseball in many other ways. He was instrumental in getting the designated hitter in the American League & have the World Series played at night, so fans could attend after work. He gave his players fancy names like Catfish, Blue Moon & True Blue.  When his star Reggie Jackson refused to shave his beard, he encouraged the whole team to grow facial hair by paying them $200 each.  The A's team even grew their hair long, a sign of the times. But before that baseball players had not had facial or long hair since the 1800's.  He introduced bright colored yello
Read more

The Odd Couple TV Show's Beloved Supporting Cast

-
Image
On this the 45th Anniversary Season of when my favorite television show of all time The Odd Couple first debuted it's time to pay tribute to the great supporting  cast. Murray Greshler was a  big hit with fans as the simple minded bumbling NYPD Officer: Murray the Cop . Murray was a long time friend of Oscar Madison & usually becomes the subject of Oscar's jokes. Some great lines referenceing Murrays nose are "N ose' Feliciano" / "Tokyo Nose" & "Come inside Murray, your sucking up all the air in the hallway".  Even Felix chimed in asking him if the other army reserve soldiers made fun of him saying "when you look up it looks like a two car garage". Murray would become one of both Felix & Oscars best friends appearing 73 of the 114 Odd Couple episodes . Murray wouldn't think twice about double parking his patrol car double parked outside the Park Avenue or Central Park West building where Felix & Oscar
Read more