centerfield maz

Thursday May 1st, 1980: A small crowd of just 5,928 came out to Shea Stadium, to see Joe Torre's Mets (6-11) who were already in fifth place, take on the eventual 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies (7-9) led by manager Dallas Green. Tonight, an old Mets nemesis, "Lefty" Steve Carlton took on Brooklyn's own Pete Falcone. The game would start out with Mets pitcher, Pete Falcone striking out the first six batters he faced. This set a Mets franchise record that stood for 34 years until 2014, when Jacob DeGrom struck out 8 Marlins to start a game, tying the MLB record. For Pete Falcone, at the time, he tied an MLB record by striking out the first six. Up to that point, the feat it had only been done four times before in baseball history. In the 1st inning, Falcone struck out Lonnie Smith & Pete Rose swinging. He then got Gary Maddox looking at a called third strike. In the 2nd inning, Falcone struck out sluggers Mike Schmidt & Greg Luzins

Monday April 29, 1996: Dallas Green was still heading the New York Mets at this point, but would not last the season, as he would be replaced & the Bobby Valentine era would begin. On this day the Mets (11-13) took on a Felipe Alou's very good Montreal Expo team (17-9) that would finish second in a period still without a wild card. It was a milestone day for Mets reliever John Franco. The New York born pitcher became the first left handed reliever to record 300 saves. Starting Lineups Montreal Expos 1 Mark Grudzielanek SS 2 Mike Lansing 2B 3 Henry Rodriguez LF 4 Moises Alou RF 5 David Segui 1B 6 Darrin Fletcher C 7 F.P. Santangelo CF 8 Shane Andrews 3B 9 Jeff Fassero P New York Mets 1 Lance Johnson CF 2 Bernard Gilkey LF 3 Butch Huskey 1B 4 Chris Jones RF 5 Todd Hundley C 6 Jeff Kent 3B 7 Edgardo Alfonzo 2B 8 Rey Ordonez SS 9 Pete Harnisch P In the home 3rd, Rey Ordonez doubled & was brought in by Mets All Star, La

April 1968: On April 30th the Philadelphia Phillies (8-9) came to Shea Stadium to face Gil Hodges New York Mets (7-9). Hodges was ending his first month as Mets Manager & was still observing what he had to work with. Both teams were just under .500 but were hoping for good things, for the Mets they were one year away from that Miracle Season. Tonight's game was a classic pitchers duel as the Mets Don Cardwell went on to a five hit shut out, walking no one while fanning three. It was his first win of the year against two early losses. His opponent was the Phillies Chris Short, Short pitched 7 innings & allowed just one run but that was all New York needed. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Ron Swoboda hit the game winning solo shot. It was Swoboda's 7th HR of the month, in which he had played in just 16 games. He also had collected 16 RBIs and was among the league leaders that early in the season. In the second game of the 1968 season, the Mets visited San Fra

April 26th - June 15th , 1962 : In the early days of Mets history, there were many strange stories, some true, some exaggerated. One very true story that came out of the Mets first month of baseball in 1962, was the strange case of Harry Chiti. Harry Chiti was a nine year veteran, he was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Cleveland Indians before the start of the 1962 season.  In late April, his contract was sold to the expansion New York Mets, for a player to be named later. Two days later, he was inserted in the lineup as a late inning replacement and struck out in his only at Mets bat.  In May, he would hit safely in seven of eight games in a Mets uniform. But his success was short lived, Chiti played in 15 Mets games, batting .195 (8-43). In late June, the Mets sold him back to Cleveland as the player to be named later, in his own trade. He officially was known as the first player who was traded for himself! Harry Chiti was born on November 16th, 1932 in Kincaid

Carlos Ivan Beltran was born April 24th, 1977, in Manatai, Puerto Rico. The six foot one Beltran was a star outfielder & volleyball player in his high school. The   switch-hitting  outfielder was drafted in the second round of the 1995 draft by the Kansas City Royals at age 18. He was highly touted as a five-tool  player. quickly getting called up to the big leagues by 1998. Mets Career: In 2005 Beltran took over the centerfield job from Mike Cameron. Cameron moved over to left field but was not happy with the move. Quotes- Mike Cameron:  " Carlos is no doubt one of the best, if not the best defensive centerfielders in the game, and one of the best in Mets history. He plays with a smooth style, covers great range, goes back on a ball better than anyone, and had a strong accurate arm." Beltran quickly became popular with  the fans. Beltran & Pedro Martinez also acquired that off season, via free agency, help changed the organization around.  That year, the Met