centerfield maz

Sunday September 22nd, 2024: With seven games to go, the Mets were clinging to a 1.5 game lead over the Braves for the third wild card spot.  Tonight, in the final game of the regular season, the Mets hosted the Phillies trying to take two of three in the big series.  This could very well be the last regular season home game for Pete Alonso whose contract is up this year. The Citi Fans would give him a big ovation in his first at bat, in which he acknowledged them with a tip of the helmet.  Quotes- Pete Alonso : "It was really special & I mean that's something that you can't, I mean it's right out of a storybook for me.  So, it's truly, remarkable to be able to see that, to see & feel that reaction & appreciation from a packed house like that. For the Phillies a win would clinch the NL Eastern title, their first divisional title since 2011. The Mets went at it again without Francisco Lindor who is still out with a bad back. It was a big game, on this...

Friday, September 20th, 2019:  Mickey Callaway's New  York Mets (80-73) were still in the wild card race 3.5 games back with ten games still left to play. But they were also chasing two other teams for that second wild card spot.  Tonight, the Mets were in Cincinnati to take on David Bell's Reds (72-81) in front of 20,576 fans, many of them Mets fans.  Tonight, everyone new that The Mets NL Rookie of the Year, Pete Alonso was setting a rookie HR mark & was looking to become the first Met to ever hit 50 HRs in a season. That year's Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom (9-8) entered the game leading the league in ERA (2.61) strike outs (239) & WAR (6.3) for pitchers, as well as walks & hits per nine innings (1.005) he took on the Reds' Luis Castillo (15-6 / 3.22 ERA / 211 Ks / 239 Ks). The game started out all about the pitchers, both shutting the other team out into the 6th inning.  In the top of the 6th, Jeff McNeil, the number four ...

Wednesday September 19th, 1973:   On September 17th the Mets & Pirates started a five-game stretch that began in Pittsburgh for two games then moved to New York for the next three. The Mets were 2.5 games behind the Pirates in fourth place in a tight NL East race. The two teams split the series in Pittsburgh. Tonight, the matchup moved to Shea Stadium for a three-game series. The opener attracted 29.240 fans who were very quickly becoming interested in the Mets pulling off another Miracle. This was just four years after the Amazing Mets Championship of 1969. Tonight, the Mets sent George Stone (11-3) to the mound. Stone was on a personal five game win streak. From July 14th thru September 15th, he was 7-0 with a 2.15 ERA. Stone was a pleasant surprise for the 1973 NL Champs going 12-3 with a save & a 2.80 ERA.  The Pirates had veteran Nelson Briles (13-12) start the game. Trivia:  Briles an accomplished singer would sing the National Anthem at Game ...

Saturday September 19th, 1987: Davey Johnson's reigning World Champions had a rough start to the season, with injuries & star pitcher Dwight Gooden going off to rehab they found themselves at .500 in mid-June 7.5 games out. Tonight, the second place Mets (84-63) came into tonight's game just 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Mets had lost the series opener to John Smiley but lost no ground in the standings as the Cardinals had lost to the Cubs. Time was running out for the reigning World Champs, as the Mets had just 14 games left play in the season. Tonight, they continued the series at Three Rivers Stadium as  Rick Aguilera went up against Vicente Palacios &  Jim Leyland's last place Pittsburgh Pirates (71-76).  In the next few years, Leyland would turn the club around winning the NL Eastern title by 1991.  In the bottom of the 1st, Rick Aguilera had a rough start, giving up a single to Jose Lind, Andy Van Slyke reached on force play at sec...

Jim Marshall was one of the seven last surviving players of the 45 men who played on the 1962 original Mets team.  Rufus James Marshall was born May 25th, 1931, in Danville, Illinois. The family moved west & he grew up in Long Beach California. The six foot, one left-handed hitter attended Long Beach State University. Pacific Coast League: Marshall was originally signed by the Chicago White Sox, spending seven seasons in the Pacific Coast League mostly with the Oakland Oaks. In December 1957 he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with Larry Doby, Jack Harshman & Russ Heman for Tito Francona, Billy Goodman & Ray Moore. In 1958 Marshall, became the Orioles starting first baseman as a rookie hitting 5 HRs with 19 RBIs in 85 games before getting put on waivers then getting picked up by the Chicago Cubs. He spent two years with the Cubs splitting time at first base with Dale Long, having career highs in 1959 with 11 HRs 40 RBIs & a .252 average. In November 1959, ...

Friday September 7, 1973:   Yogi Berra's Mets (67-73) were rolling along to a hot start in September, coming into tonight's game winning eight out of their last eleven games. All of a sudden, a team that was in last place in late August found themselves just four games back of first place. Gene Mauch's Montreal Expos (68-71) were just ahead of the Mets in that wild NL East race. On a chilly evening at Montreal's Park Jarry, 24,167 fans came out to see the Expos host the Mets in a Twi-night double header. Trivia: Twi-night Double Headers were the norm in those days, meaning the first game would start in the late afternoon & the second game after a break in the nighttime hours. In the first game, the Mets lefty Jon Matlack went up against (former Met) Steve Renko. It turned out to be a real pitching dual classic. In the top of the 1st, Wayne Garrett led off the game with his 12th HR of the year.  Garrett now had two HRs & four RBIs in his last ...

Thursday September 7th, 1989: Davey Johnson's Mets were in third place (74-65) but just 3.5 games behind the first place Chicago Cubs.  Tonight, they hosted their NL East Rivals; Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals (76-63) who were 1.5 games behind Chicago & two games ahead of the Mets.  23,354 came to Shea Stadium to see Frank Viola (10-16) go up against Ted Power (6-6). It was an overall big night for Mets bats, 13 runs on 15 hits in a 13-1 win, but it was a personal huge night for Greg Jefferies. Jefferies tied a club record with four extra base hits on this night, four hits with two HRs, five RBIs & two runs scored. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Jefferies batting leadoff, doubled to start his big night. The Mets left him stranded as Juan Samuel grounded out, then Ted Power struck out Howard Johnson & Darryl Strawberry. In the home 3rd,  Kevin Elster led off reaching on Terry Pendleton's error at third base. With one out Greg  Jeffries hit a t...

Jerry Richard Blevins was born September 6th, 1983, in Johnson City Tennessee. The tall six-foot six, left-handed reliever was nicknamed "Gordo".   When his parents divorced, his mother moved him to Ohio. He became a star baseball, basketball & football player in high school as well as played in the marching band. Growing up he was a fan of the Oakland A's in the late 1980's. He regarded his stepfather as his father, since his biological father was not in his life. Blevins attended the University of Dayton, pitching for their baseball team going 7-4 in 21 games for two seasons.  Blevins was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 2004 in the 17th round. After spending four seasons in the Cubs system,  he was traded along with catcher Rob Bowen to the Oakland Athletics for Jason Kendall in 2007.  MLB Career: He made the 2007 A's bullpen, as a September call up that year, debuting on September 16th against the Texas Rangers pitching a perfect 9th in...