The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets: Daniel Murphy

When a young player experiences a pennant race for the first time, he's told to savor the moment because there's no guarantee that it'll happen again.  For one former Met who was thrust into the spotlight from the moment he first set foot on a major league diamond, he relished every opportunity to play meaningful games in September.  Alas, the calendar was only thing that made it to October that season, as the Mets fell short of their postseason quest.

The bright-eyed neophyte who tasted the sweet nectar of a playoff chase so early in his career became a grizzled veteran just six years later, one who played for a losing Mets team in each of those half-dozen seasons.  But just as the sun appeared to have set on another season, the Mets shocked the baseball cognoscenti by winning an unlikely pennant, giving their veteran second baseman a chance to finally play in the postseason after having just missed during his rookie campaign.  And once he got there, he turned October into his own personal stage.

Daniel Murphy's good side will always feature a bat in his hands.  (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Daniel Thomas Murphy was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round of the 2006 June Amateur Draft.  Murphy, who played third base at Jacksonville University, was a college teammate of Tony Bernazard's son when Bernazard was the Mets' vice president of player development.  Murphy's development in the Mets' minor league system began slowly, as the infielder batted just .213 during his first season as a professional.  Murphy's second year showed a marked improvement in his hitting ability, as he batted .285 for the St. Lucie Mets and led the team with 34 doubles and 78 RBI.  His defensive skills, however, were another story.

Flash back a few years to when Murphy was a student-athlete at Jacksonville.  While attending a team meeting, Murphy was once asked to state his name and defensive position.  Without hesitating, Murphy answered the question.

"I'm Daniel Murphy," he said, "and I bat third."

Defense was never one of Murphy's strong suits, which became quite obvious during his time in St. Lucie, as the third baseman committed 35 errors in 131 games with the team.  But as long as Murphy kept on hitting, his name would always find a way to be included on the lineup card.

In 2008, Murphy began the season playing above A-ball for the first time in his career.  He ended the year in the middle of a playoff race at Shea Stadium.  At Double-A Binghamton, Murphy batted .308 with an .870 OPS and spent time at every infield position except shortstop.  He even played four games in left field while in Binghamton, which came in handy later that summer when the Mets were looking for an injury replacement with some experience at the position.

The Mets began the 2008 campaign with Angel Pagan in left field filling in for the injured Moises Alou.  By the time the dog days of summer began in August, the Mets had used more left fielders than Spinal Tap used drummers.  Through the end of July, the Mets had played 108 games.  Incredibly, a total of 11 players had started in left field for the team by then, with none of them playing more than 20 games at the position.  Players such as Brady Clark, Trot Nixon, Andy Phillips and Chris Aguila all "earned" starts in left field for a team that was considered one of the best in the game.  Another participant in the season-long game of left field musical chairs was Marlon Anderson, who started 20 games before pulling his left hamstring on August 1.  The following night, left fielder No. 12 made his debut for the Mets, and his name was Daniel Murphy.

"I'm ecstatic to be here," Murphy said prior to the game.  "It'll probably hit me when I'm out in left field with 40,000 people around me."

Tony Bernazard, who was instrumental in the Mets' signing of Murphy in 2006, knew that Murphy was the right man to call up at that time.

"(Murphy's) the one who is most ready," Bernazard said.  "He will give you good at-bats all the time."

Put a bat in his hands and Murphy could do anything with the ball, even bunting it.  (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

For years, Bernazard knew how great a hitter Murphy was, but even he couldn't have expected the start Murphy would have in the majors.  In his first three weeks with the Mets, Murphy started 11 games in left field and appeared in seven games as a pinch-hitter, batting .404 with a .491 OBP in those 18 games.  Murphy also collected two doubles, a triple, two homers and 11 RBI in his first 55 plate appearances.  A reason for Murphy's early success was his ability to make the pitcher throw many pitches per at-bat, allowing him to see the pitcher's full repertoire.  In fact, Murphy worked a full count in more than 20% of his plate appearances (Murphy saw a 3-2 pitch in 31 of his 151 times at the plate).

Without question, Murphy's promotion gave the Mets a spark they hadn't experienced for the first two-thirds of the season.  When Murphy played his first game with the team on August 2, the Mets were in third place in the N.L. East and stood 3½ games behind the wild card-leading Milwaukee Brewers.  A month and a day later, the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Brew Crew that gave them a 21-9 record since Murphy's debut.  Heading into the final week of the season, the Mets were in a race with the Phillies for the division title and the Brewers for the wild card.  They began the week with a four-game series against the N.L. Central champion Chicago Cubs.

Chicago had already wrapped up the best record in the National League by the time they arrived at Shea Stadium, but manager Lou Piniella continued to trot out his best players for the critical series.  The Mets and Cubs split the first two games and were knotted in the third contest as it went to the bottom of the ninth.  Murphy then brought the Shea Stadium crowd to its feet by leading off the inning with a triple off veteran reliever Bob Howry.  The 54,416 fans in attendance were eagerly anticipating a thrilling walk-off victory, especially with David Wright about to bat, Carlos Delgado on deck and Carlos Beltran in the hole, but Piniella continued to manage the game as if it were the seventh game of the World Series instead of a meaningless game for his club.

Wright struck out.  Delgado and Beltran were intentionally walked.  Ryan Church grounded out, with Murphy being forced out at the plate.  Ramon Castro fanned on three pitches.  Inning over.  Rally over.

Murphy tried to be the hero, and he would have been had the Mets defeated the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth inning on September 24.  But the Mets didn't win.  And they also didn't win their season-ending series against the Florida Marlins.  The Brewers won the wild card.  The Phillies clinched the division title and went on to win the World Series.  The Mets got nothing, other than the start of Daniel Murphy's major league career.

Although Murphy started only 30 games in left field for the Mets after his August call-up, that somehow led the injury-riddled team at the position.  Murphy entered the 2009 season hoping to give the Mets more stability at the position after the team saw a dozen players patrol left field in 2008.  It did not take long for the Mets to realize that perhaps Murphy wasn't the best option for the job.

On the first Sunday of the season, Johan Santana dominated the Marlins, striking out 13 batters in seven masterful innings.  But Santana was pinned with the loss, as Florida scored two unearned runs in the third inning after Murphy dropped a routine fly ball.  After the game, a clearly frustrated Santana was quick to throw Murphy under the bus for the loss.

Whoomp, there it isn't.  (Rothstein/Daily News)

"It's one mistake that he made," Santana said.  "It cost us the whole ballgame, but it's part of the game."

Not mentioned by Santana was the fact that he walked Jeremy Hermida prior to Murphy's gaffe and then allowed an RBI single to No. 8 hitter Ronny Paulino after the miscue.  Nor did Santana mention that the Mets' offense failed to show up for the game, as the team was shut out by Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson for 8⅔ innings.  Santana very well may have been speaking out of frustration, but the stigma of being a bad fielder, regardless of the position he was playing, stuck with Murphy for the rest of his career as a Met.

After starting 13 of the first 14 games of the 2009 season in left field, the lefty-swinging Murphy began to platoon at the position with the right-handed batting Gary Sheffield, who had played the majority of his career in the outfield.  But when starting first baseman Carlos Delgado suffered what became a career-ending injury on May 10 and after Jeremy Reed - who had played all of three games in his career at first base - made a crucial error at first that cost the Mets a game in Los Angeles a week later, the Mets decided to move Murphy back to the infield.

Murphy adjusted well to the infield life.  But once Murphy stopped worrying about dropping fly balls, it would be his teammates who would start dropping like flies.  In addition to Delgado, Jose Reyes' season also ended in May.  Carlos Beltran, who was among the league's leading hitters during the first two months of the 2009 campaign, eventually missed half of the season with a knee injury.  David Wright remained healthy until he was felled by a Matt Cain fastball to the noggin.  Sheffield, who for a while was the team leader in home runs, missed extended periods of time late in the season.  And how can we forget Luis Castillo falling down the Citi Field dugout steps in August, just two months after he dropped a fly ball of his own?  When everyone else went down, sometimes literally, Murphy remained the last Met standing.

The Mets could not overcome the rash of injuries that befell them in 2009, finishing the year with a 70-92 record, but Murphy's first full season in the majors was one of the few success stories for the team.  Although his batting average dipped to .266, Murphy managed to hit 38 doubles and a team-leading 12 homers.  He also led the club in games played and finished second to Wright in runs batted in.  But Murphy's injury-free campaign caught up with him over the next two seasons.

The 2010 season opened with Murphy on the disabled list due to a right knee sprain suffered at the end of spring training.  Due to the emergence of rookie first baseman Ike Davis, Murphy began to play games at second base during his minor league rehab assignment.  Unfortunately, a hard takeout slide while covering second caused Murphy to tear the MCL in his right knee, ending his season before he could return to the majors.  A year later, Murphy's season ended prematurely once again, and for the second straight year, it involved a collision at second base.

In 2011, Murphy was among the league leaders in hitting, boasting a robust .320 batting average in early August.  But after Braves' outfielder Jose Constanza spiked Murphy at second base on a stolen base attempt on August 7, Murphy suffered his second medial collateral ligament tear in a span of 14 months and would miss the rest of the season.

Murphy finally stayed healthy in 2012 and 2013, playing in 317 of a possible 324 games, and took over the everyday job at second base.  In 2012, Murphy became the first left-handed hitter in club history to hit 40 doubles in a single season and followed that up with a brilliant 2013 campaign, setting new career highs in homers (13), runs batted in (78), runs scored (92) and stolen bases (23).  And yet, for all the progress Murphy had made as a hitter, the focus still remained on his defense, as Murphy posted a -0.8 dWAR in 2012 and an even worse -1.5 dWAR in 2013.

The 2013 season also marked the fifth consecutive season that Murphy played for a losing team.  But things started to change for the Mets in 2014 and for Murphy as well.  The Mets won five more games in 2014 than they did in the previous season and finished in a tie for second place in the N.L. East.  They also outscored the opposition by 11 runs and saw an improvement in attendance at Citi Field for the first time since the park opened in 2009.  As for Murphy, he was finally recognized for his offensive talents by earning his first All-Star selection.  By the end of June, Murphy was batting .303 with 19 doubles, six homers, 32 RBI, 51 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.   He maintained a .300 batting average until late August, when a strained quad led to a stint on the disabled list.  The injury caused Murphy to struggle upon his return, as he ended the year with a .289 average.

Despite the slow finish, Murphy still led the Mets in hits, doubles and runs scored.  His recognition as a first-time All-Star capped a six-year period in which Murphy pushed himself to improve every facet of his game.  And when he finally received the All-Star nod, Murphy was humbled by the honor.

"It's a blessing," Murphy said.  "And I don't work any harder on this ballclub than anyone else does.  There's no doubt about that.  There's 24 men in here who work really hard.  It's just an honor.  It's humbling.  It's a fantastic blessing."

Daniel Murphy, All-Star.  (Elsa/Getty Images)

Murphy wasn't the only Met in 2014 to receive national attention, as pitcher Jacob deGrom ended a three-decade Rookie of the Year drought for the Mets, becoming the first Met to win the award since Dwight Gooden in 1984.  The emergence of deGrom, plus the return of fellow moundsman Matt Harvey from Tommy John surgery and the forthcoming debut of top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard gave the Mets hope that they would finally turn the corner in 2015.

The 2015 season would also be Murphy's final season before becoming a free agent for the first time, giving him extra incentive to have a solid season.  But even though the Mets got off to a fast start, tying a franchise record with an 11-game winning streak in April, Murphy did not.  When the calendar turned from April to May, Murphy was batting just .198.  But Murphy became a one-man hitting machine over the team's next 29 games, batting .352 with an .869 OPS.  Unfortunately, just like it did in 2014, a quad injury caused Murphy to miss 22 games in June.  And faster than you can say abracadabra, the Mets' offense disappeared.

In the three weeks they played without their second baseman, the Mets batted .217 as a team and scored an average of 2.8 runs per game.  The low point of Life Without Murphy occurred on June 9, when the Mets were no-hit by Giants' starter Chris Heston, who had just 12 major league starts prior to his gem at Citi Field.

Murphy eventually returned from his injury and three weeks later, the Mets returned to relevance with the acquisitions of Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and Yoenis Céspedes.  While all the attention was placed on the team's new members - which also included the team's top hitting prospect, Michael Conforto - Murphy quietly began to rake at the plate, batting .309 over the next two months.  Murphy also added something Mets fans weren't accustomed to seeing from him - power.

From July 25 through September 26, Murphy slammed eight homers and posted a .549 slugging percentage.  Included in his home run barrage was a mammoth blast into the Pepsi Porch during a nationally televised game against the Washington Nationals on August 2 and a game-tying, three-run homer in Atlanta on September 13 when the Mets were down to their final out of the game.  And of course, the Mets won both games.  In fact, the Mets had a 33-14 record when Murphy was in the starting lineup from July 25 (the night Johnson and Uribe made their Mets debuts) to September 26 (the day the team clinched the N.L. East division title).

From the night Murphy made his debut on August 2, 2008 until the final regular season game of the 2015 campaign, Murphy had played in 903 games for the Mets and had never appeared in the postseason, breaking Ed Kranepool's club record of 887 games played to start a career without a playoff game in the mix.  But that streak would end in 2015, as the Mets advanced to the National League Division Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It wouldn't take long for Murphy to begin a different kind of streak.

In Game One, Murphy was responsible for the series' first run, homering off three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw in the Mets' 3-1 victory.  Murphy took Kershaw deep again in Game Four, but the Mets lost that game to force a fifth and deciding game - a game that was single-handedly won by Murphy's bat and brain.

In the first inning, Murphy delivered an RBI double to give the Mets an early lead.  But the Dodgers proceeded to take the lead in the bottom of the first, a lead that remained intact until Murphy came up to the plate in the fourth frame.  On the first pitch delivered by Zack Greinke, himself a former Cy Young Award recipient, Murphy pulled a single to right.  Two batters later, Lucas Duda drew a walk, moving Murphy to second.  But with the Dodgers' infield employing a shift for the pull-happy Duda, third base was left vacated.  An observant Murphy noticed the lack of a fielder near the bag and took off for third, arriving safely without a throw.  Murphy then scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Travis d'Arnaud, literally stealing a run.

Murphy had already contributed to both of the Mets' runs in his first two at-bats.  When he faced Greinke for the third time in the sixth, he introduced the baseball to the right field seats.  On a 3-2 pitch from the Dodgers right-hander, Murphy lined a home run down the right field line, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead.  Starter Jacob deGrom and the bullpen (including Noah Syndergaard, who pitched a scoreless seventh) combined to keep the Dodgers hitless in their last four turns at bat to preserve the one-run lead and send the Mets to the National League Championship Series.

Flip that bat, Daniel!  You just sent the Mets to the NLCS!  (Harry How/Getty Images)

For five games, Murphy teed off against the best the Dodgers had to offer, clubbing three homers off Kershaw and Greinke.  Murphy would face another challenge in the NLCS, facing Jon Lester and Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta.  Challenge accepted.

• Game One, first inning vs. Jon Lester:  Home run.  Mets lead, 1-0, and go on to win, 4-2.
• Game Two, first inning vs. Jake Arrieta:  Home run.  Mets lead, 3-0, and go on to win, 4-1.

With the Cubs' top two starting pitchers out of the way, Murphy and the Mets coasted in the next two games at Wrigley Field.  With Game Three knotted in the fourth inning, Murphy delivered a tie-breaking blast against Kyle Hendricks to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.  The Mets held on to win, 5-2.  Murphy had now hit home runs in five straight postseason games.  Former teammate Carlos Beltran had been the only player to ever accomplish the feat in the playoffs, doing so with the Houston Astros in 2004.  And just one Met had ever homered in five consecutive games prior to Murphy.  That was Richard Hidalgo, who turned the trick during the 2004 regular season.  Both records would fall in a memorable Game Four.

The Mets were one win away from their first National League pennant in 15 years.  It took just 15 batters for the game to turn into a laugher.  New York scored six runs in the first two innings to take a commanding 6-0 lead.  The Mets scored their final two runs of the game in the eighth inning on a home run by - who else? - Daniel Murphy.

Murphy had homered in six straight games - a postseason record and a Mets' all-time mark - to lead the Mets to the World Series.  The former 13th round draft pick who had been with the Mets since they called Shea Stadium home had finally reached the promised land.  But alas, Murphy's dream postseason turned into a nightmare in the Fall Classic.  Not only did Murphy fail to hit a home run, he was also held without an RBI by the Kansas City Royals.  In addition, Murphy struck out seven times in the five-game series after being the toughest player to strike out in the National League during the regular season (38 Ks in 538 plate appearances).  And of course, his costly error in the eighth inning of Game Four allowed the tying run to score and led to the eventual winning run crossing the plate.

The Royals ended the Mets' season in Game Five, winning their first championship in three decades.  Kansas City also ended Murphy's tenure in New York, as the Washington Nationals gave Murphy 37.5 million reasons to leave the only team he had ever known.

"I've seen plenty of Daniel Murphy, believe me, as a general manager - often from the other side of the field," Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said.  "He is a player that plays the game the right way.  We love his attitude, his grit.  When the bright lights - not only in New York City - are on, (Murphy) shines the brightest." 

In 2008, rookie Daniel Murphy joined a Mets team that was poised to make it to the postseason, but fell short on the season's final day.  He then suffered through a number of personal injuries, several defensive position changes and more than enough losing baseball for six seasons before finally enjoying another September to remember as a 30-year-old veteran.  This time, Murphy and the team made it to the postseason party and extended their season all the way to November before the glass slippers finally came off.  And along the way, Murphy etched his name into the record books in a way no one could have expected.

Before he became a postseason hero for the Mets, Murphy was criticized for just about everything.  He wasn't a good defensive player.  He didn't hit with enough power.  He was a poor base runner.  Even off-the-field issues like missing Opening Day in 2014 to attend the birth of his first child and his comments about homosexuality due to his religious beliefs left Murphy open for criticism from fans and the media.

But with one amazing and unexpected postseason appearance, Murphy became the brightest star in a city full of them.  No one will ever be able to question his role in one of the most unlikely pennant runs in recent history.  And no one will ever be able to forget the story of the Met who once claimed his defensive position was batting third.

Daniel Murphy and his son, Noah, celebrate a memorable 2015 campaign.  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Note: The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players and personnel who experienced the best of times and the worst of times with the team.  For previous installments, please click on the names below:

January 2, 2017: Tom Seaver
January 9, 2017: Mike Piazza
January 16, 2017: Wally Backman

 

Matt Harvey and the Mets' Mediocrity in His Starts

Until last night, the Mets hadn't won a regular season game started by Matt Harvey since last season's division clincher.  (Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Matt Harvey earned his first regular season victory in last night's 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.  But more importantly, the Mets earned their first win in a Matt Harvey start since last year's division clincher.  Harvey had made four regular season appearances since the team won the N.L. East crown on September 26.  Those four contests included his un-Harvey-like three-game start to this season and the next-to-last regular season game of 2015 - a game in which the Mets were no-hit by Max Scherzer.

All told, Harvey has made 69 starts in his Mets career and the team has lost more than half of them, going 34-35 in the Dark Knight's appearances.  There are many reasons for the Mets' mediocrity in starts made by the pitcher many deemed to be the future of the franchise.

Harvey's bullpen has failed to protect his leads.  Like Johan Santana in 2008, who had seven leads blown by the team's bullpen, turning a potential 23-win, Cy Young campaign into a 16-win, third place finish in the balloting for top pitcher in the National League, Harvey has been occasionally victimized by his relief corps as well.  It all began in his final start in 2012, when Harvey pitched seven innings of one-hit ball against the Phillies, leaving the game with a 2-1 lead, only to see Josh Edgin surrender a two-run homer to Ryan Howard with two outs in the ninth.  The Mets lost that game, 3-2.

In 2013, the Mets won each of Harvey's first five starts, but then went 8-13 in his next 21 starts before his season was cut short in August due to the injury that caused him to undergo Tommy John surgery.  In three of those 13 losses, the Mets were leading the game when Harvey was removed by Terry Collins, only to see the bullpen become BFFs with opposing hitters, giving up Harvey's leads in eventual Mets losses.

Upon returning from Tommy John surgery in 2015, Harvey finally had some success helping the Mets earn victories, but the team still lost a dozen times in Harvey's 29 starts.  Once again, New York dropped three games in which Harvey left them with a lead to protect.  Add it all up and the Mets have lost seven games when Harvey was removed with the lead - or the same number of times the Mets' bullpen blew leads for Johan Santana in 2008 alone.  Had the bullpen been more successful for Harvey and the Mets in those seven instances, the team's 34-35 record in Harvey's starts could have been a more impressive 41-28.

But don't just blame the bullpen for the team's mediocrity in Harvey's starts.  In fact, the team has saved Harvey from a number of losses several times during his career as well.

On April 24, 2013, Harvey allowed three runs to the Dodgers in six innings.  When he left the game, the Mets trailed Los Angeles, 3-1.  New York tied the game in the ninth, then won it in the tenth on Jordany Valdespin's walk-off grand slam.  A month later, Harvey was all set to pick up a hard-luck loss when he pitched eight masterful innings against the Yankees but left the game with his team down, 1-0.  The Mets rallied for two runs in the ninth, marking the only time in Mariano Rivera's career that he came into a save situation and earned the loss without retiring a batter.

Fast forward two years later during the Mets' run to the N.L. East title in 2015.  On September 8, Harvey pitched an awful game in Washington, allowing seven runs to the Nats before he was removed with one out in the sixth and his team trailing by six.  Then Wilmer Flores happened (RBI single).  Then Curtis Granderson happened (bases-loaded walk).  Then Yoenis Cespedes joined the party (three-run bases-clearing double).  Then Lucas Duda remained patient (game-tying bases-loaded walk).  Finally, an inning later, Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his final homer as a Met, taking Jonathan Papelbon deep for what became the winning run in the Mets' 8-7 victory.

There were also a game in 2015 where Harvey was actually helped out by his bullpen to help the Mets earn a victory.  On July 31, Harvey was removed from a 1-1 game against the Nationals with two runners on base.  But Tyler Clippard won a 13-pitch battle against Jayson Werth, striking out the hirsute slugger to preserve the tie.  Had Werth driven in a run or two against Clippard, those runs would have been charged to Harvey and the game might never have gone to extra innings.  But because Clippard and the rest of the bullpen (and eventually Wilmer Flores in the 12th inning) did their jobs, Harvey escaped with a no-decision and the Mets escaped with a much-needed win.

So that's four wins where Harvey could very well have been saddled with a loss, but the Mets stormed back to victory.  That 34-35 overall record by the team could have been a more disturbing 30-39 had those rallies not ensued.

It's true that Harvey has been more effective than not.  His 2.66 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in his career says that's the case.  It's also true that the Mets' bats have had a tendency to hit the snooze button more than they've hit baseballs in too many of Harvey's starts.  Harvey has allowed two runs or fewer in 45 of his 69 starts, or 65.2% of the time.  In those starts, the Mets are just 27-18, for a .600 winning percentage.  That might seem okay until you look at how the Mets have fared when Jacob deGrom has allowed two runs or fewer.  DeGrom has held opponents to two runs or fewer in 36 of his 53 starts, or 67.9% of the time, which is not much higher than Harvey's percentage.  However, New York has a phenomenal 29-7 record when deGrom holds opponents to no more than two tallies.  That's good for an .806 winning percentage, which is far higher than Harvey's mark in similar outings.

To summarize, Matt Harvey has been a victim of everything that can contribute to his team's mediocre record in his starts.  He's been a victim of an occasionally shoddy bullpen.  He's also had his teammates take several days off at the plate when he's been on the mound.  But on the flip side, both the bullpen and the offense have also bailed Harvey out a few times.

Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.  In Matt Harvey's case, he's been very good throughout his career, but he also hasn't had the best of luck.  Put it all together and you have a four-year career that has produced just 34 victories by his team in his 69 starts.  It's a trend that's been going on for far too long and needs to change very soon if Harvey is ever going to be the type of pitcher everyone expects him to be.  His win against Atlanta last night needs to be the stepping stone for bigger and better things in the future.

One Mo-MET In Time: Johan Santana

Sports fans have wonderful memories, although not all of those memories are pleasant.  In fact, certain names or phrases can act as trigger words to followers of sports teams, eliciting groans and bringing back painful memories.

Mention the name "Bucky F. Dent" to any Red Sox fan and they know exactly which game you're referring to and what Dent's middle initial stands for.  Similarly, fans of the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans cringe when the words "one more yard" are uttered.

For Mets fans, the magic words are "seven games up with 17 games to play".  That was the lead the Mets had over the Philadelphia Phillies in the division going into the final 17 games of the 2007 season.  But none of the team's pitchers stepped up during the season's final two and a half weeks.  A team like the 73-89 Washington Nationals, who finished dead last in the league in home runs and runs scored, found a way to blast ten homers and cross the plate 53 times in five late-season victories over New York.  And of course, who could forget the last-place Florida Marlins hammering a seven-run nail into the Mets' coffin during the first inning of the season's final game?

Despite having two future Hall of Famers on the staff in Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine, the Mets didn't have a stopper in the starting rotation during the final weeks of the 2007 campaign.  John Maine had the game of his life in the season's penultimate game, but allowed 11 runs to the Nationals and Marlins in the two starts prior to his Game No. 161 effort.  Oliver Perez, who matched Maine with a team-leading 15 wins in 2007, couldn't get out of the fourth inning in his final start and was outpitched by Marlins starter Byung-Hyun Kim.  It would be the final victory in the majors for Kim, who posted an 8.21 ERA in nine late-season appearances for the Marlins, just six years after he blew back-to-back save opportunities as a reliever for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series.

Having lost the division to the Phillies in 2007, the Mets knew they had to upgrade their pitching, especially once they allowed Glavine to return to his former team in Atlanta.  The free agent class was bereft of ace pitchers, so the Mets were going to have to make a trade if they wanted a true No. 1 starter.  They found their man just weeks before pitchers and catchers were due to report.  And even though he never led the team to the postseason, he still produced one of the most magical moments in the team's history.

Johan Santana put his fist through 50 seasons of no-hit futility.  (Howard Simmons/NY Daily News)

Johan Alexander Santana made his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2000, but didn't become a full-time starting pitcher until midway through the 2003 season.  Santana earned his first win as a regular in the Twins rotation on August 3, then wouldn't stop winning.  Over the season's final two months, Santana went 8-0 with a 2.51 ERA, striking out 70 batters in 68 innings.

Santana cemented himself as one the game's best pitchers from 2004 to 2007, when he led the majors in wins (70), strikeouts (983) and WHIP (0.99), while placing second to Roger Clemens in ERA (2.89 to Clemens's 2.68).  But Santana was due to become a free agent following the 2008 campaign and was pricing himself out of Minnesota's range with each solid performance.  Knowing they would have a tough time re-signing him without breaking all the piggy banks in the state, the Twins decided to deal Santana prior to the 2008 campaign.

Originally, it was thought that the Yankees and Red Sox would be the most likely suitors for Santana's services.  But Mets general manager Omar Minaya swooped in and pried the two-time Cy Young Award winner away from the Twins with a package that centered around top prospect and future All-Star Carlos Gomez.  The Mets also sent three pitchers - Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey - to Minnesota, then signed Santana to a six-year, $137.5 million contract extension to complete the deal.

Santana had a brilliant first season in New York, going 16-7 with a league-leading 2.53 ERA and 1.148 WHIP.  Santana also struck out 206 batters, breaking Jon Matlack's 35-year-old team record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.  Santana could have won as many as 23 games, but the bullpen coughed up the lead in seven of his 11 no-decisions.  Santana didn't allow the bullpen to blow his final start of the season, as he pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout against the Marlins, throwing 117 pitches just four days after tossing 125 pitches against the Chicago Cubs.

Alas, Santana's performance didn't help the Mets advance to the postseason in 2008, but it was enough to help him finish third in the National League Cy Young Award vote, making him just the seventh Mets pitcher to finish in the top three, joining Tom Seaver (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975), Jerry Koosman (1976), Jesse Orosco (1983), Dwight Gooden (1984, 1985), David Cone (1988) and Frank Viola (1990).

Following Santana's Herculean effort in which he threw 242 pitches over a five-day span, it was revealed that he had been pitching with a torn meniscus in his left knee over the season's final month.  Just four days after his final start, Santana underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair his balky knee.  It was his first time under the knife as a Met.  It would not be his last.

From 2009 to 2011, Santana made just 54 starts for the Mets, with only one of those starts coming in the month of September.  When he was healthy, Santana was still quite efficient, as evidenced by his
3.05 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in those 54 starts.  But Santana just couldn't stay on the field after his inaugural campaign in New York.

Santana's 2009 season ended in August because of bone chips of his left shoulder.  A year later, his 2010 campaign was abbreviated due to a torn anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder.  The same injury caused Santana to miss the entire 2011 season, after several rehab attempts caused Santana to feel shoulder fatigue.

Entering the 2012 campaign, the Mets were a shadow of the team that contended for a division title in Santana's first year with the club.  New York won 70, 79 and 77 games during its first three seasons at Citi Field and never posed a serious threat to crashing the postseason party.  But after not pitching in a major league game in nearly 18 months, Santana was ready to help the Mets win in 2012.  Not much was expected from Santana or the Mets entering the campaign.  Those expectations changed dramatically during the season's first two months.

Behind five shutout innings from the returning Santana, the Mets claimed a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day.  New York won its next three games as well, giving the team its fourth 4-0 start in franchise history.  The Mets continued to shock the skeptics over the first third of the season, never falling more than four games out of first place in the competitive National League East.  The team had exceeded expectations due to the emergence of two pitchers - R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana.

Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey were Amazin' during the first half of 2012. (William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

In 1948, the term "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" was coined after Boston Post sports editor Gerald V. Hern wrote a short poem about Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain - the two best pitchers in the Boston Braves rotation.  Sixty-four years later, the Mets were asking for "Dickey and Santana and rain for mañana" as New York's co-aces combined to go 9-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in 123⅔ innings over the season's first two months.  After Dickey and Santana participated in back-to-back shutouts of the San Diego Padres in their final starts of May, the Mets entered June within striking distance of first place.  They would earn a share of first during the month's first series, a four-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals.  But what happened in the first game overshadowed everything else that followed in the series.

The Mets entered the month of June reeling from a loss to the Phillies - a game in which five relievers combined to allow eight runs in the final two and a third innings.  New York desperately needed starting pitcher Johan Santana to stop the bleeding, hoping he could give the team a lengthy effort to give the bullpen a short break, similar to the complete game he gave them in his previous start.

Santana was due to face the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and their ace, Adam Wainwright.  It was Wainwright who ended the Mets' dreams of playing for a title in 2006, when the then-reliever struck out Carlos Beltran to end the NLCS - the same Carlos Beltran who was now a member of the Cardinals, and who was getting ready to face the Mets for the first time since he was traded to San Francisco the previous summer.  Those were just some of the intriguing storylines going into the game, but a new story began to write itself as the game progressed.

Through three innings, neither pitcher had given up a hit, although Santana had walked two batters and Wainwright had allowed one free pass.  Santana walked his third batter of the game to lead off the fourth inning, but retired the next three batters in order.  The game's first hit did not occur until the bottom of the fourth, when Kirk Nieuwehuis led off the inning with a single.  A double by David Wright moved Nieuwenhuis to third base.  Both runners eventually came around to score, as Lucas Duda drove in Nieuwenhuis with a sacrifice fly and Daniel Murphy plated Wright with a triple.

Santana now had a two-run cushion to work with as he stepped on the hill in the fifth, but once again, he began with the inning with a walk.  Although he retired the next three batters to face him, he needed 13 pitches to record the three outs, moving his pitch count to 79 through five innings.  Santana had yet to allow a hit, but his high pitch count was beginning to make manager Terry Collins antsy in the dugout.  In his first ten starts of the season, Santana had averaged just 92 pitches per start, never throwing more than 108 in any of them.  He was an inning away from surpassing his average and two frames away from potentially having his highest pitch count of the year.  The Mets went down quietly in their half of the fifth inning, sending Santana back to the mound quickly for the sixth.  The first batter he would face was Carlos Beltran.  And that's when third base umpire Adrian Johnson became a household name in Flushing.

After taking a first-pitch ball from Santana, Beltran smoked the southpaw's second pitch down the left field line, which was ruled foul by Johnson.  Replays later showed that the ball had kicked up white dust when it hit the ground, meaning it was a fair ball that had just grazed the foul line.  But two years before the advent of instant replay, the call was not changed, and Santana's no-hitter would live to see another pitch.  That pitch would be his 82nd of the night, and it would be another hard-hit ground ball by Beltran, although this time it settled into the glove of David Wright, who threw over to Duda on first to easily retire Beltran.

Adrian Johnson agreed with David Wright's foul call, keeping Johan Santana's no-hitter intact. (MLB.com screen shot)

Given a break by Johnson's missed call, Santana proceeded to retire the next two batters he faced, although his pitch count through six innings was up to 93.  The Mets were still clinging to a two-run lead as they came to bat in the bottom of the sixth.  It took just one swing of Lucas Duda's bat to make that a five-run cushion.

Following a leadoff single by Nieuwenhuis and a walk to David Wright, Duda launched a long three-run homer to right field, giving the Mets a comfortable 5-0 lead.  The blast also gave Duda four RBI on the night, matching his career high.

Santana returned to the hill in the seventh with his no-hitter intact and a commanding lead on the Cardinals.  He retired David Freese on a pop-up to lead off the inning, then went to a 3-1 count on catcher Yadier Molina.  It had been six years since Molina had broken the hearts of Mets fans by hitting a two-run homer in the the ninth inning of Game Seven in the 2006 NLCS.  And when he lined Santana's 102nd pitch to deep left field, the initial feeling was that he was about to break their hearts again.  But left fielder and Queens native Mike Baxter would not allow that wound to be re-opened, as he ran back to the warning track with surgical precision to make an over-the-shoulder catch before barreling into the wall at full speed.  The no-hitter was saved, but Baxter's shoulder was not, as he had to be placed on the disabled list with injuries to his collarbone and rib cage.  Baxter's all-out effort kept him out of action for nearly two months.

After Baxter was helped off the field, exiting to a rousing ovation, Santana continued to keep the Cardinals off the "H" column on the scoreboard, retiring Matt Adams on a groundout to end the seventh inning.  Santana had now matched his season high by throwing 108 pitches.  Under any other set of circumstances, Collins would have removed his ace from the game, especially with a five-run lead.  But Collins knew that Santana was chasing history, and he was not going to get in Santana's way, no matter how tempted he was to remove his injury-prone pitcher.  Even with the Mets adding three more runs in their half of the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Wright and a two-run single by Murphy, knocking out Cardinals starting pitcher Wainwright in the process, Santana was going out to the mound to start the eighth inning.

Santana got a break when Tyler Greene swung at the first pitch he saw, flying out to left fielder Nieuwenhuis, who had moved over from center field after the injury to Baxter.  Nieuwenhuis had to multitask on the play, as he had to make the catch and avoid shortstop Omar Quintanilla, who was running back into shallow left field to try to make the play himself.  Pinch-hitter Shane Robinson then looked at a called third strike before Rafael Furcal drew a five-pitch walk from Santana.  Once again, Carlos Beltran walked up to the plate.

In his previous at-bat, Beltran came within Adrian Johnson's questionable call of breaking up Santana's no-no.  This time, he was trying to prevent Santana from becoming the first Mets pitcher since Tom Seaver in 1975 to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning.  Beltran couldn't end the no-hitter in the sixth inning and he couldn't end it in the eighth, as he swung at Santana's 122nd pitch of the game, hitting a soft pop-up that was speared by a running Daniel Murphy in front of second base.

Carlos Beltran tried to burst Santana's bubble, but Johan refused to blow it. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images)

In the bottom of the eighth, Santana was due to bat third in the inning.  He was already three pitches away from matching his career high in pitches thrown, which he accomplished in his next-to-last start of the 2008 season.  On that September evening, Santana was pitching with an injured knee.  He had since been injured several times.  But once again, Collins did not lift Santana from the game, allowing him to bat for himself with a runner on first and one out.  Santana struck out on six pitches, then Andres Torres grounded out on the only pitch he saw to end the inning.

Johan Santana marched back to the mound to start the ninth inning as the 27,069 fans in attendance rose in unison to give him a standing ovation.  Santana needed 122 pitches to navigate through the first eight frames.  None of those pitches resulted in a hit by the Cardinals.  He was three outs away from baseball immortality.

Tom Seaver was the first Mets pitcher to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning, retiring the first 25 Cubs hitters he faced on July 9, 1969.  He then gave up a hit to rookie Jimmy Qualls to end his run at perfection.  Forty-three years later, Santana retired leadoff hitter Matt Holliday on a first-pitch fly ball to Torres in center field.

On July 4, 1972, nearly three years to the day after his first failed no-hit bid, Seaver held the San Diego Padres hitless through 8⅓ innings.  But outfielder Leron Lee spoiled his quest for history by lacing a one-out single in the ninth.  Forty years later, Santana coaxed outfielder Allen Craig to hit a looping fly ball that settled into the glove of Nieuwenhuis in left.

Seaver took a third no-hit bid into the ninth inning on September 24, 1975.  This time, he retired the first two batters he faced before allowing a single to Cubs outfielder Joe Wallis.  It had been 37 long seasons since a Mets pitcher had taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning.  And all that stood between Johan Santana and baseball history was David Freese.

Freese had been named World Series MVP just seven months earlier.  But he was facing the Mets' most valuable pitcher on his special night.  Freese took Santana's first three pitches for balls.  Then he took a strike.  Then he Paul Hoovered a ball gently down the third base line that eventually rolled foul.

Santana had thrown 133 pitches.  He had Mets killer Yadier Molina on deck hoping for another shot to break up his gem.  He needed to end the game now.  Radio broadcaster Howie Rose and television play-by-play man Gary Cohen were on hand to call the game from their respective booths at Citi Field.  And they were the ones who painted the picture of Santana's 134th and final pitch.

Photo by Ed Leyro

"Johan sweeps a little dirt away from the left of the pitching rubber, steps behind the rubber, tugs once at the bill of his cap, takes a deep breath and steps to the third base side of the rubber.  Santana into the windup.  The payoff pitch on the way - SWUNG ON AND MISSED!  STRIKE THREE!  HE'S DONE IT!  JOHAN SANTANA HAS PITCHED A NO-HITTER!  IN THE EIGHT-THOUSAND AND TWENTIETH GAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK METS, THEY FINALLY HAVE A NO-HITTER! ... PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!  IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!"

 --Howie Rose, WFAN radio call

SNY Photo

"He struck him out!  IT HAS HAPPENED!  In their 51st season, Johan Santana has thrown the first no-hitter in New York Mets history!"

--Gary Cohen, SNY TV call



After his historic pitching performance, Santana made eight starts for the Mets before being placed on the disabled list with a right ankle sprain in late July.  He returned to the team three weeks later, but was shelled for 14 runs in two starts.  Santana was once again put on the disabled list, this time with lower back inflammation, and was shut down for the season.  He never pitched again for the Mets, as his 2013 campaign was also wiped out due to injury.

Santana stayed healthy over a full season just once in six years as a Met, missing two full seasons in 2011 and 2013.  Despite missing large chunks of time during his tenure in New York, Santana still ranks as one of the most successful left-handed starting pitchers in franchise history.  Among all southpaw starters, Santana ranks in the team's all-time top ten in wins (46; 8th), ERA (3.18; 6th), WHIP (1.20; 4th) and strikeouts (607; 6th).  He also ranks first among all Mets pitchers in no-hitters with one.

Johan Santana didn't make Mets fans forget about "seven games up with 17 games left".  In fact, for most of his time in New York, he was known for not being able to pitch due to his penchant for getting injured.  But he did leave the Mets with a couple of words the team's fans never expected to hear: no-hitter.

For Mets fans who suffered through all the near-misses, whose hearts were broken by the likes of Jimmy Qualls, Leron Lee, Joe Wallis and Paul Hoover - players whose names would long be forgotten had it not been for what they accomplished in failed no-hit bids by Mets pitchers - the events of June 1, 2012 were even more meaningful for them.  The Mets had allowed at least one hit in each of their first 8,019 regular season games.  They allowed none in Game No. 8,020.

He may not have led the team to the promised land as most people expected him to do following the Mets' epic late-season collapse in 2007, but Johan Santana did lead the team's fans to a place they had never been before.  And in doing so, Mets fans will always remember exactly what they were doing as pitch No. 134 gave the team no-hitter No. 1.  Santana's moment in time is one that will never be forgotten.

YouTube video courtesy of Mark Egan

Note:  One Mo-MET In Time was a thirteen-part weekly series (that's "was" - the past tense of "is" - because you just read the final installment) spotlighting those Mets players who will forever be known for a single moment, game or event, regardless of whatever else they accomplished during their tenure with the Mets.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 5, 2015: Mookie Wilson 
January 12, 2015: Dave Mlicki
January 19, 2015: Steve Henderson 
January 26, 2015: Ron Swoboda
February 2, 2015: Anthony Young
February 9, 2015: Tim Harkness
February 16, 2015: Kenny Rogers, Aaron Heilman, Tom Glavine
February 23, 2015: Mike Vail
March 2, 2015: Matt Franco
March 9, 2015: Shawn Estes
March 16, 2015: Dae-Sung Koo
March 23, 3015: Al Weis

Was The Johan Santana Trade Worth It For The Mets?

"Who does this stupid blogger think he is, trying to say I wasn't worth the money?  I didn't see him pitch a no-hitter."

After a six-year relationship with the Mets, Johan Santana is no longer on the team's payroll, as the Mets paid the lefty $5.5 million to buy out his $25 million option for 2014.  With Santana no longer part of the team, the time has come to analyze whether or not the Mets did the right thing by trading for him in 2008.

At the time of the deal, which sent Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to the Minnesota Twins, the Mets were trying desperately to make amends with their fans after their epic collapse in 2007.  To complete the trade, the Mets signed Santana to a six-year, $137.5 million contract, which at the time was the most lucrative deal ever given to a pitcher.

Johan Santana was very good as a Met - when he was healthy.  In his first year in Flushing, Santana was 16-7 with 206 strikeouts and a league-leading 2.53 ERA.  Santana became the first left-handed pitcher in franchise history to lead the league in ERA in 2008, and the fourth Met overall to accomplish the feat, following right-handed starters Tom Seaver (1970, 1971, 1973), Craig Swan (1978) and Dwight Gooden (1985).  Santana's 206 strikeouts are also tops for a southpaw in club annals, surpassing Jon Matlack's record of 205 Ks, which he accomplished in 1973.

In his final start of the season, Santana gave one of the gutsiest performances by a pitcher in the team's history.  With the Mets needing to win to stay alive in the race for a postseason berth, Santana fired a three-hit shutout against the Florida Marlins on just three days rest.  And he did it with a torn meniscus in his left knee.  The Mets failed to make the playoffs in 2008 but succeeded in finally having a true ace atop their rotation.  Or so it seemed.

Santana's start on September 27, 2008 came in the first year of his six-year commitment to the Mets.  He would only make one more September start for the Mets over the last five years of his contract.  An assortment of injuries kept Santana on the disabled list for all of 2011 and 2013, and curtailed his 2009, 2010 and 2012 seasons.  But that 2012 campaign saw Santana do something no Mets fan ever thought he'd see.

On June 1, 2012, Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in franchise history in the team's 8,020th regular season game.  Just like every Mets fan knows where he or she was on that unbelievable night, most Mets fans remember that he needed 134 pitches to complete his gem.  After he struck out David Freese to enter no-hit nirvana, Santana suffered through pitching purgatory.  An 8.27 ERA over his next ten starts left Terry Collins and Mets fans wondering if the inflated pitch count needed to secure his place in team history contributed to his post-no-hitter blues.  They continued to wonder for a year and a half, as Santana never pitched again for the Mets after August 17, 2012.

Johan Santana went 46-34 in 109 starts as a Met.  His 3.18 career ERA in New York is lower than the ERAs posted by all-time Met greats Ron Darling, Al Leiter and Rick Reed.  But for $137.5 million, we expected a little more.

For example, Santana's 46 victories fell short of the win total posted by relief pitchers John Franco (48), Jesse Orosco (47) and Tug McGraw (47).  Santana's 109 starts are also nine fewer than the number of starts made by Jonathon Niese, a pitcher who was still playing for AA-Binghamton when Santana made his first start for the Mets.

Great pitchers are supposed to produce great moments.  But other than the penultimate game of the 2008 season and the no-hitter, can anyone honestly remember another memorable pitching performance by Johan Santana?

Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus

Mention Tom Seaver and you immediately think of the "imperfect game" or his ten-inning performance in Game 4 of the 1969 World Series (the Ron Swoboda game), or any of a number of dominant performances in 1973 when the rest of the team was floundering.  Similarly, say Doc Gooden's name and visions of back-to-back 16-strikeout games in 1984 and his 14-game winning streak in 1985 become crystal clear in your mind.

Johan Santana had two games that will forever be etched in the hearts and minds of Mets fans.  That's the same number of complete seasons he missed.

Don't get me wrong.  As a Mets fan who agonized over every late-inning first hit allowed by a starting pitcher, it was a dream come true to see someone like Johan Santana pitch the first no-hitter in team history.  Better him than someone like Oliver Perez.

But $137.5 million is just a tad too much for a no-hitter and a season-saving gritty performance - one that saved the season until it was lost the following day.  Carlos Gomez, the main piece in the deal that pried Santana away from the Twins, is now a Gold Glove-winning All-Star in Milwaukee.  His 24 homers and 40 stolen bases for the Brewers in 2013 would have led the Mets in both categories.  (Marlon Byrd's 21 homers and Eric Young's 38 steals led the team.)  Since 1989, only one Met has led the team in home runs and stolen bases in the same season.  That was Mike Cameron, who paced the 2004 Mets with 30 homers and 22 steals.

Carlos Gomez just completed the first year of a four-year, $28.3 million deal with the Brewers.  That's just barely more than the $25.5 million Johan Santana was paid in 2013 to not throw a single pitch for the Mets.

The no-hitter was great.  But I would have liked to see Santana win more games than Jesse Orosco.  A monkey's paw-like wish for a moment 8,020 games in the making doesn't seem to be worth what the Mets doled out for their smooth former All-Star.
 

What Do Michael Wacha and Tom Seaver Have In Common?

On Tuesday night, Michael Wacha of the St. Louis Cardinals was one out away from baseball immortality.  He had retired twenty-six Washington Nationals without allowing a hit.  All he had to do was find a way to get Ryan Zimmerman out and he would have completed his first no-hitter in just his ninth major league start.

But Zimmerman had other ideas.  The Nats' third baseman chopped a ball that grazed off the top of Wacha's glove and rolled in the direction of shortstop Pete Kozma.  Kozma's throw pulled first baseman Matt Adams off the bag, who could not apply the tag to a hustling Zimmerman.

The no-hitter was not to be for Wacha, as he fell one out short of immortality on September 24.  That date should bring back memories of a similar circumstance that happened to Tom Seaver in 1975.

Thirty-eight years ago, also on September 24, Tom Seaver took the mound against the Chicago Cubs.  Seaver had already taken two no-hitters into the ninth inning in his career.  But both of those gems were broken up with one out in the ninth.

On July 9, 1969, Chicago's Jimmy Qualls looped a clean single to left after Seaver had retired the first twenty-five Cubs to face him.  Seaver retired the next two batters, then stood on the mound with his hands at his waist wondering what might have been in the Mets' 4-0 victory.

Three years later, Seaver was once again two outs away from pitching the Mets' first no-hitter (although this one was not a perfect game, as Seaver walked four hitters) when he faced the San Diego Padres on July 4, 1972.  But Leron Lee channeled his inner Jimmy Qualls and lined a single to center to break up the no-no.  Seaver then induced the next batter, Nate Colbert, to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, giving the Mets a 2-0 win over the Padres.

After two near-misses in 1969 and 1972, Seaver took another no-hitter into the ninth inning on September 24, 1975 when he matched up against the Chicago Cubs.  But this time he was able to retire the batter he faced with one out in the ninth, striking out the Cubs' Rick Monday.  Needing one out to pitch nine hitless innings, Seaver allowed a two-out single to rightfielder Joe Wallis to break up the no-hitter.  However, even if Seaver had retired Wallis, he would not have been able to celebrate a no-hitter at that moment because the game would not have ended there.  Neither team had scored through the first eight innings and the scoreless duel continued into extra innings.  The Mets eventally lost the game, 1-0, when closer Skip Lockwood walked Bill Madlock to force in a run in the 11th inning.

Since 1975, when Seaver lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth, no Met had even taken a no-hitter into the ninth until Johan Santana did so on June 1, 2012.  But Santana finished what Seaver couldn't, striking out David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the first no-hitter in franchise history.

Michael Wacha, now Freese's teammate in St. Louis, came within one out of throwing his first career no-hitter on September 24, 2013.  Tom Seaver, on September 24, 1975, also missed his first career no-hitter by one out, becoming the only Met to have a hitless game broken up with two outs in the ninth inning.

What do Michael Wacha and Tom Seaver have in common?  They both share a September 24 heartbreak.  Wacha hopes that's not the only thing he can share with Seaver before his career is over.
 

Dillon Gee Pitches His Way Into Exclusive Company

Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus

Prior to his start on May 30 against the Yankees, Dillon Gee was on the verge of losing his place in the starting rotation.  The Texas native was 2-6 with a 6.34 ERA and was hearing Zack Wheeler's footsteps as the über-prospect was just weeks away from being called up for his first taste of big league action.

But everything changed for Gee with that late-May start at Yankee Stadium.  Gee pitched into the eighth inning, allowing one run on four hits.  He also set a career high by striking out 12 batters without issuing a walk.

After allowing four runs or more in six of his first ten starts, Gee has allowed two runs or less in 14 of his last 21 starts.  His 2-6 record is now just a bad memory, as Gee is leading the team with 12 victories.  Since Matt Harvey's season ended with nine wins and no other pitcher on the Mets has more than seven, it's safe to assume that Gee will remain the team leader in pitching victories.  Therefore, the 2013 campaign will mark the second time in three seasons that Gee has led the team in wins, after finishing first on the Mets with 13 victories in 2011.

In doing so, Gee will become only the 14th pitcher in team history to lead the team or finish tied for the team lead in pitching victories multiple times.  The chart below lists the 14 pitchers who have accomplished this feat.

Pitcher	# of Times as Wins Leader	Years as Team Wins Leader
Tom Seaver	7	1967, 1969-73, 1975
Al Leiter	5	1998-2002
Dwight Gooden	4	1984-85, 1987, 1993
Steve Trachsel	4	2001, 2003-04, 2006
Al Jackson	3	1963-65
Jerry Koosman	3	1968, 1974, 1976
David Cone	3	1988-89, 1991
Jack Fisher	2	1965-66
Nino Espinosa	2	1977-78
Craig Swan	2	1979, 1982
Sid Fernandez	2	1989, 1992
Bobby Jones	2	1995, 1997
Johan Santana	2	2008-09
Dillon Gee	2	2011, 2013

With 33 major league victories under his belt, Dillon Gee has the second-fewest wins of the 14 pitchers who led the team in wins in at least two seasons.  (Nino Espinosa had 25 wins as a Met.)  But there are 30 pitchers in Mets history with more wins than Gee and most of them never led the team in wins more than once.  In fact, two of the top ten winners in franchise history never became two-time team leaders in wins.

Ron Darling had 99 wins as a Met - 4th all-time - but only led the team in wins once.  And when he did so (1989), he shared the team lead with David Cone and Sid Fernandez.  Similarly, Jon Matlack recorded 82 victories for the Mets - 7th all-time - but never led the team in wins.  (He can thank Seaver and Koosman for that.)

Tom Seaver.  Jerry Koosman.  Dwight Gooden.  Sid Fernandez.  David Cone.  Johan Santana.  Those are some of the best pitchers who have ever taken the mound for the Mets over their 50-plus years of existence.  In addition to being six of the finest pitchers to wear the orange and blue, they also have another thing in common.  All six have led or tied for the team lead in wins multiple times.  Their exclusive club now has a new member, and his name is Dillon Gee.

Dillon Gee has come a long way to become a top starter for the Mets.  He was overlooked in the first twenty rounds of the 2007 amateur draft before the Mets selected him in Round 21.  After pitching well in the lower levels of the minor leagues, Gee had an ERA near 5.00 at AAA-Buffalo.  But he never gave up hope.  And now he's accomplished something that Seaver, Koosman, Gooden, Fernandez, Cone, Santana and a small group of others have done.  Not bad for a pitcher who almost lost his spot in the rotation just four months ago.