On April 7, 1970, on a cold day in Pittsburgh, it may have seemed a little ridiculous that veteran baseball players were so happy to have won a baseball game. After all, I was confined within these walls of the visitors clubhouse. Most of the people who wowed the world just 174 days ago were Forbes Field.
That was the day a deep fly ball to left disappeared just short of the warning track and officially died in the glove of Cleon Jones. The Mets, the very definition of a seven-year losing streak in professional sports, won the most improbable world championship ever in their eighth year. It was one of the greatest moments that sports can allow.
But right after the Mets’ 5-3 win over the Pirates, the Mets, the defending champion Mets, collapsed to truly convey how much this meant to them.
“It’s about time,” said Ron Swoboda, a foundational hero last October.
“It feels like a huge weight has finally been lifted,” team cornerstone Tom Seaver said.
The source of their joy was simple. This was the first time the Mets won a game on opening day. Until Don Clendenon’s two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning, the team was 0-for-8 on the season. The Montreal Expos, founded in 1969, won the opening game of 11-10 on their first official day in 1969, winning the opening game ahead of the Mets. Hell: The Mets had won the World Series before winning the opening game.
The opening game of 1985. London ENT / Splash News
Despite a 1969 record of 107 wins out of 169 games after the Montreal disaster, the opener’s scoreless streak remains a lasting link to a legacy of endearing losses that every Met hoped to reduce. Ta. And it finally ended in the bottom of the 11th inning when Tug McGraw struck out Gene Alley to tie the game.
“Can we finally put the old Mets to rest?” Miracle manager Gil Hodges said with a smile after the game. “please?”
The funny thing, of course, is that starting with that cloudy day in Pennsylvania some 54 years ago, the Mets have virtually been on the defensive in their opening games. On Opening Day, they’ll be a cross between his ’27 Yankees and his ’98 Yankees (with a little bit of the ’86 Mets thrown in as well). Since 1970, they are 41-13 on Opening Day.
They have won four straight on opening day and eight of their past nine games. They had an opening day moment that will remain part of the team’s eternal DNA. Tom Seaver’s triumphant return in 1983, Gary Carter’s walk-off home run in 1985, Rey Ordonez’s happy-to-see relay home throw in 1996, and the 4-and-a-half-inning, 1-0 victory over the Phillies in 1998. did.
So if there’s one reason to bemoan the postponement of Opening Day as a Mets fan, it’s because this was the day Mets fans believed their team was invincible — primarily because they believed their team was invincible. Because he was virtually invincible. Even considering these eight losses, which are the start of history, the Mets have a total of 41 wins and 21 losses in opening games, a winning percentage of .661, which is well ahead of the second-place Mariners with 29 wins and 18 losses (.617). By the way, the Yankees were 4th on the list with 68 wins, 52 losses, and 1 draw before Thursday’s season opener in Houston.
Of course, the flip side for Metsdam is that the remaining 161 games of the year often don’t go as well. Since 1962, he is 4,686-5,054 from games 2 to 162. This is a winning percentage of .481. It’s like a cross between the 2011 Mets and the ’95 Mets, and no one is interested in that brand of science.
Baseball is baseball, even a businessman as audacious as Steve Cohen can’t guarantee a win on Opening Day, and the Mets threw a ton of crap. For example, the Art Howe era got off to a good start in 2003 with a 15-2 sweep at the hands of the Cubs. The 1997 Mets lost 12 wins and 5 losses in San Diego. Baseball is baseball. And Mets fans are cornered in the market by dark clouds and depressed skies.
However, those skies usually wait until the second day to drop in Flushing.
