Yes, they have great moments...stop laughing.
The Amazing Mets (October 16, 1969): The ‘69 Mets are the poster children for the old adage that pitching and defense wins championships. The Mets came from nowhere to win 100 games, swept Hank Aaron’s Braves in the NLCS, and then defeated a 109 win Oriole team in the World Series. The Mets won with timely hitting, great pitching, and stellar defense. The Mets flashed their leather in the series against Baltimore and none was flashier than Ron Swoboda’s Game 4 catch off Brooks Robinson’s bat. Swoboda saved the game allowing the Mets to win in 10 innings to take a 3 games to 1 lead. They clinched the championship the following game.
Tom Seaver strikesout 19 (April 22, 1970): Tom Seaver was called “the Franchise” and he demonstrated why on April 22, 1970. On that date, he struck out 19 Padres including the final 10 in a row in one of the most dominant performances in history. Seaver won the game 2-1 on a 2 hitter.
The Harrelson-Rose fight (October 8, 1973 Game 3 NLCS): The Big Red Machine were gunning for their third pennant in four seasons when they played the Mets in the NLCS. The Mets barely finished over .500 while the Reds were the class of the National League. The Mets were unimpressed. Bud Harrelson reflected this attitude when he fought Pete Rose on the field. Before the game, Joe Morgan threatened Harrelson after the Mets short stop made some disparaging comments about the Reds. The Mets led the game 9-2 and the Reds were getting frustrated, so Rose tried to take it out by sliding hard into Harrelson. After the fight, Rose returned to left field. Mets fans pelted him with whatever they could throw. Reds manager Sparky Anderson pulled his team from the field to protect his players. Eventually, the Mets calmed down the crowd and won the game. They would defeat the Reds in five games to face the A’s in the World Series.
Keith Hernandez hits for the cycle in the most surreal game in history (July 4, 1985): The Mets beat the Braves 16-13 in 19 innings. New York led 10-8 in the 13th and the Braves tied the game. In the 18th, the Mets again took the lead. Then, reliever Rick Camp tied it with a home run for Atlanta. The Mets finally beat the Braves in a game that ended at 3:55 A.M. Six minutes later, the Braves shot off fireworks frightening people asleep in their beds. In the meantime, Keith Hernandez hit for the cycle.
Game 6 NLCS (October 15, 1986): The Mets won the greatest LCS game ever in 16 innings over Houston. Mike Scott handcuffed the Mets in two games and would have pitched Game 7. The Mets knew Game 7 meant a playoff defeat and rallied for three in the 9th against Bob Knepper. The teams exchanged runs in the 14th. In the 16th, the Mets scored three and the Astros two. Jesse Orosco struck out Kevin Bass with runners on to win the pennant.
It gets by Buckner! (October 25, 1986 Game 6 World Series): The Mets had no business winning the 1986 World Series, but they did courtesy a patented Red Sox collapse. With the Red Sox leading the World Series three games to two, Dave Henderson hit a lead off homer to give Boston the lead in the 10th. The Sox added another run to take a 5-3 lead to the bottom of the frame. With two out and nobody on, the Mets rallied for three to win the game. Gary Carter and Kevin Mitchell singled. Ray Knight singled in Carter sending Mitchell to third. Bob Stanley came in to pitch for Boston and uncorked a wild pitch to tie the game. Mookie Wilson then hit a roller to first which got by Buckner. It is doubtful that Buckner would have beaten Wilson to the bag had he fielded the ball cleanly. Knight scored on the error to save the Mets.
The Bad Guys Won (October 27, 1986 Game 7 World Series): Boston recovered from their collapse in Game 6 to take a 3-0 lead in Game 7. Then, they collapsed. In the 6th, Keith Hernandez singled in two to ignite the Mets. In the 1982 World Series, Hernandez also singled in two to bring his team back from a 3-0 deficit. The Mets tied the game with a groundout. New York scored three more in the 7th. They went on to win the game 8-5 and the World Series.
Todd Pratt (October 9, 1999): New York defeated the Diamondbacks in the NLDS on a Todd Pratt walk off. It was the highlight for the career backups career.
The Grand Slam single (October 17, 1999): The Mets trailed Atlanta three games to none in the 1999 NLCS. They rallied to win Game 4. In Game 5, the teams battled to a 2-2 tie. The game remained tied until the 15th inning when the Braves scored a run. In the bottom of the 15th, New York loaded the bases. Robin Ventura apparently unloaded the bases with a homer, but his teammates refused to allow him to round the bases. As a result, it went down as a two-run single. The Mets lost the series in 6.
Piazza’s 911 home run (9/21/01): In 2001, the Mets-Braves rivalry was one of baseball’s best. Despite this, 911 united the teams on an emotional night at Shea. Baseball returned from the attacks and Mike Piazza hit a two-run homer to give the Mets the win. After the game, Tom Glavine said it was one of the few losses that a team could live with.
