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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 3, 2019 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
AP Photo
Celebrating the golden anniversary of Flushing’s ‘Miracle Mets’
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Th e 1968 Mets had been the most successful
season in the Flushing franchise’s
history up to that point. Th at season, they
won 73 games, fi nished 16 games under
.500 and just one team ahead of the cellar
in the National League.
Th e next year, however, was something
beyond all understanding — a baseball
miracle. Th e Mets will celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the “Miracle Mets” in a
special way this season.
Fans will fl ock to Citi Field the weekend
of June 28-30 for a three-day celebration
of the Miracle Mets, and to watch the current
roster try to follow in their footsteps
in a series against the Atlanta Braves.
A number of team members fi gure to be
invited. Th ey include Tom Seaver, “Th e
Franchise” pitcher who won 25 games
for the team that season; Jerry Koosman,
his left -handed compliment, who fi red off
the fi nal pitch of the 1969 World Series;
Cleon Jones, the slugging left fi elder who
caught the fi nal out of the series; and Ed
Kranepool, the utility man who spent 17
seasons with the Amazins.
Th ey represent the core pieces of the
1969 Mets, a team that transformed itself
from a perennial loser to a world champion
in just one year. Th e path that they
took to get there — fi lled with improbable
comebacks, spectacular plays, clutch
hitting and even a black cat crossing their
rivals’ path — is the stuff of legend, baseball
folklore passed down from one generation
of Mets fans to another.
Under the guidance of manager Gil
Hodges, the Mets shook off their losing
culture and started winning in ways that
Mets fans hadn’t seen before. On June 3,
1969, the Mets had a 24-23 record; it was
the fi rst time the Mets had a record above
.500 that late in a season.
And there was no looking back.
By July 5, the Mets found themselves
facing the fi rst-place Chicago Cubs at
Shea Stadium, and trailing them by just 5
½ games in the National League Eastern
Division standings.
Th e Mets won two out of three against
the Cubs in that series — highlighted by
the “imperfect” game thrown by Tom
Seaver, who came within two outs of
throwing a perfect game before a capacity
crowd.
But things didn’t get any easier for the
Mets, who cooled off in late July and
found themselves 10 games behind the
Cubs entering play on Aug. 13. Th en, the
Mets started another hot streak just as the
Cubs started falling apart.
Th e Amazin’ Mets rattled off 18 wins
in 24 games, swept a two-game series
from the Cubs at Shea in early September
before fi nally taking fi rst place all by
themselves.
At 9:07 p.m. on Sept. 24, the Mets
defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea
Stadium, 6-0, and clinched the franchise’s
fi rst-ever National League Eastern
Division title. But the improbable run was
far from over.
Th e Mets ended the season with 100
wins and advanced to the fi rst-ever
National League Championship Series
against the Atlanta Braves. It didn’t take
the Mets much eff ort to topple the Braves,
sweeping the best-of-fi ve series 3-0 to
advance to the World Series.
Incredible as this triumph was, few
gave the Mets any shot of winning the
World Series. Th ey were up against the
Baltimore Orioles, a dominant team that
won 109 games en route to an American
League pennant. Th e Orioles captured
the fi rst game on their home turf, but
the Mets bounced back to win the second
game 2-1, sending the series back to
Queens.
Th e next three games would prove that
the 1969 Mets weren’t just incredible —
they were a miracle.
Heroics were everywhere. Th e Mets
won the third game with the help of centerfi
elder Tommie Agee, who made two
spectacular outfi eld catches that killed
Oriole rallies. Th e Amazins then won
the fourth game with the help of another
incredible diving catch by rightfi elder
Ron Swoboda.
Th e Mets then came from behind in
the fi ft h game, thanks to shoe polish on a
baseball that hit Jones, setting up a tworun
homer by Clendenon. Aft er tying
the game in the seventh, the Mets took
the lead for good in the eighth before
Koosman got Oriole outfi elder (and
future Mets manager) Davey Johnson to
fl y out to end the game.
It also clinched one of the wildest celebrations
Queens has ever seen. Fans
poured out of the Shea Stadium seats
onto the fi eld, tearing it up in unbridled
ecstasy.
You can’t run onto the diamond at
Citi Field, but you can attend the 50th
Anniversary celebration the weekend of
June 28-30, and capture some of the
magic of that memorable season. Th e
June 28 game will feature a 1969 Mets
replica jersey giveaway; the June 29 game
will feature a pregame ceremony celebrating
the 1969 Mets, and the fi rst 15,000
fans will receive a commemorative pennant;
and the June 30 game will feature
a giveaway of a replica 1969 Mets world
championship ring to the fi rst 15,000
fans.
For more information or to purchase
tickets, visit mets.com.
The fans go wild at Shea Stadium after the New York Mets captured their fi rst World Championship in October 1969
AP Photo
Members of the 1969 Mets are shown in this 2009 photo at Citi Field. They are (from left to right):
Yogi Berra, coach; Nolan Ryan, pitcher; Jerry Grote, catcher; Tom Seaver, pitcher; Jerry Koosman,
pitcher; and Duff y Dyer, catcher.
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