The New York Mets have only once lost game three of a Fall Classic. And that was way back in 1973. Those game three's are "big" ones in the World Series. You need to win them. It's either 2-1 or 3-0 one way or the other after it. You want the "3", but if not that, the "2".
The Mets first played in a Fall Classic in 1969. They lost the first game against Baltimore, but got the much-needed split with a win in the second contest. In game three at Shea Stadium, New York won 5-0. But don't for one moment think the game was a rout. No sir. Jim Palmer started for Baltimore and actually pitched well. Over six innings the magnificent Jim held the Mets to just five hits. But it was his wildness that seemed to cost him.
The very first batter Palmer faced got ahead in the count. And that's trouble. On a 2-1 pitch from Jim, Tom Agee got the Mets off on the right foot with a home run. New York was in the lead for good. Agee made two amazing catches later in the game to stop Baltimore from scoring. A walk, single and a double from his mound adversary Gary Gentry in the bottom of the second made it 3-0. Palmer was good other than that, but walked a batter in the second, third, fourth and fifth. Gentry walked five himself, but combined with a guy named Nolan Ryan for a 5-0 shutout of the Orioles. The Mets went on to win the 1969 October Classic in five games, but somehow, I don't think a loss in the third contest would have made the World Series that swift.
The Mets found themselves right back in the World Series four years later, and once again, tied a game apiece going into game three. This time, the Mets couldn't quite do it against another great team. The Oakland Athletics were at Shea, and Tom Seaver was daunting task to overcome. New York gave him two runs in the bottom of the first, but nothing more the rest of the way.
But Tom was amazing. Eight innings, twelve K's! Just seven hits allowed and two runs scored. But Gene Tenace doubled home one in the top of the sixth and Joe Rudi tied it up in the eighth with a single. Seaver was removed for a pinch hitter. The Mets wound up losing this game in extra innings. The World Series itself was an excellent see-saw affair in 1973. And it was the Mets that finally conceded defeat in seven tough games.
Thirteen years later New York would have to do it on the road, or go down 3-0! The Boston Red Sox, seeking their first Fall Classic since 1918, stunned the New York Mets with a pair of wins at Shea. Now at Fenway Park, they could wrap it all up with two wins at home. And they'd have three tries. Unless the Mets could win game three, they would be lucky to see another game at Shea.
But New York went out and took care of that problem. Lenny Dykstra hit a home run on a 1-1 pitch off Oil Can Boyd to start the game. And New York was far from done in the top of the first. Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez followed with singles. Gary Carter doubled them both home to make it 3-0. Nw York tacked on another run before the surprised Boston Red Sox could pick up a bat.
But Bob Ojeda got 'em 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. Boston did not score until the bottom of the third on a single by Marty Barrett. However, that was the only run the Red Sox would score. And New York wasn't finished scoring.
Gary Carter singled home two more, Rafael Santana and Dykstra in the top of the seventh to make it 6-1. Ray Knight scored Darryl Strawberry the next inning to conclude the scoring. The inspired Mets took game four to tie it up 2-2. Boston won game five, and were a strike away from winning game six and wrapping it all up. But New York, inspired from their amazing resolved, rallied to win game six and overcame a 3-0 deficit in the seventh contest.
The Mets were then in an All-New York affair in the 2000 Fall Classic. But it was the powerful Yankees that took the first two games at home despite some great effort on the part of the Mets. The junior circuit champions took game one in extra innings. In game two, it was 6-0 for the Bronx Bombers going into the top of the ninth. But then New York scored five times, including twice off Mariano Rivera. The closer finally got the final out when Kurt Abbott fanned. The Mets needed to be in perfect sync to win game three!
Did that really help?
So game three at Shea had the beloved Mets trailing their cross-town rivals 2-0. A win here was a must. And they did just that, only in typical dramatic, Met-like fashion. The game itself was tied at two, but it was the Yankees that were pressing the attack, forcing the Mets to use five pitchers. And it was Orlando Hernandez fanning six of the first seven Mets that faced him. While he ended the game with twelve strikeouts, the Mets ended the game 4-2 winners thanks to some bottom of the eighth dramatics! The rest of the series was close, as it had been in the first three games, but the third contest win by the National Leaguers would prove to be their last!
The Mets though, had to wait fifteen years to get back to the Fall Classic, having waited for fourteen for the 2000 contest.
The Kansas City Royals were determined to win their first World Series since 1985, and took the first two games at home. Again, the Mets were coming home. But this time to a different ballpark then before in the Fall Classic.
The Royals had needed extras to win game game, then got an easy laugher in game two. Game three was in the Mets' new place, Citi Field. And New York had some fireworks of their own in this one.
The Mets trailed 3-2 after 2 1/2, but then went on a tear. Two runs crossed home in the bottom of the third to give the Mets the lead the would not relinquish. Plenty of more offence followed as New York won it going away, 9-3. David Wright drove home four runs, more than the entire Royals team. Alas, New York couldn't keep up with the momentum, and watched sadly as Kansas won the next two games right there at Citi to win it all.
The World Series is about never giving or taking a quarter. Never say die. While the Mets have lost three of the five Fall Classics they've played in, it's never been because of lack of effort of the quits.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
Retrosheet www.retrosheet.org. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
The Mets first played in a Fall Classic in 1969. They lost the first game against Baltimore, but got the much-needed split with a win in the second contest. In game three at Shea Stadium, New York won 5-0. But don't for one moment think the game was a rout. No sir. Jim Palmer started for Baltimore and actually pitched well. Over six innings the magnificent Jim held the Mets to just five hits. But it was his wildness that seemed to cost him.
The very first batter Palmer faced got ahead in the count. And that's trouble. On a 2-1 pitch from Jim, Tom Agee got the Mets off on the right foot with a home run. New York was in the lead for good. Agee made two amazing catches later in the game to stop Baltimore from scoring. A walk, single and a double from his mound adversary Gary Gentry in the bottom of the second made it 3-0. Palmer was good other than that, but walked a batter in the second, third, fourth and fifth. Gentry walked five himself, but combined with a guy named Nolan Ryan for a 5-0 shutout of the Orioles. The Mets went on to win the 1969 October Classic in five games, but somehow, I don't think a loss in the third contest would have made the World Series that swift.
The Mets found themselves right back in the World Series four years later, and once again, tied a game apiece going into game three. This time, the Mets couldn't quite do it against another great team. The Oakland Athletics were at Shea, and Tom Seaver was daunting task to overcome. New York gave him two runs in the bottom of the first, but nothing more the rest of the way.
But Tom was amazing. Eight innings, twelve K's! Just seven hits allowed and two runs scored. But Gene Tenace doubled home one in the top of the sixth and Joe Rudi tied it up in the eighth with a single. Seaver was removed for a pinch hitter. The Mets wound up losing this game in extra innings. The World Series itself was an excellent see-saw affair in 1973. And it was the Mets that finally conceded defeat in seven tough games.
Thirteen years later New York would have to do it on the road, or go down 3-0! The Boston Red Sox, seeking their first Fall Classic since 1918, stunned the New York Mets with a pair of wins at Shea. Now at Fenway Park, they could wrap it all up with two wins at home. And they'd have three tries. Unless the Mets could win game three, they would be lucky to see another game at Shea.
But New York went out and took care of that problem. Lenny Dykstra hit a home run on a 1-1 pitch off Oil Can Boyd to start the game. And New York was far from done in the top of the first. Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez followed with singles. Gary Carter doubled them both home to make it 3-0. Nw York tacked on another run before the surprised Boston Red Sox could pick up a bat.
But Bob Ojeda got 'em 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. Boston did not score until the bottom of the third on a single by Marty Barrett. However, that was the only run the Red Sox would score. And New York wasn't finished scoring.
Gary Carter singled home two more, Rafael Santana and Dykstra in the top of the seventh to make it 6-1. Ray Knight scored Darryl Strawberry the next inning to conclude the scoring. The inspired Mets took game four to tie it up 2-2. Boston won game five, and were a strike away from winning game six and wrapping it all up. But New York, inspired from their amazing resolved, rallied to win game six and overcame a 3-0 deficit in the seventh contest.
The Mets were then in an All-New York affair in the 2000 Fall Classic. But it was the powerful Yankees that took the first two games at home despite some great effort on the part of the Mets. The junior circuit champions took game one in extra innings. In game two, it was 6-0 for the Bronx Bombers going into the top of the ninth. But then New York scored five times, including twice off Mariano Rivera. The closer finally got the final out when Kurt Abbott fanned. The Mets needed to be in perfect sync to win game three!
Did that really help?
So game three at Shea had the beloved Mets trailing their cross-town rivals 2-0. A win here was a must. And they did just that, only in typical dramatic, Met-like fashion. The game itself was tied at two, but it was the Yankees that were pressing the attack, forcing the Mets to use five pitchers. And it was Orlando Hernandez fanning six of the first seven Mets that faced him. While he ended the game with twelve strikeouts, the Mets ended the game 4-2 winners thanks to some bottom of the eighth dramatics! The rest of the series was close, as it had been in the first three games, but the third contest win by the National Leaguers would prove to be their last!
The Mets though, had to wait fifteen years to get back to the Fall Classic, having waited for fourteen for the 2000 contest.
The Kansas City Royals were determined to win their first World Series since 1985, and took the first two games at home. Again, the Mets were coming home. But this time to a different ballpark then before in the Fall Classic.
The Royals had needed extras to win game game, then got an easy laugher in game two. Game three was in the Mets' new place, Citi Field. And New York had some fireworks of their own in this one.
The Mets trailed 3-2 after 2 1/2, but then went on a tear. Two runs crossed home in the bottom of the third to give the Mets the lead the would not relinquish. Plenty of more offence followed as New York won it going away, 9-3. David Wright drove home four runs, more than the entire Royals team. Alas, New York couldn't keep up with the momentum, and watched sadly as Kansas won the next two games right there at Citi to win it all.
The World Series is about never giving or taking a quarter. Never say die. While the Mets have lost three of the five Fall Classics they've played in, it's never been because of lack of effort of the quits.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
Retrosheet www.retrosheet.org. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/. Web. (2 Dec. 2015)
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