It started out as a normal Friday night as I watched Jeopardy at 7 PM and turned on Bob Radil’s 60s 70s show on Rewound Radio at 7:30. Bob even played my request for With a Little Help from My Friends by Joe Cocker. I always check in with Karen and Lee as they were watching the Met game. At 8:30, it was in the 5th inning as Johann Santana had not allowed a hit. There was still a long way to go, but I had to watch. I have been a Met fan since the team’s inception in 1962 and thought that I would never see a no hit game. On 3 occasions Tom Seaver brought a no hitter into the 9th inning, but lost it. Several pitchers had no nos before or after they came to the Mets. Around 2006 or 2007 we went to a game at Shea Stadium where Tom Glavine lost a no hitter after 7 2/3 innings.
In the 6th inning third base umpire Adrian Johnson ruled a foul ball on a Carlos Beltran shot down the line. The replay showed that the ball hit the foul line and should have been an extra base hit. Santana had gained by a bad call, but umpires are human. Left fielder Mike Baxter made a spectacular catch in the 7th inning as he crashed into the wall.
Finally at 9:49 PM David Freese struck out on pitch #134 and Santana got the first no hitter in Mets history. I have tickets to this afternoon’s game as I missed this historic event by one day. Back in 1961, I went to see the Yankees one day before Roger Maris hit his 61st Home Run. Thus I have missed two historic baseball events by one game.
I decided not to turn on my computer after the game to write a blog entry., but to wait for the next day for my thoughts to settle in. I did receive a congratulatory tweet from Laura Nygard, a big fan of the Milwaukee Brewers whom I met a few years ago on the Jay Buckley Baseball Tour. So far this season has exceeded most people’s expectations. Will Santana’s no hitter encourage the team to over achieve? Only time will tell.
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