(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
When they started their great comeback in the summer of ‘73, the Mets sat in the cellar in the east with a 61-71 record. Yogi Berra, who was as much fun as Casey Stengel in the sixties, made one outrageous statement after another that kept the media close and put the spotlight on a team that seemed to cherish the limelight they were in.
Every baseball fan knows his best quote of that year, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That was Yogi’s answer when asked about the Mets' chances that summer.
On Sept. 3, 1970, Ellen and I drove to the city in my 1967 Dodge Charger with more horsepower beneath the hood than in all of General George Custer’s Seventh Cavalry.
I was so positive that “Her Streak” was going to end that day, I promised her dinner at Mama Leones in the city the next day.
The Mets had beaten the Phillies 5-0 the previous day and had won three of their last four, so the NL Eastern Division had five teams within six games of first place, all of them with a losing record.
Oh the mediocrity, or oh the parity, depending on your perspective.
The Mets led 3-2 going into the fifth inning, and I was feeling good.
Craig Swan was pitching well. He had given up a run in each of the first two innings, but we had scored three. I figured if we win the game and end the streak, I might even consider the request to have a third child, which was very much on Ellen’s mind at the time.
Barbara Lynn Marsh came to us on Jun. 25 that year, and I had her in Mets pink from day one, while my now almost 3-year-old son, Russell Michael, was sporting his first Gil Hodges first baseman’s glove.
My dream, however, was short lived as Greg (The Bull) Luzinski blasted a two run home run off Swan as the Phil’s went on to defeat the Mets 6-3.
Guess who never got to Mama Leones that next day.
She was lucky I took her to Nathans for dogs and fries.
Over 30,000 of us went home thinking that no way were the Mets going to make it to the postseason, and her streak stood now at nine.
Of course, wouldn’t you know it, after my trip to Shea, the Mets went on to win 18 of their next 25 and win the pennant with an 82-79 record.
Now this was a miracle.
Every lifelong Mets fan alive knows that these underdogs of underdogs went on to beat up the Big Red Machine in the playoffs, and Bud Harrelson kicked Pete Rose’s ass.
They also just missed winning their second World Series in five years as they led the powerful Oakland A’s three games to two, with Seaver and Koosman to pitch Game Six and Seven.
But that victory was not meant to be.
That year ended another streak in Mets' history. They finished over .500 for five consecutive years. They had the opportunity to become a dynasty with this team. The ownership made poor decisions from the GM down.
Mrs. Payson might have been a wonderful little old lady, but she knew squat about baseball and turned the operation over to people who knew little more than she did. The fact that they did as well as they did, during these five years, was because they had kept some of the talented pitching core together with the exception of Nolan Ryan.
Plus, frankly, during this time the rest of the National League wasn’t having any breakout teams as of yet.
This trend will only get worse during the next 10 years, which I call “The Lost Years” coming to you in part five of the Anatomy of a Franchise.
Thanks for listening.
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