Has spring even started until the Mets open at home?
We all have sweet memories of the rising apple, the Lazy Mary sing-along, the smell of sausages on the grill, the ice cream in a helmet…
Though many of us can’t be in Citi this year because of the pandemic, we can still be at the ballpark in spirit with these trivia questions.
Which Met hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day in 1985?
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
When the Mets traded four players to the Expos in December of 1984, they acquired more than just a future Hall of Famer. In Gary Carter, the Mets found a Gold Glove defender, a clutch performer, and the heart and soul of their clubhouse.
Carter’s introduction to the Shea faithful could not have ended more perfectly. On Opening Day of 1985 — Carter’s Mets debut — the score between the Mets and Cardinals was tied after nine innings. Following a Keith Hernandez strikeout to begin the bottom of the tenth, Gary Carter lifted a hanging curve from Neil Allen over the left field wall to end the game. Coincidentally, Allen was a former Met who had been sent to St. Louis in the 1983 Keith Hernandez trade.
Which Hall of Fame shortstop praised Rey Ordóñez on Opening Day, 1996?
Rey Ordóñez was a defensive wizard.
So when he threw from his knees to gun down a runner on Opening Day of 1996, another wizard took notice.
In their 1996 season opener, the Mets faced the Cardinals at Shea. Ordóñez was making his major league debut, and in the seventh inning, he left the crowd in awe. The shortstop received a low throw from left fielder Bernard Gilkey, and then, while still kneeling, relayed the ball to the plate to cut down attempted scorer Royce Clayton.
After the game, the best defensive shortstop in the game’s history offered the highest praise imaginable. In response to Ordóñez’s astounding play, opposing shortstop Ozzie Smith replied, “I can definitely say he is the second-coming of me.”
Who is the only Met to throw a shutout on Opening Day?
Tom Seaver made 11 Opening Day starts for the Mets, the most of any pitcher in franchise history. Seaver went the distance in two of those starts, but he never threw a shutout in any of his season-opening outings.
Surprisingly, only one Mets pitcher has pitched nine scoreless innings on Opening Day.
That pitcher was Dwight Gooden, who did so in 1993. Entering his tenth big league season, Gooden was past his prime but still an effective pitcher overall. On April 5, 1993 at Shea Stadium, Gooden faced the Colorado Rockies in that franchise’s very first official game.
Gooden gave the Rockies a rude introduction, stifling them in a complete-game effort.
As Michael Mayo of the South Florida Sun Sentinel aptly described it, “On a day the Colorado Rockies were born, New York’s star pitcher was reborn.
Dwight Gooden is back.
Coming off his first losing season (10-13), Gooden looked like the ace of old in the Mets‘ 3-0 win on Monday, allowing just four singles and one walk.
It was a day filled with firsts, but the only one that mattered was this: Gooden’s first complete-game shutout since June 15, 1991.”
Which Hall of Famer did Tom Seaver face on Opening Day, 1983?
Tom Seaver was, is, and always will be “The Franchise” to New York Mets fans.
When the Mets unceremoniously traded Seaver in 1977, fans pined for his return. The Reds traded him back to New York five years later, and while his Mets comeback lasted just one season, it provided an Opening Day to remember.
Seaver was 38 years old when he took the hill for the Mets on Opening Day of 1983, not that anyone cared about his age. All that mattered was that Tom Terrific was back where he belonged, in the orange and blue. The announced crowd of 46,687 was the largest Opening Day crowd at Shea Stadium since 1968.
The matchup was Seaver vs. the Phillies’ Steve Carlton; combined, the pitchers had racked up 549 wins and seven Cy Young Awards to that point in their careers. The Mets scraped out a 2-0 win: Seaver tossed six scoreless innings for a no-decision while Carlton took the loss for allowing two runs over seven frames.
How many innings did it take the Mets to win on Opening Day, 1998?
If I were to rank the most clutch moments by a Mets backup catcher, Todd Pratt’s walk-off homer in the 1999 NLDS would almost certainly be on top.
A year before Pratt’s heroics, another backup backstop delivered a win for the Metsies. In a game that tied for the longest Opening Day contest in National League history, the Mets and Phillies played 13-and-a-half innings of scoreless baseball.
It wasn’t until Alberto Castillo pinch-hit for Turk Wendell with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th inning that a run finally came across. Facing Ricky Bottalico, Castillo worked the count full and placed a line drive into right field for a game-winning single.
From first pitch to final play, the game lasted four hours and thirty-five minutes.
Searle’s Final Say
Home openers are communal celebrations that bring fans together after enduring the monotony of winter. Win or lose, it’s just nice to see meaningful baseball again. Fortunately for the Flushing Faithful, the Mets have made a habit of starting the home schedule on the right foot.
