There were seven no-hitters this past baseball season. However, one stood out more than the rest. There is one franchise who seems to have the worst luck and has become the laughing stock of the MLB. Who might I be talking about? New York’s other team, the New York Mets. This organization has constantly been ridiculed for its awful contracts and lackluster performance. However, the Mets did make one impressive trade when they traded prospects for the Cy Young winner, Johan Santana.
Santana was one of the most elite pitchers in the game. However, when he came over to New York he was constantly plagued by injuries and never returned to what he was in Minnesota. Except for one night in July when he was spectacular. It was a game that the Mets were hosting the reigning World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. It was already expected to be a big game because it was Carlos Beltran’s first game back to New York since being traded.
Santana was pitching brilliantly and the Mets were actually giving him run support. Once it got to the sixth,seventh inning, fans started noticing that Santana had yet to give up a hit. Being used to disappointment, Mets fans assumed that there was no way he was going to go all nine innings nor would manager Terry Collins allow his ace to be overworked.
Now the Mets get to the ninth inning. Still no hits have been given up, but Santana is up to 115 pitches and still has batters to face. What to do? Collins surely didn’t know, but knew he owed it to the Mets fans who have waited 8,020 games to see a pitcher go all the way. Two outs in the ninth. Matt Holiday steps into the box. Strike 1. Strike 2. Can this really happen? Can Johan Santana really accomplish something Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Doc Gooden, and David Cone could not deliver to these fans? Strike 3, swinging at a change up! YES JOHAN SANTANA PITCHED THE FIRST NO-HITTER IN NEW YORK METS HISTORY!!!!! What an amazing feeling for the fans! Johan Santana, one of the most beloved Mets pitchers finally broke the curse. It was so emotional, Santana cried, Collins cried, and now I am tearing up thinking about it! It could not have happened to a better guy. What a great moment in sports!
