METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE MAY 14, 1969 GAME:
Bob
May 31, 2002
I was 14 years old and my dad came home from work and said he got 4 freebies to this game. We went with 2 of my friends who lived on the block. One was a big Yankee fan. If I remember, the Braves were up 3-0 in the 7th. My Yankee fan friend went to buy a Braves pennant at the concession stand and as soon as he got back the Mets put up a 9-spot. I think Cleon had a big hit, and I 'm pretty sure Phil Niekro was on the losing side of the ledger.
Bob P
April 19, 2003
Thanks again to retrosheet.org, I see that my earlier post on this game was not quite accurate. The Braves were indeed up 3-0 in the 7th, but the Mets got one in the 7th, then 8 more in the 8th, scoring the 8 runs with just 4 hits! Otis struck out to lead off the inning but reached first when Niekro's knuckler got by Bob Didier. Then came a single by Harrelson and Shamsky, batting for Seaver, reached on an error to load the bases. Agee doubled to drive in two and tie the score. George Stone came in to relieve Niekro and Ed Charles was intentionally walked to re-load the bases. Ken Boswell was hit by a pitch to give the Mets the lead, and then, to confirm what I said earlier, Cleon did indeed have a big hit--a grand slam! The Mets added another run on a J.C. Martin triple followed by a wild pitch. The win took the Mets record to 14-17, but at that time that was a great record for the Mets after one month of a season. This game first got me thinking that something special could be happening at Shea in 1969!
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