As I read my way around the internet and the newspapers this morning, something seems to have struck a nerve…
If Mike Piazza made you forget your troubles for a few minutes in 2001 then that’s a good thing…but let’s back up a little bit.
On May 3, 2001 the New York Mets were off to a bad start, at 11-16 (hmmm) and 5 games out. They would play 71-64 the rest of the way at a clip of .526 ball.
When we all went to bed on September 10th the Mets were 71-73.
Here’s where the fable starts.
According to legend, when baseball resumed, Mike Piazza hit a home run to defeat Al Qaeda. Then, led by John Franco’s lucky t-shirt, the feel good story of the year the 2001 Mets played .611 ball the rest of the way to hunt down the Braves, win the pennant and then maybe even beat Arizona in game 7 of the World Series. Those Mets sure helped us pack up our troubles.
Sorry folks. I’m not going to diminish the value of escapism in those troubled times, not the volunteer and charity work of the team that fall…but let’s get real.
Sure the Mets played .611 ball. That got them to 82-80 and third place. If there is a New York baseball story to be re-told it happened uptown.
Sure Piazza homered and the fans cheered. Maybe it made you feel good for the first time in two weeks. I could not have cared less and still don’t care about that home run at all. I had other things on my mind in the fall of 2011 . I was numb. 3,000 people died. A home run and a two week winning streak wasn’t going to make up for that.
the only part where i’ll disagree this:
at the time of the piazza homer, the mets sat 5.5 games behind the braves. the win made it 4.5 with two more games in the series. the next day, the pulled to within 3.5. this was a team that was 13.5 games back as recently as august 18th (!!!) and all of a sudde, a win that sunday would have put them 2.5 off the pace.
even though they didn’t get the sweep that weekend, they went to montreal and swept the expos to go into atlanta for a weekend series 3 games back on september 28th. glavine (UGH!) beat them friday to push them 4 back, but if they could get it back to within 3 on saturday, they’d still have a shot. they were going home for 6 against pittsburgh and montreal to end the season. then…the season all but ended when benitez blew the save on saturday, then surrendered brian jordan’s walk off grand slam.
so yes, the mets finished 6 games out. they were 82-80 (they lost 4 of 6 when they went home to MON and PITTS), but they were on the brink of a ’73-esque season. and the piazza homer pulled them that much closer.
but i do know what you’re saying, shannon.
It’s all subjective. On Friday night when Piazza hit that HR my sister who escaped from Tower 2 like many others, had a moment to feel good about something. Naturally as is the case with the Mets we went to the game on Sunday and they coughed up a lead and from that point on the season was essentially a push. So it many ways Sunday was more reminiscent of reality.
But that Friday night was a signal flare that it was at some point in the future going to be okay to just watch baseball again.
I agree with Patrick, it’s all subjective. I watch the game (or at least the bottom of the 8th) every time it’s on Mets Classics (which is about 3x a week, including last night). My son and daughter, who were in 6th and 9th grade at the time, have it on their DVRs.
You totally missed the point. The homer wasn’t about the 2001 Mets or where they finished in the standings. It was about a particular moment in time. And it was incredible. I get goosebumps just thinking about it (the MOMENT, not the SEASON AS A WHOLE).
“A home run and a two week winning streak wasn’t going to make up for that.”
No one says asserts this. No one.