One Day Until Opening Day!
Today’s flashback – Opening Day 2010
Monday, April 5th, 2010 vs. Marlins
Win, by score of 7-1.
I don’t have a magnetic calendar to show for this update, because the Mets didn’t give away a magnetic schedule on Opening Day 2010. They had been giving out these calendars at the Home Opener every year since 1996,but in 2010 they waited until the weekend to give it away. It was like they threw all tradition out the window! I guess it wasn’t too bad, as we got these pretty cool Apple banks instead.
2010, the second season of CitiField, was the season when the Mets started listening to their fans about the lack of Mets-ness at the ballpark. One of the coolest things they did was move the Shea Stadium apple from the caverns of CitiField, out to the pavilion outside the ballpark, where it could serve as a meeting spot for fans as well as a cool place to take a photo. Additionally, the team added Mets decorations all around and inside the park and even opened a Mets museum! Adjacent to the Jackie Robinson rotunda, Mets fans were thrilled to see the original Mr. Met and plaques of all the Mets Hall Of Fame members. So, it was hard to get too upset about the calendar!
It was an absolutely beautiful day for baseball at CitiField. Darryl Strawberry threw out the first pitch. Jason Bay, whom Omar Minya had signed to a four-year, $66 million contract to be the Mets new left-fielder, hit a single and a triple. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran were both on the disabled list to start the 2010 season, but David Wright hit an opening day homerun for the second straight season. Johan Santana threw six strong innings and the Mets defeated the Florida Marlins, 7-1. The win improved Johan Santana’s Opening Day record to 4-1, in 5 starts, three with the Mets. (He pitched to a no decision on Opening Day 2012, with the Mets winning 1-0, in his return from shoulder surgery)
For the second straight season the Mets finished in fourth place, with a 79-83 record. Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel would be relieved of their duties at the end of the year, ushering in the Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins Era. The season did not end well, but Opening Day 2010 was a particularly good one.
