With opening day less than 24 hours away, it is cool to reflect on something this team was awfully bad at for its first several years, and then incredibly awesome thereafter:
WINNING ON OPENING DAY.
The bumbling, fumbling, sometimes crumbling Mets over their first 8 years of existence won not a single opening day game, and were OPENING DAY LEASTS.
But, starting in 1970, they became OPENING DAY BEASTS.
Tom Seaver (after NDs in opening day losses in 1968 and 1969) finally solved the jinx and got them in the opening day win column - finally. That Seaver fella started 11 Mets openers, and won 6, lost NONE, and had 5 no decisions. Now THAT is amazing - 11 opener starts without being charged with a single loss.
That 1970 win was the start of an amazing stretch in which the Mets won 18 of 20 opening day games. After that, the opening day fun continued, but at a lesser pace, with the Mets going a mere 18-10 in openers thereafter.
Overall, 36-20 on opening day, wow.
But 36-12 over the past 48 openers. DOUBLE WOW!
Bottle it, boys, and drink some of that Kool Aid over the other 161 games, and now you're talking!
Actually, 1970 was not the first opener win - the Mets did win their first HOME opener in 1968, a 3-0 win against the SF Giants. Followed, of course, by Kiners Korner. Overall, the Mets have won 35 of their 56 home openers, including 34 of their past 47.
Time to make that 35 of 48, Noah!! LGM!!
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