This past Sunday was the 11th anniversary of the Mets losing the World Series to the Kansas City Royals. It also remains their only game played in November.
The 2015 Mets, in my opinion, will be remembered fondly. A team that came into the season with a lot of young talent and that fans just wanted to be relevant wound up running the table and going all the way to the World Series.
It's arguably the closest the team got to a World Series trophy since 1986. 2000, they came close, but in 2015, the Mets had the lead late in games one, four, and five, but couldn't finish the job. A little bounce here, or a bloop there, and it's the Mets hoisting that World Series trophy.
Game one was winnable; Familia gave up the game-tying home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth inning. The Royals would win in extra innings. Game two, the Mets were overmatched. Game three, the Mets came out with a vengeance and blew out the Royals.
The series was 2-1 KC, but the Mets had a lead in the eighth inning of game four. Michael Conforto hit two home runs, the Mets were rolling, and it looked like they'd even up the series, with a chance to go up 3-2 and Harvey on the mound tomorrow.
We all know what happened next. Daniel Murphy's magic ran out; he booted an easy ground ball, the Royals' "death by a thousand paper cuts" offense came back, and won.
By game five, the odds were long. Down 3-1, and even if the Mets win, it's back to Kansas City for games six and seven. Still, though, Harvey was pitching, and there was a sense of pride in not letting the Royals celebrate at Citi Field. Harvey pitched the Mets to a lead in the ninth inning. Terry Collins made the ultimate decision to let him start the ninth, much to the crowd's delight.
The choice wasn't wrong. Harvey deserved a shot to finish what he started. What happened next was an error in judgment from Collins. He would walk Lorenzo Cain to start the ninth. Any baseball mind tells you to get out there, pull your starter, and let your closer handle the rest. Collins didn't. He stuck with Harvey. Was it as bad as Grady Little leaving Pedro on the mound in game seven of the 2003 ALCS, as he got mauled by the Yankees, blowing an eighth-inning lead? Not quite, but the results were just as disastrous.
The next batter doubled, getting the Royals within one. Collins pulled Harvey, but it was too late. Duda couldn't make a clean throw home; the Royals tied it and would go on to win it in the 12th. The Mets are still waiting for another shot to play in a World Series.
It's interesting to me that 20 years later, we obsess and wrongly criticize Carlos Beltran for taking strike three. However, Beltran was fooled by a filthy breaking ball and carried the Mets that postseason. Terry Collins seemingly gets let off the hook for some very basic managerial mistakes that cost the Mets the game.
I wasn't Collins' biggest fan when he was the Mets' Manager. Even during their Cinderella run to that World Series. He won me over the next year in his hot-mic argument with the umpires when the Mets sought revenge on Chase Utley. One of the greatest displays of a Manager sticking up for his players.
Alas, 2015 goes into the painful folder of Mets memories: it was fun while it lasted, but WHAT IF?
5 comments:
Duda's throw was like Sarah Gunshenan's rejection of my pursuit of her when we were in school
Regretted but quickly forgotten
Dudes throw is still in earths orbit.
The better team did NOT win.
I wish I could…but I can't get over watching Beltran watching strike 3 without a swing.
The second half run by the 2015 team was a special time in Mets' history. The excitement this team generated was only rivalled by the 69 team. It is true that they were the better team, but that's not what always prevails in baseball. Thank you Steve for letting me relive that season.
Wish I had read this article when it was originally posted so I could have been part of the discussion.
But where I’ll never forgive Collins is his decision to use Familia in Game 3 when we had a comfortable lead. That was the moment to protect his arm, only to turn around and ask him to pitch two innings in Game 4.
With better managerial decisions, we should have been up 3–1.
Collins is remembered fondly, but the reality is that he was a caretaker for much of his tenure.
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