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It might have taken 8020 games, but Johan Santana has done the unthinkable this morning, throwing the first ever No-Hitter for the New York Mets.
In the longest start of his career, Santana threw 134 pitches, striking out eight men as the Mets won 8-0 over the reigning World Series champion St Louis Cardinals.
David Freese, the hero of the 2011 World Series, was the man it all came down to, with Santana enticing him into swinging at a pitch that he just wasn’t able to catch up with.
The scenes that followed were similar to that of a team who won the World Series, with Santana being mobbed at the plate, before taking the obligatory cream pie to the face during his post-game interview with WFAN Radio, the Mets broadcasting affiliate.
I’ve got enough friends who are Mets fans that I can respect the occasion for what it is, a taste of success for a team who haven’t had anything to cheer about since Bill Buckner assisted in serving them the World Series on a platter in 1986 (something that as a Red Sox fan I still can’t watch).
So where to now for the Mets? They may be in with a chance of seeing October action, something that many (including myself) thought wasn’t possible at the beginning of the season. (I had the Mets picked to have the worst record in baseball).
If they can’t make the playoffs this year then a mark of success must be 85 wins, a number which in the NL East this year would probably see them finish third thanks to the resurgence of the Washington Nationals, who last played in the playoffs in 1981 as the Montreal Expos, the only playoff appearance in franchise history.
One thing is for sure and that is that every Mets fan should be able to bask in this glory, and hopefully it isn’t the next no-hitter isn’t 51 years down the track.
You can see the final play of the historical performance here.
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