Never say never....Or never say No-No.

Friday night I bore witness to a historical event.  It may not be what you consider history worthy, but if you are a New York Mets baseball fan you agree, June 1, 2012 was a special evening. It was an event that was fifty years in the making.  After playing eight thousand and nineteen baseball games a Mets pitcher had not thrown a no hit, no run game.  And at the conclusion of the Mets eight thousand and twentieth game Johan Santana delivered what no other Met pitcher ever had, we could finally say we had a no-no!

  I share my birth year with the New York Metropolitan Baseball club; aka the New York Mets. We both came into existence in 1962. I have always been a Mets fan and have many fond memories of attending games with my Dad.  Each year he took me to some games and even included some of the special ones, helmet day, banner day and Willie Mays day. The past several years I have continued to support my team.  Along with three friends I have purchased a fifteen game package of tickets.   Even on the nights the team didn’t perform well, we always managed to have fun and share many laughs.

   The arrival of the Mets filled the void that occurred when two other National League New York baseball teams packed their bags and moved.  Both the Giants and the Dodgers headed to the West Coast after the 1957 season.  Unfortunately, the Mets have always been the red headed step child in the New York baseball arena.   Our cross town, big brother Yankees possess a long and deservedly earned rich and successful history.  With the exception of a few magical years the Mets have always lived in the shadows while the Yankees resided in the limelight.

 Friday night was the night when the red headed step child stole the stage.  It struck me that the story of the Mets and this event parallels life.

  There have been so many talented pitchers that have donned a Met uniform.  Some have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  There was Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, David Cone, Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling just to name a few.  Several of these athletes have pitched at least one no hitter, but not one did while with the New York Mets.  For various reasons they were traded to other teams.  I doubt that if the Mets management knew that Nolan Ryan was going to pitch seven no hit games in his career that they would have traded him. Hind sight is always twenty-twenty, crystal clear.  Everyone one of us has had to make a major life decision.  Many times when we retrospectively looked at that choice, and sometime we would have made a different one. 

  When the Saint Louis Cardinals were batting at the top of sixth inning former Met, Carlos Beltran sharply hit a ball that was called foul by the third base umpire.  The umpire was in perfect position to make the call and in that instant; he saw the ball as foul.  So the Beltran’s at bat was extended. He then hit a ground ball to third base and was thrown out.  Keep in mind the umpire made the call while viewing the action in real time.  The play occurred so fast.  Of course with slow motion and multiple camera angles it appeared as if the ball touched the outside edge of the chalk field markings, and according the baseball rules should be a fair ball, a hit.  This play has been a topic of discussion. It has questioned the accuracy of the no hitter.   In life we call things as we see them and make decisions accordingly.  People have a way of using “slow motion camera’s” while looking at how we live our lives.  They have their own opinions of what we should do or shouldn’t do, but only we can make the call in the moment. We do so with our own vision, and internal compass.  Don’t let the second guessing and external chatter get to you.

  Johan Santana joined the Mets in 2008.  He came to the team as a very successful power pitcher and the Mets fans viewed him as our great hope.  Johan lived up to the hype.  He pitched very well.  He would allow the opposing team few to no runs per game, but he received little to no offensive support from his teammates.  He never complained. He never called his teammates out.  He merely continued to do his job and be a leader.

  Johan missed the entire 2011 baseball season.  At the end of the 2010 campaign it was discovered that he needed shoulder surgery.  The operation was an unusual one for a pitcher.  While performing the surgery the Doctors discovered that the damage was worse than they had initially thought.  Johan spent the entire 2011 season on the sidelines working his way back.  It was not a sure bet that he was going to break the 2012 spring training camp with the team.  But he did.  During spring training the Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said to the media, “You would probably see the real Johan Santana around June 1^st…….boy was he right!

  Johan never called out his teammates for the lack of support.  Many times they let him down, but he never called them out. He worked diligently to return to the pitching mound and he did.  The beginning of this season contained some rocky starts.  There was even one in Atlanta where he did not make it past the second inning.  He walked off the field confidently, continued to work hard and always held his head high. 

  Friday night Johan’s team score eight runs for him, unprecedented offensive support for one of his starts, but there were also several noteworthy defensive plays.   The pivotal one was made by Mike Baxter at 27 year old with limited major league experience before this season.  Mike grew up in Queens New York the home of the Mets.  He is a Mets fan through and through.  He knew what a no hitter would mean to the organization and its fans.  So when the Cardinal’s Yadier Molina sent a line drive shot to the left field warning track, Mike Baxter crashed into the wall carrying every Met fan on his back, and he did the unthinkable, he held onto the ball even as he lay on the ground writhing in pain.

  Johan knew to never give up on his teammates. He knew that one day they will support and surprise him in ways he never imagined or expected.  I too have been amazed at the people who have come through for me at the very moment that I needed them. 

  As the game progressed into the eighth inning I needed to call my Dad.  I wanted him to know where I was.  History was in the making and I was part of it, front and center.  Dad cultivated my interest in the game and this team and I wanted him to know that I was a witness to potential history. These are the ties that bind us.  When the phone was answered I could not hear a word my Mother said, but I knew that my parents knew where I was. I was chided for making the call prior to the no hitter being recorded, but I knew whether or not I made the call the outcome was going to be as it was destined to be. And destiny was on our side.

 The tension, excitement and energy were palpable during the eighth and ninth innings. With each pitch that Johan delivered the tension heightened.  Every swing of the bat was significant. Could it be after fifty years the Mets were finally going to have a no hitter?

  When the final pitch was delivered and the strike out recorded, the stadium erupted into a collective euphoria and a tremendous sigh of relief.  The screaming, cheering and tears were deafening.  There was a release of fifty years of frustration and disappointment.  Finally the monkey was lifted from our backs.  It was done, history was recorded. A New York Mets pitcher had now thrown a no hitter, and I was there to witness it.

 We all come into ourselves at our appointed pace and time.  For some, it takes longer to occur than others. Sometimes the waiting makes the accomplishment more defined, and more profound.  It is sweeter than sweet.  When you preserver towards a goal for a long time, and it takes longer than usual for the achievement to occur, the goal takes on a life larger than itself.  Maybe some of us are late bloomers, or maybe the timing was never right. But when it does occur, it is pure, it is right and truly meant to be.  Congratulations Johan Santana and the New York Mets.  Never give up, and never stop believing in what may be. Always believe and trust in yourself and greatness will not be far away.