Remembering Mets History: (1962) Gil Hodges Last Career HR Comes In A 10-3 Mets Win

Friday July 6th, 1962: On this day Johnny Keane's fourth place St. Louis Cardinals (45-37) came to New York's Polo Grounds to play Casey Stengel's tenth place Mets (22-57). 

On this day the Mets first baseman Gil Hodges was 38 years old & winding down his career. The former Brooklyn Dodger, moved to Los Angeles with the team but in 1961 he was drafted by the New York Mets in the expansion draft. 

The beloved Hodges was brought back for nostalgic reasons, a s the early Mets teams loaded up with former New York players who were well out of their prime.

 Today Hodges would hit the last of his 370 career HRs. 

The Cards sent future Met pitcher; Ray Sadecki (5-5) to the mound against the Mets' Roger Craig (4-11) in front of 14,515 fans.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Gil Hodges came to bat with one out. He blasted a Ray Sadecki fastball over the left center field wall, delighting the Polo Grounds fans. It was his 9th HR of the year & career #370, putting the Mets up 1-0.

At that time it placed him at tenth on the all time HR list. It also put him at first on the National League list for HRs by a right handed batter.

Trivia: Hodges would play in just eight more games that season with the Mets. He would come back to play 11 more games the next year & retire in April 1963. He would manage the Washington Senators & then return to New York, as Mets manager in 1968. He would lead the Amazing Mets to an unlikely World Series win in 1969 & change the face of the organization, bringing respect & a winning attitude.

The Mets would rally around Hodges HR & score ten runs on the day. Their third highest total on the year, they would score ten runs three times in 1962.

In the 3rd, Cliff Cook & Frank Thomas would single. After runners advanced on a passed ball & with Hodges at bat, Sadecki threw a wild pitch scoring Cook. Thomas would score on Felix Mantilla's double. In the 5th, Charlie Neal would also homer, making it 4-0 Mets.

In the 8th, with Bobby Shantz now pitching for the Cardinals, the Mets sent nine men to the plate, getting four hits with the help of two St. Louis errors. Mantilla & Chris Cannizzaro singled. Roger Craig & Elio Chacon reached on Cardinal errors that allowed both Mantilla & Cannizzaro to score. 

Hot Rod Kanehl who had come into the game in the top of the 8th to play left field, then hit the first Mets grand slam in team history, giving the Mets a 10-3 win. 

Ralph Kiner- Kiners Korner

It was Kanehl's second HR of the year. He would hit six HRs in short three-year NLB career all spent with the Mets 340 games.

Roger Craig went the distance, earning his 5th win (11-5). He gave up three runs including a 9th inning two run HR to Julian Javier. He struck out six & walked four.

Trivia: After the game Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner interviewed Gil Hodges on his legendary post-game show, Kiner's Korner. Ralph reminded the soft-spoken slugger Hodges, that he had just broken the N.L. right-handed HR record previously held by Kiner himself.