centerfield maz

Friday June 30th , 2000 :   A big crowd of 52,831 came out to Shea Stadium to see Bobby Valentines second place New York Mets (45-32) take on the Bobby Cox's first place Atlanta Braves (48-31). At this point in time, the Mets were just three games behind the Braves after having lost to them the night before. Andres Galarraga's three run HR off Rick Reed was the biggest blow of that game. That broke the Mets seven game win streak. At this point in time, the Mets / Braves rivalry was at its peak. On this evening, the starters were the Mets Mike Hampton (7-5) as he took the mound against Atlanta's Kevin Millwood (5-6). In the 1st inning, Hampton was shaky, he gave up two singles. With Andres Galarraga at bat, Mike Piazza was charged with a passed ball & then Hampton hit him with a pitch to load up the bases. He then walked Javy Lopez & it was 1-0 Braves. Hampton stopped any further damage by getting Bobby Bonilla to ground into a double play. In the 3rd, the Br

Friday June 30th, 1978: Joe Torre's fifth place Mets (33-45) were in Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium to play Chuck Tanner's fourth place Pirates (35-38) for a weekend series in the Steel City. A nice crowd of 31,947 came out as the Mets pitcher Nino Espinosa (6-7) went up against Pirate rookie hurler Don Robinson (4-2). Trivia: Nino Espinosa would lead the 1978 Mets staff with eleven wins (11-15) & also tie for most losses. Nino pitched 203 innings but struck out just 76 batters while walking 75. In the top of the 3rd inning, Mets pitcher Nino Espinosa doubled, Len Randle singled & Tim Foli brought in the first run with a sac fly. The two pitchers both pitched well as the game stayed 1-0 until the 5th inning. In the Pirates 5th, Phil Garner doubled & stole third. He scored on Frank Taveras base hit to tie the game. In the home 7th, the Garner doubled again. Ken Macha then doubled & shortstop Frank Taveras singled again to make it 3-1 Pirates.

Saturday June 29th, 1974: A crowd of 37,317 came to Shea Stadium to see Manager Yogi Berra's struggling last place, Mets (30-42) host Red Schoendienst first place St. Louis Cardinals (38-34).  The Mets were still the reigning NL Champions, but injuries & poor offense made for a fifth-place finish in 1974.  Tom Seaver also struggled thru his mechanics resulting in an 11-11 season, his worst until the latter part of his career. The Mets had just won three of four, after sweeping a series at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Today the Mets sent Jon Matlack (5-5) to the hill to face the Cards John Curtis (4-7).  In the 1st inning, Matlack started the game striking out Lou Brock. Brock was to become the All Time stolen base leader that season. Matlack then walked Ted Sizemore. But then he struck Reggie Smith & Ted Simmons to end the inning. In the home 1st, Wayne Garrett led off with a base hit, then Cleon Jones blasted his sixth HR of the year, a two-run shot HR giving the Mets

   2024  Subway Series Sweep -  NYM: by J-Maz (the Giant)  edited by centerfieldmaz  The first half of the subway series just concluded & the Grimace magic continues to prove effective for the Miracle Mets. The A.L. New York team arrived at Citi Field with two straight series losses to the Baltimore Orioles & Atlanta Braves. The Mets came home after winning their last two series against the former World Series champion Texas Rangers & Chicago Cubs. Before the game the Mets paid tribute to Willie Mays who passed away earlier that week. Willie's son Michale threw out the ceremonial first pitch with former Met Cleon Jones on hand with other guests as well. Tuesday June 25th:  The opening crosstown matchup saw the Mets David Peterson coming off a great start in Texas go up against Gerrit Cole. He was starting for the second time since returning from injury.  The game saw both teams loading the bases in the 1st inning. The AL New York team left those runners stranded. Howeve

Brooks Lee Raley was born June 29th, 1988, in San Antonio, Texas. The six-foot, three left hander attended Texas A&M University getting drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the 2009 Amateur draft. MLB Career: In 2012 Brooks was promoted to the Cubs staff in August, making five starts going 1-2 with a 8.14 ERA. In 2013 he was up & down from AAA Iowa three times, making nine appearances with a 5.14 ERA allowing sight runs in 14 innings. Korean Baseball Organization: In December 2014 Raley signed a contract to play in the Korean Baseball Organization with the Lotte Giants. He played in five years in the KBO going 48-53 with a 4.13 ERA striking out 755 batters in 910 innings.  For 2020 he signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds & he made the team for the Covid19 season. After four games he was traded to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. In 17 appearances he went 0-1 with a 3.94 ERA.  2020 Post Season: Rayley made an appearance in on

Joseph Charles Sambito was born on June 28, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York. All four of his grandparents were born in Italy, eventually settling in America in Brooklyn. His parents, Anthony & Jennie had three children, two boys & a girl, eventually moving the family to Long Island.  Joe got his love of baseball from his father. He would become a pitcher at Bethpage high school. In 1973 he attended Adelphi University on Long Island, getting named All American becoming the first player at the school to earn the honors. The six-foot lefty would dream of being Jerry Koosman while growing up during the Mets 1969 season. In 1970, he had a try out for the Mets at Shea Stadium, but the team did not offer him a deal. After attending Adelphi Sambito landed a job at the Long Island utility, LILCO- the Long Island Lighting Company.  In 1973 he stayed home from work on draft day hoping to hear good news about himself. Sure enough, he got a call saying that he was drafted by the Houston As