Sponsored by Shea Stadium Remembered with help today from The Happiest Recap, First Base 1962-1973 by Greg Prince

On this day in 1972 a Mets Banner Day twi-night doubleheader stretched the bounds of even a Mets fan’s patience. The Mets had slumped hard since the greatest start to that point in team history. Injuries and a complete lack of hitting had sunk the Mets to seven games behind the Pirates as August began. Nonetheless there were still 31,846 who came out on this Tuesday night, and 3,900 of them left their seats to stand beyond the center field fence with banners ready for the annual between games festival of whites (bed sheets that is). Would they have a long wait.

It looked good when Cleon Jones homered in the eighth against Philadelphia starter Wayne Twitchell. The Phillies, with the worst record in baseball, looked like easy pickings. But even with another great start by Jon Matlack, who would be NL Rookie of the Year, there was a bump, courtesy of Don Money. His home run tied the game to start the ninth.

As Greg Prince described in his awesome book, The Happiest Recap, First Base 1962-1973, “The would-be banner wavers, deprived of viewing the game, waited patiently…or as patiently as possible.” The game went on and on as more and more fans bagged their banners, went back to their seats, or went home. These were two bad teams without much offense. After the equivalent of another game had been played, the Phillies finally blinked. The Phillies walked Ed Kranepool to set up a force in the 18th with Cleon Jones, who had driven in the other two runs for New York. He knocked in this one, too. According to Prince, “Shea Stadium personnel hustled the swarm of 2,176 banners inside… and got them hustled back into the stands in about 45 minutes.”

There was still that second game. It would be over quickly. Steve Carlton, who, despite pitching for a horrible club, finished the year at 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts to unanimously win the Cy Young winner, made mincemeat out of those Mets in a 4-1 win that got everyone out of there by 12:45 a.m. It was still not even a club record. The 27-inning twinbill was still five innings short of the 32-inning doubleheader played at Shea in 1964, still the most innings an MLB twinbill has gone.

The Mets have pulled off some interesting trade deadline deals through the years. Marcus Stroman being the most recent, as of 16 hours before the July 31 trade deadline. Fifty years ago the trade deadline was in the middle of June. Trades were really the only way a team could transform its roster midseason. There was no free agency—the largest contract in baseball that year was the $135,000 doled out to Willie Mays in San Francisco. As a result, trades could be spectacular and catch you by surprise.

The Mets had made only a couple of deadline week trades in their first seven seasons of existence—and both of those coming during Bing Devine’s transaction-happy 1967 seasons (two deals brought the Mets veterans Nick Willhite and Bob Hendley, both of whom pitched for the Mets during the Summer of Love and never appeared in another major league game). But in June of 1969 the Mets were in contention for the first time. The average age on the inexperienced Mets was 25; the Cubs were closer to 30. On the morning of June 15—a Sunday—the Mets stood 8 ½ games behind the first-place Cubs, and that was after Tom Seaver had beaten the Dodgers in Los Angeles. (The Cubs had beaten the Reds that day, with the win going to reliever Phil Regan, the 2019 Mets pitching coach. That can make a body feel old.)

The fact that the previously moribund Mets were within 10 games of a first place team on Father’s Day weekend—and had a winning record for the first time (30-25) was remarkable in its own right. The Mets could pat themselves on the back, play for second-place money, and concentrate on building toward some day when they might reach for that shiny ring. For a team that had never won more than 73 games, the 1969 Mets were pretty cocksure. They rolled the dice, but it was a calculated roll.

Donn Clendenon was a clubhouse lawyer. Almost. Clendenon had graduated from the prestigious African-American institution Morehouse College in his hometown Atlanta—Martin Luther King Jr. had been his “big brother” when Clendenon was a Morehouse freshman. Clendenon would study law at both Harvard and Duquesne Universities, but had to drop out of both because of the time and travel constraints of his current field of employment. (He completed his law degree from Duquesne in 1978, after his retirement from baseball.)

Though on an academic scholarship at Morehouse, the 6-foot-4 Clendenon had played football and basketball well enough to be offered contracts by both the Cleveland Browns and Harlem Globetrotters. His stepfather, Nish Williams, had been a Negro Leagues catcher with connections—no less than Satchell Paige helped teach the young Clendenon how to stay in on the curveball. Clendenon was coerced to attend a 1957 Pirates trout camp by the legendary Branch Rickey—Clendenon and future All-Star Julian Javier were the only men out of 500 to earn contracts from that camp.

On the road to becoming a big league slugger, the slights in the minors in the Jim Crow South had led to major wounds. Rickey had to smooth Clendenon’s feelings and pull the chain when needed. Clendenon wanted to quit and play in the NFL—the reserve clause was iron-clad enough to keep him from jumping sports without the Pirates’ approval, according to the excellent SABR biography by author Ed Hoyt.  The next year Clendenon received a $5,600 bonus from Rickey after hitting .356 in the minors.

Clendenon was runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year in 1962. Popular power hitter Dick Stuart was shipped out to keep the path clear for Clendenon. He remained at first base while Willie Stargell patrolled the Pittsburgh outfield with Roberto Clemente. All were key pieces of the newly-christened Pittsburgh Lumber Company, but the 1968 season—with the added pressure of the deaths of mentor Martin Luther King and stepfather Nish Williams—saw Clendenon’s spot at Forbes Field grow tenuous, especially as young slugger Al Oliver seemed poised for the big leagues.

The 33-year-old Clendenon was left unprotected by the Pirates in the 1968 expansion draft. He was sixth player selected by the Montreal Expos.

Clendenon had options. Not only could he complete his studies, but he had a management position at Scripto Pen Company in Atlanta. He told the Expos he would stay at Scripto rather than report to Montreal. So the Expos flipped him to Houston—along with Jesus Alou—in exchange for Rusty Staub. That proved to be an even bigger problem for Clendenon. His former manager in Pittsburgh, Harry “The Hat” Walker, was now running the bench in Houston, and the two had clashed—as had most of the Pirates—with the old school, “my-way-or-the-highway” soldier turned 1947 batting champ. Life was too short for a second helping of The Hat.

Now Montreal didn’t seem so bad. But Montreal was already crazy about Rusty Staub and the Expos were not shipping “Le Grade Orange” back to Texas. So after a contentious meeting in which the owners and new commissioner Bowie Kuhn glowered at Clendenon and Scripto Pen president Arthur Harris, the Expos shipped $100,000 (American dollars, presumably) and a couple of pitchers to Houston—including future Big Red Machine benefactor Jack Billingham—in exchange for Clendenon. The Expos offered him a three-year contract. Donn was un-retired.

According to Ed Hoyt, Clendenon was in his hotel room one June morning in 1969 when the phone rang. It was Mets general manager Johnny Murphy, who thought he had Montreal GM John McHale on the line. Murphy bellowed, “I want Clendenon.” When Murphy realized that he had the man he wanted on the phone, he asked about his interest in being a Met. Tampering be damned! Clendenon said yes and Montreal, selling high on someone who had proved a lot of trouble and was hitting just .240 with the expansion Expos, swapped him for Steve Renko, Kevin Collins, Jay Carden, and Dave Colon. Renko had a pretty nice career as a starter at kooky Jarry Park for some dreadful Expos clubs until he was shipped to the Cubs in 1976, starting the itinerant portion his career. A 134-146 record, 3.99 ERA, and 23.6 WAR is nice production—and not near what the Mets gave up a couple of years later for Rusty Staub, but Renko never helped the Mets win a World Series. Nor did Staub, but Rusty sure came close.

The funny part of the story is that Clendenon, the veteran thumper the Mets lineup was dying for, didn’t play every day when he arrived in New York. Gil Hodges played a strict platoon at first, second and third base, plus right field, and the right-handed Clendenon was in the Hodges platoon. He started just 46 games after the June 15 trade. He had 12 homers and knocked in 37, but Ed Kranepool got the majority of the starts. After the Mets scrambled from 10 games out in mid-August and won the NL East title by eight games, Clendenon did not even bat in the NLCS sweep of Atlanta.

Fate gave the Mets a lefty-laden Orioles rotation and Clendenon took them apart. He had a small but deadly World Series sample of .357/.438/1.071 and hit crucial home runs in Games Two, Four, and Five—all Mets wins—to claim Series MVP. The one Series game against a righty, future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, Kranepool hit a home run. Hodges could do no wrong. The Mets could do no wrong. It was a case of right guy, right team, right on! (Hey, it was the Sixties.)

The clubhouse lawyer played two more years with the Mets—fulfilling the contract he signed during his brief Expos stay—and becoming the Mets’ single-season RBI leader with 97 in ’70. Ex-Expo Staub broke that mark in 1975. Clendenon remains the only player the Mets have ever acquired at the trade deadline who helped the team to a world championship. Every years around the trade deadline, a Mets fan can’t help but wonder if another will come along someday.

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The game was forgettable, but the clothes they wore left a mark—like forgetting your sunscreen on the planet closest to the sun. Twenty years ago “Turn Ahead the Clock Day” was a promotion from realtor Century 21 that assumed a lot of changes in this solar system between 1999 and 2021. Chief among those changes were huge logos in odd places with horrible fonts—at least for most of the clubs involved (the old school uniformed Red Sox and Tigers conveniently “lost” their versions of new age togs for the promotion). The Mets were relocated—not across the city or across the country, but across the universe. To Mercury.

Rickey Henderson grew a third eye and pointed ears—at least on the Shea DiamondVision rendering. Robin Ventura was suddenly bald. Bobby Valentine grew horns. And the uniforms were easily the worst the Mets had ever donned on this planet. The Mets, in the midst of a 65-30 run that began after three of Valentine’s coaches were fired in the midst of a June swoon, meekly fell to the Pirates, 5-1, on the third rock from the sun. In the locker room, Mets starter Orel Hershiser, who lost his first outing following his 200th career win, summed it up for many in the 20th century (and subsequent millennia): “If we can’t sell the product as it is, maybe we should give it a rest.”

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Jose Valentin singles home Carlos Delgado in the 10th inning as the Mets scratch out the only run of the afternoon at Shea Stadium. Rookie John Maine, Duaner Sanchez, Billy Wagner, and Aaron Heilman, who got the win, combine on the 1-0 shutout. Despite the exciting, taut pitching duel, it can be viewed from hindsight as a bittersweet day at the Big Shea. It is the last Shea appearance in 2006 for Duaner Sanchez, whose season—and shoulder—will be shattered in a late-night taxi cab accident on the ensuing Mets road trip. A no decision goes to Mark Prior, whose 5-2/3 innings of shutout ball against the eventual NL East champs will be the last successful start of a ballyhooed career laid low by injury. Valentin’s winning hit comes off Glendon Rusch, an important member of the last Mets playoff team in 2000, now just another opponent walking off the field as the ’06 Mets celebrate.

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Felix Millan had four singles and was erased all four times when the next batter in the lineup, Joe Torre, banged into a record four double plays: 1-4-3, 6-4-3, 4-6-3, and 6-4-3. With Torre helping out, Houston’s Ken Frosch threw a complete-game, 6-2 win in under two hours. Centerfield Maz dug up the Torre quote after the game: “I’d like to thank Felix Millan for making this all possible, I’ll just tell the kids they were all bullets.”

The Mets were around .500 and Houston was 30 games under .500 entering the night. Has a familiar ring, doesn’t it? Except that Houston is now in the American League.

My older brother, Michael, was at this game on a Monday night, while I had to be at Camp Pelican the next morning. I was really cheesed off that I was stuck at home. I had never been to a Mets game—or a major league game—at that point. Maybe my complaining paid off because over the next month I saw both a Mets and a Yankee game at Shea—this being the year of Shea being shared by four pro teams. Shea was never the same after that year. And neither was I.

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On this date in 2008 Shea hosted its last concert. This was actually an added date. It was a bit unfair to those people who bought tickets they thought were for the last concert at Shea, which actually became tickets to the second-to-last show, scheduled for a Wednesday. So Friday, 7/18, turned out to be the last concert. It worked out swell for me. I was able to find tickets for the final concert in the exact seats I had sat in for the 1986 World Series and many other games during the height of the Mets Golden Age (yes, such a thing existed; twice even). It gave me chills again just watching the final song, which Billy Joel allotted to very special guest star Paul McCartney, who’d been there with his old band the day the first song was sung at the Big Shea. How much did it cost to go to the last show at Shea? How bad was parking? How long did it take to get home? I have no memory of that. Just Let It Be.

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Here is a reminder to check out the awesome interview I did a little while back with John Strubel for Mets Rewind. It’s worth your time, as are all things from Mets Rewind. They’re playing our song.

And as we prepare for the Hall of Fame induction weekend, take a look at some select Mets artifacts from Cooperstown in a piece I did for Rising Apple.

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Once long ago the Braves were like mere moths to the Mets. The NL West club flitted about in the back of the closet. They came to Shea a couple of times per year, sometimes annoying New York like an insect chewing holes in your favorite 1980s Cosby sweater, but most times you barely noticed they were there. Then came the day the moth flew in your face and you splatted the damned thing against the wall. That was July 11, 1986.

The Mets and Braves were playing at Shea, the second night of a four-game series preceding the All-Star break. The Mets won the night before and held a commanding 10-½ game lead in the NL East. The Braves were fourth in the NL West, a game under .500. Mets starter Sid Fernandez stranded Ken Griffey Sr. in scoring position in the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning Gary Carter came up with a base open and two on. David Palmer pitched to him. Carter took him deep, followed by the inevitable curtain call to appease the ecstatic 40,000 at Shea as millions more watched on the NBC prime-time special broadcast. David Palmer, former batterymate of the Kid in Montreal, kicked the ground as soon as Carter swung. He seethed on the mound as his former catcher pumped his fist to the crowd. Palmer drilled the following batter, Darryl Strawberry. Bad idea.

From One-Year Dynasty:

Strawberry threw his helmet and headed right for Palmer, the Brave suddenly not so brave as he threw his glove at the fast approaching slugger and then ducked away. Braves catcher Ozzie Virgil slowed Strawberry’s progress from behind, but Keith Hernandez was among those who did reach the pitcher. The fight ended soon, but the nightmare continued for Palmer. He was not ejected but suffered the indignity of facing Carter again in the second inning… and allowing a grand slam… and another curtain call.

“They act as though they won the seventh game of the World Series,” prescient Palmer said after the game. “I told Keith Hernandez when we were scuffling around: ‘I don’t mind if you hit 15 home runs, but don’t show me up.’ ”

Carter’s second home run—his 10th career grand slam—gave him 16 homers for the year. The seven RBI were a career high and gave him 65 to take the league lead from Mike Schmidt. Carter also caught Sid Fernandez’s first career complete-game shutout, which may have been the best overall start of the pitcher’s career—El Sid had three hits at the plate while allowing just two on the mound.

The Mets would sweep the four games from the Braves. The brawl was the first of three fights in 12 days—including off-duty police in Houston.

Mets All-Star selections during selected good seasons:

1973: 2 All-Stars, won NL pennant

1999: 1 All-Star, won NL Wild Card

2015: 1 All-Star, won NL pennant.

And then we have this disaster of a first half in 2019: a 40-50 record, 15th of 16 NL teams, worst record in the NL in their last 20 games, their last 30 games, on the road, and of course, the worst bullpen.

Yet they have three All-Stars. Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeill, and Jacob deGrom are all more than qualified. It’s the other 22 roster spots that have been problematic. But they have at least hit, and they have pitched the Mets into a position to lead the league in blown saves. Management is killing them. They had a chance to hire a guy from the Rays who makes a contender out of pocket change; instead the Mets hire a GM who keeps trading for the players he oversaw as an agent. There are numerous managers with experience (or at least a clue) sitting and waiting for the phone to ring. If the Mets had fired their manager in May, when it was obvious the team was on the verge of falling apart, they could have salvaged this season. Over the past 30 games games the Mets are playing at the same pace as the Marlins (12-18), who have been the laughingstock of the league. Except when the Mets come to town.

The 2019 Mets Baseball-Reference page says the Mets have a 0.5 percent chance of the postseason and 0.2 percent chance of winning the World Series. So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Sigh. Let’s get to the grades. Shall we? To be included, players must accrue 50 at bats or 15 innings pitched as a Met. This prevents  from giving grades to Tampa Bay’s problem Travis d’Arnaud, Luis Guillorme, Aaron Altherr, Chris Flexen, Tyler Bashlor, Luis Avilan, Justin Wilson, Hector Santiago, Walter Lockett, Tim Peterson, Brooks Pounders, Corey Oswalt, Daniel Zamora, Chris Mazza, Jacob Rhame, Ryan O’Rourke, the immortal Paul Sewald, and Rajai Davis (why is Rajai not on team? In seven at bats he showed more life, power, and fun than most of the sorry Mets mess of 2019).

First-Half 2019 Report Card

Pete Alonso A One of the few things the GM did right was let him start the year in the bigs. Oh, he belongs.

Jeff McNeil A One of the many things the GM screwed up was not trusting him as 2B. Squirrel morphing into Murph?

Jacob deGrom A- Has been more inconsistent, but still an All-Star who signed with this mess. Mets fold in his starts.

Dominic Smith B+ Expected nothing and he’s hit .311 with power. Thankfully put him in OF so Alonso doesn’t sit.

J.D. Davis B Best deal GM has made. Now if he’d only trade Frazier so Davis can play. Not Brooks Robinson at 3B.

Wilson Ramos B- Tormentor of Mets in past can really hit for them. Catching the ball has been a little dicey.

Noah Syndergaard C+ He won’t pitch to Ramos, though his 1-0 shutout and HR game was to Ramos Noah knows.

Tomas Nido C+ Everyone wants to pitch to him. He’s finally hitting some. Black hole of catcher looks a bit brighter.

Jason Vargas C+ He has the same grade as Noah. That’s scary. Hopefully can get something in return for crafty lefty.

Zack Wheeler C+ Mets can’t afford to pay deGrom, Noah, and Wheeler. Hope they get something good for him.

Michael Conforto C Very streaky. Gets on base a lot and has learned to play all three OF positions. Is he the future?

Amed Rosario C He has been productive with bat, like death with glove. Cano influence on him has taken toll.

Todd Frazier C Still productive despite clunky swing. You’d think a contender could use him. Holding back J.D. Davis.

Steven Matz C- You would not get much for him in trade now. One day he may yet show what he has. Still unsure.

Adainy Hechevarria C- It’s been weeks since he started. He’s the kind of so-so 2B a lousy team should be playing.

Brandon Nimmo D+ Here comes the army of D’s… Brandon was having a horrific year when injury took him down.

Seth Lugo D+ And here’s the first reliever… Actually has best pen ERA (3.35), but overtaxed by multiple-inning outings.

Robert Gsellman D There is an alternative universe where a qualified manager uses Lugo and Gsellman to good effect.

Carlos Gomez D Almost been back a couple of times and finally returned. And left again. Can’t say we didn’t try.

Juan Lagares D Showed signs of life with bat and then back to same. Maybe a contender needs an outfield caddy.

Wilmer Font D- This guy stinks, starting or relieving. Gives up too many walks, HRs. Somehow ERA is under 5.00.

Drew Gagnon D- Actually has worst bullpen ERA (7.65), but 3-1 record on team that doesn’t win is worth a point.

Edwin Diaz F His 19 saves are a lot for a bad team, but he has killed Mets. Hope will rebound from overuse by M’s.

Jeurys Familia F He has been atrocious. Signing him for three years is only move worse than Cano-Diaz deal.

Keon Broxton F That GM traded prospects for Lagares Lite shows bad judgment. Hitting under .200 with O’s, too.

Robinson Cano F Playing with the urgency of a zombie. Kills lineup in third spot. Bad Robby Alomar imitation.

Manager/GM

Mickey Calloway F How is it possible he is still employed? In-game actions are terrible; post-game reactions are worse.

Brodie Van Wagenen F It seems crazy to fail a GM in his first half on the job. But Brodie broke the mold. And the team.

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I took the month of June off, but so did the Mets. When it takes the current Mets more than a week to win once, the idea of winning twice in one day is too appetizing to turn away from. But in 1984 the Mets did that to inch a game out of first place after years as the laughingstock of New York. Joe Torre, who’d managed the Mets for many of those forgettable years, had his Braves in second place in the NL West. Darryl Strawberry knocked in a pair with a two-out, two-run single in the eighth against Atlanta and the Mets won the opener of the makeup twinbill, 2-1. Jesse Orosco picked up his 14th save for rookie Ron Darling.

In the nightcap, George Foster tied the game with his 300th career home run. The go-ahead run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. Tim Leary went five innings in relief and Doug Sisk retired Chris Chambliss with the tying run on base for his 11th save. And people used to give Doug Sisk crap! Imagine having two relievers combine for 25 saves by the first of July?