Kindred Spirits: Mets' Alumni Game gathering rekindles painful memories of '07 season
Bobby Valentine participates in the Mets Alumni Classic at Citi Field on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Mets fans got a chance to see some of their old favorites on Saturday when the club held an Alumni Game at Citi Field before first pitch of the Mets-Rangers contest. With an assist from the folks running the video board, they got to relive some of their favorite moments as they played to a comedic 2-2 tie.
Mike Piazza’s home run when baseball reconvened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was there. Johan Santana pitching the club’s first no-hitter was there. Endy Chavez’s spectacular catch of Scott Rolen’s drive in the 2006 National League Championship Series was there.
But the event also brought together members of the 2007 Mets, who again have become a hot topic of conversation as the current Mets have spiraled.
The Mets had the best record in baseball (45-24) on June 12, still led the NL East on Aug. 2 and had a four-game lead for the final wild-card berth on Sept. 5. But after Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Texas extended their losing streak to eight games, dropped them to 76-73 and left them at 31-49 since June 13, they are seriously in danger of missing the postseason.
The 2007 Mets, under manager Willie Randolph, blew a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 games to play, lost the division to the Phillies on the final day and ended up missing the postseason in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.
As the players from the 2007 team looked back on how things fell apart, they couldn’t help but draw parallels with the current Mets.
“There’s no doubt that we were not able to put it together,” Carlos Beltran recalled. “We were scuffling. We were not getting the job done offensively or defensively. We were not playing good defense, and pitching-wise, we were allowing too many runs and there were days where we felt that we had opportunities [missed] . . . The mentality as a team? Even though we all wanted to come out of that situation, it was hard for us to get out.
“I just cannot really pinpoint what exactly happened,” he added. “I just felt that you wish you can have it back. Like now, thinking about this team and what they’re going through, I just hope they forget about the past and focus and these games left. Just go out there and play hard and do the best you can and see what happens.”
“That ’07 season is a conundrum I’ll never figure out, to be honest with you,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “It’s one of those things: the ruts you run into and you’re playing [your worst] at the worst time of year and everything gets magnified.
“They had a great first half and so did we, but then, when you start getting under pressure, you start tightening up a little bit. I’ve been there . . . what these [Mets] are going through right now. It’s one of those things and they need something to get them going, really anything.”
Randolph said he honestly believed that the 2007 Mets would be back in the playoffs until the final day, when they lost to the Marlins and the Phillies beat Washington.
“I really did, and that’s why I felt so bad for them. Because I knew they were putting in the work, I knew that they couldn’t sleep at night, I knew they were going through those times where it’s like, ‘Why can’t we figure this out?’ ” Randolph said. “You’re with these guys every day, so you know it and you feel it and you can feel the body language and what they’re saying to you.
“I believe in this team,” he added, shifting to the current Mets. “I really do because I think they have great leadership here. And I think when you look at their team overall, man by man, it’s a pretty good ballclub.”
So having experienced a total collapse, what advice would the members of the 2007 Mets give to the present-day ones?
“That 2007 [season], we were in a similar situation, we kind of struggled and we [lost] . . . our lead,” Beltran said. “But going back to that time and thinking about what I can say to a team that is going through the same thing? I would say, ‘Just go for it, don’t limit yourself, don’t be timid.’ . . . Think about what has put you in a [playoff] position . . . just play hard baseball, and if it’s meant to be, it’s going to be for you. And if it’s not meant to be, at least you’re going to go down giving your best.”
Said Jose Reyes, “The advice that I can give them is to take it one day at a time. I know it’s like 14 games left and they’ve been through some tough times right now. But whatever happened in the game yesterday? Leave it there. Just focus on the game today.”
Happy recap
For the Citi Field team, Kelly Johnson drove in Curtis Granderson with a groundout and Josh Satin’s sacrifice fly drove in Ruben Tejada. For the Shea Stadium team, Reyes scored a run on a wild pitch and Jay Payton had a double to drive in Endy Chavez . . . Shea manager Bobby Valentine was “ejected’” from the game but returned to the bench in a disguise, reprising one of his antics from the 1999 season.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
