The Mets had some special guests in the house on Tuesday night.
With Wednesday being the 10-year anniversary of Johan Santana’s no-hitter — the only individual no-hitter in the team’s history — the former Amazin’ left-hander was at Citi Field on Tuesday along with Josh Thole, his catcher that night, and his ex-manager Terry Collins. The three fielded questions — and barbs from Buck Showalter, as Santana was asked if he could give him an inning — before Santana’s son threw the ceremonial first pitch to Thole’s son.
The man who threw the legendary game said that at the time, he had no idea he was going to be the first Met to do it.
“I didn’t know that there had never been a no-hitter,” Santana revealed. “As we were going through the whole thing, I started getting all excited. The atmosphere changed throughout the whole field. I was thinking, ‘Maybe this is it. We have a chance to do something very special, very important.’ It just happened to be the night. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to do the first one.”
An unfortunate side effect of that night was that Santana had to throw 134 pitches to get it done, a number he can still instantly recall. Collins was asked if he has any regrets over that, especially since Santana only made 10 MLB starts (with an 8.27 ERA to boot) after that and dealt with gruesome shoulder problems.
“I would make the same decision,” Collins emphasized. “I felt he deserved the opportunity to try and get it because of who he is and what he stands for. The people who were in the stands, they deserved to have that opportunity. I know it probably hurt him, from throwing that many pitches, but I’ve come to realize that I probably would have done exactly the same thing.”
The sentiment between both Santana and Collins is that, had the manager tried to remove him, Santana would have put up a huge fight.
“I knew I was going to have some arguments with him,” Santana said, pointing to Collins. “On the mound, in the dugout, in the parking lot, whatever. I just wanted to finish it.”
Santana said the only other time he ever threw a no-hitter, at any level, was in a video game. But with an old-school manager in the dugout who felt everyone in the building deserved to watch a chance at history, plus the Mets not having a no-hitter to their name at the time, Collins’ decision was heavily swayed.
“That became part of it,” Collins admitted. “Here’s a guy that’s got a chance to do it. I thought he deserved the opportunity. Obviously today, I probably wouldn’t even consider it.”
When the Mets accomplished a combined no-hitter earlier this year — completed by Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz — Thole said he was getting texts calling him “chopped liver” now that he’s not the lone Met to catch a no-no. To no one’s surprise, Collins still likes the one that he managed a little better.
“To have five guys do it, I think is great,” Collins began. “But to have one guy do it, that’s something special. And he did it.”
LINDOR WINS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Francisco Lindor’s big week against the Giants and Phillies was rewarded with some recognition from the league.
Lindor was given the National League Player of the Week honor, his first as a Met, after posting a .348/.407/.870 slash line with 10 runs, eight hits, two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 14 RBI in the team’s six games with San Francisco and Philadelphia.
He is the first Met to win the award since Noah Syndergaard in August 2019.
J.D.H.
With Dom Smith being sent to the minor leagues, the Mets are without one of the primary players they’ve used at designated hitter. JD Davis has the most starts there, with Pete Alonso coming in second and Smith third. Now that Smith — who was also Alonso’s backup at first base — is in the minors, Showalter was asked if he’ll use Jeff McNeil at DH more often. McNeil has some general “wear and tear” on his legs that the Mets have been cautious with, and he also crashed into a wall in San Francisco last week while playing left field.
“I think you’ll see more DH chances for JD [Davis],” Showalter said, insinuating that McNeil will still play a lot of defense. “We’ll see what each day brings. We’ve got a challenging, long road trip coming up.”
MEGILL ON THE WAY BACK
Tylor Megill faced live hitters on the field before Tuesday’s game. The pitcher has been out since May 11 with tendonitis in his right biceps. In three simulated innings against players the Mets brought in from their High-A affiliate in Brooklyn, Megill ticked many of the boxes that Showalter was looking for.
“[Megill] looked good,” Showalter said. “I was really impressed with the inning I saw. We’ll see how he recovers before we go forward with a plan. It’d be nice to get him back.”
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