Rising Apple Reacts to Nohan

On the heels of what will go down as the most memorable pitching performance in New York Mets history, it’s hard to believe that our beloved Mets have finally thrown a no-hitter. They are no longer in that embarrassing group of teams that have yet to have a pitcher reach perfection with the orange and blue on. All of us here at Rising Apple are still trying to have Johan Santana‘s no-hitter sink in. To give you a glimpse at what was going through each of our minds, here are some reactions from our staff after Johan became Nohan.

Matt Kaufman, Senior Staff Writer:

As the game progressed, there were two trains of thought running through my mind: 1) this could finally be the day and 2) Terry Collins is never going to let him finish this game.  But there was Johan, retiring batter after batter.  When he took his turn batting in the seventh, I was a little surprised, and even more so when he came to the plate in the eighth.  There were a number of close calls-obviously the Mike Baxter catch, but David Wright had a few hot smashes hit his way which he fielded cleanly, plus Murphy’s nice catch to end the eighth.  I was so nervous the first two batters in the ninth had reached on bloop hits, but once they were both out, I began to let my guard down and truly believe.  When Freese struck out swinging, I leaped to my feet, screamed and jumped into the nearest person’s arms.  All the heartache, close-calls and near-misses, Jimmy Qualls, Paul Hoovers and Kit Pellows were in the past and didn’t matter anymore.

Ben Berkon, Senior Staff Writer:

The Mets first no-hitter will always be bittersweet for me. As enthralled as I was for it to have happened, I was driving to New Hampshire at the time, and was completely unaware of the historic event until too late. By the time I found out it was happening, my attempts to turn on the radio proved to be too tardy. Alas, the first no-hitter in Mets history occurred without me watching, stressing, and hoping. Regardless, it is a magnificent achievement, and I will, of course, always remember where I was when it happened.

Mike Lecolant, Staff Writer:

Of the 8,020 games the Mets waited for a no-hitter, I myself waited for about 6,200 of those.  I think that qualifies as a long time.  When it finally did happen, I won’t lie, I developed a tear in my eye.  Almost four full decades of Mets’ baseball flashed through my mind.  And

if anyone, I’m glad it was Johan and not some tertiary name that gets recorded into the history books.  Because recent Mets milestones have rung hallow in Flushing these last few years.  Gary Sheffield‘s 500th home run, Tom Glavine‘s 300th win, or even Carlos Delgado‘s 400th career home run, were moments celebrated at Shea Stadium, but only half heartedly.  Those accomplishments didn’t really belong to us.  Even Jose Reyes stole some magic away from being the organization’s first batting champ because of the way he walked off the field and because of the way his time here ended.  So in a sense, Johan Santana’s no-hitter was a throwback.  It was a throwback to the mound accomplishments of Tom Seaver, or Dwight Gooden and their Cy Young seasons.  Or even watching John Franco accumulate saves numbers 300 and 400 of his career.  Johan Santana’s no-hitter was, is, an undeniable Met moment.  Even though Johan comes from places elsewhere, he became a life long Met Friday night.

Will DeBoer, Staff Writer:

By the 3rd inning, it was on my mind. I knew the history; I am a frequent visitor to NoNoHitters.com. I gave my dad a face; himself being a Mets fan since 1965, he also knew the history and the face all too well. So many times the idea had been implanted in our minds: is today the day? Every time before eventually that idea would be squelched; “Not today, boss,” was the refrain. Only this time, Johan Santana kept us from uttering that infamous three word phrase. He kept it up through 6 innings, and then through 7, and through 8. Now he was three outs away. Matt Holiday’s liner to center (Torres almost overran that!). Alan Craig’s flyout to left (unintelligible vocal spasms from me). Then the first strike to David Freese. Then second. Then the changeup heard ’round the world. We couldn’t even hear Gary Cohen’s call from our computer because we were so loud, the loudest we’ve been since Drew Brees to Seth Morales in October 2000. After soaking in the initial euphoria and making note of how Amazin’ it was that I could share this moment with my father, I went to check NoNoHitters for their reaction. It was down. It doesn’t get much more poetic.

Sam Maxwell, Staff Writer:

So much more has to be written to tell my very own story of the night of the No-han, but on this Saturday morning, after the greatest pitched game in New York Metropolitan history, the only thing I can say is thanks. Thanks to all those players out there on this unbelievable squad for making it possible to see for myself the First No-Hitter in Mets History. I have been to many games in my lifetime. World Series games, playoff games, heavy-handed regular season games, but this tops all of them. Never had I seen a no-hitter, or really gotten one that far passed the 7th inning, I think (LET ALONE THE 1ST NO-HITTER IN METS HISTORY!!!) This is easily, up to this point, the greatest single game I have ever been to. And I have nobody else to thank other than the people I shared it with and the 2012 New York Mets. I can believe in anything now. Ya Gotta Believe has never been more on.

Kevin Baez, Staff Writer:

Just wow. That performance left me speechless. I never thought I would see a Mets pitcher throw a no-hitter. History has never been on our side. I actually thought Santana wouldn’t go the distance, even if he had the no-hitter in place, because of his high pitch count. The moment the game ended I just was numb. Shocked! Did this really just happen?! Not only did the Mets no-hit the NL’s best offense, but this accomplishment couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. Johan Santana, an accomplished All-Star who’s career was in jeopardy after going under major surgery proved to everyone that anything is possible if you are determined. This was clearly a all-around team effort. The chemistry this team has makes me excited and proud to be a die-hard Mets fan. I am a believer!

Matt Musico, Editor:

I truly can’t believe we saw this happen. Every day since it happened on Friday, I thought about it and asked myself, “That really happened, right?” It’s amazing how sports can help people forget about anything going on in their life at that particular time. I didn’t exactly have the best week, having to head home to upstate New York to be with my family over the weekend, and my mother and I sat down to watch Johan take on the cards. Once he got through six innings, I still didn’t believe Friday was the day. Then, we saw Carlos Beltran‘s “foul ball,” followed by the improbable catch by Mike Baxter. I just sat there, with my leg shaking, hoping that our drought was over. Once David Freese walked to the plate with two outs, my mother turned to me and said, “Today IS the day.” I just sat there, quietly, waiting, hoping, and wishing. When Freese swung through that change-up, we both jumped up and screamed our rejoice. Once again, baseball helped me forget about all of the frustrations of my week. Even though it was only for a few minutes, a smile was put on my face. Thank you, Johan, for giving me exactly what I needed at a time that I needed it most.

Please feel free to share your story of this historic night with us below…we’d love it hear it! Let’s go Mets!