#1 – No-Han (June 1)

June 1, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana (57) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Citi Field. Santana pitched a no hitter, the first in Mets franchise history. Mets won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets’ Friday night series-opening matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals was already significant for another reason: longtime Met Carlos Beltran, named the greatest center fielder in team history by SNY, was making his first trip back to Citi Field after being traded to San Francisco for Zack Wheeler the previous July. All the fanfare and analysis was focused on how the Flushing faithful would receive Beltran in his first at-bat. Carlos’s return is met with a mostly positive reaction, one very different from that of another high-profile return home. But after that moment of sentiment it is Johan Santana who switches on his own spotlight.

Santana starts strong in his first inning after a gem of an outing six days prior against the Padres. He goes through the Redbirds 1-2-3 in the 1^st, including a strikeout of Beltran. After a quick out to begin the 2^nd he runs into some trouble, walking David Freese and Yadier (Freakin’) Molina back-to-back. Johan settles down quickly and strikes out both Matt Adams and Tyler Greene to end the threat. His 3^rd inning is a piece of cake, the three outs coming on just nine pitches.

At this point I’m sitting with my dad in the computer room of my childhood home in West Lafayette, Indiana, watching the SNY broadcast through that godsend that is MLB.TV. I turn to him and I teasingly say, “a third of the way there…” He chuckles. We’re both in on the joke. You’re not supposed to look ahead so far in the game, but for me and any other frequent visitor of NoNoHitters.com, it is a force of habit. After 50 complete seasons and two months of a 51^st, after 8,019 “Not Today, Boss” moments, it is impossible not to wonder if this, Game #8,020, would be The One.

Johan walks the leadoff man in the 4^th but gets the next three in order. His offense finally gets him some run support in the bottom of the frame: Kirk Nieuwenhuis singles, David Wright doubles, Lucas Duda sac flies, Daniel Murphy triples. 2-0 Mets. Santana walks the leadoff man again the 5^th but responds with two strikeouts and a lineout. Halfway there, livin’ on more than just a prayer, Mr. Jovi.

Things get hairy in the 6^th inning as Beltran takes a 1-0 fastball from Santana and slashes a line drive down the third base line. Foul is the call from third base umpire Adrian Johnson, while the second opinion known as instant replay shows a very different outcome. Next year Major League Baseball will expand instant replay to include plays just like that, and the sight of the chalk line being kicked up by a baseball will now always be called correctly upon further review. In the summer of 2012, however, it would stand as called. Johan and the Mets catch the luckiest of breaks and the former Cy Young laureate responds with another 1-2-3 inning. After such an obvious nod of approval from the ever-fickle Baseball Gods, Mets fans start to think that maybe, just maybe, this will be The Day.

June 1, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Mike Baxter (23) makes a diving catch against the left field wall off St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Citi Field. Mets won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

More run support comes in the bottom of the 6^th as Lucas Duda pounds a three-run homer over the former Mo’ Zone in right center. Up 5-0, Johan goes into the 7^th with a lead that in any other situation would be quite comfortable. With one out in the inning, Yadier Molina crushes a 3-1 fastball towards the wall in left field. Molina broke the Mets’ hearts six years before, and for about four seconds he appears to have done it again. Mike Baxter, playing for his hometown team, playing with the weight of knowledge of the 8,019 previous games, wills himself toward Molina’s fast-falling line drive. Under the shadow of the illustrious number 41, Baxter twists his left arm across his body to receive the ball. He stumbles and crashes shoulder-first into the “W” of the W.B. Mason sign printed on the padding of the wall. Baxter has saved history with his heroic lunge, but lies in a crumpled heap on the warning track. Mike Baxter would miss two months with a displaced right collarbone and fractured rib cage cartilage, but the only morphine the Whitestone Kid needed on this night was for Johan Santana to finish the job.

After 107 pitches through 7 innings, however, Mets fans are wondering if he would get that chance. Following a long wait as New York taps on three more runs in the bottom of the 7^th (including a two-run single from Daniel Murphy that makes it 8-0), Santana comes out to start the 8^th inning. After a flyout and strikeout, Johan walks Rafael Furcal on his 118^th pitch. As Terry Collins trudges out to the mound for a conference, it’s a no-win situation for the Mets’ skipper. If he leaves Santana in the game too long, he risks harming his prized pitcher who is only 20 months removed from major shoulder surgery. If he takes Santana out, he risks being vilified for costing his long-suffering franchise a chance at pitching’s highest single-game honor. So with the weight of Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Hideo Nomo, and Philip Humber bearing down on him, Terry Collins leaves Johan Santana on the mound to go after what the seven men above could only do after they left Flushing Meadows. He gets Beltran on four pitches and no controversy to end the inning. Three outs to go.

Johan’s first pitch of the 9^th is a changeup to Matt Holiday, who breaks his bat lining the ball softly to center. Andres Torres ever-so nearly overruns the ball, but reaches up and snags it. Two to go.

Allen Craig gives New Yorkers heart attacks by blooping a 2-2 changeup into shallow left. Nieuwenhuis races under it and squeezes his glove tight. One to go.

David Freese takes three straight balls, Santana’s 129^th, 130^th, and 131^st pitches of the night. Johan zings a fastball in for a called strike one. Freese fouls back a changeup for strike two. Santana takes a deep breath and sends his 134^th pitch toward the waiting glove of Josh Thole. Freese flails his bat desperately at the low changeup.

The yelp of a “YES!” from Keith Hernandez says just as much as Gary Cohen’s call on SNY:

He struck him out! It has happened! In their 51^st season, Johan Santana has thrown the first no-hitter in New York Mets history!

June 1, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana (57) reacts after throwing the first no-hitter in Mets history against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Mets won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Over the next few minutes every New York Mets fan from Long Island to Long Beach waited, expecting to wake up from their perfect dreams to find Bobby Ewing in the shower and an 8,020^th “Not Today, Boss.” But after seeing the team rush to the mound mob him, after seeing him shake hands with his coaches and the manager who gave him a chance, after seeing Kevin Burkhardt walk onto the field to interview him, we all knew it was real when Johan Santana told each and every one of us,

I’m very happy, and happy for you guys! Finally, the first one!

The statistics will be with us all forever (9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 8 K), but for me at least, the indelible memory of that night came after Dad and I finished basking in our euphoria. I went online to check that daily tracker of torment, NoNoHitters.com. It had crashed.

That web site is now obsolete, its counter forever stuck at 8,019, because before it could turn to 8,020, Johan Santana said “Today, Boss,” and pitched a no-hitter for the New York Mets.

June 1: the most Amazin’ game of 2012, and one of the most Amazin’ in 51 years of New York Mets baseball. Our countdown is now complete. There may be some debate about which games should go in the previous nine slots, but there is no doubt that the game at the top is there with a strong, resounding, Keith Hernandez-approved, “YES!”

Amazin’ Ten of 2012

#10 – Slugfest at Wrigley (June 27)

#9 – Niese Caps a Magical Weekend (June 3)

#8 – The Real Johan Returns (May 26)

#7 – Wright Rings the Phillies’ Bell (July 5)

#6 – Turner Walks, Nieuwenhuis Walks Off (April 26)

#5 – Jordany ’Spins Papelbon (May 7)

#4 – Matt Harvey’s Debut (July 26)

#3 – Dickey’s 20^th Win (September 27)

#2 – Lightning Knuckles Twice (June 18)

#1 – No-Han (June 1)

You can follow me on Twitter @MidwesternMet and at my own Mets blog of the same name. Thanks for reading, have a nice day, and L.G.M!

#2 – Lightning Knuckles Twice (June 18)

June 18, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) reacts after throwing a one hitter against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mets won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

At the risk of plagiarizing myself from two months ago, here’s a more abbreviated version of how R.A. Dickey’s first start after his June 13 one-hitter at Tampa Bay went.

1^st inning: groundout, groundout, strikeout

2^nd inning: groundout, strikeout, groundout

3^rd inning: strikeout, strikeout, walk, strikeout

4^th inning: groundout, groundout, groundout

5^th inning: strikeout, strikeout, Wilson Betemit single, flyout

6^th inning: groundout, lineout, groundout

7^th inning: strikeout, groundout, strikeout

8^th inning: flyout, walk, strikeout, strikeout

9^th inning: groundout, strikeout, strikeout

Final line: 9 IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K, 114 pitches

Backed up by Ike Davis’s 6^th-inning grand slam and an 8^th-inning RBI by David Wright, the Mets were able to back up Dickey’s second one-hitter to give him the 5-0 W over the Baltimore Orioles.

R.A.’s June 18 gem was the crown jewel in a month and a half made for a king: from May 22 to June 29, Dickey went 7-0 in 8 starts with a 0.86 ERA, .606 WHIP, 76 Ks, and a single HR against in 62.2 innings. That stretch cemented his place as an All-Star and might have even won him the Cy Young Award.

It was a “Glory Day” for R.A., and it will be his finest moment as a New York Met. R.A. Dickey had one of the most remarkable years any baseball player has ever had, and in perhaps the strangest twist of them all, it ends with his trade to the Toronto Blue Jays. While I wish we could have had more years with him (and you know he’ll still go another four or five), my fellow Mets fans and I will always be grateful for the three seasons he was ours. At the very least, now we’ve all got an American League team to support in 2013. All the best to you, R.A. Beat up on those Yankees. Beat up on those Red Sox. Beat up on the rest of the Junior Circuit. Make Sandy second-guess trading you in the first place. And help bring another championship North of the Border.

June 18: the second most Amazin’ game of 2012. We’re one away from completing our countdown, and this weekend you’ll find out the most Amazin’ Mets game from the year that was (although through process of elimination, you can probably figure out what it is already).

Amazin’ Ten of 2012

#10 – Slugfest at Wrigley (June 27)

#9 – Niese Caps a Magical Weekend (June 3)

#8 – The Real Johan Returns (May 26)

#7 – Wright Rings the Phillies’ Bell (July 5)

#6 – Turner Walks, Nieuwenhuis Walks Off (April 26)

#5 – Jordany ’Spins Papelbon (May 7)

#4 – Matt Harvey’s Debut (July 26)

#3 – Dickey’s 20^th Win (September 27)

#2 – Lightning Knuckles Twice (June 18)

#1 –

You can follow me on Twitter @MidwesternMet and at my own Mets blog of the same name. Thanks for reading, have a nice day, and L.G.M!

June 18, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) waves to the crowd after throwing a one hitter against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mets won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

#3 – Dickey’s 20^th Win (September 27)

Sep 27, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) pitches during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PREWIRE

It was the Mets’ 2012 home finale and a sizable crowd of 31,506 crossed the turnstiles at Citi Field to witness one of two things: the shaving of Keith Hernandez’s famed mustache and R.A. Dickey’s first shot at a 20^th W against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dickey was originally scheduled to start the next day to start a series in Atlanta, but Terry Collins granted the knuckleballer’s request to try for #20 in front of the hometown crowd. And so at approximately 1:00 on a Thursday afternoon in the city, the man with the crazy pitch and an even crazier story took the mound to try his luck at becoming the first New York Mets’ first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990.

Things got rocky for R.A. in the 2^nd inning, as two doubles and two singles led to two Pittsburgh runs. A bad omen in two different ways: first, two runs were more than Dickey was used to giving up in a whole game, and second, at this point in the season the Mets needed a week to score two runs. But Ike Davis made up half the deficit with his 31^st home run of the season in the bottom of the 2^nd. Two batters later, Mike Baxter was robbed of his own home run by right fielder Travis Snider and one of the greatest catches anyone will ever see. 2-1 Pirates with plenty of baseball left to play.

The Pirates got another run off Dickey in the 4^th on Rod Barajas’s solo home run. Down 3-1, R.A. was in danger of *gulp* missing out on a quality start. But Dickey would buckle down, and while he didn’t dominate Pittsburgh like he had dominated so many other teams in 2012, he got the job done throughout the rest of his time in the game.

Daniel Murphy and David Wright led off the bottom of the 4^th with back-to-back singles. After David popped out, Scott Hairston canceled out Barajas’s earlier homer with an RBI single. The next two men would fail to bring the tying run home, but it was still in reach at 3-2.

It was the 5^th inning when the Mets would reach out and grab their golden opportunity. Andres Torres led off with a walk, and after Dickey struck out (hey, he can’t do it all, right?), Ruben Tejada got on with a single. Daniel Murphy then came through on Kevin Correia’s 0-1 fastball, slicing a game-tying single into center. Up came David Wright, looking to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the first half of his season. Consider it recaptured: Wright connected with a crack of the bat they could hear in Vermont and sent Correia’s pitch high, high to right center and over the wall. Three-run home run, 6-3 Good Guys.

A three-run cushion was all Dickey needed. He breezed through the 6^th, 7^th, and start of the 8^th. But after walking Snider on eight pitches (the last three of them balls), Collins had seen enough and signaled for a reliever. As Dickey trudged toward the dugout, he tipped his count to the adoring fans, who applauded him for giving all he could that day and that season. His final line on this afternoon: 7.2 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and a whopping 13 strikeouts. Not bad for a guy who pitched the whole season with a strained abdominal muscle.

He had done all he could in this game; now it was up to the bullpen. But Jon Rauch breezed through Barajas faster than you can say “oy vey,” and the Mets stood just three outs from victory. Rauch’s 9^th inning? Not as smooth. After a walk and a strikeout he served up a two-run homer to light-hitting Alex Presley that made it 6-5. That brought Bobby Parnell to the mound, and the proven non-closer needed seven agonizing pitches to get Josh Harrison to hit a groundball for the second out.

Sep 27, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) waves to the fans after recording his 20th win of the season in the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mets won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PREWIRE

One out stood from Dickey and history, and it took the form of Jose Tabata. On Parnell’s second pitch, a 97 mph 1-0 fastball, Tabata hit a soft liner to right field. Mike Baxter, who had already saved one pitching milestone this season, raced in its direction. The Whitestone Kid didn’t need to sacrifice quite as much to make this catch, as he stabbed in in midair to “put it in the books.”

So R.A. Dickey had his magical #20. At age 37, he was the third-oldest (behind Mike Mussina and Jamie Moyer) to accomplish the feat. And as he addressed Kevin Burkhardt and the Citi faithful after the game, R.A. did it with nothing but class, as he had all season:

This is as much about you as it is for me, and I’m happy to celebrate it with everybody. Thank you!

Dickey would not a 21^st win, picking up a no-decision in Miami for his last start of the season, but he did pick up his 230^th strikeout, which made his humble preface in Wherever I Wind Up historically inaccurate. A month and a half after his Flushing farewell, Dickey became the first knuckleballer to win the Cy Young Award, capping an Amazin’ year for the Most Interesting Man in Baseball.

And the Mets are about to trade him. That’s how they’ll screw this up, Mr. Stewart.

September 27: the third most Amazin’ game of 2012. Next week we’ll bring you the top two Amazin’ moments from a season full of them. Through process of elimination you can probably figure out which two are left…but if like surprised, stay tuned!

Amazin’ Ten of 2012

#10 – Slugfest at Wrigley (June 27)

#9 – Niese Caps a Magical Weekend (June 3)

#8 – The Real Johan Returns (May 26)

#7 – Wright Rings the Phillies’ Bell (July 5)

#6 – Turner Walks, Nieuwenhuis Walks Off (April 26)

#5 – Jordany ’Spins Papelbon (May 7)

#4 – Matt Harvey’s Debut (July 26)

#3 – Dickey’s 20^th Win (September 27)

#2 –

#1 –

You can follow me on Twitter @MidwesternMet and at my own Mets blog of the same name. Thanks for reading, have a nice day, and L.G.M!