
1) Johan Santana’s No-Hitter
On June 1st, 2012 Johan Santana wrote his name in the record books when he threw his first, and the Met’s first no-hitter in history. It is a bit shocking it took until 2012 for the Mets to have their first no-hitter in history considering they have always been known for their pitching. It took over 50 years and over 8,000 games, but the Mets finally got their first no-hitter thanks to Santana.
Aside from the no-hitter itself, the game had other moments that will be talked about for a long time. Mike Baxter, a Queens native, put his body on the line late in the game to make an incredible catch to save the no-hitter. Baxter went back on a ball which eventually led to him crashing into the wall and being taken out of the game.
Another moment in the game is the infamous “foul ball” call. A year after the Mets traded Carlos Beltran, he was back for the first time as a visitor. Beltran ripped a line drive down the line that was called foul but appeared to have hit the foul line. Beltran eventually ended up grounding out to keep the no-hitter alive.
Now while Santana did make history that night, it may have ultimately cost him his career. Santana had missed the previous season due to shoulder surgery on his pitching shoulder. Santana ended up throwing a career-high 134 pitches that night and was never truly the same after. He suffered from multiple injuries since and ended up retiring in 2016 as a result.
Although Santana put his career on the line for history, I am sure he would do it all again. He was asked that night what he wanted to do, and just as expected he didn’t want to come out as I would imagine most people would say.
To this day it is still the only no-hitter in Mets history, and as a result, the moment finds itself first on this list.
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Are there any other moments from the 2010s that should have been on the list?