Mets: A few of the best “pitchers who rake” moments in franchise history

In 2020, just like every other team in baseball, the New York Mets did not have any pitchers take an at-bat. As part of the protocol instituted in the COVID-shortened season, Major League Baseball added a designated hitter to the National League. Even for baseball purists like me (I still, on occasion, wax poetic about the days of the four-pitch intentional walk), I did not mind the addition of the DH in the shortened season. Mets fans are all well aware that the team has two All-Star caliber first basemen on their roster, and with a DH, both of them can easily be in the lineup every day.

But before that, in the entire history of the National League up until 2020, NL pitchers batted. We’ve seen many blink-and-you-missed-it strikeouts and astoundingly bad bunts. We’ve also seen pitchers get hits that seemed so improbable, fans half expected to see a pig flying through the air in the immediate aftermath.

Even if pitchers hitting becomes a permanent thing of the past, Mets fans will always have a few cherished moments to remember fondly. Here are a few of those glimpses into Mets history where their pitchers did, in fact, rake.

Mets pitchers who raked: Bartolo Colon’s monster home run in 2016

Any discussion about the top “pitchers who rake” moments in Mets history, quite frankly, begins and ends with Bartolo Colon’s home run. It is a day that will live in euphoria for Mets fans. Colon’s home run, while inconsequential in the grand scheme of their 2016 season, is so remembered that I didn’t even watch it happen live and I know the date by heart: May 7, 2016. It is now a celebrated anniversary every year in Metsdom.

In case you’re unaware of the details, I’ll break down Bart’s Big Bomb to you. The Mets were on the road against the San Diego Padres, playing on a sunny day at Petco Park. Colon was on the mound against “Big Game” James Shields. That day was a big game for him, indeed, though probably not one he wants to be remembered for.

In the top of the second inning, the Mets batted against Shields, already sporting a 2-0 lead thanks to a Yoenis Cespedes first-inning blast. The first two batters of the inning, Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, got out. Then, Kevin Plawecki, a catcher with three scoreless bullpen outings to his name across 2019 and 2020, doubled.

Colon stepped up to the plate. It was his fifth start of the year, and to that point, he had not recorded a hit. On a 1-1 count, he received a fastball right down the middle from Shields. Colon swung. The bat, against all odds, connected with the ball. The ball soared high over the field and into the left field stands for a home run. Gary Cohen’s voice raised an entire octave on the air as he exclaimed, “THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED!” The 7 Line Army in the stands at Petco that day went wild. Mets fans throughout the stadium and watching at home went wild. The entire Mets roster went wild, with Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom grinning ear-to-ear in SNY’s shots of the Mets dugout. I, in retrospect, went wild. It was a marvelous moment.

That home run was Colon’s first career home run, which came in his 19th major league season. It was one of only five hits he had all year in 2016. It, likely, is the only home run he will ever hit. Colon was a solid Met for many reasons, but that home run truly immortalized him in Queens.

Mets pitchers who raked: Steven Matz’s memorable debut in 2015

The Mets traded longtime team member Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays on January 27, 2021, in exchange for three minor league pitchers. It was the end of an era for Matz in New York. He grew up on Long Island and was their second round draft pick out of Ward Melville High School in 2009. From there, Matz had some solid seasons, a few injury-riddled ones, and several disappointing stretches.

Unfortunately for Matz, his best start ever (besides his shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019) might have been his major league debut on June 28, 2015, against the Cincinnati Reds. It was a home game on a warm afternoon. Many of Matz’s family and friends were there, including his grandfather who quickly went viral in Metsland as “Grandpa Matz” with his enthusiastic reactions to Matz’s heroics.

Matz pitched very well in his debut, fully living up to his “early round draftee” hype. He tossed 7.2 innings of two-run ball, struck out six batters, and earned the victory. However, his debut is really more memorable for what he did with the bat. Matz went 3-3 at the plate and drove in four runs, accounting for all the runs the Mets needed to win by himself.

With that outstanding offensive performance, Matz became the first player ever in Mets history to drive in four runs in his big league debut. That’s including both position players and pitchers. He was also the first pitcher in all of MLB to have three hits in his major league debut in nearly 15 years, and the first Mets pitcher to drive in four runs in a game since Dwight Gooden did it in 1990.

Over his entire Mets career, Matz hit .172, which is average to above-average for MLB pitchers. His bat peaked in his rookie season, when he hit .286 for the year, but he never again had as unforgettable an offensive performance as in his debut.

Mets pitchers who raked: Noah Syndergaard’s two-homer game in 2016

A mere four days after Colon’s monumental blast in San Diego, Noah Syndergaard had his way with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine. Syndergaard was in the midst of his best-pitched year as a Met, and finished the 2016 season with a 14-9 record, 2.60 ERA, and 218 strikeouts in 183.2 innings. He also had his best offensive game for the Amazins that season.

On May 11, 2016, Syndergaard started at Dodger Stadium against Kenta Maeda. He pitched extremely well that evening, going eight innings and allowing only two earned runs. Like Colon a few days prior, Syndergaard had not yet notched a hit in the 2016 season before his offensive outpouring that day.

In the top of the 3rd inning, the game up until that point scoreless, Syndergaard launched the first pitch from Maeda up, up, and away. It landed a few rows back in right center field, and both gave the Mets their first run of the game and gave him his first hit of the year. Gary Cohen capped the moment appropriately by saying, “Colon opened the floodgates on Saturday night, and the Mets pitchers have been storming with the bats ever since!”

A couple of innings later, Syndergaard’s powerful left-handed bat struck again. In the top of the 5th inning, with runners on first and second and nobody out, the mighty Thor squared up on a 2-2 pitch, crushed it to deep center field, and sent it soaring for a home run.

With that second homer, Syndergaard became only the second Mets pitcher ever to hit two home runs in a game, the other being Walt Terrell in 1983. His efforts made him the first MLB pitcher to hit two home runs in a game since Micah Owings accomplished that feat for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007. Syndergaard drove in all four runs for the Mets that day in what became a 4-3 victory.

Syndergaard later acknowledged the close proximity of his accomplishment to Colon’s in a post-game tweet.

Syndergaard has accumulated six home runs in his big league career so far, but none were more attention-grabbing than his two in Los Angeles.

Mets pitchers who raked: Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell in a 1969 doubleheader

In September of 1969, the Mets were on their way to overtaking the Chicago Cubs for the National League pennant and winning the first World Series title in franchise history. They were known mostly for their pitching in ’69, with their five starters pitching to a sparkling 2.88 ERA in the regular season. Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell were two of the formidable starting five, with Gary Gentry, Jim McAndrew, and Tom Seaver making most of the other starts for the Amazins that season.

On September 12, the Mets were playing a doubleheader on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Koosman went the distance in the first game against Pirates starter Bob Moose, pitching a three-hit shutout. In the 5th inning of that game, Koosman smacked an RBI single against Moose to drive in Bobby Pfeil and put the Mets up 1-0. That was the only run they scored, and it stood en route to a 1-0 win.

In the nightcap, Don Cardwell squared off against Dock Ellis, who became better known the next season for pitching a no-hitter while high on LSD. It was the hippie era, after all.

Cardwell tossed a fantastic game, pitching eight strong innings and allowing no runs and only four hits. He replicated Koosman’s success at the plate from the first game, driving in all the runs the Mets needed to beat the Pirates with an RBI single in the top of the 2nd inning to send home Bud Harrelson. The game finished in a tidy two hours and two minutes as a 1-0 Mets victory, their second such win of the day and their third consecutive shutout.

While researching this article, I was unable to find any other instance of a team sweeping a doubleheader with two 1-0 victories in which their starting pitchers drove in the only runs (if it turns out that there are other instances of this, someone please let me know). The Mets were Amazin’ on many days in 1969, but on September 12, their pitchers were truly Amazin’ both on the mound and at the plate.

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Though the DH no doubt would benefit the Mets with both Dom Smith and Pete Alonso on the roster, the surprise of pitchers getting big hits is one of the simple joys of baseball that I would miss. Luckily, the Mets have many stories of pitchers unexpectedly coming through at the plate for fans to look back on if the NL DH does stick around.