3. April 17, 1968
Did you Know? The Mets lost on Opening Day in each of the first eight seasons of existence?
Yup, from 1962 to 1969, the Mets never one on baseball’s initial day.
Nevertheless, the Home Opener in 1968 appeared to be the beginning of something special for New York.
This day was the Metropolitans first home-opening win in franchise history. That’s seven years after the club’s formation.
Two Met greats had incredible days on the diamond.
For starters, Jerry Koosman was on the hill, pitching for the Mets. He put on a show, much like Met pitchers do these days, as he struck out 10 Giants on the way to a 3-0 win.
Secondly, Cleon Jones powered the Mets to victory offensively that day, sending a deep shot out the park in the game’s second inning.
Jones, of course, famously caught the final out against the Baltimore Orioles the very next year to hand the Miracle Mets their first World Series title ever.
