The Mets are playoff bound, clinching the final spot in the postseason after a thrilling comeback win over the Braves in Atlanta.
Given the franchise’s tortured history against their division rival, and the way the eighth inning unfolded with a six-run top of the half being erased by a four-run bottom of the frame, many felt New York was doomed to ink another chapter in their Braves misery. Instead, Francisco Lindor belted a game-winning home run in the ninth, capping what BT and Sal believe is one of the great wins in franchise history, whether it be regular season or playoffs.
“This is a wild script. Unless I watched it unfold, there’s no way I would have bought this,” BT said. “Just a magnificent, improbable, implausible, crazy, insane finish.”
The game itself wasn’t the whole story, as the Mets went from 11 games under .500 and seemingly buried before storming back to reach the playoffs for just the 11th time in franchise history. Which raised the question from Sal, where does it rank amid the most stunning ascents in New York sports history?
“It’s up there,” BT said. “It’s high on the list, man.”
That is a discussion for a different day, but for Monday’s game, Sal says it’s hard to find a moment that eclipses what Lindor accomplished with his game-winning, history-altering home run.
“I don’t think it’s recency bias. It is the greatest game I’ve ever seen in my life from a Mets fans perspective, when you think about what was at stake and how it all played out,” Sal said. “The only game that comes close in my mind is the 1999 Mets/Yankees Subway Series, the Matt Franco game, the first time the Mets ever took two of three from the Yankees. It was against the Braves for a playoff spot. Even though you had the cushion of the second game, the intensity, the drama, the emotions of that first game, that is what being a sports fan is all about.
“That Lindor homer to me - outside the Mike Piazza homer after 9/11, because that to me is separate - outside of that, I think this Lindor home run…just in general, it is one of the greatest moment and home runs I’ve ever witnessed, period, including the postseason.”