A Night To Remember

So many things were running through my mind as I watched the ninth inning unfold on a Friday night in June at Citi Field.

How would it end? Triumph or Heartbreak? How will I react if Johan Santana throws a No-Hitter? What will I say? How do I say it?

David Freese, the World Series MVP last season, a man who when down to his last strike in the World Series got the game tying hit to keep the Cardinals alive was coming to the plate.

Sure, its a pressure filled at-bat, but nothing that he hadn’t already gone through on a much bigger scale in his young career.

That fact, the fact that in my opinion I don’t think he was feeling the normal pressure the potential last out of a No-hitter would face worried me.

Santana was throwing at a pitch count he had never done before, when you include warm ups and his bullpen session before the game, he was north of 200 pitches on the day. Less than 18 months after a shoulder surgery that some pitchers have not comeback from.

Then with the count 3-2, Johan threw one more signature changeup and Freese swung and missed. Pandemonium broke out at Citi Field, on Twitter and in my own living room as I pumped my fist and screamed as loud as I could.

What Johan Santana did tonight was not just historic, it was not just unbelievable, it was a showcase that no matter what, you can persevere and make it back to the top of your craft.

Santana has been a wonderful pitcher for the Mets in his time here and has been nothing but a professional on and off the field. I saw Johan in person help raise 20,000 dollars for the Tuesday’s Children charity benefiting families that lost loved ones on 9/11/01. The man is an inspiration to us all.

Every out I watched, home to enjoy a Mets game for the first time it seemed like in forever, counted down with the fans on twitter, enjoyed the panic, joy, enthusiasm and relief they all showed during and after the game.

I saw the best not only on the mound, but in the stands and in social media as we all enjoyed watching something that no Mets fans had ever seen before by one of our own.

I look forward to the day when I can tell my children and grandchildren about this magical night on June 1st, 2012. Tell them what I was doing, where I was sitting, how I reacted and so forth.

And I can look back to when I called my Dad, who has been the Hospital for almost three weeks, and celebrated not only a Mets victory but the news that he was finally coming home.

Tonight was most certainly a night to remember and I know it will live on in Mets history and our history forever.