Five Guys No Hitter adds fuel to Mets' hot start
New York Mets catcher James McCann, relief pitcher Seth Lugo, starting pitcher Tylor Megill and relief pitchers Edwin Diaz, Joely Rodriguez and Drew Smith pose for a photo after the first combined no-hitter in franchise history after defeating Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Friday, April 29, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
How many Mets does it take to throw a no-hitter?
A: One. Five. Does it really matter? All no-hitters are awesome.
Right?
In the aftermath of the Mets’ “Five Guys No-Hitter” over the Phillies from Friday night, two thoughts occurred: How does this one compare to Johan Santana’s no-no from a decade ago? And what does Friday’s second franchise no-hitter say about the potential “specialness” of this year’s Mets team?
Actually, a third and a fourth thought: Can I copyright the phrase “Five Guys No-Hitter?” And can Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz get a burger chain commercial out of this?
For answers to the first two questions, I turned to Ron Darling, who was in the SNY booth for Santana’s no-hitter on June 1, 2012, and Friday’s unexpected festivities.
Santana’s no-hitter was one of the most memorable events in franchise history, especially for a fan base that saw Tom Seaver — whose Mets-centric nickname for all eternity is “The Franchise” — throw a no-hitter for another franchise, the Reds.
Dwight Gooden and David Cone (perfect game) also had historic outings for the Yankees after their Flushing days were over. That had to sting a little (or a lot).
The lack of a single no-hitter for a pitching-rich organization over its first 50 seasons was a curse that loomed as large as the perfect Seaver statue that now graces the plaza outside Citi Field.
The Five Guys No-Hitter (copyright pending) is harder to classify because it wasn’t a solo performance. It was the 315th currently recognized no-hitter in baseball history. Seventeen of them have been combined, and eight of those have occurred since 2012 as bullpen usage has grown exponentially.
So combined no-hitters are far more rare. Are they less special? Not if you ask the home fans among the 32,416 who were at Citi Field on a chilly Friday night and already were starting to believe that this year’s Mets (MLB-best 15-6 going into Saturday night) could be a special team.
“I think what stands out was the reaction,” Darling said. “As soon as the game was done, the reaction from the fans was incredibly loud. Santana-like loud . . . The [combined] no-hitter is amazing for that individual team. It’s not close to what an individual has to accomplish to get 27 outs. But what makes me the happiest is those guys [players] in there: They’ve had another great event. That’s starting to build.
“And the second is the fans. Because of many reasons, I think they really like this team. They really like the owner. The Seaver statue. The Gil Hodges Saturday. The Jay Horwitz Sunday. I think they feel like the culture of this team has changed. As a fan, if you come to a game — Friday night in April, it’s really cold, you buy a ticket and you get a no-no — you start to go, ‘You know what? I wasn’t going to come back until June. But I’ve got to get a ticket in May.’ That’s the kind of stuff that happens because you don’t want to miss the special things that are coming, or that you feel are coming.”
Of course, the Mets were in first place for 103 days in 2021, finished 77-85 and watched Atlanta win the World Series. So a great start doesn’t guarantee a great finish, and a no-hitter doesn’t guarantee you are going to have a great season.
There were a record nine no-hitters in 2021, two of them combined. Six of those nine teams did not make the postseason; two (Baltimore and Arizona) lost 110 games apiece.
But that doesn’t mean the specialness of the night can’t lead to something big for the 2022 Mets. Ya Gotta Believe has to start at some point. Why not a chilly Friday night in April when five guys made history?
“The specialness of it is that it was ‘team,’ ” Darling said. “You just build up this goodwill with the team, and with each other, that you all can be counted on. That’s what happens in these special moments.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
