The Mets won that game because they scored 9 runs, not because of Syndergaard's cowardly act. It ironically followed just a few minutes after former Met catcher Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first ball. Piazza had 25 plate appearances against Roger Clemens:
BA: .364
OPB: .440
SLG: .955
OPS: 1.395
Four homers and a double in 22 at bats. Oh, and one Hit By Pitch.
Saturday, July 8, 2000, 8:05PM, Yankee Stadium II
Attendance: 55,821, Time of Game: 2:36
Second game of doubleheader
Yankees 4, Mets 2
Top of the 2nd, Mets Batting, Tied 0-0, Yankees' Roger Clemens facing 4-5-6
Piazza Hit By Pitch; Matt Franco pinch runs for Mike Piazza (DH) batting 4th
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Not mentioned explicitly in the play-by-play is that Clemens deliberately threw at Piazza's head and hit him there. I'm a Yankee fan and I was outraged and still am.
Piazza next played July 13, five days later.
The Yankees and Mets both won pennants in 2000 and Piazza batted against Clemens again in the World Series.
2000 World Series (4-1): New York Yankees (87-74) over New York Mets(94-68)
Mets won only game three. Game two:
Sunday, October 22, 2000, 8:05PM, Yankee Stadium II
Attendance: 56,059, Time of Game: 3:30
Yankees 6, Mets 5
Top of the 1st, Mets Batting, Tied 0-0, Yankees' Roger Clemens facing 1-2-3
SO
SO
Piazza Groundout: 2B-1B (2B-1B)
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It seems innocuous enough. I had season tickets then and was sitting among other season ticket holders. What Clemens did caused us all to think he was nuts, maybe trying to get himself ejected.
Piazza's bat shattered and part of it landed near Clemens. Piazza was jogging towards first base when Clemens threw the piece of bat that he had retrieved right past Piazza who rightfully took exception. Clemens stood his ground and Piazza maintained his composure but a fight between the teams could easily have erupted.
Roger Clemens was a mean spirited head hunter and I never accepted him on the Yankees. Manager Joe Torre made excuses for Clemens and even captain Derek Jeter did as well, despite the fact that Clemens had hit Jeter prior to joining the Yankees in 2000.
Clemens was lucky that he did not cause more damage, either to Piazza directly or to the team by instigating retaliation or a brawl. Noah Syndergaard was similarly lucky, although there could still be retribution as the Royals in 2014 and 2015 have been involved in multiple ugly incidents. The World Series usually evokes clean, if not sportsmanlike play. How many fights have there been? This could get ugly, especially since the incredible, invisible commissioner, Manfred, the A-Rod Slayer, is missing in action.
Met fans are as hypocritical as they come. In a very short time span they switched at the two-thirds point of the season from hating their own team to loving it. Now the Metsies have morphed into Meanies and Met fans seem not to have even noticed, maybe because that change has happened to them, too. And Met fans don't even realize that their team is the beast of expansion teams: most pennants, tied with Toronto for most championships. All we hear is long suffering junk and it's not even correct.
I never met a Met fan who knew what he was talking about.
Now they are mean spirited, too.
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