Sports’ Greatest Turnarounds

Sports’ Greatest Turnarounds — page 1
CHAPTER 1 MIRACLE METS New York Mets first baseman Marv Throneberry hit a triple against the Chicago Cubs in 1962 But he was called out because he didn’t touch second base He didn’t touch first base either It’s no wonder Casey Stengel manager of those 1962 Mets famously asked Can’t anybody here play this game The Mets joined the National League NL in 1962 and lost a modern-day-record 120 games in their first season That wasn’t really a fluke They lost more than 100 games in five of their first six seasons They were so bad that they never spent even one day in first place Then came 1969 The Amazin Mets rattled off 11 wins in a row putting them in second place in early June They stayed there for three months before passing the Chicago Cubs in September in the midst of a 10-game winning streak The team that couldn’t get it right for most of the decade was suddenly unbeatable Jerry Koosman won 17 games for the Mets in 1969