8,019 misses. And it finally happened!

This is history. This is special. This remarkable.

Following another day's work, I dropped my phone off at Sprint for some maintenance work and then I went over to Friday's for dinner with Manish, Natalie, Matt, and Fil. I casually started following the Mets vs Cardinals game about 7:15, about a third of the way in. There was no score in the top of the 4th inning and there was no score. I checked again maybe a half hour later, and the Mets scored two in the 4th and three in the 6th and I felt pretty confident they would win. But I suddenly noticed something else. Johan Santana had not allowed a St. Louis hit over the first six innings. And the New York Mets had played 8.109 games over 50 years in their history and despite boasting an amazing arsenal of pitchers throughout their history (Seaver, Koosman, Ryan, Gentry, Matlack, Gooden Darling, Ojeda, Fernandez, Cone, Leiter, Hampton, Martinez, Glavine etc.) they had never pitched a no-hitter.

My eyes bulged out and even though I hadn't even gotten my burger yet, I knew I had to follow this game religiously on my phone.

Seventh inning: he retired David Freese, Yadier F'N Molina (thank you Mike Baxter!), and Mike Adams. It was starting to feel like it could happen. Now I know many Mets no-hit attempts have been thwarted by players who would otherwise never be known for anything else (Jimmy Qualls, Paul Hoover, Kit Pellow, Leron Lee, Keith Moreland...). But I just felt a wave of excitement I couldn't explain. I decided I would finish my dinner and if Johan could keep it going through the eighth inning, I would watch the ninth inning in the bar.

Eighth inning: The Mets are leading 8-0, so the game is for all intents and purposes over. Tyler Greene leads off and flied out to Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who replaced Baxter in left. Pinch-hitter Shane Robinson got hit on the knuckle, but the umpire didn't see it, and he was called back to the batter's box. Then, he was promptly called out on strikes. Top of the order and Rafael Furcal walks. That pitch count is up to 118 by now, only 10 away from Johan's career-high. And who was up? Our old buddy Carlos Beltran. He had actually lined a shot down the third base line earlier that barely hit the chalk of the foul line, but the umpire ruled foul. As much as I like Beltran, only Molina breaking this up could be any worse. On a 1-2 pitch, Beltran popped one up that Daniel Murphy and Omar Quintanilla almost collided on, but Murphy managed to snag it. Just three outs to go.

I stormed into the bar, found a manager, explained the situation, and begged them to change the channel. They didn't have access to a local feed, so they switched one of the 11 TV's that had White Sox vs. Mariners to MLB network. They didn't show the bottom of the 8th, where the Mets managed just a Quintanilla single, but I knew they had to move over from Detroit vs whoever. Soon enough, the network switched to Johan throwing his warmups. He had thrown 122 pitches to this point. I had no volume, but I could live with that. I just had to see this happen live. Mini golf had to wait!

Ninth inning: I started clapping and exclaiming (not quite yelling) "Come on Johan!" and "Let's Go Mets!" Half the restaurant stared me down, but with my Mets hat on, it started to make sense. I had to explain to some people around me why this wasn't just any show at a no-hitter, but possibly a moment for the ages, a moment so many Mets fans never thought they would see. I saw the pitch count, saw Terry Collins looking tense and miserable in the dugout. First batter: Matt Holliday. First pitch, a changeup he reaches down for and pokes into shallow center field. I couldn't really tell if Andres Torres was playing too deep, but he tracked it down. One out! Allen Craig was next, a near no-name would have joined the previous list well flied out to Nieuwenhuis on a 2-2 pitch. Only one more. By now, I am applauding thunderously. It feels so meant to be.

David Freese. Rising superstar. World Series hero. It's not gonna be easy. But I feel it's just gonna happen. Typically, I'd be pacing all over the place. I'm virtually still and my eyes are locked on the elevated screen about 30 feet away from me. Even with Molina on deck, I don't feel too scared, at least not unless Freese walks and Molina gets one more shot to end it. So here we go. Ball ball ball. I do not need Molina up at bat.  Then  a called strike and a foul ball. One more strike to get. Johan unleashes his 134th pitch of the night, a changeup sinking quickly. Freese lunges with a swing and ball pops into Josh Thole's glove, which rests on the dirt.

Pure bedlam! Pumping my arms into the air and screaming "Yeaaaaaaaaaah! Yes! Finally! Johan did it!" Of course, the entire bar stopped and stared me down like the Mets had just won the World Series! I walked back to my seat in the back corner, so I had to pass through almost the entire restaurant. At least half the people stared directly at me, their faces displaying a mix of confusion and disbelieving smiles. My phone blew up with maybe 25 facebook messages and notifications. This is for Jim in Arizona, Robert in Beverly MA, Nef in Madison, Robert in San Diego, Maria in Brooklyn, Julie in Chicago, all of us!

Johan Santana...I thank you. For your remarkable performance as a Met, your resilience in coming back from a career-threatening injury, your leadership that you provide for this young, scrappy, tough team. What an amazing night to be a fan of the New York Mets.