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There’s no shame in going to the bullpen. Just ask John Smoltz. The man is in the Hall of Fame. He was one of the best starting pitchers in the game, and a member of a Hall of Fame triumvirate that anchored an Atlanta Braves team that dominated the National League Eastern Division for a decade.
He went to the bullpen after coming back from Tommy John surgery, and for four years became one of the best closers in the game. He then returned to the rotation to continue as a dominant starter. Smoltz is the only pitcher in Major League history to surpass 200 wins and 150 saves. So what’s the problem?
You know who else was sent to the bullpen when he couldn’t cut it as a starting pitcher? He turned out to be the guy that, not once, but twice came in to a game and shut down the opposition. Once was in the National League Championship Series and then he followed it up in the World Series with another dominating performance. Oh…the year was 1969…and the pitcher was none other than, yes, Nolan Ryan. Another Hall of Famer.
Did anyone really think the Mets would go 161-1? So they finally lost a game to the Brewers but bounced right back to win the series in dramatic fashion thanks to, who else? Wilmer Flores and another walk off home run.
And in the midst of running off nine straight wins, they just happened to sweep a three-game series from the Nationals in their home ballpark in Washington last week. Now with the Nationals coming in to CitiField, it will be interesting to see if the Mets can keep the momentum going, or this train gets de-railed.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
