On September 22, 2007, Moises Alou hit safely in his 26th straight game, setting a new franchise mark for the New York Mets in a single season. Alou went hitless in his first three at-bats before singling to start the ninth inning. At 41 years and 80 days old, Alou became the oldest player in…
David Wright, homering in the seventh inning of a 10-6 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium, becomes the 30th member of the 30-30 club. Returning to the dugout, the Mets third baseman is greeted by hitting coach Howard Johnson, who along with Darryl Strawberry are the other Metropolitans to have also stolen thirty bases and hit 30 homers in the same season.
Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez, making his first start of the season, whiffs Reds hurler Aaron Harang to become the 15th major league pitcher to record 3,000 career strikeouts. The three-time Cy Young winner has missed most of the season recovering from rotator cuff surgery.
Jose Reyes becomes the first infielder, and tenth player overall, in the modern era (post-1898) to steal sixty bases in three consecutive seasons. The Mets shortstop, who will swipe 78 sacks this season, steals second base in the second inning for the second time in a 10-7 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park.
Mets left-hander Tom Glavine won his 300th career game
On July 25, 2007, two New York players reached the doorstep of career milestones. Lefty Tom Glavine of the Mets notched his 299th victory, and a few hours later, Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez clubbed his 499th home run.
On April 18, 2007, David Wright singles against the Florida Marlins to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, the longest in New York Mets’ history. Wright’s streak stretches back to the end of the 2006 season, and breaks the previous franchise mark held jointly by Hubie Brooks (1984) and Mike Piazza (1999).
Willie Randolph, who brought New York within one game of a World Series appearance, agrees to a $5.65 million, three-year deal to continue as the manager of the Mets through 2008. The skipper’s new deal doubles his present salary from $700,000 to $1.4 million.
On November 13, 2006, the New York Mets break ground on their new ballpark, to be named Citi Field. Some of the park’s architecture harkens back to Ebbets Field, which resided in Brooklyn and was home to the Brooklyn Dodgers through 1957.
Julio Franco, at 47 years, 240 days old, becomes the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run. At Petco Park, Franco connects for a two-run, pinch-hit shot off Scott Linebrink that launches the Mets’ six-run 8th inning and propells them to a 7 – 2 comeback victory against the Padres. This gives Franco the spot in the record book that had belonged to Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Jack Quinn, who was 46 years, 357 days old when he homered on June 27, 1930. Franco already was the oldest player to hit a grand slam and a pinch-hit homer, and to have a multi-homer game. He also has four career pinch-hit homers. Kazuo Matsui hits another notable homer for the Mets early in the game. His inside-the-park home run leading off the 3rd inning makes this the third consecutive year he’s homered in his first at-bat of the season. The last player to do that was Ken Griffey, Jr.from 1997 to 1999, while with Seattle.