National League Standings, September 18, 1973
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE SEPTEMBER 18, 1973 GAME:
Buck
July 18, 2000
What a comeback 5 in the 9th inning then hold on for dear life with apodoca who got no one out in his debut and buzz capra. If anybody knows if a tape of this game is available please put it on this site
Kevin McLaughlin
September 30, 2003
This was a MUST win, in order to stay close to the Pirates, during the great pennant race of '73. I'll never forget how upset I was as the Mets came to bat in the top of the 9th. Listing to to 9th inning with my transistor under my pillow (my mother had sent me to bed), I heard one of the Mets biggest regular season comebacks ever.
And then, while the Great Bob Murphy was doing the "happy recap" he said, "If the Mets had lost tonight, they would be 4 & 1/2 games back...A HILL TOO STEEP TO CLIMB!"
Robert Ballot
January 23, 2021
I'll correct a detail at the end, but this is my raw memory of that fateful game.
The second game in Pittsburgh, when they really were about to finally cave. They were 3 1/2 back and down 4-1 going to the top of the ninth. Bear in mind, the Pirates had won the NL East the last three years, so the odds were stacked that much higher. They scored 5 in the top of the ninth -- and I wasn't supposed to be watching. But I had a b&w TV on my night table and after every pitch I'd adjust the brightness down to complete black and then raise it again when I felt the next pitch was about to be delivered. It was then, incidentally, that I discovered that weird phenomenon of the silhouette of the last image still existing on the blackened screen. Anyway, enough personal history. The bottom of the ninth was excruciating. They were up 2 and it evaporated to 1 in no time. Again, still adjusting the damn picture between pitches. Bob Apodaca got the final out and I'm pretty sure he was fresh on the roster for only a week or two. Insane stuff. I -- and the Mets -- had to pull out all stops to get this one.
My memory was off about Apodaca. He came in and walked the only two men he'd face. Capra closed it, but not before walking two batters of his own. What agony! That Met season was arguably as dramatic as '69.
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