Game 5 of the 2015 World Series is something that New York Mets‘ fans probably don’t want to remember. It was the first Fall Classic for the team since the Subway Series in 2000, and the city was extremely excited about the possibility of the first ring since 1986.
However, the New York Mets ended up losing to the Kansas City Royals 4-1. One of the most painful moments in the the team’s history came on that Game 5, with the Mets down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series but up two runs heading to the ninth frame.
They were playing at home, at Citi Field. Matt Harvey had thrown eight shutout innings to that point, and he wanted to go out to the mound to finish what he started. Mets’ manager Terry Collins decided to send him back, which proved to be disastrous, as the Royals tied the game and muted the stadium. They later won it on extras.
A painful episode in Mets’ history
On Saturday night, Collins, who recently announced his retirement, talked about the episode in an appearance on WFAN. He was asked if he would’ve put Harvey back out on the mound if the game wasn’t at Citi Field.
“Probably not,” the former Mets’ manager said to Zach Gelb. “I had a guy out in the bullpen (Jeurys Familia) who saved 50 games for us that season, but you know what? The emotion of that night in Citi field, with all our Mets fans — that energy you cannot create in any other place except for Citi Field — I looked on and Matt came down and said ‘I’m ok, I want this game.’
“I preached that in our players. You’ve got to want to finish the games. You’ve got to want to be there in crunch time. And I said ‘I cannot deny this guy the opportunity to go out there.'”
After Harvey walked Lorenzo Cain to start the ninth inning, he chose to keep him battling in there despite his high workload. He defended the decision by saying he does not believe in taking out a hurler after the first batter of the inning.
“I hate it, I absolutely hate it,” the former Mets’ skipper said. “…He’s only going to face one hitter? Bulls—t.
“…If you’re worried about him letting the first leadoff hitter get on, then you shouldn’t send him out there.”