The Shea Countdown: 10

10: Friday, September 12 vs Braves

Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we honor a Mets team whose exploits are too recent to have been forgotten but whose accomplishments may have dimmed given the rush in which we inevitably find ourselves to reach the next game, the next win, the next season, the next park. But we should pause and ponder one more time at Shea Stadium the club that made this place the place to be for Mets fans and sealed shut a void that drifted far too deep and stretched far too long.

We speak this evening of the 2006 National League East Champion New York Mets. They were the last Mets, as far as we can say with certainty at this moment, to bring postseason baseball to Flushing — the last Mets who could post a marker of any kind above the right field wall. For what the 2006 Mets did in reaching the heights they achieved, we salute them now.

In advance, we thank the organizations that currently employ some of our '06 Mets for graciously allowing them to return to us tonight. As this is the Countdown Like It Oughta Be, we felt they oughta be on hand.

Without further ado, then…oh, but wait, there will be further ado, for it might take this first 2006 Met a little while to reach the mound. But Mets fans should be used to him taking his time. That's probably how we are destined to remember him, but maybe we should recall instead six seasons of steadfast service in the blue and orange and the slick work he put in on the night of September 18 when he earned the victory that clinched the Mets' first divisional crown in eighteen years. How about an appropriately languorous round of applause for Steve Trachsel?

The final out in that milestone game came on a fly ball to left field, caught by another Met mainstay who preceded the 2006 revival. His best — and healthiest — year was 2005, when his monster season foretold, perhaps, the good things that lay ahead for the franchise. Welcome back to Shea, Cliff Floyd.

Although the Mets fell a little shy of closing out 2006 on the most desirable terms, nobody could say the Mets didn't know how to close out games throughout that 97-win season. When the bullpen gate flung open, confidence generally followed in the stands. How about some recognition for a pen that wrote the end to 92 wins in 2006? Say hello to long reliever Darren Oliver, specialists Chad Bradford and Pedro Feliciano, veteran presence Roberto Hernandez, set-up men extraordinaire Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez and the Sandman himself, Billy Wagner.

A playoff team is only as good as its bench and the 2006 Mets had a fine one. Tonight we acknowledge the roles of three key reserves: infielder Chris Woodward, catcher Ramon Castro and the ageless wonder himself, Julio Franco.

Thanks to too many injuries to count, the Mets' rotation had a bit of a revolving-door feel to it two years ago, but these three pitchers helped stabilize matters and turned in some memorable outings, in-season and/or postseason. You know them as Oliver Perez, John Maine and El Duque, Orlando Hernandez.

It was a formidable lineup that ate up National League pitching early, late and often in 2006 and we have three of the hitters who helped make it happen: first baseman Carlos Delgado, rightfielder Shawn Green and the utilityman turned everyday second baseman who proved so vital to the Mets' success, Jose Valentin.

One of the most unforgettable baseball personalities of this generation, his pitching proved every bit as charismatic as his personality when he brought his act to Shea Stadium in 2005. He was one of the biggest reasons the Mets stormed out of the gate in 2006 and he remains a fan favorite for all time. His name says it all: Pedro Martinez.

Mets fans knew their organization had grown serious about winning and winning soon when management courted the prize of the 2004-05 free agent market, a speedy, slugging, Gold Glove-caliber centerfielder who brought to Shea heretofore unknown meaning where the phrase “five-tool player” is concerned. In 2006, he put up some of the best results any Met ever has: 41 home runs, 116 runs batted in and one body given over on innumerable occasions in pursuit of victory. He promised the world there would be a “new Mets” and he delivered. He still does to this day, Carlos Beltran.

Finally, to lead the 2006 Mets to the right field wall to remove number 10, we call on two of the most special players in team history, the tandem whose spark lit up the faces of Mets fans everywhere just as their talents lit up every ballpark they played in — particularly this one. If the crowd wasn't chanting for one of them, it was singing for the other. They lead us not only to this juncture in the final season countdown but they lead us as well toward what we believe will be a thrilling future in the park next door. Ladies and gentlemen, your starting shortstop Jose Reyes and your third baseman David Wright.

Number 11 was revealed here.