Back in late June, I went to a Mets-Phillies doubleheader at Citi Field and by the second inning of the first game I started to find myself assuming the worst.
At that point, four and then five and then six Mets had struck out in succession against the Phillies’ Aaron Nola. That left Nola just four short of the record for most consecutive strikeouts by a pitcher in a single game, a record that had been set by Tom Seaver and had stood for 51 years.
Seaver had died the previous August and those 10 straight strikeouts he notched against the San Diego Padres on April 22, 1970 — the final 10 outs of the game, no less — were a fine testament to who he was as a pitcher and a Met.