| Graham Flashner. 22nd May, 2005 - 3:33 pm
 In his first time at bat in the major leagues, the Mets’ South Korean reliever Dae-Sung Koo was so terrified he stood three away from the batter’s box and stood motionless, the bat never even twitching off his shoulder, as he watched three strikes.
Koo’s second major-league at bat came Saturday against Randy Johnson. But what should’ve been another merciful strikeout instead turned into the kind of unpredictable inning that has defined the ‘New’ Mets of 2005.
Leading off the seventh inning with the Mets nursing a 2-0 lead, the left-handed swinging Koo likely was just looking to survive against the 6’10 lefty known as the Big Unit. Mets players moved to the top step of the dugout, anticipating another embarrassing adventure at the plate by the man known as “Mr. Koo.”
Instead, Koo shocked Johnson, the Mets bench, and probably half of Seoul with a booming double well over Bernie Williams’ head in center field.
Johnson shook his head in annoyance. But – from his perspective, at least-- the worst was yet to come.
On the next pitch Jose Reyes bunted. It was meant to be a routine sacrifice, and Reyes executed it well. Jorge Pasada field it up the line and threw to Robinson Cano, covering first base. That should’ve been all.
Except that Mr. Koo, noticing that Randy Johnson had neglected to cover home, took off for the plate in the zaniest dash of a surprising season.
Too late, Posada scrambled to get back to the plate, lunging at Koo, who beat the tag—with help from a charitable umpire-- with a headfirst slide.
In the dugout, a group of jazzed-up Mets pounded each other with laughter and saluted Koo with traditional Asian bows. Miguel Cairo added a home run, and the Mets were on their way to an important 7-1 victory, evening their Subway Series at one.
For a team too often described as passive and emotionless in the recent Art Howe years, the celebration touched off by Koo’s run was yet another vivid reminder of the imprint Willie Randolph has made on this team. While the Mets may not have as much talent as the Yankees, they’re certainly looser. More significantly, Koo’s decision to go for broke, rather than settle for the safe play by remaining at third, is a sign of a team beginning to believe in themselves.
Normally, that team is the Yankees. But this season, the competitive gap between New York’s baseball teams may finally be narrowing. |
