This Date In Mets History: July 9 - George Stone's Birthday And Jerry Koosman "Saves" The 1968 All-Star Game

Forty-four years ago today, Jerry Koosman shut the door on a 1-0 victory for the National League in the 1968 All-Star Game. With two outs in the top of the ninth, manager Red Schoendienst summoned the lefty to face Carl Yastrzemski. Kooz proceeded to strike out out the reigning AL MVP, earning the save. Retroactively, that is. Saves wouldn't be counted as an official MLB statistic until 1969.

Also making appearances for the Mets in the game were Jerry Grote and Tom Seaver. Grote went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, while Seaver struck out five in two innings of relief work, retroactively earning a hold.

There were no saves of any kind to be had on July 9, 2002, as the 73rd All-Star Game ended in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. Mike Piazza, the Mets' lone representative, hit an RBI groundout in the second.

Birthdays

• George Stone (1973-75) turns 66. Acquired in exchange for 1969 hero Gary Gentry, Stone was an integral part of the next Mets team to reach the World Series. Added to the rotation in June 1973, he went 12-3 overall (and 8-0 in 13 starts down the stretch), as the Amazins nudged out the Cardinals for the NL East title. Stone couldn't maintain that level of success, though. After two straight seasons with an ERA over five, the Mets traded him to the Rangers for Bill Hands, who never helped the team reach the postseason.

Game of Note

On July 9, 1970, Tom Seaver allowed just three hits in a 7-1 complete game victory over the Montreal Expos. The Franchise nearly matched the entirety of the Expos offensive output, going 2-for-4 with his first major league home run. In total, Seaver hit six career home runs as a Met, the same number as Buddy Harrelson.