The Mets’ version of Robin and Batman are together again. After an interminable wait, Jerry Koosman’s No. 36 is where it belongs — atop the left field stands at Citi Field, in the same elite space where Tom Seaver’s No. 41 hangs.
“Welcome home,” Mets president Sandy Alderson told Koosman on a Zoom press conference prior to the festive ceremony.
Koosman joined elite company Saturday night, alongside Mike Piazza (31) and Seaver (41), becoming just the third Mets player to have his number retired. The franchise has also retired numbers for former managers Casey Stengel (37) and Gil Hodges (14).
The left-hander’s No. 36 was emblazoned on the mound and in the apple beyond center field.
Following the ceremony, the Mets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory — the exact score of Koosman’s complete-game to clinch the 1969 World Series.
Seaver and Koosman joined the Mets at the same time and formed an elite pitching duo. Together, they led the Mets to the 1969 World Series crown and into the 1973 World Series. Unfortunately, Seaver wasn’t around to see Koosman honored by the Mets. He passed away last August at the age of 75.
“To be up there with these other greats is quite a feather in your cap,” said Koosman, who was accompanied by 11 family members and former teammates Art Shamsky, Wayne Garrett and Ed Kranepool, along with Piazza, the lone living Mets Hall of Famer.
Koosman, now 78, had a memorable 11-year career with the Mets that began with him finishing second in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 1968 behind Johnny Bench after going 19-12 with a 2.08 ERA, seven shutouts and 17 complete games over 263 ²/₃ innings. He helped the Mets win their first World Series the following year, beating the favored Orioles twice, and won 21 games in 1976, finishing second to Randy Jones for the NL Cy Young Award. His four postseason victories remain a franchise-most.
Of his 222 career wins, 140 came with the Mets. The two-time All-Star is second in team history in starts (346), complete games (108), innings (2,545) and shutouts (26), third in strikeouts (1,799) and sixth in ERA (3.09).
Koosman also had an indirect hand in the Mets’ 1986 title. He was traded to the Twins in 1978 for future closer Jesse Orosco, who recorded the final out of the 1986 World Series against the Red Sox. Koosman was initially supposed to be honored last year by the Mets, but the ceremony was pushed back to this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Humbly thankful that they thought that much of me to retire my number,” Koosman said. “I know I’m joining a great crew that’s already had their numbers retired.”
When Koosman spoke to the crowd, he joked that when Piazza was born — Sept. 4, 1968 — he was still pitching for the Mets. Some might have taken that as a dig at the previous ownership group, Fred and Jeff Wilpon, who dragged their feet in honoring past Mets players. Thirty-five different Mets players have worn No. 36 since Koosman last played for the team, according to Baseball Reference.
Koosman thanked current owner Steve Cohen for the evening, without mentioning either Wilpon. Cohen, a lifelong Mets fan, has said he wants to celebrate the past, and has even suggested the possibility of having an Old-Timers’ Day. Saturday night was a step in that direction.