Apr. 11, 1963 - The New York Mets gave 6,074 chilly friends at the Polo Grounds added assurance yesterday that, despite the rumors and some new faces, they were as incompetent as ever. They registered another “first” in the bargain as they lost, 4-0, to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first time in history the Mets had been shut out twice in a row. In the fifth, the New Yorkers kindly showed the Cards how to score a run without really trying. Starter and loser Al Jackson hit Julian Javier on the left foot and then considerately balked so the Cardinal might get out of right-field wind currents and go to second base. Cardinals starter Ray Washburn sacrificed Javier to third, and Curt Flood sent a sharp grounder to Al Moran, the new Met shortstop. Moran’s throw home was high enough for Javier to slide safely under the glove of Choo Choo Coleman (pictured) and give the Cards a 1-0 lead. In the seventh, a young Mets fan in the third-base boxes snatched a foul off Javier’s bat but fell over the fence and onto the field. Normally, this is grounds for confiscation of the ball and ejection from the park. The young man, however, writhed on the ground in such agony that the Polo Ground storm troopers stood around bewildered. Finally, they helped him back up and back to his seat, where the young trickster jumped up and down excitedly, waving the ball. Branch Rickey was one of the chilled spectators at yesterday’s game. The 81-year-old baseball sage, now a “special consultant” for the Cardinals. had a few warm words for the Mets despite the shoddy 1963 start. “They’ve faced some pretty tough pitching these first two days,” said Rickey, “but I know it’s a vastly improved team from last year’s, and it will win some games once the club gets settled down. It’s like this. When an artist starts working on a picture, he has that picture all complete in his mind. It doesn’t look like much when he first starts out, but he keeps working according to his plan, and there — all at once — it’s complete. It’s not always a masterpiece, but it has substance. Baseball is no different. You have to make your plans for building a team and then stick to them whether criticism falls on your head or not. I said when the leagues expanded it would take three or four years for the new teams to reach major league status. I was wrong in one instance. The Los Angeles Angels of 1962 went against the script. But truly, I consider them one of the all-time miracles of baseball.”
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