June 14, 1963 - A little fan support takes the New York Mets a long way. Over the .500 mark at home, the Mets today brought a 5-22 road record into Crosley Field, the only National League park in which they had never won a game. They certainly didn’t figure to stop the Reds, pennant contenders who have recently been on a hot streak. In the stands, however, were some 500 Air Force reservists from the New York area equipped with two trademarks of the Polo Grounds: enthusiasm and homemade signs reading “Let’s Go Mets” and “We Love You, Duke and Jimmy.” Thus encouraged, the Mets rewarded them in half a dozen ways: They won, 10-3, with 14 hits; Duke Snider hit his 400th home run; Ron Hunt got four hits; Frank Thomas batted in four runs; Carl Willey pitched gallantly and long enough for his fifth victory; and Roger Craig provided two innings of neat and necessary relief. Willey was having one of his better nights until rookie Pete Rose lined a single off the pitcher’s leg with two out in the fifth. Although he stayed in the game after the injury, he was never that sharp again. Snider is only the ninth player to reach the 400-homer total and the fourth National Leaguer. He hit 389 round-trippers as a Dodger — 316 during the 11 years he played in Brooklyn, but only 73 in the 5 years he spent in Los Angeles. Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, and Eddie Mathews rank ahead of him among active players. The first five on the list are Babe Ruth, Jimmy Foxx, Ted Williams, Mel Ott, and Lou Gehrig.
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