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Simply amazin' This pennant was for the players
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- New York Mets fans may have waited since 1986 for their team to return to the World Series, but for 20 of the 25 players on the Mets post-season roster, they've been waiting a lifetime. "I'm just so proud to be part of this team," said catcher Mike Piazza who drove in a pair of runs in Monday night's deciding game. "I mean, I know I'm a big part of this team, but you know what? If I don't do the job, someone's there to back me up, on the mound, in the field. It's been like that the whole year long. "Everyone knows what their job is on this team. And if everyone knows that, this game is so up and down, you've got to have people back you up and that's what we're doing. We're just backing each other up." Shortstop Mike Bordick, and pitchers Al Leiter, Dennis Cook and backups Todd Pratt and Kurt Abbott are the only Mets with World Series experience. In fact, six Mets -- Mike Hampton, John Franco, Rick Reed, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile and Mike Piazza have a combined 70 years of major league service and have never played in a World Series game.
For manager Bobby Valentine, going to the World Series is as much about being happy for his players as anything else. "I saw a shot of Johnny Franco and I was thinking about how happy I am that he's going to World Series. I just passed [Mike's father] Vince Piazza and I was thinking how happy I was for him to go to the World Series, Michael, because these are two warriors, two of the greatest players I ever managed. And they're getting the big stage where they belong." The Mets manager will also make his first World Series appearance, more than 30 years and more than 2,500 games since Valentine made his major league debut as a player. "I'm really happy for my friends who stuck by me, family, my mom and dad, my brother and his family, my wife Mary and [son] Bobby, who have been so close to me and all my friends who have always been there believing. I'm very, very, very happy for them because they are the true extension of me." But while the Mets' exuberance at reaching the World Series was clear Monday night, so was the realization that their ultimate goal still lies ahead. "We still got, the way I see it, four games to win to fulfill that fantasy," said winning pitcher Mike Hampton who held St. Louis to just three hits in the deciding game. "It's a good step, we're playing great right now, we're confident, but we're still four games away and we're going to take it one game at time. And we're going to battle until the end and hopefully come out on top." And in the process, bring New York City its fourth world championship in five year. But this time it could be one that Mets fans can cheer about.
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