Millan's error cost us the two unearned runs and you could say the Series. I can still see that ball going right under his glove and through his legs. A ball he caught thousands of times before, a ball a little leaguer could have caught.

I was a 9 year-old at the game by myself. My dad was able to get one ticket and he gave it to me. I sat at the top of the stadium, but I remember Ken Holtzman's double down the left field line and the thrill of getting to see Willie for the last time. I was fortunate enough to see him with the Giants at Candlestick against the Pirates in the 71 playoffs. Growing up in the East Bay, I was a huge A's fan. What a crazy, talented team they were in those days.

I remember this is the World Series where Reggie Jackson earned his nickname "Mr. October" - mostly for his explosive bat in Games 6 and 7. But oddly in this game Tug McGraw actually walked Bando intentionally to get to Jackson to go with the percentages (Lefty vs. Lefty). Grote just missed a 2-run HR (barely foul) late in the game that would have won it. You can make an argument the Mets should have won all of the first 5 games - but it just didn't happen. They never had a chance in 6 or 7 - Thanks to "Mr. October", who either scored or batted in 5 of the A's 8 runs those last 2 games.

This was the attempted sac fly by Felix Millian. Bud Harrelson trying to score from third only to be called out on a blown call by the umpire. On constant replays of 1973 highlight film he was safe.

I have seen replays of this game on ESPN Classic. Watching this game shows how baseball has changed in the past 30 years. It is remarkable to see Tug McGraw, a relief pitcher, go six full innings in this game. A relief pitcher would never go this long today. Also, this game was historically significant because it was the last game that Willie Mays ever played.

The thing I remember about this game was that Catfish Hunter and Tom Seaver were both warming up in the bullpen. Dick Williams knew how to manage. He got Hunter up and Yogi responded by getting Seaver up.

I remember thinking about this game in 1999 when Valentine let Kenny Rogers walk in the series winning run against the Braves. He could have brought in Rick Reed, who was scheduled to pitch game 7.

Game 3 of the 1973 World Series, the last game Willie Mays played.

At age 42, Mays was well past his prime, but he started Game 1 and played in the field in Game 2. His final appearance was as a pinch-hitter, stepping in for reliever Tug McGraw. He grounded into a forceout and never played again in the series, quietly ending one of the greatest careers of all.

Still the best ballplayer that I've ever seen and I'm sure that he never needed a steroid!

Met catcher Jerry Grote dropped the third strike from Harry Parker in the top of the 10th inning which lead to Oakland scoring the lead run.

Wasn't there but what coulda been. Without the Grote passed ball, maybe the Mets win the game and the series in 5 (as they won the next two). That arguably would have gone down as the biggest WS upset after the Miracle Mets 69 win.

Game 3 of the 1973 World Series was my very first World Series game that I attended. Shea Stadium was rocking. I can still see all the great highlights of the game. Wayne Garrett's first inning home run. Tom Seaver striking out Reggie Jackson three times and Willie Mays batting for the last time in his career. Even though the Mets lost the game being at a Mets World Series game is the greatest.

At the outset of that 4th game of the 70th World Series between the Athletics and Mets in the since-demolished Shea Stadium, (God rest his soul) the late Nelson Briles, who was pitcher at that time, sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" (the U.S. National Anthem).

This was my first World Series game, and only baseball game that I went to with my Dad (RIP). What I remember most about this game that Rusty drove in 5 of the 6 runs and Ken Holtzman not getting out of the first inning.

I think Cleon Jones played this game with 102 fever and the flu. I was only 7 at the time but I remember the announcers saying this. And Jones had a good game going 2 - 4 with a run scored! Another great post-season start by Kooz with McGraw finishing it up. It looked like the Mets were on their way to winning it all.

After this game I remember my father saying "well no matter how it turns out at least they (the Mets) won 2 out of 3 for the home crowd." This was of little consolation to me after the A's won the series in 7.

I was at this game. I remember Tug McGraw coming in to relieve all psyched up, tossing his mitt to the batboy and jumping off the golf cart before it even came to a stop. The crowd going wild with that Irish Jig music that accompanied his entrance. If memory serves, he struck out the side in the 9th on nine pitches. But, if it didn't happen that way, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

This was also the game Mike Andrews got the standing ovation from Mets fans when Charlie Finley was forced to restore him to the roster after Finley tried to replace him following a game in which Andrews made two errors.

How about the Scoreboard flashing......

Miricle number 2...Just 3 Thousand miles away

I was ten then; I'm forty now. I've had thirty years to think about it, and I still don't understand it. Why did Yogi pitch Seaver on three days rest when he had a 3-2 lead? Imagine how tough the Mets would have been in game 7 with Seaver starting and Matlack in the bullpen. I didn't get it then. I don't get it now, and my best guess is that I won't get it when I'm seventy.

I still don't understand why Yogi pitched Seaver on three days rest when he was one win away from their second World Championship in 5 years. This decision still frustrates me 33 years later.

Ok, I too have been wondering and have been bothered about all this for 35 years. Let's go over what preceded it. The Mets rotation went Seaver-Matlack-Koosman-Stone. When the Mets were up 2 games to one against the Reds, with a game they could afford to lose, Yogi went with Stone. Bear in mind that Stone had a career year, going 12-3, and pitched very well against the Reds, giving up only one run and getting a no-decision. The Mets lost the game in 12 innings but had a well-rested Seaver in Game 5, which they obviously won.

Now we get to the World Series. An almost identical situation, except the Mets were on the road in Oakland for the last two games. They had been home against the Reds.

Anyway, the Mets were up 3 games to 2 and could afford to lose one. What is crucial for younger fans to understand is that Tom Seaver was the biggest proponent of the fourth day of rest. He was very vocal about it his entire career. And there is no doubt that Seaver was simply not as dominant on three days rest.

But Yogi chose to go with Seaver in game 6 and Matlack in Game 7. And we all know what happened.

For years, I have given Yogi the benefit of the doubt, but I've changed my mind for two reasons. Last year, I heard the 1973 Oakland manager Dick Williams say he was shocked at what Yogi had done, and felt the A's simply could not have beaten a well-rested Seaver in a Game 7.

Then just last week, in an All-Star game interview on WFAN, Ed Kranepool, who said the 1973 Series loss was the most devastating point in his career, criticized Yogi's decision.

Kranepool said that Yogi was worried about being criticized in the press for not going with his two best pitchers.

Yogi should have started George Stone this game and saved Seaver for Game 7. Stone was 12-3 2.40 for the year winning his last 8 decisions and he deserved to start. And Seaver would have been well-rested for Game 7. Seaver did not pitch terrible in Game 6 but he did not have his best stuff. Could you imagine this happening today with SNY, ESPN, WFAN and all the sports coverage out there now? This decision would have been analyzed and re-analyzed then second-guessed ad nauseum. I was only 7 in 1973 and I remember a big deal being made about it back then.

I saw Stone at a baseball card show with a friend like 10 years ago and asked him about it and he definitely wanted the ball in Game 6. We'll never know what could have been.

It doesn't make a difference whether or not Yogi pitched Stone. Why don't they criticize Dick Williams for pitching Catfish on 3 days rest, or Holtzman for that matter. Rusty Staub could have put the Mets ahead, but struck out in game 6 (only because of his separated shoulder). Matlack was the hottest Met pitcher down the season stretch. It made sense pitching him in game 7. Tom Seaver said so himself, repeatedly, that it was the right move. Injuries were the plague of the 1973 season. If the Mets were completely healthy, they would've won over 90 games and be world champs!

Joe is correct, Matlack was darn near unhittable the last month of the season. Berra would have been skewered by the press if he pitched Stone in 6 and Seaver in 7 and pushed Matlack out of a start - who would know Matlack would stink it up in Game 7? Hindsight is 20/20. There are lots of fingers you can point at why the Mets lost this World Series: Millan's error, Grote's passed ball, Reggie Jackson's 2 GREAT catches playing CF for an injured Bill North, Tenace and Bando's clutch hits in Game 3, Staub's K in Game 6, Mets inability to drive in runners in scoring position in tight games. Definitely a shame. It was still an amazing 6 weeks for this third grader. I can still feel the sinking feeling when Garret's pop up came to rest in Campy's glove. Weren't we all sure they would win?

The fact to the matter is, no one questioned why Seaver started game 6 until after the World Series over. It's always easy to second guess.

If you followed Tom Seaver's career, he has been no stranger to 3 days rest. He had 3 days rest when they won the NL pennant. It is not unusual. No one worried about pitch counts in those days.

Here's something else to think about: The Mets had a 3 games to 2 lead. Did they really want to face Catfish in game 7? As a result, they faced Holztman. Better odds I think.

Frank The Met:

In the NLCS Game 4, Yogi had to go with Stone because Seaver pitched Game 1, and they played 5 straight games without a day off.

Jimmy B is Right! No one questioned why Seaver started game 6. During the game after the game, or after the series. All hindsight years later. Here's my second guessing, should've, could've would've criticism:

Harrelson should've led off instead of Garrett. Better OBP than Garrett, good bunter, and good speed around the bases. Rusty Staub shoud've played game 1 and play 1B with his sore arm. He was no stranger to 1B, as he played it before in Houston and Montreal. John Milner in left field. And if Mays was healthy, I would have started him in CF. Willie was an excellent defensive field captain. But because of those bad knees and his injured ribs. Hahn was the better choice.

Here is my line up:

SS Harrelson
2B Millan
1B Staub
RF Jones
LF Milner
CF Mays or 3B Garrett
3B Garrett or C Grote
C Grote or CF Hahn
P

You are playing the "what if" game. Since the Mets scored only 1 run in game 6... Stone and the rest of the Mets staff would have had to throw a shutout to win. The Mets scored only 2 runs in game 7. Yes... that obviously could have been enough with Seaver pitching in game 7... but it's not a guarantee either. Starting pitchers pitched on 3 days rest all the time in this era. Sandy Koufax pitched a shutout in game 7 of the '65 World Series on 2 days rest. You can't fault a manager for wanting to go with his best starters in a World Series. Catfish Hunter also pitched on 3 days rest in game 6 and went 7 1/3 IP & allowed only 1 earned run and got the win. To say Yogi blew it because he didn't realign his starting rotation especially after Matlack had thrown 8 innings allowing 0 earned runs in his previous start... is preposterous. Also... you can't predict what stuff a starting pitcher will have each start. Again... Yogi went with his best. You can second guess him... but again to say he "blew it" is ridiculous.

What people failed to realize is that Seaver hounded Berra for a game 6 start according to many reports. Should've gone with Stone. Outscored the A's 24 21 and should've won this series...

I distinctly remember that gargantuan Jack-ass Reggie Jackson homering off of Matlack and standing at Home- Plate for about a week and I half to admire it.. I was 15 years old at the time and watching at my Uncles house in South Beach,Staten Island and recall thinking that if I were on the mound this shameless Hotdog would be tasting dirt the next time up.I remember my anguish when Wayne Garrett popped up to end it but then I realized what a truly remarkable season it had been. If Tom Seaver would have beaten Catfish Hunter the day before we would have been World Champions, but it was not to be.

I was nine going on ten when I watched this game. From late August until Game 7, it was probably the best stretch of Mets baseball I had ever seen. (And that includes '86!)

Only time I ever cried after a Mets game. Why did Yogi not rest Seaver until Game 7?

This was the game Seaver should have pitched. This was the game that might not have even happened if Yogi hadn't started Seaver on three days rest the day before. But it was not to be. As a New York sports fan (who despises the Yankees), there are four players in sports history who stand out as villains. There is Reggie Miller, Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, and Reggie Jackson. When Jackson hit that monster blast off Matlack you could tell it was over, but it was a great season. However, after this season their team fell apart at the seams and they would not become contenders again until the Doc Gooden age.

I was a 14 year old girl, this team was my life, and this game devastated me. I remember thinking that we fans had willed this over-achieving team into the WS, and that it was destiny. I loved these guys.

After the last out, my mother called us in for spaghetti dinner. I was crying silently, absolutely devastated. I couldn't even talk. My mother asked my sisters, "What's wrong with her?" They all said, "The Mets lost the WS." She didn't say much to me, but she didn't force me to talk or eat. I didn't eat a bite of my favorite meal. I went upstairs to my bedroom and cried my eyes out. It was a sad day.

I was 7 years old when I saw this game. I watched Games 6 and 7 in Virginia because my parents had friends there that we were visiting. This was the first time I experienced real disappointment as a child to the point where it hurt.

And I'm still not totally over it years later. Matlack was a great pitcher for the Mets but he just did not have it on this day. I will always wonder what could have been if George Stone pitched Game 6 and a well-rested Seaver started Game 7 (if necessary!)

I have read the preceding comments and I sadly have to agree. It has been 40 years and I have not gotten over this loss. Nothing can console me, not even the 1986 World Series win. To be one game away, to be up three games to two, to come so close and not win, well, it has been devastating. A win in this World Series would have given the Mets a wonderful narraive - two World Series championships in a 5-year period with basically the same players - the Seaver, Jones, Harrelson, Koosman, McGraw era. Indeed, it should have been Stone in Game 6 and then Seaver in this game. Still, the 1973 Mets will also be a beloved group to the Met fans who remember the wonderful run in September and October. It was truly magical.

I was heartbroken then, but 40 years has allowed reality to set in: this was the true Miracle Mets, insofar it was Amazin' that a team so erratic and in last place only two months earlier could find themselves in Game 7 of the World Series. The 1969 team likewise was offensively weak, but steady and well managed. Yogi's inability to give Seaver and Matlack more breathing room and pull off the Gil Hodges-type moves proved fateful, but the story of this Series: the better team won. But a dramatic run, no doubt. A team that wins a pennant with the super platoon of Don Hahn and Davey Schneck in center field because it's better than Willie Mays? The Miracle of 1973!

Matlack was the right call. Since July (before the fateful last Game 7 inning) he had a 2.13 ERA, 7 complete games and 4 shutouts including a complete game shutout against the Reds in the NLCS. In 25 post season innings that October (prior to the last one) he gave up no earned runs. He pitched well on 3 days rest during that stretch, who was to know it would fall apart. I wonder what Grote thought of his arm the first two innings.. They could have won each one of the first 6 games. It will always be the Series of what might have been.. "of all the words of tongue and pen, none are more painful than 'what might have been' ".

Like some of the other commenters, I was about 10 years old and still not over it, all of these years later. Jon Matlack was a great pitcher, it happens how it happens. Lots of people would like to see NYC focused on the Mets this year and win it for Yogi. He was a great manager and his humor is right up there with how baseball affects society for the better.

Jon Matlack threw a good pitch to Bert Campaneris. But he reached out and slapped it over the fence. Years later they both talked about it, when they were teammates in Texas.

They were both shocked and amazed.

The pitch to Reggie however.. his grandmother could have hit it.. hanging curve ball.

I wonder if it would have been wise to walk him, and take your chances with Gene Tenace. There were 2 outs with Joe Rudi on first. Walking Reggie would have put Rudi in scoring position. Who knows? It's all second guessing.

Went to this game and sat about six rows behinds the Mets dugout. It was an overcast day, and about 18,000 people in the stands. Piazza and Beltran both hit long home runs as the Mets scored seven in the fifth inning.

We originally bought tickets for this game to see Mike Piazza return as DH for the Athletics. His long stint on the DL prevented this. However, in a nice touch for the home fans, Mike brought out the lineup card before the game to much applause. The game itself was a taut pitchers' duel otherwise distinguished by Paul LoDuca's wild temper tantrum over being called out on strikes. This set the stage for Ramon Castro taking his place and setting up the only run of the game.

HOW SWEEP IT IS!!! The boys are back. Reyes the ignitor gets it started off, Valentin and Gomez follow suit with 3 hits a piece. Nice weekend for the Mets and hopefully this continues. Maine looked solid in his second consecutive strong start. Here come the CARDS for a four game set and then a huge four game set in Philly. Mets are getting hot at the right time

A good game to have been in attendance to finish off the sweep. At least this game wasn't the cause of the collapse!

Went to my second walk off win in three days this week. Excellent come back with Wilmer once again crushing one to end it. Even in a disappointing season there are great games.

If you Google "Pete Alonso DEMOLISHES His Seventh Homer of the Season", you will see him do exactly that in a highlight from this game.

Note, "DEMOLISHED" is in all caps. It had to be that way.

Of all of the home runs in Pete's portfolio, this one to deep left field in the sixth inning (off the facing of the second deck) is his most impressive. It also turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Pete DEMOLISHED that ball.

In the top of the ninth with one out and the Mets down 3-2, Pete Alonso hit one of the most impressive home runs I've ever seen (deep center field off the concrete facing of Oakland Coliseum) to tie the game.

Watching a Pete Alonso monster shot like that reminds me of the days of Darryl Strawberry. Only Darryl could hit one as high and as far as the one Pete hit on this day.