Unofficial fan projectPiazza, Alfonzo, and the Return to October
Al Leiter
Starting pitcher · Mets 1998–2004
The part fans remember
What the numbers leave out.
Leiter pitched every important game like he had a personal argument with it. He could be slow, emotional, and stressful to watch, but when the Mets needed a big start, he wanted the ball.
Leiter joined the Mets in a 1998 trade with the Marlins and immediately became the emotional center of the rotation. He worked slowly, changed speeds, argued with himself, and somehow found a way through long innings. The style could make fans nervous, but it also made his big-game performances feel like acts of stubbornness.
Nothing showed that better than the 1999 regular-season tiebreaker in Cincinnati. With the Mets’ year on the line, Leiter threw a two-hit shutout and sent them into the playoffs. He helped them return in 2000, pitched well in the World Series, and took a tough Game 5 loss after carrying a close game into the ninth inning.
Leiter remained a reliable starter through 2004 and became the first pitcher to defeat all 30 major-league teams. His Mets record was not built on overwhelming stuff; it was built on preparation, competitiveness, and a willingness to take the ball when everyone understood the stakes. That is why his biggest starts are remembered so clearly.
The honest version
The best stretch
Leiter’s 1998–2000 peak gave the Piazza-era Mets a starter who welcomed pressure. He did not overpower hitters the same way every night, but he mixed pitches, changed speeds, worked out of trouble, and carried the emotion of each game on his face. His complete-game two-hit shutout in the 1999 tiebreaker at Cincinnati remains one of the finest win-or-go-home starts in franchise history.
The part that got messy
October repeatedly found him. Leiter pitched well during the 1999 run and took the ball for Game 5 of the 2000 World Series with the Mets trying to stay alive. He battled into the ninth before the Yankees finally scored, a cruel ending to a night when he had given the club every chance. His willingness to handle those assignments made him the trusted adult of the rotation.
Why fans still care
Leiter’s Mets value extended beyond the mound. He spoke honestly, represented the team well, and later returned as an adviser and broadcaster. Fans remember the big curveball and long at-bats, but also the sense that he understood why the game mattered to New York. He was not the most naturally gifted pitcher of his era; he was often the one people most wanted starting the game that could not be lost.
Leiter pitched with his whole face, especially when a call went against him. That intensity made him a perfect fit for the late-1990s Mets. He was not overpowering every night, but he knew how to survive a lineup and wanted the ball when the season was on the line. The 1999 tiebreaker shutout remains one of the most reassuring big-game starts a Mets fan has ever watched.
Signature Mets momentA two-hit shutout in the 1999 tiebreaker sent the Mets to the postseason.
The short list
The stuff worth remembering.
- 01Two-time Mets All-Star
- 022000 National League champion
- 03Mets Hall of Fame