[Déjà Bru]

[Tonight, the Mets will] hold a pregame ceremony to retire the No. 36 uniform that Jerry Koosman wore for the Mets for 12 seasons.

. . .

And Koosman surely deserves the gesture.

In 1969, of course, he was the left-handed counterpart to the right-handed Seaver, the two of them pitching one complete-game victory after another down the homestretch of the regular season. It would never happen now, in this era of pitch-count limits, but it was kind of remarkable even back then.

In the World Series that year, against the Orioles, Koosman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Game 2 and then pitched all nine innings in Game 5 as the Mets completed their stunning run to their first championship. Four years later, Seaver and Koosman were back in the Series again, although the Mets fell to the A’s in seven games.

. . .

[Koosman] now becomes just the third Mets player to have his number retired, joining Seaver’s No. 41 and Mike Piazza’s No. 31 (the team also has retired the numbers of managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges).

. . .

Seaver’s No. 41 is firmly in place at Citi Field, and now the No. 36 of Koosman, his old partner, will join him. Which is the way it should be.

It's nice that he's still around (age 78) to enjoy the honor.