Niese's birthday tied to Mets' last title
Left-hander born on same day as '86 World Series clincher
KANSAS CITY -- Happy 29th birthday, Jon Niese. Happy anniversary also to the 1986 Mets, who won the franchise's last World Series title 29 years ago Tuesday.
It's a quirk that never fails to escape Niese, a pitcher on the 2015 Mets who hears about his coincidental birthday at this time each year.
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Since the day he came to the big leagues in 2008, people have been reminding him that he was born the same day the Mets won Game 7 of the Series against the Red Sox.
"Almost every year," Niese said, laughing. "This year, shockingly, I've heard the least of all. But it is kind of cool to think about."
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This year, Niese shares his birthday with Game 1 of the World Series (7:30 p.m. ET air time on FOX, 8 p.m. ET game time) as the Mets and Royals get underway at Kauffman Stadium. It's Ruben Tejada's birthday, too, though the shortstop, who is out because of injury, was born in 1989.
Niese wasn't able to enjoy the 1986 title at the time, of course. But as the third-longest-tenured player on the Mets' current roster, he has heard plenty of stories over the years from Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Tim Teufel and other '86 Mets who hang around Flushing in various roles.
"I've heard a lot of stories about Teufel and how the flair on their team, everything was electric," Niese said. "They had great camaraderie, which I see on this team, too."