The Yankees faced off against the NL expansion team Mets for the first time on March 22, 1962 for a spring training contest. Mets manager Casey Stengel, formerly the manager of the Yankees, set out determined to beat his old team. With the Mets leading 3-2 going into the ninth inning, Stengel sent his best pitchers to the mound. When the Yankees nevertheless managed to tie the score at 3-3, Stengel pinch hit veteran outfielder Richie Ashburn, who pulled off a ninth-inning pinch-hit single, giving the Mets a dramatic walk-off 4-3 victory at Al Lang Field in Florida.
