Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Sixty, Count Em, Sixty (Part II)

2009-09-21T08:55:00.000-04:00

We continue along with our ranking of the most Metmorable home runs among the 6,000+ hit in team history with a look at #50-41.

For those who may have missed our first piece in this series, you can find it here:
http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2009/09/sixty-count-em-sixty-most-metmorable.html

We'll continue to rate them every Monday until we complete our list of 60. Your thoughts and feedback are welcomed in the comments section.

50- Robin Ventura, May 20, 1999 (#4,241, 4,245)

Let's talk Robin Ventura grand slams, and I'm referencing home runs, not singles. Ventura hit 18 grand slams in his major league career, including five for the Mets. A pair came on the same day, one in each end of a doubleheader against the Brewers.He became the first player ever to hit a grand slam in both ends of a doubleheader.

The common thread is that they both came on 3-2 pitches from lefties with two outs- the first in the first inning against Jim Abbott, the second in the fourth inning of the nightcap against Horacio Estrada. Newspaper accounts note that both were hit basically to the same spot.

Said Ventura afterwards: “Sometimes you get a little lucky.”

True Mets home run historians know...Hitting grand slams in each game of a doubleheader was nothing for Ventura, who hit two grand slams in one game for the White Sox in 1995.

49- David Wright, April 13, 2009 (# 5,920), Gary Sheffield, April 17, 2009 (#5,924), Omir Santos, May 23, 2009 (#5,943), David Wright, September 12, 2009 (#5,999)

I'm going to cheat here (a subtle reference to accusations regarding Sheffield's past) and lump the best of the 2009 home runs into one slot (it's my list...I can do that), because I feel it's a bit of a disservice to Msrs Wright and Santos to honor only Sheffield's 500th home run. That said, the latter did make for a pretty cool moment, mainly because of its significance to the game.

The Wright home run was the first in the new ballpark, and we should have known than that this was going to be an f-d up season when the Mets lost their Citi Field opener on a balk.

As my dad said to me after the Santos home run, which stunned the Red Sox and closer Jonathan Papelbon: “You're going to remember being at that one for a long time.”

Wright's homer to beat the Phillies made for a nice F-U moment, but given the way that our season has gone, and the Phillies season has gone, it was of little consequence otherwise.

True Mets home run historians know...The other two 500 home run club members to play for the Mets are Willie Mays and Eddie Murray.

48- Frank Thomas, July 9, 1964 (#281)

The closest thing the Mets have to a moment out of The Natural was this walk-off pinch-hit home run by Frank Thomas. The Mets trailed the Cardinals by a run with two outs in the ninth at the time and Thomas had not batted in six weeks, having missed time with a glandular infection. He hit a two-run shot against Curt Simmons to give the Mets an improbable victory.
To illustrate the general feeling of pessimism of the time: Thomas was asked by reporters after the game if he thought the ball was a home run when it left the bat.

“I thought it would go foul, as usual,” Thomas said.

True Mets home run historians know...Frank Thomas had the longest hold on the Mets single-season home run record. He hit 34 home runs in 1962, and that mark wasn't surpassed until Dave Kingman hit 36 in 1975.

47- Rod Kanehl, July 6, 1962 (#70)

Rod Kanehl got 50,000 King Korn trading stamps for hitting the first grand slam in Mets history, a pinch-hit blast in a 10-3 rout of the Cardinals.

Trading stamps, for those as unfamiliar as I was, were used as an enticement for customers, based on how much money they would spend. You could then put the trading stamps into a book and redeem them for fun prizes. I hope he bought something nice.

True Mets home run historians know...The Mets first six grand slams were all hit in their home ballpark. They didn't hit a grand slam on the road until Joe Christopher against the Milwaukee Braves on June 26, 1964.

46- Todd Hundley, September 8, 1996 (#3,893)

Say what you will about the legitimacy of Todd Hundley's numbers, and though I won't say much, I'll honor it in this position. He's still the first Met to reach the 40 home run mark, which he did with a home run off Joe Borowski in a Mets win in Atlanta. His 41st, hit six days later against the Braves would set the bar for all other Mets that followed.

There's a nice story with this one, which I learned of thanks to reading newspaper accounts of the game. The home run ball was caught by a fan named Marty Wannemacher, a lifelong Mets fan, who was living in South Carolina. Wannemacher got to meet Hundley after the game and was able to present him with his record-breaking baseball.

True Mets home run historians know...The Mets all-time home run leaders, among those whose main position was catcher: Mike Piazza: 220, Todd Hundley 124, Gary Carter 89, John Stearns 46, Jerry Grote 35, Ramon Castro 33.

45- Bobby Bonilla, April 6, 1992 (#3,268, 3,269)

I cringe to include any home runs by Bobby Bonilla on this list (much like I cringed when the first face I saw when entering my hotel at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh was Bobby Bo...I didn't say anything). But for what it was at the time, this was a pretty big deal- Gary Carter-esque in nature.

There were great expectations for this 1992 Mets team, and foolishly so, as it turned out. But for one day, we couldn't wipe the smile of Bonilla's face. His second of two homers, in the 10th inning against Cardinals closer Lee Smith, gave the Mets an Opening Day victory to remember in St. Louis.

True Mets home run historians know...Five Mets have had a multi-homer game on Opening Day: Robin Ventura (2001), Bobby Bonilla (1992), Darryl Strawberry(1988), Kevin McReynolds (1988) and Cleon Jones (1973).

44- Duke Snider. June 14, 1963 (#177)

Duke Snider's return to New York didn't get quite the fanfare that Willie Mays did, at least from what I understand, but it still made for a few nice moments for the twilight of Snider's career. This one, was a home run hit at Crosley Field in the first inning of a Mets win in Cincinnati, which made Snider the ninth member of the 400 home run club. That group numbers 45 strong today, though only one bears Edwin Charles Snider's nickname.

True Mets home run historians know...Duke Snider's 399th career home run was a 3-run walk-off home run to beat the Cardinals, 3-2 on June 7, 1963.

43- Mike Piazza, April 28, 1999 (#4,218)

There's no evidence to support that the momentum of a walk-off home run can carry a team through an extended period of time. But Mike Piazza's two-run, come-from-behind game-winning blast against Padres closer Trevor Hoffman was a major propellant for the 1999 Mets. The Padres had won 181 straight games when leading after eight innings. This home run would end that streak and start another.

It started a string of six straight wins, which improved the Mets record to 17-9 and allowed them to withstand the struggles that would follow for a time.

True Mets home run historians know...The first walk-off home run allowed by Trevor Hoffman was to the Mets Chris Jones, on May 31, 1995. The second was to Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza, on June 26, 1995. Piazza is the only player with two walk-off home runs against Hoffman.

42- Mike Piazza, June 17, 2001 (#4,641)

Mike Piazza never hit a walk-off home run against the Yankees. This one was as close as he came. The Mets entered the home eighth trailing 7-2, but staged a rally similar to the 10-run comeback against the Braves the year prior. This one netted only six runs instead of 10, but was capped in similar fashion, by a Mike Piazza home run, this one a two-run shot against Carlos Almanzar.

We thank Joe Torre as well for choosing not to try Mariano Rivera for a four-out save, as Rivera had earned saves in the first two games of this series.

True Mets home run historians know...Mike Piazza hit 78 go-ahead home runs in his Mets career. Four of those came against the Yankees. Piazza had 12 go-ahead home runs for the Mets against the Phillies, his most against any team by a good margin (the Giants and Braves rank second with 7).

41- Shawn Estes, June 15, 2002 (#4,772)

Winning is the best revenge. In the game in which all the attention was on whether Shawn Estes would retaliate against Roger Clemens' repeated issues with Mike Piazza, Estes got the last laugh, in the form of a home run against Clemens. His aim with his bat was better than his aim with his arm, as his attempt to plunk Clemens was rather pathetic.

I have to admit taking a little pleasure in making a few members of the media laugh. I was in the press box when the final pitching line was announced for Estes- 7 innings, no runs, 5 hits, 11 strikeouts, 1 walk.

“And no hit batsmen!” I said, loud enough for a decent-sized group to hear.

True Mets home run historians know...Estes, Mike Piazza and John Olerud are the three Mets to hit go-ahead home runs against Roger Clemens.

Angels and Demons

2009-09-18T10:21:00.004-04:00

Some leftovers from a Friday ...

* The Mets had it just as bad, walk-off error-wise, in 1971. Over a one-month span, they lost 3 games due to miscue.

- On July 17, they lost when Ken Boswell misplayed a Cesar Cedeno infield hit, and the subsequent error made Tom Seaver a loser when Roger Metzger scored the run that ended a 2-1 Astros win.

- On August 11, they fell 1-0 in 12 innings to the Padres, spoiling a great effort by Tom Seaver when catcher Jerry Grote made an errant throw to third trying to nail Larry Stahl, who was completing a double steal. Stahl would score the winning run.

- Three days later, they lost to the Giants, 6-5 in 10 innings, blowing a 5-4 edge in the ninth and dropping the game when centerfielder Don Hahn dropped a fly ball hit by Jimmy Rosario with the bases loaded (the play was scored SF-E8). It was one of three errors in the loss, which dropped the Mets to 13-30 over a 43-game span (sound familiar???)

* One quick note for those of you who remember 1980 fondly (and for 113 games, there was good reason to), keep this in mind: The team went a 2009-esque 11-38 over its last 49 games.

* Lastly, let's talk about the number 10, and I'm talking triples, not home runs.

Angel Pagan hit his 10th triple on Wenesday and is assured of being the 12th player since 1900 to hit 10+ triples in a season in which he played fewer than 90 games.

In fact, he's going to be only the 5th player to hit 10+ triples in 90 games or fewer since 1932 (the first since Juan Uribe in 2001). Quite impressive, though not enough for me to commit to him as an everyday player in 2010.

Also on this list. None other than Casey Stengel, who had 10 triples in 89 games in 1919 and 10 triples in 84 games in 1922. Amazin'

The Misery Is In The Details

2009-09-17T00:52:00.001-04:00

True Metsochists know...The Mets have one more walk-off loss than they did entering Wednesday.

That's all you need to know.

Straw Seems Safe

2009-09-16T09:41:00.002-04:00

Given David Wright's performance this season, it would seem that Darryl Strawberry's Mets record of 252 home runs is a little more safely positioned than we initially thought.

Wright ranks 5th in Mets annals with 140 home runs. He's 14 behind Dave Kingman, and it seems reasonable to expect him to bounce back and sky King next season, but after that, it's a bigger climb to the No. 3 spot and Howard Johnson's 192.

Carlos Beltran ranks sixth with 126 home runs. He's chasing Wright and Kingman. Given that he's only got two more years on his contract, and that he's only halfway to Strawberry, an ideal finish for him would be right alongside Johnson.

Carlos Delgado ranks 11th with 104 home runs and I get the feeling that's where he'll sit. He needs 14 to match Ed Kranepool's total and crack the top 10. That ain't happening unless he gets thrown a one-year invite to return next season, and I don't think he will.

Jose Reyes and John Olerud share the 25 spot on the Mets home run list with 63 dingers. A healthy Reyes could hit 14 and get to 77, which would match Robin Ventura for 20th place. An unhealthy version, and he's struggling to meet Jeff Kent's 67, which stand 24th.

It's a long plummet after that among current Mets, as we drop to the 73rd spot and Fernando Tatis's 18 home runs for the club, the same number as (among others) Ray Knight, Ken Singleton and Timo Perez. If he can hit two home runs, Tatis would become the 71st Met with 20, and match Ron Hunt and Johnny Lewis' team totals.

Brian Schneider is locked in a seven-way tie for 109th with a dozen home runs, and with his lack of competence with the bat this season, it's fair to surmise he finishes even in total with the likes of Kevin Mitchell, Rickey Henderson, and Joe Torre.

Gary Sheffield is one of 132 Mets to hit the double figure mark in home runs with the team. His 10 home runs put him in the same company as (again, among others) Bruce Boisclair and Richie Hebner.

I'll close this out with two others, which I find amusing at a time in which little about the Mets intrigues me. Jeff Francoeur is now the 147th-most prolificic home run hitter in Mets history. His tally of 7 stands even with Dwight Gooden. That's one better than Omir Santos, whose half-dozen home runs locks him into 163rd place, right along with The Franchise, Tom Seaver.

Sixty, Count Em, Sixty! (The Most Metmorable Regular Season Home Runs, Part I)

2009-09-14T08:59:00.001-04:00

Go figure that it was Anderson Hernandez that hit the Mets 6,000th regular season home run, probably the least likely source to hit the milestone marker in a season in which lunacy has become normalcy.

We wanted to commemorate that number and figured that the appropriate way to do so would be to rate the favorites of the bunch. But how many to count in our top grouping?

We settled on honoring the top 1 percent, which comes out to 60, and rather than say they're the greatest, let's just say they're the "most Metmorable," which seems like the right way to put it.

We'll present them, in reverse order here, 10 at a time and each Monday for the next 6 weeks, we'll continue the list along. Here is our inaugural compilation, from 60 to 51.

If you're wondering about the title, when you're talking home runs, there's no better person to reference than Babe Ruth. When Ruth hit 60 in 1927, he was quoted after his last as saying

"Sixty, count em, 60! Let's see some son-of-a-bitch match that."

We'll try to do the Babe proud here.

The Most Metmorable Regular Season Home Runs
60-51

60- Gil Hodges, April 11, 1962 (#1)

The Mets best leader was also their first home run leader. There's something appropriate about Gil Hodges hitting the first home run in Mets history, given what happened both to Hodges and the Mets, after the fact.

As for the details on this one, it was admittedly of little consequence to the game itself. It came leading off the fourth inning of the Mets first game, with the visitors trailing the host Cardinals, 5-2 (they would lose, 11-4). With his 362nd career home run, Hodges passed Joe DiMaggio on the career home run list.

True Mets home run historians know...The first Met to have more than one home run: Jim Marshall, who hit his first home run on April 14 and then hit another one on April 15, also making him the first Met to homer on consecutive days.

59- Jimmy Piersall, June 23, 1963 (#182)

This was a home run that was Metmorable for its silliness, and we like silly, so it earns a spot here.With the Mets leading the Phillies, 1-0 in the fifth inning, Piersall clubbed his only Mets home run off future manager Dallas Green. In order to ensure that the 100th home run of his career would be thought of historically, Piersall did something unique. He ran backwards around the bases (he touched the bases in order, but jogged backwards as he did so).

Lost in the humor: This was actually one of the finest pitched games in Mets history- a two-hit, no-walk shutout by Carlton Willey. And of course, the pronunciation of that last name rhymes with “silly.”

True Mets home run historians know...Entering play on September 14, 346 different Mets had hit at least one home run. The man who hit the 6,000th, Anderson Hernandez, has hit two.

58- Benny Ayala, August 27, 1974 (#1,307)

The 1974 Mets Media Guide describes Benny Ayala rather lustily: “Signed out of third Puerto Rico winter league campagign and into first major league training camp with label of superstar potential … his mid-December chart represented an eye-popping sweep of offensive stats ...defensively he earned respect for “a throwing arm that compares with Clemente's.”

Ayala would make headlines again on August 27, 1974, superseding the first start by Tug McGraw in more than a year, when he became the first Met to homer in his first at-bat. That surely was a sign of big things ahead.

On second thought...Benny Ayala's best minor league season consisted of 19 home runs. His best in the majors was just more than half of that. Don't believe everything you read.

True Mets home run historians know... The other three Mets to homer in their first major league at-bat are Mike Fitzgerald (1983), Kaz Matsui (2004) and Mike Jacobs (2005).

57- Cleon Jones, July 25, 1971 (#1,000)

I decided to include one “round-number” home run on this list, and picked the 1,000th since it was the first of the bunch. It was also a difference-maker. Leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Mets trailing the Astros, 1-0, Jones homered against Astros starter Ken Forsch. That began a four-run inning, and held up in a big way, as the Mets won, 7-6.

True Mets home run historians know...Dave Kingman hit the 2,000th Mets home run, Howard Johnson the 3,000th,, Bernard Gilkey the 4,000th and Jason Phillips the 5,000th.

56- Dave Kingman, June 4, 1976 (#1,464, 1465, 1,467)

I don't like Dave Kingman very much, even though he's the first baseball player I ever got an autograph from. I was actually surprised at Kingman's popularity at Shea-Closing day last season, as I only remember him as the over-the-hill strikeout king who preceded Keith Hernandez.

Those who are a little older appreciate days like these, when it looked like Kingman had an outside shot at a 60-home run season. On this day, he hit three home runs on three swings in an 11-0 rout of the Dodgers.

True Mets home run historians know...The eight Mets to hit 3 HR in a game (Jose Reyes, Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter, Darryl Strawberry, Claudell Washington, Dave Kingman, and Jim Hickman) all did so on the road.

55- Dwight Gooden, September 21, 1985 (#2,328)

This is the beginning of the pitchers home run section of this blog, and I like starting with Dwight Gooden's first major league home run. I was at the game against the Pirates when he hit it (in the first inning, as part of a seven-run burst against Rick Rhoden), and it was one of those moments that brought about the Superman myth that preceded Gooden at that time.

Everything he touched seemed to turn to gold, and that held true even for those who batted in his spot. Rusty Staub pinch-hit for Gooden later in the game and notched his 100th career pinch-hit.

This quote, from the next day's Bergen Record made me laugh:

“I think I'd take a home run even over a no-hitter,” Gooden said.

True Mets home run historians know...Twenty five Mets pitchers have homered in a game. Dwight Gooden is the team leader with seven.

54- Jack Hamilton, May 20, 1967 (#564)

This is the way it was for those early Mets. Their pitcher could hit a grand slam, as Jack Hamilton did against the Cardinals, and former Met hurler Al Jackson, and they'd still find a way to lose (for the record, a pitcher hasn't had his team lose a game in which he hit a grand slam in 32 years- since Don Stanhouse in 1977). In this one, they blew a 9-4 lead. Hamilton, a reliable reliever for the Mets in 1966, relied on his bullpen for help and didn't get it.

The good news: The Mets haven't lost a game in which their pitcher hit a grand slam since. The bad news: A Mets pitcher hasn't hit a grand slam since.

Sadly Hamilton is better known for something else he did in 1967. Hamilton was traded to the Angels and on August 18, he beaned the great young slugger, Tony Conigliaro, greatly limiting the prospect's capabilities for the rest of his career. Conigliaro would struggle to recover and so would Hamilton. He was done with major league baseball two years later.

True Mets home run historians know...Jack Hamilton hit .140 as a Met. The lowest Mets batting average by a Mets pitcher who homered is .045 by Mark (5-for-112) Clark.

53- Walt Terrell, August 6, 1983 (#2,061, 2,062)

The only pitcher in Mets history to hit two home runs in a game did so against a Hall of Famer, Ferguson Jenkins. He admits to being a little lucky.

“It was a fluke,” Walt Terrell said in a story in Inside Pitch a couple of years ago, acknowledging that the wind was blowing out at Chicago's Wrigley Field that day.

For someone who was only with the team for three seasons, Terrell has a lot of claims to fame. Besides the home run, he was the first Met pitcher to get a win against Nolan Ryan, and was involved in two of the most important trades the team made in the last 30 years (Ron Darling and Terrell from the Rangers for Lee Mazzilli; Terrell to the Tigers for Howard Johnson).

True Mets home run historians know...Walt Terrell hit more home runs against Ferguson Jenkins then, among others, Jim Rice, Joe Morgan, Keith Hernandez, and Gary Carter.

52- Carlton Willey, July 15, 1963 (#194)

Carlton Willey actually makes Jack Hamilton look like a pretty good hitter. Willey hit .099 in his major league career. To hit .099 isn't easy. Willey pulled off the mathematically difficult feat by going 26-for- 263 with 143 strikeouts (helped by a 1-for-54 in 1961).

This Willey was no Mays. His grand slam against Houston barely cleared the fence, according to newspaper accounts. But it was heralded by fans who not only got to see the first home run by a Mets pitcher, but to watch the home team snap a 15-game losing streak.

True Mets home run historians know..Willey, Jack Hamilton, George Stone, Walt Terrell and Dwight Gooden share the Mets record for most RBI in a game by a pitcher, with four.

51- Ron Hunt, April 23, 1964 (#237)

The 1964 Mets hit 58 home runs in their first season in the place they would call home for the next 44 years. In fact, that team had more home runs at Shea Stadium than they did on the road (58-45), which doesn't seem like a likely accomplishment.

The first of the Mets home runs there was hit by Ron Hunt, in the eighth inning of a rather unimpressive, 5-1 loss to the Cubs. It was rather non-descript, so we'll keep it that way as well, though we honor it here for being No. 1. Two thousand, seven hundred fifty seven more would follow. A few others will be on this list.

True Mets home run historians know...The 2nd Mets home run at Shea Stadium was hit by George Altman on May 6, 1964.

Next Monday, We reveal numbers 41-50.

Long Time Coming

2009-09-12T22:19:00.003-04:00

Fistbumps, and lots of them, for David Wright. And I guess we should give one to Pedro Feliciano too.

* This was the 137th time in Mets history in which the Mets won a road game by scoring to win in the 9th inning. It was the fourth such win of the season, the first since May 23, 2009, when Omir Santos hit a two-run home run to beat Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox.

* It's the first time they've won in that fashion in Philadelphia since a 1-0 win on May 23, 2002, on Mark Johnson's ninth-inning double.

* It's the seventh time that the Mets came from behind in the 9th inning to win IN THE 9th inning in Philadelphia, the first since September 3, 2001, when they scored five runs in the 9th inning to beat the Phillies, 10-7.

* It's the second straight year that the Mets beat the Phillies, 10-9, in Philadelphia. They also won in Philly on July 7, 2008, and July 25, 1990. The latter is best known for being the game in which Bob Murphy yelled "They win the damn thing!" after the Mets got the last out.

* It's only the second time in David Wright's career that he hit a go-ahead, deficit-erasing home run in the eighth inning or later. His other was a three-run home run in the eighth inning against the Marlins on July 9, 2006. The Mets trailed 5-4 at the time, and ended up winning, 7-6.

* Wright's eighth-inning homer vs Brett Myers gave him four against Myers, matching his most against any pitcher. He also has four against Livan Hernandez, Brad Penny, and Horacio Ramirez.

* Wright's two home runs were the 5,998th and 5,999th in Mets regular season history. Wright has 140, 5th-most in Mets history, 14 behind Dave Kingman for fourth.

* Wright's six RBI gave him a trio of six-RBI games. Wright, Dave Kingman, and Robin Ventura share the Mets record for 6+ RBI games, with three.

* The six RBI also tied the Mets record for most RBI by a Met against the Phillies. Frank Thomas (1962) and Mike Piazza (2002) shared that mark, though both occurences came in Mets losses.

True Metscreants know...This was the fourth game in Mets history in which they went an entire game without striking out or walking. The other three, all losses, came in 1980 (at Expos), 1982 (at Pirates), 1993 (at Braves).

Worthwhile flashback

2009-09-10T11:18:00.001-04:00

http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2005/09/boswell-that-ends-well.html

40 years ago today, Mets move into first place to stay...

The Beltran Tolls (or Tholes) for Thee

2009-09-08T10:52:00.003-04:00

Carlos Beltran is returning just in time.

Beltran, who had a walk-off hit for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Saturday, comes with the Mets closing in on 6,000 home runs (4 away!), and with the Mets lacking in one statistical category for the 2009 season.

The Mets do not have a walk-off home run. They are one of six teams in baseball without one. They've had a walk-off home run in all but three seasons in their history (1973, 1979, and 1994), and we're closing in on a fourth.

Carlos Beltran has five career walk-off home runs. Considering how much David Wright's power has been lacking, how Gary Sheffield figures to be absent the rest of the season, and how the rest of the lineup is basically bereft of walk-off capability, Beltran is our best hope.

It's A Celebration!

2009-09-07T09:40:00.004-04:00

I don't know if you got to see Prince Fielder's walk-off home run celebration on Sunday, but I found it terrificly entertaining.

If you didn't see it, imagine Fielder stomping on home plate as hard as he could. Rather than swarm him, his teammates all toppled over, as you might see a child do during a game of Ring Around The Rosie.

Fielder than raised his arms in triumph, and everyone (at least on the Brewers) got up and had a good laugh.

This was clearly a play on the Yankees recent helmet bouquet toss following a walk-off home run, and the variety of things that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers do during pre-game introductions.

I liked it. It didn't interfere with the game. It was funny. It was memorable.

It got me to wondering how some of the Mets teams might celebrate a walk-off home run.

The 1962 Mets would probably all fall down too, except they'd trip over themselves, accidentally.

The 1969 Mets would probably all bow and pray in tribute to the great Miracle that was.

The 1973 Mets would all slap their thighs and scream, a la Tug McGraw after his game-ending strikeout in Game 5 of the World Series.

The 1986 Mets would all pour a beer and raise a toast (or snort a line of cocaine, but that's not quite as family friendly.

The 2007 and 2008 Mets would all jump up and down with their hands wrapped around their throats (It sucks, but it's true).

And the 2009 Mets would all grab various body parts and pantomime pain and suffering, and the home run hitter would probably break his leg jumping on home plate.

Kudos, by the way, to the Mets fan at Saturday's game, sporting a jersey, on which one sleeve had band aids, with the uniform numbers of all the currently injured players.

Parnell for the Course

2009-09-04T23:30:00.004-04:00

Fistbump to Bobby Parnell since he doesn't get credit for anything else from a seven-inning gem.

* Mets Walk-up Win (bottom of the 8th) #172 was the Mets fourth of the season, their first since August 1, when Angel Pagan hit a walk-up grand slam to beat the Diamondbacks.

* The four walk-up wins matches their total from the 2008 season.

* It was the Mets first walk-up win over the Cubs in 15 years. Their last was April 14, 1994, when Jeff Kent hit a two-run eighth-inning homer to beat the Cubs, 10-9.

* It was the third time the Mets got a walk-up win by a 6-2 score, the first since beating the Dodgers on July 19, 1991.

* It was the second time this season that Fernando Tatis had the game-winning walk-up RBI. He also had the walk-up grand slam against the Rockies on July 27.

* Cory Sullivan became the 346th different player in Mets history to hit a home run. It was regular season home run #5,994.

* The Mets have won their last 17 games in which their starting pitcher has pitched at least 7 shutout innings.

* This was the 11th time that a Mets starter pitched 7+ shutout innings, allowing 3 or fewer hits, against the Cubs. That's a list that includes one-hit shutouts by Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, and Gary Gentry.

The Zipper Ripper

2009-09-03T10:59:00.004-04:00

Writing about the current state of the Mets is a bummer. Instead, I'll tell you a funny story.

I don't think I'm embellishing any details, but it's been awhile, so I apologize if I inadvertently fictionalize anywhere.

Flash back about 15 years ago to my college days. As a sophomore, I won an award (third-place) from the New Jersey Press Association for a feature I wrote about our athletic director's eclectic tastes in literature (he liked Chaucer) and music (Gregorian chants).

The problem was that the awards ceremony coincided with the one day a week in which I guested on our radio station's sports talk program, and did the sports report for the 5:30 news.

If you knew me in college then, you knew that, at the time

a) I hated being on the school newspaper

and

b) I lived for doing the sports talk show and the sports reports more than anything else.

Something happened the night before the ceremony and I got into a nasty argument with my roommate (it was over something newspaper-related). The result was that I slept four hours, at best.

We were scheduled to leave at around 8:15 a.m. The sports talk show aired at 8-9, so that meant I couldn't be on that day. We ended up leaving at 9:10 a.m. So I had missed a chance to be on the show.

Our driver that day had decided to pull an all-nighter to finish a project. He was going on zero sleep. I seem to recall six or seven of us trying to fit into a car meant to seat five. It was decidedly uncomfortable. And I was with a group of people whom I wasn't exactly pleased to be with.

After an hour's drive, we arrived at the hotel for the awards banquet. My first stop was the bathroom.

I go into a stall, did my business and zippered up.

If you're a male, you know that there are three things that can happen when you zip up your pants.

One- nothing

Two- You hit a "roadblock" (remember Ben Stiller in "There's Something About Mary?")

I ended up with thing #3...

At the conclusion of my hand's uphill climb, I pulled just a little bit.

And the zipper came off into my hand.

Have you ever seen a nice pair of pants with a zipper missing?

It's a very distinct look.

I walk out of the bathroom and do my best to cover it up. I have a bookbag with me, so rather than wear it on my shoulders, I carry it in front. That basically meant I was walking around as if I were pregnant.

We go to look for a table at the banquet and our driver, the editor of the paper, decides we have to sit with someone important. So we end up sitting at a table with the publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

So I'm sitting there through this awards ceremony, knowing that I'll have to get up at some point to receive my award and be acknowledged. And I'm praying that this guy won't notice that I'm grabbing my certificate with one hand, while "covering up" the vacant spot with the other.

Thankfully he didn't.

After getting my award, I'd decided I'd had enough. The others in my group wanted to stay and brown-nose. My goal was to get the hell out of there.

So I left the hotel, grabbed a cab and asked to go to the nearest train station.

We got there. I believe the fare was $12. I only had a couple of $20s in my pocket.

"I don't have change," said the cabdriver.

So he ended up getting a 67 percent tip. And I ended up missing the train by a minute or two.

This was costly.

I had figured I could salvage the day by racing to the radio station by 5:30, and doing my sports report.

After I got to my destination, I had to take a bus back to campus. That meant another wait, and a crawl through rush hour traffic.

I got back to my room at 5:45 and flipped on the radio.

"And now it's time for Rob Sinatra with the sports."

Rob Sinatra proceeded to deliver what I thought was the best sports report I'd ever heard. He probably rattled through 30 scores without messing up once. I was convinced that he'd be doing all my sports reports from then on.

Did you ever see the Charlie Brown cartoon in which he's all excited about somethingorother, a series of unfortunate things happen and in the final panel he says "Maybe I'll just go home and lie in bed all day."

That was me on the conclusion of that day about 15 years ago.

It's also the story of the 2009 Mets season.

From Abbott to Zeile

2009-09-02T11:33:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited to announce a new project that I've put together.

With the Mets on the verge of reaching 6,000 regular season home runs, I've put together a Mets home run encyclopedia of sorts. Thanks to the research tools at Baseball-Reference.com, I was able to assemble data for every Mets regular season and postseason home run in one place.

I haven't yet fully figured out how to make the best use of this data, but you'll surely see it sprinkled into my work in the future.

I'm currently working on a series of pieces in which I will rank the most notable (I suppose you can call it greatest) Mets home runs of all-time. That will probably debut in the next week or so.

For now, I leave you with some minutiae to show off the extent of what I can do...

* The Mets have hit 6,055 home runs, if you combine regular season and postseason. They've hit 5,992 in the regular season and 63 in the postseason. The first was hit by Gil Hodges on April 11, 1962. The most recent was hit by Angel Pagan on August 27, 2009.

* The first Met to hit a go-ahead home run was Felix Mantilla against the Pirates on April 15, 1962. The first Met to hit a go-ahead grand slam was Jim Hickman on April 21, 1963.

* The deepest into an at-bat that a Met has been documented to hit a HR: 12 pitches, by Roberto Alomar against Tony Armas on April 14, 2002. (We don't have full data on this stat).

* The biggest deficit at the time of a Mets home run? This one's stood for 47 years. On July 24, 1962, Richie Ashburn hit a two-run homer off Stan Williams, cutting into a 17-0 Dodgers lead.

* The biggest lead at the time of a Mets home run? 16 runs...David Wright's home run against Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Lyon built on a 16-0 Mets lead.

* By my count, the 500th home run in Mets history was hit by Eddie Bressoud against Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, on July 14, 1966.

* Pedros the Mets have homered against: Ramos, Borbon (Sr. and Jr.), Astacio, and Martinez

* Two Mets have hit a game-tying grand slam in their careers- Todd Hundley and Carl Everett.

* Alphabetically speaking, Kurt Abbott ranks first on the Mets homer list. Todd Zeile rates last.

* The Mets have homered off 3 pitchers with the last name starting with Z this season: Clay Zavada, Jordan Zimmermann, and Barry Zito.

Taking Away The Positives

2009-09-01T10:50:00.002-04:00

* The Mets are 10-5 against teams currently holding the wild card spot (5-3 vs Giants, 3-1 vs Rockies, 2-1 vs Red Sox).

* Luis Castillo, hitting .312, ranks second in the major leagues in highest batting average by a player with 0 or 1 home runs (Juan Pierre: .322)

* The Mets lead the NL in stolen bases, and rank second in the league in triples.

* Carlos Beltran's batting average (.336) is 16 points better than Albert Pujols. David Wright's also 4 points up on Pujols at .324

* Nelson Figueroa's .333 batting average is the best for any pitcher this season with a minimum of 10 plate appearances.

* Omir Santos has a commanding lead in every possible category in the race for most "anything" by an Omir.

* Darren O'Day (3 IP) and Billy Wagner (2 IP) will tie the Mets record for best ERA in a single season with their 0.00 efforts.

* Among those pitchers who have started a game for the Mets this season, none has a record worse than two games below .500.

* Pedro Feliciano trails by only 3 games (he's pitched 70) in the race for the NL lead. if he finishes first, he'd be the first NL pitcher to lead his league in games pitched in back to back years since Paul Quantrill (2002-2003)

* For those familiar with the stat, the Mets are performing exactly how their Pythagorean projection would expect them to perform...for those unfamiliar: Projected win percentage= (Runs squared)/(Runs squared) + (Opponents runs squared)

A Figueroa Flashback

2009-08-31T13:13:00.001-04:00

A little busy today...Put Nelson Figueroa in with this group

http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2008/05/best-games-i-know-bad-pitcher-good-game.html

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

2009-08-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

One of the neat things about having a blog is that, in theory, anyone can read it, from anywhere.

And they might not always be looking for your blog.

The magic of the Google search has, for the most part, eluded this blog during its four years of existence.

For the most part, when someone has found this blog via Google search it's because they knew of the blog, but didn't know the exact address, so they punched "Mets Walk Offs" into Google and got me.

Most of those searches ended when the blog changed its URL to eliminate the "Blogspot" reference. And for the most part, so did the arrivals via Google search.

That changed within the last 10 days however. On Friday, I got an e-mail from a reader who informed me he was looking for Brett Hinchliffe's whereabouts and stumbled upon my recent post. He thought I was being serious about Hinchliffe's return to the Mets (he wasn't the only one fooled by my Brett Favre parody) and was curious why he wasn't on their roster yet.

Turned out he found me during a Google search.

So I looked at the website I use to track my hit tallies, and was shocked to find that I've been the recipient of a bonanza. Google searches galore have found their way to me. I want to share some of them because I found them amusing and interesting.

famous seinfeld quote george pink hue
In the Seinfeld episode, The Fix Up, George is very inquisitive regarding the facial features of his blind date. He asks Jerry if her cheek has a "pinkish hue." Replies Jerry in his annoyed manner: "There's a hue."

For me, it was a description of how I felt after a Mets walk-off win.

Orlando Mercado father died home run

Orlando Mercado was briefly a Met, and he may have hit a home run in tribute to his dead father. I don't know.

His significance to me is that I wrote how he once broke up, in the ninth inning the closest thing I ever experienced to a perfect game while playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball.

Mets Young Artists Program

If the Mets have a young artists program, I'd love to see some of the work that results from it.

I imagine this person was checking for a program offered by the Metropolitan Opera House and not a closer examination of Johan Santana's first career win.

April 13, 1967 Mets News

There was some pretty big Mets news on April 13, 1967. It marked the major league debut of one George Thomas Seaver. I hope that's the news to which they were referring.

amy stack at davisvision

When the Mets were pulling numbers off the Shea wall last year, representing how many games remained in that ballpark, they chose not to have a member of the 1969 team pull off #69. Instead, they had two reps from Davis Vision, including one named Amy Stack.

I have yet to get a search for the puller-offers of #68: "Harry and Digit from Cyberchase."

Nuns Day at Mets Citi Field on August 24, 2009

It was actually, but I wrote about a Nuns Day at the ballpark some 40+ years prior.

100 Worst Mets of All-Time

Great idea for a project...coming soon, perhaps :)

1962 mets season ending triple play

A misnomer actually. They actually hit into a triple play in the 8th inning, not the 9th.

Mets took September off

Wishful thinking, though it appears I've written 85 blog entries that put all four of those words to use.

A TD and an FG, to an FG

2009-08-28T10:35:00.004-04:00

The Mets won a game by the score of 10-3 on Thursday.

I thought that was an unusual final score, but when I checked, I noticed that the Mets won by the score of 10-3 a month ago- July 25 in Houston.

Then I checked a little further and noticed something really unusual.

Here's a list of the last 10 times the Mets won a game by the final score of 10-3.

8/27/09 at Marlins
7/25/09 at Astros
6/25/05 at Yankees
8/19/04 at Rockies
6/12/01 at Orioles
8/10/00 at Astros
9/12/99 at Dodgers
8/3/99 at Brewers
4/9/99 at Expos
9/22/97 at Marlins

Notice what they all have in common?

They were all done on the road.

The last time the Mets won a HOME GAME by a 10-3 final score, their starting shortstop was Manny Alexander and their starting moundsman was soon-to-be 4-0 Armando Reynoso, and we could rejoice in Carlos Baerga beating up the Phillies with four hits and four RBI. It was May 31, 1997.

Since then, the Mets have scored 10 runs in a HOME GAME 24 times. They have excorcised every possible 10-run score combination within the last five years (the last of those being 10-1 against the Pirates on May 9)...except for the elusive, 10-3.

I don't know why this sort of thing intrigues me, but it does. Perhaps because football season is coming, and that's a football kind of score.

True Metball fans know... The Jets never won a game at Shea Stadium by a 10-3 score.

Got a big project that I'm unveiling info on next week...think it will be rather popular, so please check back...

Sound Familiar?

2009-08-27T10:53:00.002-04:00

Thursday marks the anniversary of a game that might be confused for one that took place in 2009.

This one occurred in 1963 in Forbes Field against the Pirates, a team that gave the Mets plenty of trouble in their early days.

An Al Moran single gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning and Grover Powell, who pitched so well in his first big league start a week earlier, gave the visitors five very good scoreless innings.

Powell's day ended prematurely when he was hit in the cheek by a line drive, which forced him to leave the game due to blurred vision. His replacement in the sixth, Galen Cisco, pitched credibly for three innings.

In the home ninth, with the Mets still up, 1-0, Pirates shortstop Dick Schofield Sr. (father of the future Met) led off with a walk. The next batter, Manny Mota, bounced a game-ending single to centerfield.

How can that be, you ask? A single with a man on first and nobody out. There should be two on, none out, but the Mets should still be ahead, 1-0, right?

Not quite.

The newspapers of the time provide great description of the events that occurred within this play. I use them to provide the details because I don't know anyone who could remember this game, and I don't know any Met fan of the time who would want any sort of memory from this.

The culprits in defeat were multiple.

* Centerfielder Duke Carmel failed to field Mota's hit cleanly. The ball bounced away and rolled to right field.

* Rightfielder Joe Christopher retrieved the ball and pegged it back towards home plate. The throw however was apparently nowhere within the vicinity of home plate. That allowed Schofield to scamper home with the tying run.

* Catcher Jesse Gonder watched Christopher's ugly throw, rather than chase it down.

* Pitcher Galen Cisco, trying to retrieve Christopher's wild throw, fell down. By the time he got the ball, Mota was on his way to the plate. Cisco's throw to Gonder was in time, but Gonder failed to block the plate, and Mota slid in with the winning run.

Leonard Koppett's story in the New York Times the next day is wonderfully detailed and includes the note that winning pitcher Bob Friend, now a Josh Johnson-esque 8-0 against the Mets, had not allowed an earned run to them in 47 (!) innings. I like his lead, so we'll end with that.

"Even to those who may be inured by exposure to the ability of the New York Mets to fritter away a ball game at the last moment, tonight's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates is hard to describe and harder to believe."

The truly Inured Mets fan knows... Dick Schofield Sr. is actually the great-uncle of Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth.

Leftover Minutiae

2009-08-26T10:31:00.006-04:00

* A belated happy birthday to Choo Choo Coleman, who celebrated on Tuesday. Coleman has the distinction of having the second-lowest batting average for any Met to hit a walk-off home run.

Coleman's .205 batting average trails only Jim Tatum's .180 for worst by a Mets walk-off home run hitter.

* Johan Santana's 13 wins, not the record for most by a Mets pitcher making 25 or fewer starts in a season.

Dwight Gooden holds that mark, with 15 wins in his 25-start 1987 season.

* Billy Wagner departs as one of 10 Mets pitchers to strike out better than 10 batters per 9 innings in his Mets career.

The full list:

18.00- Kenny Greer (2 strikeouts, 1 inning)
18.00- Bob Gibson (not the Hall of Famer, 2 strikeouts, 1 inning)
15.43- Kane Davis (14 innings)
13.92- Jorge Julio (21 1/3 innings)
13.50- Matt Franco (2 strikeouts, 1 1/3 innings)
13.50- Jesse Hudson (3 strikeouts, 2 innings)
11.83- Armando Benitez
11.57- Joe Vitko (6 strikeouts, 4 2/3 innings)
10.91- Billy Wagner
10.80- Rich Sauveur (4 strikeouts, 3 1/3 innings)

* Lastly, I think it's pretty cool that the first inside-the-park home run hit at Shea Stadium was hit against Sandy Koufax, and the first inside-the-park home run hit at Citi Field was hit against Pedro Martinez. Pedro will likely become the 4th Hall of Famer to allow an inside-the-park HR to the Mets, joining Koufax, Steve Carlton, and Bruce Sutter.

If Ever A Game Symbolized A Season

2009-08-24T10:28:00.005-04:00

"And when you write the story of this game, where in the world do you begin??"
-- Al Michaels, after John Shelby caught the final out of Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS
(IE: The Mike Scioscia HR Game)

* I begin at the beginning, or at least the third batter of the game...Jayson Werth homering on the 12th pitch of his at-bat against Oliver Perez.

Baseball-Reference has pitch data dating back to 1988, and the only 12-pitch at-bat resulting in a home run against the Mets was hit by Jose Gonzalez of the Dodgers, against Wally Whitehurst, on May 21, 1990. I'm guessing not many remember that, since the score was 12-2 Mets at the time.

* I could have begun with Oliver Perez and the disgustingness that was his unfinished, 47-pitch first inning. There are no examples, dating back to 1988, of a Mets starter throwing 47+ pitches, while failing to get out of the first inning.

The closest example to be found was the grossness of a Ron Darling start in Cincinnati, on July 19, 1988, in which he allowed nine first-inning runs (five earned) and was pulled after two outs and 44 pitches.

* There's obviously a lot that could be written about former Mets pitchers returning to face the Mets, and I'm not gonna get into that now.

As far as former Mets pitchers getting RBI against the Mets, that I will note, in brief.

Pedro Martinez is the 3rd former Mets pitcher to get an RBI against them this season, joining fan favorites Mike Hampton and Braden Looper. The Mets had actually gone the previous two seasons (2007 and 2008) without allowing an RBI to a former pitcher of theirs.

I will say that if you see a pitcher get an RBI against the Mets (747 times, a pitcher has had at least one), you could probably turn off the TV. The last nine games in which the Mets have allowed an opposing pitcher to get an RBI, they've lost.

* As far as the inside-the-park home run goes...
You may have heard on TV or in print, thanks to the folks at Elias, that this was the 2nd time a Mets player led off a game with an inside-the-park home run (Charlie Neal, 1963). Let's fill in one other blank...

Angel Pagan hit the 25th inside-the-park home run in Mets history, and amazingly the 6th to come against the Phillies. The others came in 1963 (Charlie Neal), 1971 (Don Hahn), 1980 (Lee Mazzilli), 1993 (Tim Bogar) and 2000 (Timo Perez).

* Moving ahead to Pagan's second home run, it made him noteworthy, as the first Met to hit an inside-the-park and an outside-the-park home run since the afforementioned Tim Bogar, against the Phillies in 1993. Of course, we don't like to talk about that one either, since Bogar wrecked his hand sliding into home plate on his inside-the-parker (a maneuver only acceptable in 1962, 1993, or 2009).

* There's been a lot written and said about this being the 2nd game-ending unassisted triple play ever (Johnny Neun, 1927 Tigers turned the other), but I wanted to comment on the synergy of that triple play and another.

The first triple play in Shea Stadium's history took place 45 years ago this month. That game shared two things in common with this one.

- The opponent was the Phillies.
- The Phillies scored six runs in the first inning.

Other than that, we're lacking in absurdities for the other contest, an 8-1 Mets loss that featured, typical of the time, four Mets errors. The triple play came in the second inning, hit by Bobby Klaus- a line drive back to the pitcher, John Boozer, who turned the trick via 1-6-3.

* Let's end with a note on the final score, thanks to Greg Prince of Faith and Fear. If you were going to rate this the strangest of the 22 games that the Mets have lost by a 9-7 score, you'd have to rate the game of May 5, 1981 second.

That day, the Mets trailed 9-0 in the ninth inning but strung together seven runs to make the game a lot more interesting. The inning even featured the Mets hitting for the cycle- via four consecutive hitters (Brooks single, Trevino double, Flynn triple, Jorgensen home run), but just like on Sunday, the home team would come up short in the end.

The triply played Mets fan knows... In terms of the most famous triple plays the Mets have ever hit into, this one would seem to replace the one from September 30, 1962 (also contributed by Faith and Fear). In the final game of that 120-loss season, Joe Pignatano hit a triple play in his final big league at-bat. He'd have been even more distinct had he done so in the ninth inning instead of the eighth.

No Offense, None Taken

2009-08-21T09:57:00.003-04:00

This weekend, we celebrate the accomplishments of mediocrity, and I say that with pride.

The 1969 Mets were a great team and one of the best stories in baseball history.

One thing they were not was an offensive juggernaut.

The 1969 Mets hit .242 as a team. The only teams with a worse batting average were the two expansion franchises, the Expos and Padres.

But it was a consistent .242. I looked up their offensive numbers from the season-ending surge that propelled them from 9 1/2 games out to the NL East title. In that stretch, they hit...242.

The 1969 Mets slugging percentage of .351 ranked next-to-last in the NL, as was their .662 OPS.

The 1969 Mets struck out 1,089 times- third-most in the National League.

The 1969 Mets were the 11th-best team in the NL for hitting doubles, the eighth-best for hitting home runs and the eighth-best for stealing bases.

They fare a little better, rankings-wise, when you include the AL within these tallies, but not by much.

You know what offensive category the Mets were statistically best at?

Not hitting into double plays.

The Mets hit into only 105 of them, tied for the best mark in the majors.

That's because there was often nobody on base!

If you take out Cleon Jones (admittedly an unfair thing to do), the rest of the team hit .232. They had one player hit 15 or more home runs. Their RBI leader had 76 (and yes, this is statistically dicey, since they didn't have Donn Clendenon for the full year). Their leader in stolen bases had 16. Their No. 2 hitters hit a combined .222... We could go on and on.

And yet this team somehow won the World Series. Amazin'

Our Special Bonds: That's Just Grand

2009-08-19T13:21:00.005-04:00

Appropos of nothing, I used Baseball-Reference to create a Mets grand slam database the other day.

Figured my first use of it would be for some good, fun, trivia questions, ones a little tougher than "Who has the most grand slams in Mets history?" (Mike Piazza, 6).

Answers in the comments section

1- The record for most grand slams allowed by a pitcher against the Mets is 3. Name the pitcher who allowed them.

Hint: The Mets who hit them were Robin Ventura, Cliff Floyd, and David Wright.

2- Name the 3 Mets who hit multiple grand slams in 2006.

Hint: Two are easy. One is hard.

3- Angel Pagan became the 2nd Met whose first name started with "A" to hit a grand slam. Who was the first?

Hint: He played in the 1960s.

4- Four Hall of Famers have allowed a grand slam to the Mets. Name them.

Hint: Steve Carlton and Don Sutton didn't...

5- What Met was the first to hit 3 grand slams for them in the same season, doing so in 1976?

Hint: He played first base

6- Who is the only pitcher, who was a member of the 1969 Mets, to allow a grand slam against the Mets?

Hint: He's not someone you'd think of as a '69 Met

7- Only two Mets have hit a grand slam in October. Edgardo Alfonzo ('99 LDS) is one of them. Name the other.

Hint: He did it in the regular season in 1986.

8- Name the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the Mets, who also allowed a grand slam against the Mets.

Hint: His career record was 133-119.

9- From June 21, 1988 to May 21, 1990, all four of the Mets grand slams were hit by Kevin McReynolds. Name the Met who broke that streak with a grand slam on May 22, 1990 against the Dodgers.

Hint: He's a former Dodger

10- Who has the most career home runs by a Met without hitting a grand slam?

Hint: He hit more than 100.

The Savior Has Arrived

2009-08-19T02:00:00.006-04:00

WALKOFFSVILLE, NY. (MW) – Brett Hinchliffe's latest retirement lasted all of eight years.

The 0-5 career moundsman with the 10.22 ERA has done an about-face and will pitch for the Mets this season.

"I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be," Hinchliffe said Tuesday.

"You're 35, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don't have to do that much and I agree with that. If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too."

If the wait for Hinchliffe's decision seemed never-ending, it was resolved in a few short hours. He jumped on a team plane and was picked up at LaGuardia Airport by manager Jerry Manuel himself. The two drove to the team's ballpark, where Hinchliffe waved to hundreds of cheering fans.

No less than 90 minutes later, Hinchliffe was on the field in his familiar No. 32 jersey with blue shorts and a Mercury Mets hat, a vision that has had opposing fans cringing about for months.

He shook hands with a few of his new teammates and quickly began throwing as fans peeked through the security fence to catch a glimpse of the superstar.

Shortly after batting practice began, the Mets confirmed the agreement that seemed so inevitable all summer, only to be held up on July 28 when the man who holds every Mets career-worst ERA record told Manuel he wasn't ready to play, citing a lack of confidence in his beat-up body to hold up over an entire season.

Hinchliffe also had been told by doctors that he had a tear in his rotator cuff.

"The bottom line is it's baseball," Hinchliffe said. "Once you step onto the mound, I don't look at the helmets. I look at the faces."

Omar Minaya, a few weeks ago said he had not planned to pursue Hinchliffe after the pitcher said he was staying retired. And yet here comes Hinchliffe once reviled by a Mets fan base that hustled to welcome him to town.

"I don't have any problem rooting for one of the worst pitchers the Mets have ever had," said Phil Liesuck, a 23-year-old from Bayside who was at batting practice proudly wearing a black No. 32 jersey.

Even the governor chimed in.

"It's going to be good for the team. It's going to be good for the state. It's going to be exciting," a giddy Gov. David Patterson said after a speech.

Tweeted one rival : "Holy Strawberries Batman! Brett Hinchliffe is back!"

Last month, Hinchliffe explained his decision by saying he had to be "careful not to commit for the wrong reasons."

"I'm 35 with a 10.22 ERA to my name," he said.

The last time Hinchliffe appeared on a major league mound — a bitter loss at Miller Park by the Mets to the Brewers in April of 2001— he put up one of his worst performances in recent memory, allowing eight runs in two innings, giving him a career Mets ERA of 36.00.

Now the question becomes how Hinchliffe will fit in with a team that's already done with the grind of most of the season, not to mention how his health will hold up so soon after he questioned it.

The Mets got an encouraging performance from their beleagured lineup on Tuesday, with a franchise record 10 hits in the fourth inning. But none of their pitchers have been consistently sharp recently.

And none are anywhere in Hinchliffe's league. His zinger of an arm and toughness on the mound are a combination few possess. With an offense he claimed this summer that could operate while it slept, Hinchcliffe seems to fit well with New York — especially given the Mets problems finding a reliable starting pitcher.

The Mets have All-Star players all over their roster (they're all on the DL). No matter who's on the mound, they ought to be in position to contend for something, even if it's last place in the NL East.

To win the wild card, and perhaps that elusive World Series title, they'll need stability at the sport's most critical position.

Hinchliffe has wrestled with retirement for most of this decade and the will-he-or-won't-he saga became an annual offseason drama for the Mets.

Now, he is back.

On The Outside Looking In

2009-08-18T11:11:00.003-04:00

Chipper Jones has accomplished a lot against the Mets in his career.

But there's one area in which he's a little short.

There are 7 players who have a 1.000 OPS against the Mets (on-base percentage + slugging percentage...minimum 150 plate appearances).

Chipper Jones is not one of them.

Chipper is the best of those who doesn't have a 1.000 OPS. His presently stands at .993.

The "Magnificent 7" are an interesting group- one that includes two former Mets players and a former Mets manager.

Best OPS vs Mets
Minimum 150 Plate Appearances

1.086- Albert Pujols
1.078- Frank Howard
1.066- Rico Carty
1.056- Mike Piazza
1.038- Derek Jeter
1.028- Todd Helton
1.001- Claudell Washington.

360 Degrees of Murph

2009-08-16T22:29:00.002-04:00

Dare to dream...

This Date in Mets History tells us that on August 16, 1969 "The Mets amazing stretch drive, one that would carry them to the World Championship begins..."

Fistbumps to Daniel Murphy, Mike Pelfrey, and David Wright.

* Walk-off win number 360 (including postseason) was the Mets 4th walk-off win of the season, their first since May 29.

* It was Murphy's first walk-off RBI as a Met and the first by a Mets lefthanded hitter against a lefthanded pitcher since Carlos Delgado beat Scott Eyre and the Cubs with a two-run walk-off single on May 17, 2005.

* It was the Mets 71st walk-off 3-2 win, their first since beating the Nationals, 3-2 in 14 innings, on April 17, 2008.

* It was the Mets first 3-2 walk-off win IN REGULATION since a 3-2 walk-off win over the Marlins on April 9, 2006.

* It was the Mets 26th walk-off win against the Giants, the most famous of which was also a 3-2 final score, in 13 innings in Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS.

* It's the second time the Mets have beaten a pitcher, last name Romo, via walk-off. The other instance happened on September 28, 1982 against the Pirates. Similarly, this Romo was not in the game for the game-ending play, a walk-off hit by lefty swinging Rusty Staub against Pirates southpaw Rod Scurry.

* The Mets are now 1-0 in games on August 16 that were decided by walk-off. They've never had a walk-off loss on this date.

* Billy Murphy never had a walk-off RBI for the Mets, though he did score the winning run on Ron Swoboda's walk-off walk against the Braves on April 17, 1966.

* Daniel now trails David Murphy for most walk-off RBI by an active Murphy, 3-1. He has a ways to go to catch Dale Murphy, who had 11 career walk-off RBI.

True Metsmurphs know...The Mets had lost their previous four games in which they entered the bottom of the ninth inning tied.

Good Things Come In Threes, Bad Things Come in 100s

2009-08-15T11:43:00.002-04:00

Normally when I sit at a game with Greg from Faith and Fear, I try to bring with me a couple of really challenging trivia questions. Friday night, I came, as the Giants did, with nothing.

He hit me with a good one...

What do the combination of

Andre Dawson

Gary Varsho

Ryan Theriot

have in common?

I'll acknowledge being stumped at the trio's distinction, which I'll share momentarily, after allowing you to ponder for a few moments.

When I woke up this morning and web-surfed a bit, I discovered that Angel Pagan had made himself part of a significant trio in Mets history.

First Mets To Hit Leadoff HR in Home Ballpark

Polo Grounds- Felix Mantilla (1962)

Shea Stadium- Billy Cowan (1965)

Citi Field- Angel Pagan (2009)

It only took three home games for Mantilla to make the list, but it would take a bit longer for a Met to christen Shea with a leadoff home run.

Cowan hit his on June 29, 1965, but it would be rendered insignificant by later long balls from Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews in an 8-6 win for the Braves over the Mets.

Cowan's name is actually more appropriate for another list that Greg and I discussed on the 7 train on the way home from Shea. Who are the 100 Worst Mets Of All Time?

Perhaps one of us will answer that question someday. For now, here are Cowan's credentials.

* A .179 batting average

* 3 home runs and 9 RBI

* A Jeff Francoeur-esque 45 strikeouts and 4 walks

True Metophiles know...

Andre Dawson was Tom Seaver's last batter faced as a Met.

Gary Varsho was Dwight Gooden's last batter faced as a Met.

Ryan Theriot was Pedro Martinez's last batter faced as a Met.