All totals are regular season unless otherwise noted
* The 2006 Mets went 97-65, beat the Dodgers in the NLDS in 3 games, and lost to the Cardinals in the NLCS in 7 games.
* The 97 regular-season wins is the 5th best in Mets history, within the confines of a 162-game schedule. The 1999 Mets won 97 games as well (the only other Met team to reach 97), but it took them a 163rd game to reach the 97-win plateau.
Most wins, Mets history
1986 108
1988 100
1969 100
1985 98
2006 97
1999 97 (163 games)
* The Mets increased their regular-season win percentage by 87 points (.512 to .599), as a result of improving their win total by 14 games. That's their biggest increase by the team since a 105-point, 17-win jump from 1996 to 1997 (71-91 to 88-74). For those curious, the club record is 166 points and 27 wins from 1968 to 1969 (73-89 to 100-62).
* Including the postseason, the Mets won 103 games, tied with the 1988 team for the third highest total in team history. The 1986 squad won 116. The 1969 Mets won 107, including postseason.
* The Mets had a .500 record or better against every NL team. The best mark was 6-1 against the Diamondbacks. The worst mark was 3-3 against the Brewers, Cubs and Giants.
* The 2006 season began with Tom Glavine getting Brandon Watson to fly out to Carlos Beltran in the first of 172 baseball games for the team.
* 40 players had an at bat for the 2006 Mets (including pitchers) and 27 threw at least one pitch for the team (13 of whom started games). Every position player who had an at bat had at least one hit, with Kelly Stinnett being the only one among them without an extra base hit (he tallied one single).
* 20 different players hit a home run for the Mets, ranging from the one by Steve Trachsel, Kaz Matsui, Anderson Hernandez, Michael Tucker and Ricky Ledee to the club record-tying 41 by Carlos Beltran.
* 20 different pitchers won a game for the 2006 Mets. 19 pitchers lost at least one. Jose Lima (0-4) was the only pitcher to lose without winning. Guillermo Mota (3-0) and Bartolome Fortunato (1-0) were the only ones to win without losing.
* If you totally disregard minimums, the highest batting average (and the 2nd-best slugging percentage) on the 2006 Mets belonged to Brian Bannister, who went 4-for-12 with three doubles, for a .333 batting average and .583 slugging percentage. The lowest ERA belonged to Phil Humber, who pitched two scoreless innings. The highest ERA was Bartolome Fortunato's 27.00, earned over three innings.
Others to make the minutiae leader board
* Best stolen-base percentage: Cliff Floyd paces, as he was a perfect 6-for-6. Paul Lo Duca also makes the list at 3-for-3. Michael Tucker, Kaz Matsui, and Eli Marrero were a perfect 2-for-2. Orlando Hernandez was 1-for-1.
* Most at bats without grounding into a double play: Steve Trachsel (50).
* Most sacrifice flies: Carlos Delgado (10).
* Most at bats without a sacrifice fly: Jose Reyes (647).
* Most shutouts: John Maine, Oliver Perez and Alay Soler (1)
* Most balks: Orlando Hernandez (3). The only other Mets pitchers to balk: Pedro Martinez and Jose Lima, once each.
* The only Met to walk more than he struck out was...Michael Tucker (16 walks, 14 strikeouts). Three Mets pitchers (Brian Bannister, Henry Owens and Bartolome Fortunato) walked more batters than they struck out.
* Newest members of the "I have one career hit for the Mets" club: John Maine and Alay Soler
* The most games played in the field without making an error for the 2006 Mets is 120, by Endy Chavez.
* The highest batting average against the 2006 Mets (minimum 20 plate appearances) was .522, by Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins. Derek Jeter and Ryan Freel ranked tied for second at .448. (for those curious Chipper Jones ranked 32nd at .314).
* Ryan Howard led all Mets opponents with eight home runs and 21 RBI against them.
* Dontrelle Willis had the most wins against the 2006 Mets with three.
* Ricky Nolasco and Ramon Ortiz had the most losses against the 2006 Mets with three.
* The highest ERA against the 2006 Mets (minimum 10 IP) was 11.45 by Randy Johnson. The lowest was Josh Johnson, who had an 0.00 ERA over 17 innings.
* The 2006 season ended with Carlos Beltran striking out looking against Adam Wainwright in Game 7 of the NLCS, the last of 172 games played by this team.
Showing posts with label Minutiae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minutiae. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
These Minutiae are Making Me Thirsty
More to come later in day...
* Oliver Perez, adequate-pitching savior that he is, joined Tom Seaver (1969 NLCS Game 1- the Mets first postseason game) as the only Mets pitchers to allow 5 runs and win a postseason game.
* Pitching 0 innings in a postseason game against the Mets is a rare honor, reserved for an elite group that includes walk-off error giver-uppers Pete Richert (1969 World Series Game 4, Orioles) and Bob Stanley (1986 WS Game 6, Red Sox), but Josh Hancock is the first in that group to allow as many as 5 runs. The previous record of 2 runs in 0 IP against the Mets in the postseason has been done twice- by Horacio Pina (1973 WS Game 2, Athletics) and, of all people, Jesse Orosco (1988 NLCS Game 3, Dodgers).
* Albert Pujols is without an RBI for 5 games. The last time an opposing starting first baseman went through five games in a series against the Mets without driving in a run was in 1986, and that first baseman happened to be friend o'site Bill Buckner, who failed to drive in a run in Games 3-7. Boog Powell also went RBI-less for Baltimore in the 5-game 1969 World Series.
* Speaking of 1969- the Mets scored more runs in Game 4 than they did in the first 4 games of the 1969 World Series combined. Oh, how times have changed!
* My one tidbit from Game 3: Jeff Suppan became the 1st pitcher to HR against the Mets in a postseason game since Dave McNally. But we remember Game 5 of the 1969 World Series a lot better than Game 3 of the 2006 NLCS.
* My one venture ahead to Game 5: Tom Glavine, with one more win, ties for the 2nd-most postseason wins in Mets history. Jerry Koosman is the surprise leader with 5. Tom Seaver, Jesse Orosco, and Turk Wendell are tied for 2nd with 3.
* On a personal note, my dad called at the end of the 6th inning to tell me that if the Mets lost, he'd never watch baseball again. There's only one other time that he made such a statement. That would be August 16, 1987. In that particular game, the Mets ended up setting a regular-season record for runs scored in a game (23 in Wrigley Field against the Cubs). On this particular day, they broke their postseason record for runs scored in a game. I appreciate the synergy.
* Oliver Perez, adequate-pitching savior that he is, joined Tom Seaver (1969 NLCS Game 1- the Mets first postseason game) as the only Mets pitchers to allow 5 runs and win a postseason game.
* Pitching 0 innings in a postseason game against the Mets is a rare honor, reserved for an elite group that includes walk-off error giver-uppers Pete Richert (1969 World Series Game 4, Orioles) and Bob Stanley (1986 WS Game 6, Red Sox), but Josh Hancock is the first in that group to allow as many as 5 runs. The previous record of 2 runs in 0 IP against the Mets in the postseason has been done twice- by Horacio Pina (1973 WS Game 2, Athletics) and, of all people, Jesse Orosco (1988 NLCS Game 3, Dodgers).
* Albert Pujols is without an RBI for 5 games. The last time an opposing starting first baseman went through five games in a series against the Mets without driving in a run was in 1986, and that first baseman happened to be friend o'site Bill Buckner, who failed to drive in a run in Games 3-7. Boog Powell also went RBI-less for Baltimore in the 5-game 1969 World Series.
* Speaking of 1969- the Mets scored more runs in Game 4 than they did in the first 4 games of the 1969 World Series combined. Oh, how times have changed!
* My one tidbit from Game 3: Jeff Suppan became the 1st pitcher to HR against the Mets in a postseason game since Dave McNally. But we remember Game 5 of the 1969 World Series a lot better than Game 3 of the 2006 NLCS.
* My one venture ahead to Game 5: Tom Glavine, with one more win, ties for the 2nd-most postseason wins in Mets history. Jerry Koosman is the surprise leader with 5. Tom Seaver, Jesse Orosco, and Turk Wendell are tied for 2nd with 3.
* On a personal note, my dad called at the end of the 6th inning to tell me that if the Mets lost, he'd never watch baseball again. There's only one other time that he made such a statement. That would be August 16, 1987. In that particular game, the Mets ended up setting a regular-season record for runs scored in a game (23 in Wrigley Field against the Cubs). On this particular day, they broke their postseason record for runs scored in a game. I appreciate the synergy.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
The Agony of Minutiae
* An unpleasant family tradition continued on Friday, though I was not in attendance, my sister was in the ballpark for So Taguchi home run. We also had family presence at two other unfortunately significant Cardinals home runs at Shea Stadium: Cesar Cedeno (September 11, 1985) and Terry Pendleton (September 11, 1987) for those who need reminding.
* This is the 2nd time in Mets postseason history that they lost a game in which the decisive run was scored in the top of the 9th inning. The other was Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.
* So Taguchi joins Wilson Betemit and Josh Willingham as opponents who hit go-ahead home runs off Billy Wagner this season (I believe that's the full list...). For those curious, Taguchi had never homered against the Mets before and was 0-5 against Billy Wagner.
* That was the 2nd go-ahead HR hit against Wagner in postseason play. The other was hit by Chipper Jones.
* The 9 runs allowed is the most allowed by the Mets in a postseason game since allowing 10 in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS
* On a positive note, Carlos Delgado joined Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter and Rusty Staub as Mets with multi-HR games in postseason play. The Mets are 3-1 in postseason play when one of their players hits 2 HR in a game.
* Also good news: The Mets are 5-2 in postseason series in which they are even 1-1 after two games. The five they won: 1969 World Series, 1973 NLCS (a best of 5), 1986 NLCS, 1999 NLDS and the 2000 NLDS. In each of those five series that they won, they won Game 3.
* By my tally, the Mets are 14-7 following a loss in postseason play, when they're in the situation of having to play another game (ie: there's not counting after a series-ending loss)
* Best examples of the Mets recovering from a painful postseason defeat: They're all from 1973. In Game 1 of the NLCS, the Mets led the Reds 1-0 in the 8th inning. Pete Rose homered to tie it and then Johnny Bench hit a walk-off HR to win it. The Mets bounced back the next day as Jon Matlack pitched a 2-hitter and shut Cincinnati out, 5-0.
In Game 4 of that same series, the Mets led 1-0 in the 7th, lost the lead when Tony Perez homered, then lost the game when Rose homered in the top of the 12th. The Mets bounced back to win the next day, 7-2, to clinch the series.
In Game 3 of the 1973 World Series, the Mets had a 2-0 lead but Oakland tied it with a run in the 6th and another in the 8th, then won in 11 innings, 3-2 on Bert Campaneris' RBI single. The Mets bounced back to win the next day, 6-1, behind 8 stellar innings from Matlack, and 4 hits and 5 RBI from Rusty Staub.
* This is the 2nd time in Mets postseason history that they lost a game in which the decisive run was scored in the top of the 9th inning. The other was Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.
* So Taguchi joins Wilson Betemit and Josh Willingham as opponents who hit go-ahead home runs off Billy Wagner this season (I believe that's the full list...). For those curious, Taguchi had never homered against the Mets before and was 0-5 against Billy Wagner.
* That was the 2nd go-ahead HR hit against Wagner in postseason play. The other was hit by Chipper Jones.
* The 9 runs allowed is the most allowed by the Mets in a postseason game since allowing 10 in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS
* On a positive note, Carlos Delgado joined Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter and Rusty Staub as Mets with multi-HR games in postseason play. The Mets are 3-1 in postseason play when one of their players hits 2 HR in a game.
* Also good news: The Mets are 5-2 in postseason series in which they are even 1-1 after two games. The five they won: 1969 World Series, 1973 NLCS (a best of 5), 1986 NLCS, 1999 NLDS and the 2000 NLDS. In each of those five series that they won, they won Game 3.
* By my tally, the Mets are 14-7 following a loss in postseason play, when they're in the situation of having to play another game (ie: there's not counting after a series-ending loss)
* Best examples of the Mets recovering from a painful postseason defeat: They're all from 1973. In Game 1 of the NLCS, the Mets led the Reds 1-0 in the 8th inning. Pete Rose homered to tie it and then Johnny Bench hit a walk-off HR to win it. The Mets bounced back the next day as Jon Matlack pitched a 2-hitter and shut Cincinnati out, 5-0.
In Game 4 of that same series, the Mets led 1-0 in the 7th, lost the lead when Tony Perez homered, then lost the game when Rose homered in the top of the 12th. The Mets bounced back to win the next day, 7-2, to clinch the series.
In Game 3 of the 1973 World Series, the Mets had a 2-0 lead but Oakland tied it with a run in the 6th and another in the 8th, then won in 11 innings, 3-2 on Bert Campaneris' RBI single. The Mets bounced back to win the next day, 6-1, behind 8 stellar innings from Matlack, and 4 hits and 5 RBI from Rusty Staub.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Just Me and My Minutiae
I begin with a question...
I've seen a couple of colleagues note how important Paul Lo Duca's hit was, just prior to Carlos Beltran's go-ahead two-run home run, and I totally agree with them.
My first look at the replay tells me that Jeff Weaver made a great pitch, and Lo Duca used his great bat control to place the ball in just the right spot. There's luck involved once the ball is hit, but putting the ball in play is the key to success.
Anyone out there who can think of other Mets postseason scenarios in which a Mets batsman came through in a big spot against a GREAT pitch.
The one example that comes to mind (and perhaps this is a blog entry in itself) is Ray Knight fighting off an 0-2 pitch that jammed him almost in on the bat handle, for a base hit to center field, keeping alive the 2-out rally just prior to Mookie Wilson's AB in the last of the 10th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. Wilson's foul ball on a 2-2 count (the one after which Dwight Evans leaped up thinking that Wilson had swung and missed) is another good candidate, as is Gary Carter's game-winning bloop hit on Jay Howell's (8th straight) outside-corner curveball in Game 1 of the 1988 NLCS.
Any others come to mind? If so, please fill in the comments section...In the meantime...
* This was the first postseason win in Mets history in which one swing of the bat (Carlos Beltran's HR) accounted for all of the runs in the game.
* It was their 6th shutout in postseason play and their first postseason win by a 2-0 score since Game 5 of the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics
* The Mets have held the Cardinals scoreless in their last 22 postseason innings. Jim Edmonds has the last Cardinals postseason RBI against the Mets, in the 5th inning of Game 4 of the 2000 NLCS.
* The Mets 6 hits were 2 shy of the club record for fewest hits in a postseason win. They had only 4 hits in their 2-1 win in Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS.
* Prior to this season, the Mets had never had a player get 2 doubles in a game in postseason play. Carlos Delgado became the 3rd Met to do so THIS SEASON, joining Shawn Green and David Wright.
* Jose Valentin went 0-3 on his 37th birthday, which also happened to be the date of the Mets first World Series win, a 2-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the 1969 World Series. The Mets are now 3-3 in postseason games played on October 12.
* Billy Wagner's 3rd postseason save tied the club record for most postseason saves (3) with Tug McGraw and Armando Benitez.
* The Mets have now played 15 straight postseason games without a walk-off win. That ties the club record for most consecutive postseason games without one. The last time they went 15 straight postseason games without a walk-off win, Len Dykstra broke the streak with a 2-run home run to win Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS.
I've seen a couple of colleagues note how important Paul Lo Duca's hit was, just prior to Carlos Beltran's go-ahead two-run home run, and I totally agree with them.
My first look at the replay tells me that Jeff Weaver made a great pitch, and Lo Duca used his great bat control to place the ball in just the right spot. There's luck involved once the ball is hit, but putting the ball in play is the key to success.
Anyone out there who can think of other Mets postseason scenarios in which a Mets batsman came through in a big spot against a GREAT pitch.
The one example that comes to mind (and perhaps this is a blog entry in itself) is Ray Knight fighting off an 0-2 pitch that jammed him almost in on the bat handle, for a base hit to center field, keeping alive the 2-out rally just prior to Mookie Wilson's AB in the last of the 10th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. Wilson's foul ball on a 2-2 count (the one after which Dwight Evans leaped up thinking that Wilson had swung and missed) is another good candidate, as is Gary Carter's game-winning bloop hit on Jay Howell's (8th straight) outside-corner curveball in Game 1 of the 1988 NLCS.
Any others come to mind? If so, please fill in the comments section...In the meantime...
* This was the first postseason win in Mets history in which one swing of the bat (Carlos Beltran's HR) accounted for all of the runs in the game.
* It was their 6th shutout in postseason play and their first postseason win by a 2-0 score since Game 5 of the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics
* The Mets have held the Cardinals scoreless in their last 22 postseason innings. Jim Edmonds has the last Cardinals postseason RBI against the Mets, in the 5th inning of Game 4 of the 2000 NLCS.
* The Mets 6 hits were 2 shy of the club record for fewest hits in a postseason win. They had only 4 hits in their 2-1 win in Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS.
* Prior to this season, the Mets had never had a player get 2 doubles in a game in postseason play. Carlos Delgado became the 3rd Met to do so THIS SEASON, joining Shawn Green and David Wright.
* Jose Valentin went 0-3 on his 37th birthday, which also happened to be the date of the Mets first World Series win, a 2-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the 1969 World Series. The Mets are now 3-3 in postseason games played on October 12.
* Billy Wagner's 3rd postseason save tied the club record for most postseason saves (3) with Tug McGraw and Armando Benitez.
* The Mets have now played 15 straight postseason games without a walk-off win. That ties the club record for most consecutive postseason games without one. The last time they went 15 straight postseason games without a walk-off win, Len Dykstra broke the streak with a 2-run home run to win Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Mets-Cardinals Rivalry Minutiae
Every bit of minutiae you ever wanted to know about the Mets and Cardinals, but didn't know where to go to look it up...
* The Mets are 311-352 against the Cardinals in regular-season play and 4-1 against them in postseason play (31-32 in walk-off decisions). The Mets have won the regular-season series against the Cardinals 15 times, tied the regular-season series 6 times, and lost the regular-season series 24 times.
* The longest win streak for the Mets against the Cardinals is 8 games, accomplished during the 1986 season. The last of those victories happened to be a walk-off win, referenced here
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/08/mitch-in-time-saves-nine.html
* The most runs the Mets have ever scored against the Cardinals is 15, on October 3, 1964. The Cardinals record for runs against the Mets is also 15, accomplished 4 times.
* A total of 112 players have played for both the Mets and Cardinals, including 45 pitchers. Among those 112 are 7 whose playing career was spent only with the Mets and Cardinals. The lucky 7 are: Craig Anderson, Ed Bauta, Jerry Buchek, Johnny Lewis, Jose Oquendo, Rick Ownbey and Gordie Richardson.
* Three Mets have pitched complete-game one-hitters against the Cardinals: Jack Hamilton (May 4, 1966), Jon Matlack (June 29, 1974) and David Cone (September 20, 1991).
Hamilton's is the most interesting of the three in that he allowed only two baserunners- a bunt single by opposing pitcher Ray Sadecki and a walk to the following batter, Lou Brock- both in the third inning. He settled for the Mets first complete-game one-hitter, as six Cardinals errors helped him to a historically underappreciated 8-0 victory, one of 8 wins he earned in his Mets stint. We can forgive Sadecki, ever-so-slightly, as he did earn 4 walk-off wins as a member of the Mets later in his career.
Matlack's no-hit bid was also broken up by a pitcher- John Curtis- in the third inning. Cone's game was arguably the best pitched by a Met against the Cardinals in the regular season, an 11-strikeout effort in which the lone blemish was Felix Jose's eighth-inning double.
* The Mets most prolific winner against the Cardinals is Tom Seaver, who earned 20 wins against them as a Met. Bob Gibson, later a Mets pitching coach, is the Cardinals most prolific winner against the Mets with 28 wins (and 14 losses).
* Speaking of Bob Gibson...It's worth noting that of Al Jackson's 10 career Mets shutouts, two were 1-0 wins over Bob Gibson. One came on July 27, 1962 and the other took place on October 2, 1964
* The longest game between the teams was a 25-inning game on September 11, 1974. The Cardinals tied the game at 3 with 2 outs in the 9th on a home run by Ken Reitz and won it in the 25th when Bake McBride scored after an errant pickoff throw by Hank Webb and a subsequent error by catcher Ron Hodges. The Mets, who went scoreless over the last 20 innings, left the bases loaded in both the 23rd and 24th innings and would have been wise to have sent rookie Brock Pemberton in either of those frames. Pemberton got the first of his four career major league hits with 2 outs in the last of the 25th. The loss deprived the Mets of their 100th all-time win against the Cardinals, a milestone they would reach on April 17, 1975.
* Jim Hickman, the first Met to hit 3 home runs in a game, did so against the Cardinals on September 3, 1965 in St. Louis. All 3 home runs came against future Met Ray Sadecki
* John Milner was the first Met to get 5 hits in a game against the Cardinals. He did so on September 8, 1972. George Foster (June 19, 1982), Hubie Brooks (June 28, 1983). Keith Hernandez (October 3, 1985) and Rico Brogna (July 25, 1994) are the other Mets with 5-hit games against St. Louis.
* Ron Swoboda and Ryan Thompson share the Mets club record for strikeouts in a game against the Cardinals with 5. Amazingly, the Mets still won both games (June 22, 1969 and the 17-inning walk-off win of September 29, 1993). The Cardinals starting pitcher in Swoboda's 5K effort was Steve Carlton, who later that season would strike out 19 Mets, but lose, 4-3 because of two Swoboda home runs.
* Many think that the Mets gave up their first regular-season run on a balk...That's a fallacy. The first run scored against the Mets in a regular-season game (an 11-4 loss to the Cardinals on April 11, 1962) came home on a Stan Musial RBI single. Roger Craig balked pitching to the next batter, Ken Boyer, who drove in the 2nd run that day with a groundout.
* Mets firsts that came against the Cardinals in that April 11, 1962 game: First hit- Gus Bell (2nd inning single). First RBI: Charlie Neal single (3rd inning). First Home Run: Gil Hodges (4th inning)
* The first time the Mets beat the Cardinals was a 10-3 victory on July 6, 1962. Roger Craig earned the complete-game win, beating Ray Sadecki. Rod Kanehl hit the first grand slam in Mets history that day. Gil Hodges added a HR, career shot #370, passing broadcaster Ralph Kiner for 2nd among major-league righthanded hitters.
* The first Mets walk-off win against the Cardinals was the next day- July 7, 1962, on Marv Throneberry's pinch-hit 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th. A brief note on that game can be found here
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/marvelous-one.html
Special thanks to the websites Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and MikeMav.com, as well as the 2006 Mets Media Guide and This Date in New York Mets History, from which much of this information was procured.
* The Mets are 311-352 against the Cardinals in regular-season play and 4-1 against them in postseason play (31-32 in walk-off decisions). The Mets have won the regular-season series against the Cardinals 15 times, tied the regular-season series 6 times, and lost the regular-season series 24 times.
* The longest win streak for the Mets against the Cardinals is 8 games, accomplished during the 1986 season. The last of those victories happened to be a walk-off win, referenced here
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/08/mitch-in-time-saves-nine.html
* The most runs the Mets have ever scored against the Cardinals is 15, on October 3, 1964. The Cardinals record for runs against the Mets is also 15, accomplished 4 times.
* A total of 112 players have played for both the Mets and Cardinals, including 45 pitchers. Among those 112 are 7 whose playing career was spent only with the Mets and Cardinals. The lucky 7 are: Craig Anderson, Ed Bauta, Jerry Buchek, Johnny Lewis, Jose Oquendo, Rick Ownbey and Gordie Richardson.
* Three Mets have pitched complete-game one-hitters against the Cardinals: Jack Hamilton (May 4, 1966), Jon Matlack (June 29, 1974) and David Cone (September 20, 1991).
Hamilton's is the most interesting of the three in that he allowed only two baserunners- a bunt single by opposing pitcher Ray Sadecki and a walk to the following batter, Lou Brock- both in the third inning. He settled for the Mets first complete-game one-hitter, as six Cardinals errors helped him to a historically underappreciated 8-0 victory, one of 8 wins he earned in his Mets stint. We can forgive Sadecki, ever-so-slightly, as he did earn 4 walk-off wins as a member of the Mets later in his career.
Matlack's no-hit bid was also broken up by a pitcher- John Curtis- in the third inning. Cone's game was arguably the best pitched by a Met against the Cardinals in the regular season, an 11-strikeout effort in which the lone blemish was Felix Jose's eighth-inning double.
* The Mets most prolific winner against the Cardinals is Tom Seaver, who earned 20 wins against them as a Met. Bob Gibson, later a Mets pitching coach, is the Cardinals most prolific winner against the Mets with 28 wins (and 14 losses).
* Speaking of Bob Gibson...It's worth noting that of Al Jackson's 10 career Mets shutouts, two were 1-0 wins over Bob Gibson. One came on July 27, 1962 and the other took place on October 2, 1964
* The longest game between the teams was a 25-inning game on September 11, 1974. The Cardinals tied the game at 3 with 2 outs in the 9th on a home run by Ken Reitz and won it in the 25th when Bake McBride scored after an errant pickoff throw by Hank Webb and a subsequent error by catcher Ron Hodges. The Mets, who went scoreless over the last 20 innings, left the bases loaded in both the 23rd and 24th innings and would have been wise to have sent rookie Brock Pemberton in either of those frames. Pemberton got the first of his four career major league hits with 2 outs in the last of the 25th. The loss deprived the Mets of their 100th all-time win against the Cardinals, a milestone they would reach on April 17, 1975.
* Jim Hickman, the first Met to hit 3 home runs in a game, did so against the Cardinals on September 3, 1965 in St. Louis. All 3 home runs came against future Met Ray Sadecki
* John Milner was the first Met to get 5 hits in a game against the Cardinals. He did so on September 8, 1972. George Foster (June 19, 1982), Hubie Brooks (June 28, 1983). Keith Hernandez (October 3, 1985) and Rico Brogna (July 25, 1994) are the other Mets with 5-hit games against St. Louis.
* Ron Swoboda and Ryan Thompson share the Mets club record for strikeouts in a game against the Cardinals with 5. Amazingly, the Mets still won both games (June 22, 1969 and the 17-inning walk-off win of September 29, 1993). The Cardinals starting pitcher in Swoboda's 5K effort was Steve Carlton, who later that season would strike out 19 Mets, but lose, 4-3 because of two Swoboda home runs.
* Many think that the Mets gave up their first regular-season run on a balk...That's a fallacy. The first run scored against the Mets in a regular-season game (an 11-4 loss to the Cardinals on April 11, 1962) came home on a Stan Musial RBI single. Roger Craig balked pitching to the next batter, Ken Boyer, who drove in the 2nd run that day with a groundout.
* Mets firsts that came against the Cardinals in that April 11, 1962 game: First hit- Gus Bell (2nd inning single). First RBI: Charlie Neal single (3rd inning). First Home Run: Gil Hodges (4th inning)
* The first time the Mets beat the Cardinals was a 10-3 victory on July 6, 1962. Roger Craig earned the complete-game win, beating Ray Sadecki. Rod Kanehl hit the first grand slam in Mets history that day. Gil Hodges added a HR, career shot #370, passing broadcaster Ralph Kiner for 2nd among major-league righthanded hitters.
* The first Mets walk-off win against the Cardinals was the next day- July 7, 1962, on Marv Throneberry's pinch-hit 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th. A brief note on that game can be found here
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/marvelous-one.html
Special thanks to the websites Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and MikeMav.com, as well as the 2006 Mets Media Guide and This Date in New York Mets History, from which much of this information was procured.
NLCS Minutiae
*The Mets concluded their 13th postseason series by sweeping the Dodgers in 3 games. Of the 13 postseason series in which the Mets have appeared, this is the 7th in which there have been no Mets walk-off wins.
* This will be the 4th time that the Mets played in an NLCS against an opponent whom they had walked-off against during the regular season. They previously did so in 1969 (Braves), 1986 (Astros) and 1988 (Dodgers)
* The Mets have had 3 NLCS walk-off wins- 2 in 1986 (Len Dykstra HR and Gary Carter single) and 1 in 1999 (Robin Ventura single). The Cardinals have had 3 as well- 1 in 1982 (Ken Oberkfell single in Game 2), 1 in 1985 (Ozzie Smith HR in Game 5), and 1 in 2004 (Jim Edmonds HR in Game 6).
* The Mets have had 1-run walk-off wins against the Cardinals by scores of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-4 etc....all the way up to 10-9.
* Fill-in SNY broadcaster Todd Zeile had a walk-off hit for the Cardinals against the Mets (1992). Absentee SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez had 2 walk-off hits against the Cardinals, for the Mets.
* The Mets have had 5 walk-off wins and 6 walk-off losses against Cardinals clubs managed by Tony La Russa. The Cardinals manager has a 2-5 career record in postseason games decided in walk-off fashion. One odd note about La Russa's playing career: His last action in a major-league game was scoring the winning run on Rick Monday's walk-off walk for the Cubs against the Expos, on April 6, 1973.
* Willie Randolph had 8 walk-off RBI during his playing career. La Russa had one, on September 1, 1970, for the Athletics against the White Sox (an infield single to third base). Randolph did not have any walk-off RBI when he played for La Russa on the 1990 Athletics. They were together for nine walk-off wins that season, including two in which Randolph scored the deciding run (August 15, he pinch-ran for Rickey Henderson and scored first on Mark McGwire's walk-off grand slam against Boston. On August 30, he had four hits and a key stolen base, scoring the winning run on Mike Gallego's single against Kansas City).
* Current Mets who had a walk-off hit for the Mets, against the Cardinals: Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran. Current Cardinals who had a walk-off hit for the Cardinals, against the Mets: Jim Edmonds (he has 3) and Yadier Molina.
* The last time the Mets had more than one walk-off win against the Cardinals was in 1992, when they had 3 (matching a team record. They also had 3 against the Cardinals in 1985)
* The Cardinals pitcher to suffer the most walk-off losses against the Mets happens to be my all-time favorite Met, Neil Allen, who had 3, and was on the mound for another walk-off loss to the Mets, though he did not suffer defeat in that game.
More can be found here...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/09/possible-playoff-preview-cardinals.html
This link, to a story about Bill Buckner, is also worth checking out. I didn't get to see the "Outside the Lines" feature on Buckner/Mookie Wilson, but I imagine it was interesting viewing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2615471
* This will be the 4th time that the Mets played in an NLCS against an opponent whom they had walked-off against during the regular season. They previously did so in 1969 (Braves), 1986 (Astros) and 1988 (Dodgers)
* The Mets have had 3 NLCS walk-off wins- 2 in 1986 (Len Dykstra HR and Gary Carter single) and 1 in 1999 (Robin Ventura single). The Cardinals have had 3 as well- 1 in 1982 (Ken Oberkfell single in Game 2), 1 in 1985 (Ozzie Smith HR in Game 5), and 1 in 2004 (Jim Edmonds HR in Game 6).
* The Mets have had 1-run walk-off wins against the Cardinals by scores of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-4 etc....all the way up to 10-9.
* Fill-in SNY broadcaster Todd Zeile had a walk-off hit for the Cardinals against the Mets (1992). Absentee SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez had 2 walk-off hits against the Cardinals, for the Mets.
* The Mets have had 5 walk-off wins and 6 walk-off losses against Cardinals clubs managed by Tony La Russa. The Cardinals manager has a 2-5 career record in postseason games decided in walk-off fashion. One odd note about La Russa's playing career: His last action in a major-league game was scoring the winning run on Rick Monday's walk-off walk for the Cubs against the Expos, on April 6, 1973.
* Willie Randolph had 8 walk-off RBI during his playing career. La Russa had one, on September 1, 1970, for the Athletics against the White Sox (an infield single to third base). Randolph did not have any walk-off RBI when he played for La Russa on the 1990 Athletics. They were together for nine walk-off wins that season, including two in which Randolph scored the deciding run (August 15, he pinch-ran for Rickey Henderson and scored first on Mark McGwire's walk-off grand slam against Boston. On August 30, he had four hits and a key stolen base, scoring the winning run on Mike Gallego's single against Kansas City).
* Current Mets who had a walk-off hit for the Mets, against the Cardinals: Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran. Current Cardinals who had a walk-off hit for the Cardinals, against the Mets: Jim Edmonds (he has 3) and Yadier Molina.
* The last time the Mets had more than one walk-off win against the Cardinals was in 1992, when they had 3 (matching a team record. They also had 3 against the Cardinals in 1985)
* The Cardinals pitcher to suffer the most walk-off losses against the Mets happens to be my all-time favorite Met, Neil Allen, who had 3, and was on the mound for another walk-off loss to the Mets, though he did not suffer defeat in that game.
More can be found here...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/09/possible-playoff-preview-cardinals.html
This link, to a story about Bill Buckner, is also worth checking out. I didn't get to see the "Outside the Lines" feature on Buckner/Mookie Wilson, but I imagine it was interesting viewing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2615471
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Game 3 Minutiae
We'll have another post summarizing the series, probably on Monday...
* The Mets completed their second postseason sweep in franchise history with this Game 3 win. The only other one was in the 1969 NLCS against the Braves.
* The win combined with the Yankees loss marked the first time that the Mets completed a postseason series victory on the same day that the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason.
* The 3-hours, 51 minutes of angst was the second-longest nine-inning Mets postseason win in terms of time, surpassed only by the 3-hour, 59-minute torturefest that was Game 2 of the 2000 NLCS
* The first seven batters in the Mets starting lineup each scored a run. That's a Mets franchise first for a postseason game.
* Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca each had 2 RBI, among a group of many who have had at least 2 RBI in a Mets postseason clincher. The team record for RBI in a postseason clincher is 3- by Ken Boswell (1969 NLCS), fill-in broadcaster Todd Zeile (2000 NLCS) and absentee broadcaster Keith Hernandez (1986 World Series).
* Pedro Feliciano won, despite pitching only 1/3 of an inning. It's the third time that the Mets have gotten a postseason victory from a pitcher throwing 1/3 of an inning. Feliciano joins Turk Wendell and Randy Myers on that victory list.
* The 3 1/3 innings from Steve Trachsel is the second-shortest stint by a Mets starter in a postseason victory, surpassed only by the 3 innings pitched by Masato Yoshii in the 15-inning victory in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.
* The Mets completed their second postseason sweep in franchise history with this Game 3 win. The only other one was in the 1969 NLCS against the Braves.
* The win combined with the Yankees loss marked the first time that the Mets completed a postseason series victory on the same day that the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason.
* The 3-hours, 51 minutes of angst was the second-longest nine-inning Mets postseason win in terms of time, surpassed only by the 3-hour, 59-minute torturefest that was Game 2 of the 2000 NLCS
* The first seven batters in the Mets starting lineup each scored a run. That's a Mets franchise first for a postseason game.
* Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca each had 2 RBI, among a group of many who have had at least 2 RBI in a Mets postseason clincher. The team record for RBI in a postseason clincher is 3- by Ken Boswell (1969 NLCS), fill-in broadcaster Todd Zeile (2000 NLCS) and absentee broadcaster Keith Hernandez (1986 World Series).
* Pedro Feliciano won, despite pitching only 1/3 of an inning. It's the third time that the Mets have gotten a postseason victory from a pitcher throwing 1/3 of an inning. Feliciano joins Turk Wendell and Randy Myers on that victory list.
* The 3 1/3 innings from Steve Trachsel is the second-shortest stint by a Mets starter in a postseason victory, surpassed only by the 3 innings pitched by Masato Yoshii in the 15-inning victory in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Game 2 Minutiae
Better late than never...
* The Mets improved to 8-5 in Game 2s with their victory on Thursday. If you were going to rate them based on levels of angst, this one would probably rank in the Top 3 among angst-free victories, alongside Game 2 of the 1969 NLCS (an 8-0 lead turned into an 11-6 win) and Game 2 of the 1986 NLCS (a 5-1 win for Bob Ojeda) and slightly ahead of Jon Matlack's 2-hit shutout in Game 2 of the 1973 NLCS (a 5-0 win, and a 2-hitter, but it was a 1-0 game going into the 9th)
* Jose Reyes had 2 RBI. It was the first RBI for a Mets starting shortstop in a postseason game since Rey Ordonez had one in Game 3 of the 1999 NLDS against Arizona. It marked the 1st time in team history that a Mets starting shortstop had 2 RBI in a postseason game.
* Tom Glavine joined Jon Matlack and Bob Ojeda as lefthanders who won their Mets postseason debut.
* Billy Wagner joined Jesse Orosco (1986 World Series) as the only Mets pitchers to save 2 games in the same postseason series.
* Julio Franco became the oldest Met with a postseason RBI, supplanting 42-year-old Willie Mays. Franco entered his at bat 0-for-9 with the bases loaded in 2006, with 4 strikeouts and 3 GIDP's
* The Mets lead a postseason series 2-0 for the 3rd time in club history (1969 NLCS vs Atlanta, 2000 NLCS vs Cardinals).
* Looking ahead, the Mets are 9-3 all-time in postseason Game 3s, with walk-off wins in the 1986 NLCS (Len Dykstra) and 2000 NLDS (Benny Agbayani). They are 8-4 in games in which they can eliminate an opponent and win a series.
* The Mets improved to 8-5 in Game 2s with their victory on Thursday. If you were going to rate them based on levels of angst, this one would probably rank in the Top 3 among angst-free victories, alongside Game 2 of the 1969 NLCS (an 8-0 lead turned into an 11-6 win) and Game 2 of the 1986 NLCS (a 5-1 win for Bob Ojeda) and slightly ahead of Jon Matlack's 2-hit shutout in Game 2 of the 1973 NLCS (a 5-0 win, and a 2-hitter, but it was a 1-0 game going into the 9th)
* Jose Reyes had 2 RBI. It was the first RBI for a Mets starting shortstop in a postseason game since Rey Ordonez had one in Game 3 of the 1999 NLDS against Arizona. It marked the 1st time in team history that a Mets starting shortstop had 2 RBI in a postseason game.
* Tom Glavine joined Jon Matlack and Bob Ojeda as lefthanders who won their Mets postseason debut.
* Billy Wagner joined Jesse Orosco (1986 World Series) as the only Mets pitchers to save 2 games in the same postseason series.
* Julio Franco became the oldest Met with a postseason RBI, supplanting 42-year-old Willie Mays. Franco entered his at bat 0-for-9 with the bases loaded in 2006, with 4 strikeouts and 3 GIDP's
* The Mets lead a postseason series 2-0 for the 3rd time in club history (1969 NLCS vs Atlanta, 2000 NLCS vs Cardinals).
* Looking ahead, the Mets are 9-3 all-time in postseason Game 3s, with walk-off wins in the 1986 NLCS (Len Dykstra) and 2000 NLDS (Benny Agbayani). They are 8-4 in games in which they can eliminate an opponent and win a series.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
The Closest I Can Come to Game 1 Minutiae
Nomar Garciaparra striking out on a pitch in the dirt? Been there, seen that...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/01/julio-cruise.html
Wilson Betemit tagging Billy Wagner for a late hit. Something with which I'm familiar...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/fridays-leftovers.html
A Met getting 4 hits in a postseason game? Named 2 on the subway ride home (Kevin McReynolds and Rusty Staub), and found out the other during a quick media guide search during a stopover in Manhattan before heading home (Len Dykstra)
Cliff Floyd hitting a key home run...Enjoyed that in person about a year ago.
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/06/cliff-notes.html
Carlos Delgado hitting a key home run? As Terry Cashman said, I saw it on the radio.
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/walk-off-trivial-pursuit.html
A double-tagout at home plate? Well, that's the one that renders me virtually noteless, other than to reference that Yankees-White Sox, Carlton Fisk play from 20-odd years ago. The hour (1am) is late and I must get a good night's sleep to be fresh for work on Thursday. Perhaps I'll sneak in a little something else before Game 2, if I have the chance.
For now, I'll leave you a quote that I proffered on the train on the way to the ballpark and repeated again to those seated beside me inside the stadium. With apologies to 1986, I shall paraphrase to convey the proper meaning.
"If they win it all this year, it will happen in a way that will go beyond anything they've ever done before...and as we know, what's past is going to be awfully hard to top."
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/01/julio-cruise.html
Wilson Betemit tagging Billy Wagner for a late hit. Something with which I'm familiar...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/fridays-leftovers.html
A Met getting 4 hits in a postseason game? Named 2 on the subway ride home (Kevin McReynolds and Rusty Staub), and found out the other during a quick media guide search during a stopover in Manhattan before heading home (Len Dykstra)
Cliff Floyd hitting a key home run...Enjoyed that in person about a year ago.
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/06/cliff-notes.html
Carlos Delgado hitting a key home run? As Terry Cashman said, I saw it on the radio.
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/walk-off-trivial-pursuit.html
A double-tagout at home plate? Well, that's the one that renders me virtually noteless, other than to reference that Yankees-White Sox, Carlton Fisk play from 20-odd years ago. The hour (1am) is late and I must get a good night's sleep to be fresh for work on Thursday. Perhaps I'll sneak in a little something else before Game 2, if I have the chance.
For now, I'll leave you a quote that I proffered on the train on the way to the ballpark and repeated again to those seated beside me inside the stadium. With apologies to 1986, I shall paraphrase to convey the proper meaning.
"If they win it all this year, it will happen in a way that will go beyond anything they've ever done before...and as we know, what's past is going to be awfully hard to top."
Monday, September 18, 2006
Clinching Minutiae
The Mets clinched the NL East on Monday, but if you're coming here, chances are that you knew that (and a whole lot more) already. So we do as we usually do in these circumstances- try to provide a perspective with which you may not be familiar. To do so, we offer up the following pieces of information, and yes, we try to work in some walk-off notes on occasion.
PLEASE NOTE: That we are referring only to NL East clinching information and thus minutiae related to the wild card clinchings in 1999 and 2000 is not being utilized.
* This win marked the fifth time the Mets clinched the NL East title, with the previous opponents being the Cardinals (1969), Cubs (1973 and 1986) and Phillies (1988). The Marlins are the third team against whom the Mets had both a walk-off victory AND an NL East clinching victory in the same season (1969 Cardinals, 1988 Phillies are the other two)
* September 18 marked the second-earliest division clinching in Mets history, trailing only 1986 (September 17). The other parallel with 1986: The Mets clinched at home, after missing out on a chance to clinch on the road, with one loss each season coming in walk-off fashion.
* This was the second time that a Mets division clinching came as the result of a shutout, with the other taking place in 1969. In fact, the 6-0 shutout in 1969 was the first of four consecutive shutouts recorded by that pitching staff. The 1969 clinching is still the only one in team history that came the game after a walk-off win.
* Jose Valentin is the second Met to hit two home runs in a Mets division clincher, joining Donn Clendenon (1969). However, Valentin is the only player to hit two home runs in a Mets division clincher, and have a walk-off hit in the same season.
* The 2-hour 29 minute time of game was the third-fastest division clincher in Mets history. All five were played rather quickly, with the fastest being 2-hours 2 minutes (1969) and the slowest being 2-hours, 33 minutes (1988).
* Steve Trachsel earned his 15th win of the season, matching the total that the last Mets NL East-clinching pitcher (current broadcaster Ron Darling) had at the time of his victory. This was also the first start all season in which Trachsel allowed no runs.
* Tug McGraw (1973) and Billy Wagner are the only two relief pitchers to have been on the mound for a Mets NL East clinching win. Both also were the winning pitchers in walk-off triumphs earlier that same season.
* Willie Randolph is the third manager to manage the Mets to the NL East title, who formerly played for the Mets, joining Gil Hodges and Yogi Berra. Hodges is the only person to get a walk-off hit for the Mets and later manage them to a division title.
* Josh Willingham is the 1st player to beat the Mets with a walk-off hit and be the last batter in a Mets division clincher in the same season. The other last outs, for the record: Joe Torre (1969), Glenn Beckert (1973, though technically speaking, I suppose it's catcher Ken Rudolph, who was doubled off first base on the final play), Chico Walker (1986) and Lance Parrish (1988)
* The Mets have never had a regular-season walk-off win that occured after clinching a division that season. They did, of course, have postseason walk-off wins in the division-title seasons of both 1969 and 1986
PLEASE NOTE: That we are referring only to NL East clinching information and thus minutiae related to the wild card clinchings in 1999 and 2000 is not being utilized.
* This win marked the fifth time the Mets clinched the NL East title, with the previous opponents being the Cardinals (1969), Cubs (1973 and 1986) and Phillies (1988). The Marlins are the third team against whom the Mets had both a walk-off victory AND an NL East clinching victory in the same season (1969 Cardinals, 1988 Phillies are the other two)
* September 18 marked the second-earliest division clinching in Mets history, trailing only 1986 (September 17). The other parallel with 1986: The Mets clinched at home, after missing out on a chance to clinch on the road, with one loss each season coming in walk-off fashion.
* This was the second time that a Mets division clinching came as the result of a shutout, with the other taking place in 1969. In fact, the 6-0 shutout in 1969 was the first of four consecutive shutouts recorded by that pitching staff. The 1969 clinching is still the only one in team history that came the game after a walk-off win.
* Jose Valentin is the second Met to hit two home runs in a Mets division clincher, joining Donn Clendenon (1969). However, Valentin is the only player to hit two home runs in a Mets division clincher, and have a walk-off hit in the same season.
* The 2-hour 29 minute time of game was the third-fastest division clincher in Mets history. All five were played rather quickly, with the fastest being 2-hours 2 minutes (1969) and the slowest being 2-hours, 33 minutes (1988).
* Steve Trachsel earned his 15th win of the season, matching the total that the last Mets NL East-clinching pitcher (current broadcaster Ron Darling) had at the time of his victory. This was also the first start all season in which Trachsel allowed no runs.
* Tug McGraw (1973) and Billy Wagner are the only two relief pitchers to have been on the mound for a Mets NL East clinching win. Both also were the winning pitchers in walk-off triumphs earlier that same season.
* Willie Randolph is the third manager to manage the Mets to the NL East title, who formerly played for the Mets, joining Gil Hodges and Yogi Berra. Hodges is the only person to get a walk-off hit for the Mets and later manage them to a division title.
* Josh Willingham is the 1st player to beat the Mets with a walk-off hit and be the last batter in a Mets division clincher in the same season. The other last outs, for the record: Joe Torre (1969), Glenn Beckert (1973, though technically speaking, I suppose it's catcher Ken Rudolph, who was doubled off first base on the final play), Chico Walker (1986) and Lance Parrish (1988)
* The Mets have never had a regular-season walk-off win that occured after clinching a division that season. They did, of course, have postseason walk-off wins in the division-title seasons of both 1969 and 1986
Friday, July 28, 2006
Minutiae Break: The Lost Continent of Atlanta
I did some out of this world travel earlier this season, paying a visit to a locale that hasn't been on an American map since 1991. It seems that at some point that spring, the locals sank into the earth, never to be seen by outsiders again, except with special permission by those who schedule such trips. This place has been a rather unpleasant visit for most, though this native New Yorker was satisfied for two out of the three days he spent on foreign turf.
Occasionally for those unable to travel, through the magic of metal tubes, we are granted the ability to view this world, one in which things are rather backwords, from a great distance. It's beings have names like Chipper and they spell common names oddly (Andruw?). They make odd motions with their hands, the kind you'd expect from people holding a meat cleaver, uttering chants as they do so.
Should you choose to venture to this lost land this weekend, either via the magic of metal tubes (or radio waves), we want you to be fully armed with the proper information. Thus, we are here to tell you...
* The Mets all-time regular-season record in Atlanta is 112-152 (postseason record 2-3), but consider that that is a heck of a lot better than their record on the road against the Milwaukee Braves (5-31)
* The Mets are 2-1 in Atlanta in 2006, a good start considering they were 9-28 there from 2002-2005
* The Mets haven't swept a series of 3 or more games in Atlanta since a 4-gamer from July 4-7, 1985. They haven't swept a series of exactly three games since August 14-16, 1979.
* The Mets have lost the season series to the Braves 8 seasons in a row, and that's partly because they haven't had a winning record in Atlanta in any of those seasons (best effort: 5-5 in 2001). The last time the Mets had a winning record in Atlanta for a season was 1992, when they went 4-2 (but they were 1-5 at home).
* The Mets went 0-for-Atlanta in 1 season (1998, 0-6). They also went 0-for Milwaukee in 1965 (0-9)
* The most wins that the Mets have ever had in Atlanta in a season is 5, done 6 times, most recently in 2001.
* The first time the Mets ever scored 20 runs in a game was in Atlanta (20-6 win on August 7, 1971). That was their biggest win ever in Atlanta. Their biggest loss in Atlanta happened 40 years ago (17-1, June 16, 1966).
* Since the Braves began their run of success in 1991: Mike Piazza has the most Mets home runs there (13, 7 more than David Wright) and the most Mets RBI there (32, 15 more than Edgardo Alfonzo).
* Among Mets with at least 25 plate appearances in that span, Lance Johnson has the highest Mets batting average in Atlanta (.368, 7 points better than Tim Bogar). The lowest batting average for a position player is Joe Orsulak's .158
* The most wins by a Mets pitcher in Atlanta since 1991- a rather meager 3, shared by Rick Reed, Al Lieter, and Steve Trachsel (Trachsel's 7 losses are the most by a Met). The best record in that span: 2-0, by David Cone, Greg McMichael and Kevin Appier (worst record: 0-5 by the good Bobby Jones).
* The most saves in Atlanta in that span: 6 by Armando Benitez and John Franco, but the two also combined for an 0-6 mark there.
* Since 1991, Mets starters have totalled 2 shutouts in Atlanta. They were thrown by David Cone and Al Leiter.
* Tom Glavine was 10-2 against the Mets in Atlanta since 1991. Greg Maddux was 12-3. Neither will be pitching for the Braves this weekend.
* Chipper Jones is a .357 career hitter with 18 HR and 61 RBI at home against the Mets, with 105 hits in 83 games. That's the most HR and RBI against the Mets in Atlanta, since 1991, by a large margin, but 5 players have a higher batting average than Chipper's. The top two: Sid Bream (.429) and Mark De Rosa (.409) will not be playing for the Braves this weekend.
* The Mets have never had a walk-off win in Atlanta, but you probably already knew that. They have had 30 walk-off wins against the Braves (24 against the Atlanta Braves and 6 against the Milwaukee Braves).
True Metlantis' know...The first walk-off loss in ATLANTA Braves history took place against the Mets on April 17, 1966, as the Mets won 5-4 on Ron Swoboda's walk-off walk.
(thanks to Baseball Musings Day BY Day Database for some of the info listed above)
Occasionally for those unable to travel, through the magic of metal tubes, we are granted the ability to view this world, one in which things are rather backwords, from a great distance. It's beings have names like Chipper and they spell common names oddly (Andruw?). They make odd motions with their hands, the kind you'd expect from people holding a meat cleaver, uttering chants as they do so.
Should you choose to venture to this lost land this weekend, either via the magic of metal tubes (or radio waves), we want you to be fully armed with the proper information. Thus, we are here to tell you...
* The Mets all-time regular-season record in Atlanta is 112-152 (postseason record 2-3), but consider that that is a heck of a lot better than their record on the road against the Milwaukee Braves (5-31)
* The Mets are 2-1 in Atlanta in 2006, a good start considering they were 9-28 there from 2002-2005
* The Mets haven't swept a series of 3 or more games in Atlanta since a 4-gamer from July 4-7, 1985. They haven't swept a series of exactly three games since August 14-16, 1979.
* The Mets have lost the season series to the Braves 8 seasons in a row, and that's partly because they haven't had a winning record in Atlanta in any of those seasons (best effort: 5-5 in 2001). The last time the Mets had a winning record in Atlanta for a season was 1992, when they went 4-2 (but they were 1-5 at home).
* The Mets went 0-for-Atlanta in 1 season (1998, 0-6). They also went 0-for Milwaukee in 1965 (0-9)
* The most wins that the Mets have ever had in Atlanta in a season is 5, done 6 times, most recently in 2001.
* The first time the Mets ever scored 20 runs in a game was in Atlanta (20-6 win on August 7, 1971). That was their biggest win ever in Atlanta. Their biggest loss in Atlanta happened 40 years ago (17-1, June 16, 1966).
* Since the Braves began their run of success in 1991: Mike Piazza has the most Mets home runs there (13, 7 more than David Wright) and the most Mets RBI there (32, 15 more than Edgardo Alfonzo).
* Among Mets with at least 25 plate appearances in that span, Lance Johnson has the highest Mets batting average in Atlanta (.368, 7 points better than Tim Bogar). The lowest batting average for a position player is Joe Orsulak's .158
* The most wins by a Mets pitcher in Atlanta since 1991- a rather meager 3, shared by Rick Reed, Al Lieter, and Steve Trachsel (Trachsel's 7 losses are the most by a Met). The best record in that span: 2-0, by David Cone, Greg McMichael and Kevin Appier (worst record: 0-5 by the good Bobby Jones).
* The most saves in Atlanta in that span: 6 by Armando Benitez and John Franco, but the two also combined for an 0-6 mark there.
* Since 1991, Mets starters have totalled 2 shutouts in Atlanta. They were thrown by David Cone and Al Leiter.
* Tom Glavine was 10-2 against the Mets in Atlanta since 1991. Greg Maddux was 12-3. Neither will be pitching for the Braves this weekend.
* Chipper Jones is a .357 career hitter with 18 HR and 61 RBI at home against the Mets, with 105 hits in 83 games. That's the most HR and RBI against the Mets in Atlanta, since 1991, by a large margin, but 5 players have a higher batting average than Chipper's. The top two: Sid Bream (.429) and Mark De Rosa (.409) will not be playing for the Braves this weekend.
* The Mets have never had a walk-off win in Atlanta, but you probably already knew that. They have had 30 walk-off wins against the Braves (24 against the Atlanta Braves and 6 against the Milwaukee Braves).
True Metlantis' know...The first walk-off loss in ATLANTA Braves history took place against the Mets on April 17, 1966, as the Mets won 5-4 on Ron Swoboda's walk-off walk.
(thanks to Baseball Musings Day BY Day Database for some of the info listed above)
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Big Inning Minutiae
In the now 60 years that my dad has lived (effective July 12), he has seen a lot. But during our celebration of his birthday this past Saturday, he saw 2 things he never had before.
The first was a 90-year-old woman, falling out of her motorized scooter, and onto the curb at the corner of 75th street and Park Avenue. Good samaritans that we were, we helped rescue Judith and escorted her to the ER at Lenox Hill Hospital where she was treated for a rather nasty gash on the arm.
The next was having the couple sitting next to him at dinner, a couple of strangers maybe separated from us by 3 feet, agree to get married. The happy bride-to-be spent the next half hour calling friends and showing her engagement ring to anyone who would look- except us.
It seems that things like these tend to come in threes, so there was the expectation that something else unique might happen before the night was out. As it turned out, we had to wait for 24 hours or so, although in my dad's case, he's still waiting.
In all his years of watching baseball, he'd never seen the Mets score more than 10 runs in an inning, and since, on Sunday night he ended up attending a Paul Simon concert with my sister, he still hasn't.
So in an effort to update him beyond what he'll read when he checks out the AP gamer online upon arriving home, we offer up the following.
On July 16, 2006, the Mets set a club record for runs in an inning by scoring 11 runs in the 6th inning against the Chicago. Just in case you were wondering, with the help of the 2006 Mets Media Guide and some other resources, we can tell you that...
* I don't have an official tally, but the approximate number of innings it took for the Mets to score more than 10 runs in an inning is going to top out at about 63,000.
* The 1st time the Mets scored at least 10 runs in an inning was June 12, 1979 against the Reds. As in the game of July 16, the Mets entered their half of the 6th inning trailing, 5-2 (the Reds had scored 5 in the top of the 6th). The damage consisted of 10 runs, 5 hits, and 2 errors, and included an inside-the park 3-run home run by Doug Flynn The Mets ended up winning, 12-5.
* The 2nd time the Mets scored at least 10 runs in an inning was on June 30, 2000 against the Braves. The Mets entered their half of the 8th inning trailing 8-1. The damage consisted of 10 runs, 6 hits, 4 walks and an error, and included a very memorable 3-run HR by Mike Piazza.
* 2 grand slams in an inning (Msrs. Beltran and Floyd) is a rather rare feat, accomplished only six times previously in major-league history, most recently on April 23, 1999 (Fernando Tatis hit both for the Cardinals against the Dodgers). Prior to that, the last occurrence was by the Orioles on August 6, 1986 (Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer). Amazingly, the Orioles lost that game to Texas, 13-11.
* The last NL occurrence prior to Tatis happened against the Mets, on July 30, 1969, in the 9th inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader against Houston, in which Dennis Menke and Jimmy Wynn each hit grand slams. In the 2nd game of this double drubbing by the Astros, Gil Hodges walked out to left field and removed Cleon Jones, in mid-game, as punishment for not hustling. Many regard this as a key point in the 1969 championship run. It was one of 4 times in Mets history that they allowed a club-record 11 runs in an inning.
* The Mets have had 11 seasons in which they have failed to hit 2 grand slams, including most recently, 2004, in which they only had 1. They had never before had a game in which they hit 2 grand slams.
* If the Mets hit another grand slam in their next game, they'll be only the 7th team ever to hit 3 grand slams within a 2-game span
* The Mets hadn't scored as many as 11 runs in a game at Wrigley Field in nearly 10 years, since scoring 11 on August 7, 1996.
* Wrigley Field is now the site of the Mets biggest output for an inning and their biggest total for a game. They scored 23 runs against the Cubs in a 23-10 win on August 16, 1987.
* The most runs scored in an inning by the Mets, in a game that they won in walk-off fashion is 6 (to tie in the 9th inning, September 13, 1997 vs Montreal). That's the famous "Brand New Shiny One" game.
* The most runs ever scored in a walk-off inning by the Mets is 5, done twice ( May 23, 1999 vs Phillies and June 14, 1980 vs Giants) and both have been documented on this site several times.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Reyes/Wright Minutiae
Though still seething over the events of Wednesday evening, there was a rather pleasant recover on Thursday afternoon, and the train ride/drive home from Shea allowed me to gather my thoughts and convey them here.
* On Wednesday, Jose Reyes became the 9th Met to hit for the cycle. He became the first to do so in a Mets loss.
* Reyes is the first Met to hit for the cycle at home since John Olerud (September 11, 1997 vs Expos). He is the 4th Met to hit for the cycle at home (Jim Hickman, Tommie Agee and John Olerud). The Mets have never had a walk-off win and cycle in the same game. Interesting to note that the only visitor to hit for the cycle at Shea is Wes Parker (May 7, vs Dodgers) and he drove in the go-ahead runs that day with a 10th inning triple.
* Reyes became the 2nd Mets shortstop to hit for the cycle, joining Mike Phillips (June 25, 1976 at Cubs). He became the 4th leadoff Met to hit for the cycle (Jim Hickman, August 7, 1963 vs Cardinals, Tommie Agee, July 6, 1970 vs Cardinals, and Phillips).
* Reyes became the 3rd Met to finish his cycle with a single, joining Phillips and Keith Hernandez (July 4, 1985 at Atlanta in 19 innings). Hernandez is the only Met to need more than 5 AB to hit for the cycle (he got the single in his 7th AB).
* Reyes became the first Met to hit for the cycle since Eric Valent (July 29, 2004 at Expos). This bring me to my favorite note. Valent batted 7th in the Mets lineup that day. The No. 8 hitter was 8 games into his major-league career that day. His name was David Wright.
With that we segue (and I don't want to dwell on cycles, because they're overrated) to the "Star of David" portion of Minutiae. David Wright is a good road trip away from becoming the first Met to win NL Player of the Month honors since Howard Johnson did it in September, 1991.
Wright is hitting .378 (31 for 82) with 9 HR and 25 RBI in June. He leads the majors in June HR and RBI. He has 9 multi-hit games, 2 multi-HR games and 6 multi-RBI games in that span. He had a string of 3 straight games with a HR, on the road against a second-place team. He saved one of those wins with a Gold Glove-caliber play to start a double play at third base. On back-to-back days, he's been the unsung hero (2-strike hit preceding Jose Valentin's HR) and the outsung hero (2 HR, 4 RBI in nice recovery-game win).
Some brief Minutiae history on the Player of the Month award...
* A Met has won NL Player of the Month on 9 occasions.
June, 1970- Tommie Agee .364 BA, 11 HR, 30 RBI
April, 1973- Jerry Koosman 4-0, 1.06 ERA
July, 1975- Dave Kingman .322 BA, 13 HR, 31 RBI
July, 1985- Keith Hernandez .392 BA, 4 HR, 29 RBI
September, 1985- Gary Carter .343 BA, 13 HR, 34 RBI
September, 1987- Darryl Strawberry .317 BA, 8 HR, 27 RBI
September, 1988- Kevin McReynolds .345 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI
June, 1989- Howard Johnson .340 BA, 11 HR, 24 RBI, 6 SB
September, 1991- Howard Johnson .296 BA, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB
* Amazingly, Mike Piazza was never an NL Player of the Month as a Met, despite posting the following numbers in a Mets uniform
September, 1998- .378 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI
May, 1999- .340 BA, 6 HR, 20 RBI
August, 1999- .323 BA, 11 HR, 33 RBI
May, 2000- .375 BA, 9 HR, 20 RBI
June 2000- .349 BA, 8 HR, 32 RBI
July, 2002- .329 BA, 7 HR, 24 RBI
* There have been 84 recipients of the NL Player of the Month award since the last Met won it. Barry Bonds has been NL Player of the Month 11 times since a Met last won it. Others include
Felix Jose (May, 1992)
Cory Snyder (June, 1992)
Brett Butler (July, 1992, what a trifecta in 1992!)
Jeff Conine (June, 1995)
Ken Caminiti (August and September, 1996)
Jeromy Burnitz (June, 1999)
Richard Hidalgo (September, 2000)
Randy Winn (September, 2005)
* On Wednesday, Jose Reyes became the 9th Met to hit for the cycle. He became the first to do so in a Mets loss.
* Reyes is the first Met to hit for the cycle at home since John Olerud (September 11, 1997 vs Expos). He is the 4th Met to hit for the cycle at home (Jim Hickman, Tommie Agee and John Olerud). The Mets have never had a walk-off win and cycle in the same game. Interesting to note that the only visitor to hit for the cycle at Shea is Wes Parker (May 7, vs Dodgers) and he drove in the go-ahead runs that day with a 10th inning triple.
* Reyes became the 2nd Mets shortstop to hit for the cycle, joining Mike Phillips (June 25, 1976 at Cubs). He became the 4th leadoff Met to hit for the cycle (Jim Hickman, August 7, 1963 vs Cardinals, Tommie Agee, July 6, 1970 vs Cardinals, and Phillips).
* Reyes became the 3rd Met to finish his cycle with a single, joining Phillips and Keith Hernandez (July 4, 1985 at Atlanta in 19 innings). Hernandez is the only Met to need more than 5 AB to hit for the cycle (he got the single in his 7th AB).
* Reyes became the first Met to hit for the cycle since Eric Valent (July 29, 2004 at Expos). This bring me to my favorite note. Valent batted 7th in the Mets lineup that day. The No. 8 hitter was 8 games into his major-league career that day. His name was David Wright.
With that we segue (and I don't want to dwell on cycles, because they're overrated) to the "Star of David" portion of Minutiae. David Wright is a good road trip away from becoming the first Met to win NL Player of the Month honors since Howard Johnson did it in September, 1991.
Wright is hitting .378 (31 for 82) with 9 HR and 25 RBI in June. He leads the majors in June HR and RBI. He has 9 multi-hit games, 2 multi-HR games and 6 multi-RBI games in that span. He had a string of 3 straight games with a HR, on the road against a second-place team. He saved one of those wins with a Gold Glove-caliber play to start a double play at third base. On back-to-back days, he's been the unsung hero (2-strike hit preceding Jose Valentin's HR) and the outsung hero (2 HR, 4 RBI in nice recovery-game win).
Some brief Minutiae history on the Player of the Month award...
* A Met has won NL Player of the Month on 9 occasions.
June, 1970- Tommie Agee .364 BA, 11 HR, 30 RBI
April, 1973- Jerry Koosman 4-0, 1.06 ERA
July, 1975- Dave Kingman .322 BA, 13 HR, 31 RBI
July, 1985- Keith Hernandez .392 BA, 4 HR, 29 RBI
September, 1985- Gary Carter .343 BA, 13 HR, 34 RBI
September, 1987- Darryl Strawberry .317 BA, 8 HR, 27 RBI
September, 1988- Kevin McReynolds .345 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI
June, 1989- Howard Johnson .340 BA, 11 HR, 24 RBI, 6 SB
September, 1991- Howard Johnson .296 BA, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB
* Amazingly, Mike Piazza was never an NL Player of the Month as a Met, despite posting the following numbers in a Mets uniform
September, 1998- .378 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI
May, 1999- .340 BA, 6 HR, 20 RBI
August, 1999- .323 BA, 11 HR, 33 RBI
May, 2000- .375 BA, 9 HR, 20 RBI
June 2000- .349 BA, 8 HR, 32 RBI
July, 2002- .329 BA, 7 HR, 24 RBI
* There have been 84 recipients of the NL Player of the Month award since the last Met won it. Barry Bonds has been NL Player of the Month 11 times since a Met last won it. Others include
Felix Jose (May, 1992)
Cory Snyder (June, 1992)
Brett Butler (July, 1992, what a trifecta in 1992!)
Jeff Conine (June, 1995)
Ken Caminiti (August and September, 1996)
Jeromy Burnitz (June, 1999)
Richard Hidalgo (September, 2000)
Randy Winn (September, 2005)
Monday, June 12, 2006
Mets Blowouts and Other Minutiae
Inspired by Eli Marrero (if you read the posting this weekend, you'll understand) and the note from AP that Carlos Beltran had 10 runs scored and 10 RBI this weekend. The Diamondbacks managed to score 9 runs this weekend.
For our purposes, let's define a true blowout as a win by 10+ runs because it's easier for me to look things up in that scenario. Sunday marked the Mets first true blowout win of the season
* The Mets first true blowout win was a 13-2 triumph over Houston on June 23, 1962. Richie Ashburn homered twice and Jay Hook pitched a complete game. The blowout win was sandwiched around two blowout losses (16-3 vs Houston in Game 2 of a doubleheader the day before and 13-3 against Pittsburgh two days later)
* The Mets biggest true blowout was a 19-1 win over the Cubs on May 26, 1964. Dick Smith became the first Mets player with 5 hits in a game. A fan called a newspaper to ask if the Mets won. When told they scored 19 runs, he asked again "Did they win?"
* The Mets have never had a true blowout over the Marlins and Brewers, but have had one against every other NL foe, as well as the Devil Rays, Rangers, and Yankees.
* On July 27, 1985 in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Astros, the Mets won by true blowout, 16-4. All 16 runs were unearned. I was at that game, keeping score at age 10. My tally then was as correct as it is today: 16 unearned runs. That's when I knew I was going to be a nutty fan.
* On August 7, 1971, the Mets scored 20 runs for the first time. The result was a true blowout, a 20-6 win over the Braves. Nolan Ryan was the winning pitcher. The next day, the Mets got shut out by Phil Niekro. So much for carryover.
* Edgardo Alfonzo had his 6-hit game in a true blowout, a 17-1 win over the Astros on August 30, 1999.
* The Mets biggest true blowout shutout was by a 14-0 score. It happened first against the Cubs in Game 1 of a doubleheader on July 29, 1965, (Johnny Lewis, 2 HR, Galen Cisco on a 4-hit shutout) and then again against the Reds on April 19, 1998 (Bernard Gilkey had 2 doubles, 5 runs scored, and kicked the extra point on the second touchdown).
* Only once have the Mets allowed 10 runs and won by true blowout. That came on August 16, 1987, when they beat the Cubs, 23-10. Greg Maddux was the losing pitcher for the Cubs that day, one in which the Mets set a team record for runs scored.
* The Mets have won on Opening Day 28 times but have never had a true Opening Day blowout. In fact, their biggest Opening Day margin of victory is a measly 5 runs (1982 vs Phillies, 2004 vs Braves).
* The 1986 Mets had 2 true blowouts and both occurred within a week. The first was on July 11, an 11-0 win over the Braves. The other was a 13-2 romp of the Astros and Nolan Ryan on July 17. Amazingly, the 1969 Mets did not record a true blowout the entire season.
For our purposes, let's define a true blowout as a win by 10+ runs because it's easier for me to look things up in that scenario. Sunday marked the Mets first true blowout win of the season
* The Mets first true blowout win was a 13-2 triumph over Houston on June 23, 1962. Richie Ashburn homered twice and Jay Hook pitched a complete game. The blowout win was sandwiched around two blowout losses (16-3 vs Houston in Game 2 of a doubleheader the day before and 13-3 against Pittsburgh two days later)
* The Mets biggest true blowout was a 19-1 win over the Cubs on May 26, 1964. Dick Smith became the first Mets player with 5 hits in a game. A fan called a newspaper to ask if the Mets won. When told they scored 19 runs, he asked again "Did they win?"
* The Mets have never had a true blowout over the Marlins and Brewers, but have had one against every other NL foe, as well as the Devil Rays, Rangers, and Yankees.
* On July 27, 1985 in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Astros, the Mets won by true blowout, 16-4. All 16 runs were unearned. I was at that game, keeping score at age 10. My tally then was as correct as it is today: 16 unearned runs. That's when I knew I was going to be a nutty fan.
* On August 7, 1971, the Mets scored 20 runs for the first time. The result was a true blowout, a 20-6 win over the Braves. Nolan Ryan was the winning pitcher. The next day, the Mets got shut out by Phil Niekro. So much for carryover.
* Edgardo Alfonzo had his 6-hit game in a true blowout, a 17-1 win over the Astros on August 30, 1999.
* The Mets biggest true blowout shutout was by a 14-0 score. It happened first against the Cubs in Game 1 of a doubleheader on July 29, 1965, (Johnny Lewis, 2 HR, Galen Cisco on a 4-hit shutout) and then again against the Reds on April 19, 1998 (Bernard Gilkey had 2 doubles, 5 runs scored, and kicked the extra point on the second touchdown).
* Only once have the Mets allowed 10 runs and won by true blowout. That came on August 16, 1987, when they beat the Cubs, 23-10. Greg Maddux was the losing pitcher for the Cubs that day, one in which the Mets set a team record for runs scored.
* The Mets have won on Opening Day 28 times but have never had a true Opening Day blowout. In fact, their biggest Opening Day margin of victory is a measly 5 runs (1982 vs Phillies, 2004 vs Braves).
* The 1986 Mets had 2 true blowouts and both occurred within a week. The first was on July 11, an 11-0 win over the Braves. The other was a 13-2 romp of the Astros and Nolan Ryan on July 17. Amazingly, the 1969 Mets did not record a true blowout the entire season.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Taking Inventory
Today seemed like as good a day as any to do an inventory check...
METS WALK-OFFS INVENTORY
339 Mets walk-off wins
332 regular-season walk-offs
7 postseason walk-offs
11 interleague play walk-offs
3 Opening Day walk-offs
15 walk-off wins in last calendar year
162 extra-inning walk-offs
2 18th-inning walk-offs
1 6th-inning walk-off
41 doubleheader walk-offs
37 walk-off swings that turned deficits into walk-off wins
1 March walk-off
56 September walk-offs
12 October walk-offs
39 Pirates walk-offs (most vs team)
1 Angels, Blue Jays, Royals, Red Sox walk-offs (least)
108 walk-off home runs
5 walk-off grand slams
1 walk-off "shoulda been a grand slam"
25 walk-off douvbles
1 walk-off triple
143 walk-off singles
15 walk-off walks
12 walk-off sacrifice flies
12 walk-off errors
10 walk-off wild pitches
7 walk-off fielders choices
4 walk-off combos (hit+error)
1 walk-off hit by pitch
1 walk-off steal of home
155 2-outs when winning run scored walk-offs
46 no-outs when winning run scored walk-offs
22 1-0 walk-offs
0 2-0 walk-offs
3 10-9 walk-offs
1 12-9 walk-off
29 Casey Stengel managed walk-offs
17 Willie Randolph managed walk-offs
25 John Franco walk-off wins
2 walk-off wins vs John Franco
5 walk-off wins vs Kent Tekulve/Elroy Face
8 Kevin McReynolds walk-off somethings
73 one-time walk-off heroes
Acevedo First walk-off winning pitcher by alphabet (last name)
Acevedo First walk-off losing pitcher by alphabet (last name)
Alberto First walk-off hero by alphabet (first name)
Willie Last walk-off hero by alphabet (first name)
Monday, June 05, 2006
Minutiae Break: First of Many
The walk-off win on Sunday was the 340th in Mets history and the 10th this season...oh, wait a minute...they didn't win, did they? It's gotten to the point where it's become expected and I guess that's a good thing. This week, the Mets will attempt to become the first team to win in walk-off fashion on the road. In the meantime, since I started writing, here's some Mets Minutiae you might appreciate.
* The home run by Lastings Milledge was the 1st of his career, the team's 74th of the season and the 5,447th in Mets history.
* Milledge is 754 home runs behind Hank Aaron for most all-time. Aaron's first major-league home run came on April 23, 1954 against Vic Raschi.
* Milledge has as many career home runs as Esix Snead and Craig Brazell, each of whose only home run was a Mets walk-off home run. He's 67 behind Steve Henderson, whose first home run was a pinch-hit walk-off home run for the Mets on May 21, 1977.
* Milledge has as many home runs as pitcher Jack Hamilton, who along with Jose Reyes are the only Mets whose first major-league home run was a grand slam.
* Milledge is 2 home runs behind Walt Terrell, whose first home run came on August 6, 1983 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Terrell hit another later that day, making him the only Mets pitcher to homer twice in a game. Terrell is also the pitcher who gave up Mark McGwire's first major-league home run.
* Milledge is 6 home runs behind Bud Harrelson, who never hit more than 1 in a season. Harrelson's first came on August 17, 1967, in the 8th inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates. It was a looping fly ball, just inside the right field line that Pirates rightfielder Al Luplow thought landed foul. When the umpire ruled it fair, Luplow went ballistic and Harrelson had himself an inside-the-park go-ahead shot (Source: This Date in Mets History)
* Milledge is 17 home runs behind Mike Jacobs, the last Met to homer in his first major league at-bat. Others to do that: Kaz Matsui, Mike Fitzgerald and Benny Ayala.
* Milledge is 11 home runs behind Endy Chavez, 68 home runs behind Paul Lo Duca and 207 home runs behind Cliff Floyd. Each of those three hit their first home run against the Mets.
* Milledge is 53 home runs behind his manager Willie Randolph, whose first home run came against Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and the Orioles on April 13, 1976.
* Milledge is 334 home runs behind Darryl Strawberry and 251 home runs behind Strawberry for most in Mets history. Strawberry's first came in a Mets win over the Pirates on May 16, 1983.
True Metruns know...Unless someone wants to tell me otherwise, Milledge has one more major-league home run than all the readers of today's blog entry.
* The home run by Lastings Milledge was the 1st of his career, the team's 74th of the season and the 5,447th in Mets history.
* Milledge is 754 home runs behind Hank Aaron for most all-time. Aaron's first major-league home run came on April 23, 1954 against Vic Raschi.
* Milledge has as many career home runs as Esix Snead and Craig Brazell, each of whose only home run was a Mets walk-off home run. He's 67 behind Steve Henderson, whose first home run was a pinch-hit walk-off home run for the Mets on May 21, 1977.
* Milledge has as many home runs as pitcher Jack Hamilton, who along with Jose Reyes are the only Mets whose first major-league home run was a grand slam.
* Milledge is 2 home runs behind Walt Terrell, whose first home run came on August 6, 1983 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Terrell hit another later that day, making him the only Mets pitcher to homer twice in a game. Terrell is also the pitcher who gave up Mark McGwire's first major-league home run.
* Milledge is 6 home runs behind Bud Harrelson, who never hit more than 1 in a season. Harrelson's first came on August 17, 1967, in the 8th inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates. It was a looping fly ball, just inside the right field line that Pirates rightfielder Al Luplow thought landed foul. When the umpire ruled it fair, Luplow went ballistic and Harrelson had himself an inside-the-park go-ahead shot (Source: This Date in Mets History)
* Milledge is 17 home runs behind Mike Jacobs, the last Met to homer in his first major league at-bat. Others to do that: Kaz Matsui, Mike Fitzgerald and Benny Ayala.
* Milledge is 11 home runs behind Endy Chavez, 68 home runs behind Paul Lo Duca and 207 home runs behind Cliff Floyd. Each of those three hit their first home run against the Mets.
* Milledge is 53 home runs behind his manager Willie Randolph, whose first home run came against Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and the Orioles on April 13, 1976.
* Milledge is 334 home runs behind Darryl Strawberry and 251 home runs behind Strawberry for most in Mets history. Strawberry's first came in a Mets win over the Pirates on May 16, 1983.
True Metruns know...Unless someone wants to tell me otherwise, Milledge has one more major-league home run than all the readers of today's blog entry.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Minutiae Break: The Gak-Offs (Part I)
We're going to break a rule here, one we stated early on in our blogdom, of how we would speak only of triumph rather than heartache, because in looking back to Saturday's contest, we felt it would be rather cathartic to produce another of our famous lists.
I was irked enough yesterday to yell at a number of personalities through my television set, not limited to Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Tom Glavine and Billy Wagner. I was peeved, miffed, annoyed, bothered, flummoxed and angry, and although much of that washed away after Sunday's victory, there is still some residue resting in chip form on my shoulder. It comes from "The Gak-Off."
A Gak-Off, in case you were wondering, is a Mets loss that fits the criteria of absurdity (as opposed to one that is bothersome, a category filled to the brim with varying degrees of devastation that we'll probably approach at a later date). It is a group of games from which the Hollywood screenwriter may someday borrow, to conjure up plots so unbelievable that an audience will walk away proclaiming them to be fictitious. But they are not. A Gak-Off, to borrow from other sports, is John Hall kicking a potential game-tying field goal attempt against the Lions sideways, is Reggie Miller scoring eight points in 15 seconds, is Ron Francis scoring from center ice. Gak-Offs are painful, and the Gak-Off, like Gak, does not come off quickly.
In baseball, a Walk-Off can be a Gak-Off, but not all Gak-Offs are Walk-Offs, though many turn out to be. In fact, most of the Gak-Offs coming to mind have been of the walk-off variety.
How many examples of a Gak-Off can I provide before you go away retching in disgust? Let us count...
The most recent prior to Saturday had to be July 8, 2005, a well-documented gagging of a four-run ninth inning lead (with two outs) against the Pirates in which Braden Looper made like Billy Wagner, Tike Redman morphed into a combination of Paul O'Neill and Melky Cabrera, and Miguel Cairo made a throw that may have inspired Aaron Heilman's pathetic first-base chuck a couple of weeks ago. The final score that day, Pirates 6, Mets 5.
Opening Day 2003 foreshadowed The Error of Good Feeling that pervaded Flushing over the next two summers and demonstrates that a Gak-Off does not have to be a close game, but could also be an afternoon of prolonged misery from start to finish, in the form of a 15-2 defeat.
The Gak-Offs of 1998, 1999 and 2001 are slightly tempered by the accomplishments of that season, but I say only slightly because the stains are still present. We're of course referring to the back-to-back September defeats to the pathetic Expos, Mike Thurman and Carl Pavano, the pennant-wretching walk-off walk by Andruw Jones off he who cannot be named, and the two game-winning home runs by Brian Jordan respectively. Granted you're probably quite familiar enough with those, but I wanted to share some that perhaps only the diehardest of diehards would be able to recall.
May 6, 1995 may be remembered by recently released Edgardo Alfonzo as the date of his first major-league home run, but I remember it as the day of Contagious Gak. May you never, ever have to suffer from a case of Contagious Gak because it is as unpleasant as any of your basic illnesses. The Mets led the Reds 11-4 in the eighth inning that day when someone must have either coughed, sneezed, or otherwise exchanged bodily fluids in a rather gruesome manner. Cincinnati scored six in the eighth to get within a run, than won the game in the last of the ninth on a Gak-Off home run by Jerome Walton. The Gak spread to Quebec, where the Rangers blew a two-goal third-period lead in a playoff loss, than transmuted overnight to West 33rd Street where the Knicks spit up a six-point lead in the final moments to the afforementioned Mr. Miller and the Indiana Pacers. This was some nasty Gak, borne in some Colorado laboratory on Opening Day (Dante Bichette was the first carrier), carrying a rather foul-smelling malaise.
August 13, 1993 was an unlucky Friday for an unwatchable team though Phillies fans remember it best for the day of Kim Batiste's game-winning grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. This Gak-Off was made possible by the fine work of the Kevin Baez Foundation, an errant throw on a game-ending grounder that immediately preceded the long ball. The sponsorship had long expired from its previous Philadelphian usage, when Bo Diaz parked a Gak-Off grand slam off Neil Allen in a 1983 game in which the Mets led by four with two outs in the last of the ninth.
Perhaps the present Mets manager was wearing the same Gak-infested shoes on Saturday that he inhabited in Atlanta on July 8, 1992, on a day in which our hotel for the National Baseball Card Convention was a block from Fulton County Stadium. You could almost see the ballpark glowing with Gak, when with the bases loaded, nobody out and the Mets trailing by a run, Howard Johnson popped meekly to third and Willie Randolph hit into a game-ending 5-4-3 double play off ex-Mets stiff Alejandro Pena. Randolph's days as an Everlasting Gakstopper date back to August 20, 1989 when his first home run of the season for the Dodgers was a three run clout that stunned Don Aase and the Mets, 5-4.
In getting back to the 1992 season, the worst loss that money could buy didn't come until its conclusion, when on September 24, the Mets JV team pitched a shutout for 13 innings, then blew a 3-0 advantage by yielding four in the bottom of the 14th in St. Louis. That defeat was constituted with some leftover Gak from June 1, 1991, when Dave Magadan sidestepped Milt Thompson's broken bat to watch a gak-off single scoot right past the vacated spot, into right field in the last of the 10th.
For those masochists still reading, I'm halting the proceedings for now. Amazingly, I've only made it through two decades. Perhaps we'll get to some of the others another time.
I was irked enough yesterday to yell at a number of personalities through my television set, not limited to Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Tom Glavine and Billy Wagner. I was peeved, miffed, annoyed, bothered, flummoxed and angry, and although much of that washed away after Sunday's victory, there is still some residue resting in chip form on my shoulder. It comes from "The Gak-Off."
A Gak-Off, in case you were wondering, is a Mets loss that fits the criteria of absurdity (as opposed to one that is bothersome, a category filled to the brim with varying degrees of devastation that we'll probably approach at a later date). It is a group of games from which the Hollywood screenwriter may someday borrow, to conjure up plots so unbelievable that an audience will walk away proclaiming them to be fictitious. But they are not. A Gak-Off, to borrow from other sports, is John Hall kicking a potential game-tying field goal attempt against the Lions sideways, is Reggie Miller scoring eight points in 15 seconds, is Ron Francis scoring from center ice. Gak-Offs are painful, and the Gak-Off, like Gak, does not come off quickly.
In baseball, a Walk-Off can be a Gak-Off, but not all Gak-Offs are Walk-Offs, though many turn out to be. In fact, most of the Gak-Offs coming to mind have been of the walk-off variety.
How many examples of a Gak-Off can I provide before you go away retching in disgust? Let us count...
The most recent prior to Saturday had to be July 8, 2005, a well-documented gagging of a four-run ninth inning lead (with two outs) against the Pirates in which Braden Looper made like Billy Wagner, Tike Redman morphed into a combination of Paul O'Neill and Melky Cabrera, and Miguel Cairo made a throw that may have inspired Aaron Heilman's pathetic first-base chuck a couple of weeks ago. The final score that day, Pirates 6, Mets 5.
Opening Day 2003 foreshadowed The Error of Good Feeling that pervaded Flushing over the next two summers and demonstrates that a Gak-Off does not have to be a close game, but could also be an afternoon of prolonged misery from start to finish, in the form of a 15-2 defeat.
The Gak-Offs of 1998, 1999 and 2001 are slightly tempered by the accomplishments of that season, but I say only slightly because the stains are still present. We're of course referring to the back-to-back September defeats to the pathetic Expos, Mike Thurman and Carl Pavano, the pennant-wretching walk-off walk by Andruw Jones off he who cannot be named, and the two game-winning home runs by Brian Jordan respectively. Granted you're probably quite familiar enough with those, but I wanted to share some that perhaps only the diehardest of diehards would be able to recall.
May 6, 1995 may be remembered by recently released Edgardo Alfonzo as the date of his first major-league home run, but I remember it as the day of Contagious Gak. May you never, ever have to suffer from a case of Contagious Gak because it is as unpleasant as any of your basic illnesses. The Mets led the Reds 11-4 in the eighth inning that day when someone must have either coughed, sneezed, or otherwise exchanged bodily fluids in a rather gruesome manner. Cincinnati scored six in the eighth to get within a run, than won the game in the last of the ninth on a Gak-Off home run by Jerome Walton. The Gak spread to Quebec, where the Rangers blew a two-goal third-period lead in a playoff loss, than transmuted overnight to West 33rd Street where the Knicks spit up a six-point lead in the final moments to the afforementioned Mr. Miller and the Indiana Pacers. This was some nasty Gak, borne in some Colorado laboratory on Opening Day (Dante Bichette was the first carrier), carrying a rather foul-smelling malaise.
August 13, 1993 was an unlucky Friday for an unwatchable team though Phillies fans remember it best for the day of Kim Batiste's game-winning grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. This Gak-Off was made possible by the fine work of the Kevin Baez Foundation, an errant throw on a game-ending grounder that immediately preceded the long ball. The sponsorship had long expired from its previous Philadelphian usage, when Bo Diaz parked a Gak-Off grand slam off Neil Allen in a 1983 game in which the Mets led by four with two outs in the last of the ninth.
Perhaps the present Mets manager was wearing the same Gak-infested shoes on Saturday that he inhabited in Atlanta on July 8, 1992, on a day in which our hotel for the National Baseball Card Convention was a block from Fulton County Stadium. You could almost see the ballpark glowing with Gak, when with the bases loaded, nobody out and the Mets trailing by a run, Howard Johnson popped meekly to third and Willie Randolph hit into a game-ending 5-4-3 double play off ex-Mets stiff Alejandro Pena. Randolph's days as an Everlasting Gakstopper date back to August 20, 1989 when his first home run of the season for the Dodgers was a three run clout that stunned Don Aase and the Mets, 5-4.
In getting back to the 1992 season, the worst loss that money could buy didn't come until its conclusion, when on September 24, the Mets JV team pitched a shutout for 13 innings, then blew a 3-0 advantage by yielding four in the bottom of the 14th in St. Louis. That defeat was constituted with some leftover Gak from June 1, 1991, when Dave Magadan sidestepped Milt Thompson's broken bat to watch a gak-off single scoot right past the vacated spot, into right field in the last of the 10th.
For those masochists still reading, I'm halting the proceedings for now. Amazingly, I've only made it through two decades. Perhaps we'll get to some of the others another time.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Minutiae Break: 5-Hit Games
On Friday night, Jose Reyes had 5 hits in a 14-inning win against the Braves. With the help of page 139 of the 2006 Mets Media Guide, here are some interesting nuggets about Mets 5-hit games.
* This was the 29th time a Met had at least 5 hits in a game (though the team media guide says it's the 27th, a count reveals 29 such instances). The only 6-hit game belongs to Edgardo Alfonzo (August 30, 1999 at Houston). The other 28 occurrences were 5 hits.
* Reyes became the 25th different Met with at least 5 hits in a game. Keith Hernandez (3), Mike Piazza (2) and Rusty Staub (2) are the only Mets to get at least 5 hits in a game on multiple occasions.
* Reyes became the first Met to get at least 5 hits in a home game since Dave Magadan (July 24, 1987, Game 2 of doubleheader vs Houston). He's only the 5th Met to get at least 5 hits in a game at Shea Stadium (Magadan, Wally Backman, Staub and John Milner).
* Reyes became the 2nd Met named Jose to get at least 5 hits in a game. The other is Jose Vizcaino (September 23, 1995 at Florida).
* This was the 6th time that a Mets player had at least 5 hits against the Braves. The other 5 are Jim Hickman, Gary Carter, Darryl Strawberry, Kevin McReynolds and Mike Piazza.
* This was the 5th time a Mets player had at least 5 hits in an extra-inning game and the first since the 19-inning encounter against the Braves on July 4, 1985 (Gary Carter).
* Reyes became the first Met to go 5-for-7 in a game. Every one of the other games was either a 5-for-5 (16 occurrences), a 5-for-6 (9 occurrences), a 5-for-9 (2 occurrences) or a 6-for-6 (1 occurrence)
* Reyes became the first Met to triple in a 5-hit game since Alex Ochoa (July 3, 1996 at Philadelphia). It was the sixth time that a Mets player tripled in a 5-hit game.
* Reyes became the third Met with no RBI in a 5-hit game, joining the previously mentioned Vizcaino and Ty Wigginton (May 10, 2004 at Arizona). Wigginton was the last Met to get 5 hits in a game, prior to Reyes.
True Metpents know...The first player to get at least 5 hits in a game for the Mets is first baseman Dick Smith, who did so as the leadoff man in a 19-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 26, 1964. "This Date in Mets History" tells the story of how a Met fan called a newspaper looking for the score of the result of that day's game. The newspaper man informed the fan that the Mets scored 19 runs. "Great," the fan said, then asked "did they win?"
Smith had 2 hits in his next game then went into a 0-for-23 slump. His Mets career was finished less than a month after his 5-hit game with just 31 total hits, the same total with which he would end his big league career after an 0-for-6 stint with the Dodgers the following season.
* This was the 29th time a Met had at least 5 hits in a game (though the team media guide says it's the 27th, a count reveals 29 such instances). The only 6-hit game belongs to Edgardo Alfonzo (August 30, 1999 at Houston). The other 28 occurrences were 5 hits.
* Reyes became the 25th different Met with at least 5 hits in a game. Keith Hernandez (3), Mike Piazza (2) and Rusty Staub (2) are the only Mets to get at least 5 hits in a game on multiple occasions.
* Reyes became the first Met to get at least 5 hits in a home game since Dave Magadan (July 24, 1987, Game 2 of doubleheader vs Houston). He's only the 5th Met to get at least 5 hits in a game at Shea Stadium (Magadan, Wally Backman, Staub and John Milner).
* Reyes became the 2nd Met named Jose to get at least 5 hits in a game. The other is Jose Vizcaino (September 23, 1995 at Florida).
* This was the 6th time that a Mets player had at least 5 hits against the Braves. The other 5 are Jim Hickman, Gary Carter, Darryl Strawberry, Kevin McReynolds and Mike Piazza.
* This was the 5th time a Mets player had at least 5 hits in an extra-inning game and the first since the 19-inning encounter against the Braves on July 4, 1985 (Gary Carter).
* Reyes became the first Met to go 5-for-7 in a game. Every one of the other games was either a 5-for-5 (16 occurrences), a 5-for-6 (9 occurrences), a 5-for-9 (2 occurrences) or a 6-for-6 (1 occurrence)
* Reyes became the first Met to triple in a 5-hit game since Alex Ochoa (July 3, 1996 at Philadelphia). It was the sixth time that a Mets player tripled in a 5-hit game.
* Reyes became the third Met with no RBI in a 5-hit game, joining the previously mentioned Vizcaino and Ty Wigginton (May 10, 2004 at Arizona). Wigginton was the last Met to get 5 hits in a game, prior to Reyes.
True Metpents know...The first player to get at least 5 hits in a game for the Mets is first baseman Dick Smith, who did so as the leadoff man in a 19-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 26, 1964. "This Date in Mets History" tells the story of how a Met fan called a newspaper looking for the score of the result of that day's game. The newspaper man informed the fan that the Mets scored 19 runs. "Great," the fan said, then asked "did they win?"
Smith had 2 hits in his next game then went into a 0-for-23 slump. His Mets career was finished less than a month after his 5-hit game with just 31 total hits, the same total with which he would end his big league career after an 0-for-6 stint with the Dodgers the following season.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Minutiae Break: Double Your Pleasure
In honor of the Mets reaching the 10,000 doubles milestone on Friday, we present the following tidbits...
* Ed Kranepool holds the all-time club record for career doubles with 225 (one was a walk-off). Bernard Gilkey set the Mets single-season record for doubles with 44 in 1996.
* The Mets have had 25 walk-off doubles (by my count, I've written about 9 of them). Of those, 16 have driven in one run, seven have driven in two runs, one has driven in two, and had the other score on an error, and one has driven in three runs.
* Among Mets pitchers, Ron Darling had the most career doubles- 20. Darling (1987) and Rick Reed (1997) share the mark for most in a single season.
* Choo Choo Coleman went double-less in 277 plate appearances in 1963, the most double-less performance by any Mets player in a season. Pat Zachry had no doubles in 252 career plate appearances for the Mets, the worst double-less performance by a player in his Mets tenure (Jeff Duncan was worst among position players, with 183 plate appearances).
* Four Mets (technically five if you include Endy Chavez) can say that their only Mets hit was a double- Ross Jones, Brook Fordyce, Mike Bishop and Jack Aker.
* Ed Kranepool holds the all-time club record for career doubles with 225 (one was a walk-off). Bernard Gilkey set the Mets single-season record for doubles with 44 in 1996.
* The Mets have had 25 walk-off doubles (by my count, I've written about 9 of them). Of those, 16 have driven in one run, seven have driven in two runs, one has driven in two, and had the other score on an error, and one has driven in three runs.
* Among Mets pitchers, Ron Darling had the most career doubles- 20. Darling (1987) and Rick Reed (1997) share the mark for most in a single season.
* Choo Choo Coleman went double-less in 277 plate appearances in 1963, the most double-less performance by any Mets player in a season. Pat Zachry had no doubles in 252 career plate appearances for the Mets, the worst double-less performance by a player in his Mets tenure (Jeff Duncan was worst among position players, with 183 plate appearances).
* Four Mets (technically five if you include Endy Chavez) can say that their only Mets hit was a double- Ross Jones, Brook Fordyce, Mike Bishop and Jack Aker.
Friday, April 07, 2006
A Brief History of "Agony to Ecstasy Finishes"
Monday's Opening Day win ended in rather unusual fashion, even for the Mets, with Jose Vidro getting thrown out by Carlos Beltran trying to extend a single into a double.
The good folks at Retrosheet, led by David Smith, sent us a list of Mets contests that ended in a similar manner. Originally, I referred to the manner of contest conclusion as a "Slide-off" and then "tag-off" but hastily realized that in my request to Retrosheet, I left certain possibilities out of the equation (A runner could get thrown out attempting to advance on a flyout or groundout, which also could involve a tag play). Thus, in searching for a new name, I came up with the idea of the "Agony to Ecstasy Finish."
The definition of the "Agony to Ecstasy Finish" is a game in which your team won, in which the final out of the game came as the byproduct of a base hit. Agony to ecstasy seems like the ideal phrase to describe the emotions of the fan whose team emerges victorious (particularly if the game is close).
Opening Day marked the 9th time in Mets history that team won by an Agony to Ecstasy finish. Amazingly, all of them took place in games decided by one run. Here's a capsule summary of those games, in order starting with the most recent...
Feeling Chipper...I can't believe I forgot about May 23, 2003, which was the last such A to E conclusion. The Mets edged the Braves, 5-4, clinching the win when Tusyoshi Shinjo threw Chipper Jones out at the plate, on a base hit by current Met Julio Franco. When Armando Benitez thanked Shinjo for the bailout, Shinjo jokingly replied he'd like a massage as his reward.
Grand Ole' Win....May 20, 1999 is better known as the date in which Robin Ventura hit a grand slam in both games of a doubleheader. Less remembered is the way that Game 1, an 11-10 Mets victory, concluded. With the score 11-9 and two men on base, Sean Berry hit a pop up to shallow right that second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo couldn't catch. Lead runner Marquis Grissom scored, but trail runner Alex Ochoa, not running at full speed because he appeared to think the game was over, was nailed at the plate by right fielder Roger Cedeno. Bobby Valentine told the media afterwards: "I'm just glad we got the third out. We didn't catch it, but we threw it, and tagged it, and got it done."
Brian McRae does something right...We've previously used this blog as mocking space for Brian McRae's various absent-minded antics, but we'll give credit, at least a little bit, for the 1-0 September 13, 1998 win over the Expos. McRae threw Shane Andrews out at the plate for the final out, after Mike Hubbard singled off John Franco. McRae made a rare winner of Willie Blair, and a mini-hero of Todd Hundley, who was on the receiving end of the throw, playing catcher for the first time in nearly 12 full months.
Victory Spehr'ed from Defeat...The year of misery that was 1993 had one of its more entertaining wins on August 2, 1993. With two on and two outs in the ninth inning, and the Mets clinging to a 4-3 lead, Wil Cordero's infield single turned into a game-ender. After Cordero beat Bobby Bonilla's throw across the diamond to first base, Mike Lansing edged slightly off second. Lansing was able to get back to second, but when the Mets tried to nail him there, lead runner Tim Spehr embarked on a mad dash for the plate. Spehr (the last Met not named Mike Piazza to start at catcher on Opening Day, prior to Lo Duca) ended up getting caught in a rundown, with Tim Bogar applying the tag that concluded the contest.
A 'Routine' Win...We mentioned this one earlier in the week. On August 27, 1986, the Mets won at San Diego, 6-5 in 11 innings. The game ended in an unusual fashion as Len Dykstra threw Gary Templeton out at home plate on Tim Flannery's single. When Templeton bowled over catcher John Gibbons, Flannery, who went to second on the throw home, tried to advance to third base. Gibbons promptly rolled over and fired to third baseman Howard Johnson, who slapped a quick tag on Flannery for the final out of a wild win. As announcer Tim McCarver noted, it was "Just your routine double play."
Just Gooden-ough...On May 25, 1984, Dwight Gooden tied Nolan Ryan's club rookie record by striking out 14 Dodgers in eight innings of work. Gooden left with a 2-1 lead, one that nearly slipped away. With two outs in the ninth, Jesse Orosco allowed a single to Jose Morales and then a double to center by R.J. Reynolds. Pinch-runner Dave Anderson tried to score, but was gunned down at the plate, thanks to a nice relay throw from underappreciated second base platooner Kelvin Chapman.
The Wacky World of Mets...Ever see those blooper shows hosted by Jay Johnstone? Wonder if he ever included the time he was on the Padres, playing the Mets on July 21, 1979. With the Padres trailing by a run in the ninth inning, Johnstone batted against Andy Hassler with two on and two outs. Johnstone grounded in the hole between first and second. The ball was fielded by Doug Flynn, but with no one covering first, all hands were safe. Seeing the confusion, lead runner Paul Dade got caught straying a little too far from third base and was thrown out. The tag was applied by defensive replacement at third base, Sergio Ferrer, who somehow played 32 games that season without getting a base hit (he went 0-for-7 with 2 walks). That's a club "record."
This game ended too late for morning editions...Because Game 2 of a quasi-meaningless September 26 doubleheader between the Mets and Phillies at Veterans Stadium, went extra innings I'm left without an archived newspaper account of this contest. What I can tell you is that the Mets won, 3-2 in 12 innings. The Phillies trailed 3-1 with two on and two out in the 12th. Pinch-hitter Mike Rogodzinski doubled, bringing home one run, but in trying to score the tying run, Tim McCarver was thrown out at the plate, on Felix Millan's relay of a Rusty Staub throw.
The good folks at Retrosheet, led by David Smith, sent us a list of Mets contests that ended in a similar manner. Originally, I referred to the manner of contest conclusion as a "Slide-off" and then "tag-off" but hastily realized that in my request to Retrosheet, I left certain possibilities out of the equation (A runner could get thrown out attempting to advance on a flyout or groundout, which also could involve a tag play). Thus, in searching for a new name, I came up with the idea of the "Agony to Ecstasy Finish."
The definition of the "Agony to Ecstasy Finish" is a game in which your team won, in which the final out of the game came as the byproduct of a base hit. Agony to ecstasy seems like the ideal phrase to describe the emotions of the fan whose team emerges victorious (particularly if the game is close).
Opening Day marked the 9th time in Mets history that team won by an Agony to Ecstasy finish. Amazingly, all of them took place in games decided by one run. Here's a capsule summary of those games, in order starting with the most recent...
Feeling Chipper...I can't believe I forgot about May 23, 2003, which was the last such A to E conclusion. The Mets edged the Braves, 5-4, clinching the win when Tusyoshi Shinjo threw Chipper Jones out at the plate, on a base hit by current Met Julio Franco. When Armando Benitez thanked Shinjo for the bailout, Shinjo jokingly replied he'd like a massage as his reward.
Grand Ole' Win....May 20, 1999 is better known as the date in which Robin Ventura hit a grand slam in both games of a doubleheader. Less remembered is the way that Game 1, an 11-10 Mets victory, concluded. With the score 11-9 and two men on base, Sean Berry hit a pop up to shallow right that second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo couldn't catch. Lead runner Marquis Grissom scored, but trail runner Alex Ochoa, not running at full speed because he appeared to think the game was over, was nailed at the plate by right fielder Roger Cedeno. Bobby Valentine told the media afterwards: "I'm just glad we got the third out. We didn't catch it, but we threw it, and tagged it, and got it done."
Brian McRae does something right...We've previously used this blog as mocking space for Brian McRae's various absent-minded antics, but we'll give credit, at least a little bit, for the 1-0 September 13, 1998 win over the Expos. McRae threw Shane Andrews out at the plate for the final out, after Mike Hubbard singled off John Franco. McRae made a rare winner of Willie Blair, and a mini-hero of Todd Hundley, who was on the receiving end of the throw, playing catcher for the first time in nearly 12 full months.
Victory Spehr'ed from Defeat...The year of misery that was 1993 had one of its more entertaining wins on August 2, 1993. With two on and two outs in the ninth inning, and the Mets clinging to a 4-3 lead, Wil Cordero's infield single turned into a game-ender. After Cordero beat Bobby Bonilla's throw across the diamond to first base, Mike Lansing edged slightly off second. Lansing was able to get back to second, but when the Mets tried to nail him there, lead runner Tim Spehr embarked on a mad dash for the plate. Spehr (the last Met not named Mike Piazza to start at catcher on Opening Day, prior to Lo Duca) ended up getting caught in a rundown, with Tim Bogar applying the tag that concluded the contest.
A 'Routine' Win...We mentioned this one earlier in the week. On August 27, 1986, the Mets won at San Diego, 6-5 in 11 innings. The game ended in an unusual fashion as Len Dykstra threw Gary Templeton out at home plate on Tim Flannery's single. When Templeton bowled over catcher John Gibbons, Flannery, who went to second on the throw home, tried to advance to third base. Gibbons promptly rolled over and fired to third baseman Howard Johnson, who slapped a quick tag on Flannery for the final out of a wild win. As announcer Tim McCarver noted, it was "Just your routine double play."
Just Gooden-ough...On May 25, 1984, Dwight Gooden tied Nolan Ryan's club rookie record by striking out 14 Dodgers in eight innings of work. Gooden left with a 2-1 lead, one that nearly slipped away. With two outs in the ninth, Jesse Orosco allowed a single to Jose Morales and then a double to center by R.J. Reynolds. Pinch-runner Dave Anderson tried to score, but was gunned down at the plate, thanks to a nice relay throw from underappreciated second base platooner Kelvin Chapman.
The Wacky World of Mets...Ever see those blooper shows hosted by Jay Johnstone? Wonder if he ever included the time he was on the Padres, playing the Mets on July 21, 1979. With the Padres trailing by a run in the ninth inning, Johnstone batted against Andy Hassler with two on and two outs. Johnstone grounded in the hole between first and second. The ball was fielded by Doug Flynn, but with no one covering first, all hands were safe. Seeing the confusion, lead runner Paul Dade got caught straying a little too far from third base and was thrown out. The tag was applied by defensive replacement at third base, Sergio Ferrer, who somehow played 32 games that season without getting a base hit (he went 0-for-7 with 2 walks). That's a club "record."
This game ended too late for morning editions...Because Game 2 of a quasi-meaningless September 26 doubleheader between the Mets and Phillies at Veterans Stadium, went extra innings I'm left without an archived newspaper account of this contest. What I can tell you is that the Mets won, 3-2 in 12 innings. The Phillies trailed 3-1 with two on and two out in the 12th. Pinch-hitter Mike Rogodzinski doubled, bringing home one run, but in trying to score the tying run, Tim McCarver was thrown out at the plate, on Felix Millan's relay of a Rusty Staub throw.
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