So I'm at work on Monday and it had been about seven hours since I had eaten. A colleague wanted to go get dinner, but something was holding me back. He was rather insistent about going. I was rather insistent about waiting. He went. I stayed. That's how I got to see Mike Piazza's first at bat with the San Diego Padres. I'm glad I delayed my dining.
I invoked what I'm now calling the "Stanley Jefferson Rule." This is in reference to a story I told a few days ago about how I remember Jefferson's first at bat as a Met. I was in the bathtub on that particular day, 20 years ago, when my father's voice beckoned. I indicated that I could wait. Then he said words that I remember to this day.
"If he hits a home run, you'll regret that you missed it."
Stan the Man struck out in his Mets debut, while I was drying myself off, but that's besides the point. The important thing here is to understand the value of the debut.
A player, whether it be hitter or pitcher, only gets one chance to make a first impression. Sometimes that's their only impression. Sometimes it's the start of a wonderful friendship. I write this because Brian Bannister is scheduled to make his major-league debut in a few hours and I'm driving back to work to watch. There was a temptation to make the three-plus hour trip to Shea tonight, but in the end, I've decided watching on TV is the way to go.
I have had the opportunity to watch a few Mets debuts in person and I spent the better part of the last 24 hours trying to remember them all (unfortunately no walk-offs came to mind). The last one I can remember actually going out of my way to attend was on June 17, 1995, the date of Bill Pulsipher's first major-league start. Boy, that was a disaster, basically a foreshadowing of his Mets career. Pulse gave up five first-inning runs and seven in his seven-inning stint. It was quite an ugly showing, though I'm glad to know that something good eventually came out of it.
Sometimes you go to a game and just happen to be their for the debut moment. Amazingly this happened to me on three separate occasions during the 1987 season and the impact was significant, on both the team (all three games were Mets losses for a team that finished three games out of first place) and on me.
The first took place during the first weekend of the season in a game between the Mets and Braves. With the score tied 3-3 after six innings, Davey Johnson handed the baseball to David Cone, who'd been obtained in the offseason for backup catcher Ed Hearn. Cone had pitched briefly for the Royals prior to this game, but this was his Flushing out party, so to speak.
Cone gave the Mets two really good innings, then faltered slightly in the ninth, allowing back-to-back hits to grizzled vets Dale Murphy and Ken Griffey (Sr.), the latter of which produced the game-winning run. Though we didn't know just how good Cone was going to be, I remember being impressed by the performance. I was not a particularly big fan of trading Hearn, but I was a quick convert back then.
Cone's funky delivery was surpassed by that of Jeff Innis, who made his MLB debut on May 16 against the San Francisco Giants. Johnson put him in a tough spot, in a 4-4 tie entering the ninth inning and like Cone, Innis' initial returns were good. He struck out two with his underhand motion in the ninth, but then got touched up in the 10th. Jeffrey Leonard, batting a rather robust .368 stroked a long fly to right center field. To this day, I still think the ball nicked off Darryl Strawberry's glove in rightcenter, though the newspapers say Straw just missed it. The homer was the difference in the game, a 5-4 Giants win that left the Mets at 10-13.
A lot of people get confused when I tell them that I was at Bob Gibson's Mets debut and tell me I'm not old enough to remember the best big game pitcher of his era. That's true, as I had barely turned eight months old by the time of Gibson's last appearance in 1975. I am, however, old enough to remember Robert Louis Gibson, the Philadelphia native, whose first and last Mets appearance took place on July 25, 1987 against the Houston Astros. Gibson pitched a stellar eighth inning, striking out Kevin Bass and Ken Caminiti but couldn't prevent Don Schulze from suffering a 7-5 defeat. It may not have been a Hall of Fame worthy performance, but it allowed Gibson to say he had a near-perfect Mets debut. I imagine Bannister would like to say the same thing when his work gets completed tonight.
Showing posts with label Minutiae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minutiae. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
You Think I'm Fooling?
Ok...today marks my 3rd attempt at starting a blog (my first one lasted approximately 4 hours before I realized that I wasn't motivated enough to do this, the second made it through 10 months and 200 posts before I realized I'd run out of material).
I don't profess to be an expert in this by any means, but I thought it would be worthwhile. About 10 months ago, I came across a blog that was very unique- PlunkBiggio, which is devoted to recording Craig Biggio's hit-by-pitch count. It is rare to find such a cleverly done "niche blog" and in thinking about it, I decided that it is time to create my own. To make a long story short, I have decided to create a blog that chronicles Mets walks.
In watching games for the last quarter century, it has become clear that the most interesting type of Mets play to watch/write about/talk about is a walk. This is a franchise that is well-known for making its fans suffer through torturous games, and torturous plate appearances. There is a website known as "The Ultimate Mets Database" that allows fans to reminisce about games and players, and I hope that this blog can serve as a worthy, easily accessible companion to that site and others.
As an FYI: Walks by Mets pitchers are forbidden from discussion. There are too many bad memories regarding the incompetent work of a certain lefthander against a certain righthanded rival in a critical postseason situation and thus the subject shall never be broached.
Admittedly, chronicling the history of 22,534 bases on balls seems a bit excessive, but I'm convinced that I can get through it in an entertaining and informative fashion, if you'll give me a free pass (pardon the pun) and permit the indulgence. Walking requires patience and understanding and those who possess both will enjoy my new labor.
There is much interesting knowledge to be gleaned from the history of four-ball scenarios in Mets history. In just a few hours of work, I was able to study them in fascinating detail, to the point where I was able to compile a list of those most significant and memorable to the Flushing faithful. They include...
The first one...In the 3rd inning of the Mets first regular-season game, against the Cardinals, Felix Mantilla made history, drawing the first walk in Mets history. It came with one man on base and one out against Larry Jackson and proved to be an effective strategic maneuver. Mantilla's walk was overshadowed by the first RBI in Mets history, by Charlie Neal. The maneuver was particularly effective as the Mets tallied twice in the frame, with Mantilla scoring on a Frank Thomas sac fly, tying the game at two.
The intimidating one...In the 9th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS, the Mets mounted a remarkable rally that might not have been possible were it not for what happened with them trailing 3-2, with a runner on third and one man out. Astros reliever Dave Smith worked Gary Carter carefully, putting him on base with a free pass. Next up was Darryl Strawberry, who was as likely to hit into a double play (if Smith threw a good splitter) as belt a go-ahead homer. With the count 3-2, Strawberry hit one of the most amazing foul balls you'll ever see. Bob Murphy estimated it as travelling 500 feet, with Gary Thorne chiming in that it landed in the eighth row of the fifth level. Clearly flummoxed, Smith walked Strawberry to load the bases. Ray Knight followed with a game-tying sac fly and little did we know that we had a few more innings left to play.
Ball on the Walk...They refer to the story of the game of September 20, 1973, by a different name, but lest we forget that the pivotal contest of the NL East was won in the 13th inning and that Ron Hodges' game-winning single would not have been possible were it not for the lack of control by Luke Walker, who bypassed John Milner and Ken Boswell to commence the lucky frame.
Walk This Rey(es)...It took Jose Reyes a full month, until May 3 of the 2005 season, to draw his first walk, and this one from Tim Worrell, which forced home a run in the ninth inning of an otherwise uneventful blowout loss to the Phillies, is one of the few in Mets history that got its proper due- a standing ovation.
Memories of the Summer of '69...Tommie Agee's remarkable catches helped vault him into Mets Hall of Fameworthy status and properly so. But what may really have sapped Baltimore's strength in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series took place in the second inning. With two outs and nobody on, Orioles hurler Jim Palmer must have thought that a walk would have no consequence. After all, the next two spots after Jerry Grote took his free base, were occupied by Bud Harrelson and Gary Gentry. Palmer clearly didn't expect what followed- a single by Harrelson and a two-run double by Gentry, turning a 1-0 lead into a very safe 3-0 cushion.
The Prattfall...Previous to Robin Ventura's grand slam single that left those attendees at Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS giddy, Todd Pratt stepped to the plate in a dangerous spot, with the Mets trailing by a run, and a force possible at any base, with three on and one out. A poorly placed ground ball and the Mets season would have been over. Pratt crouched a bit tighter than usual and coaxed four mislocated pitches from Kevin McGlinchy, bringing home the tying run and setting up the fantastic finish.
The recordbreaker...Speaking of 1999, John Olerud needed no performance enhancement to shatter the Mets record for walks in a season. Olerud surpassed the mark of 97, previously held by Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry (who still has the career mark), on August 18 in San Diego. Though the game was not stopped to pay tribute, Olerud was unfazed. He walked three times that day, giving him an even 100, then received 25 more free tickets over the rest of the season. No one will likely come close to his club mark of 125 any time soon.
Welcome Home Tom Terrific...We'll make an exception to our rule prohibiting references to walks by Mets pitchers for one of a different nature. On Opening Day, 1983, Tom Seaver returned to the family. In one of the most chilling non-game related moments in Mets history, Seaver soaked in a thunderous standing ovation during his walk from the field to the dugout prior to the contest's beginning. Seaver got a no-decision (he walked one), but pitched well and the Mets won, 2-0.
And since we're in such a good mood, with the opening of a baseball season (and plenty of new walk memories) beginning for the Mets on Monday, here's a few extra pieces of Walk Minutiae for you to share with your friends and family.
* Keith Hernandez is the only Mets player to ever lead the NL in walks. He did so in 1986 when he drew 94.
* The 1999 Mets drew the most walks in club history- 717. The 1964 Mets drew the fewest 353 for a Mets squad in a non-shortened season.
* The Mets have drawn 2,383 intentional walks, which accounts for 10.6 percent of their walk total.
* Harry Parker holds the Mets record for most walks in a season by someone who got no hits in that particular season. In 1975, he went 0-for-18 but drew four walks.
* "The Walking Man," also known as Ed Yost, never played for the Mets, but did coach for the team from 1968 to 1975. He was joined on staff by Rube Walker (no relation to Chico and his 38 Mets walks), a coach from 1968 to 1981.
* Former pitcher Bob Walk walked 47 Mets in 110 innings against them, which might explain the 7-7 record and 4.91 ERA
* Lastly, we return to our roots with this nugget that you may recall. The Mets have drawn 15 walk-off walks in their illustrious history. Amazingly, Ron Swoboda has four of them.
My apologies to my fellow bloggers for being late on sharing their late-breaking news. Check out "Faith and Fear" for the latest on the Mets big move and Metstradamus for info on Bud Selig's latest move.
I don't profess to be an expert in this by any means, but I thought it would be worthwhile. About 10 months ago, I came across a blog that was very unique- PlunkBiggio, which is devoted to recording Craig Biggio's hit-by-pitch count. It is rare to find such a cleverly done "niche blog" and in thinking about it, I decided that it is time to create my own. To make a long story short, I have decided to create a blog that chronicles Mets walks.
In watching games for the last quarter century, it has become clear that the most interesting type of Mets play to watch/write about/talk about is a walk. This is a franchise that is well-known for making its fans suffer through torturous games, and torturous plate appearances. There is a website known as "The Ultimate Mets Database" that allows fans to reminisce about games and players, and I hope that this blog can serve as a worthy, easily accessible companion to that site and others.
As an FYI: Walks by Mets pitchers are forbidden from discussion. There are too many bad memories regarding the incompetent work of a certain lefthander against a certain righthanded rival in a critical postseason situation and thus the subject shall never be broached.
Admittedly, chronicling the history of 22,534 bases on balls seems a bit excessive, but I'm convinced that I can get through it in an entertaining and informative fashion, if you'll give me a free pass (pardon the pun) and permit the indulgence. Walking requires patience and understanding and those who possess both will enjoy my new labor.
There is much interesting knowledge to be gleaned from the history of four-ball scenarios in Mets history. In just a few hours of work, I was able to study them in fascinating detail, to the point where I was able to compile a list of those most significant and memorable to the Flushing faithful. They include...
The first one...In the 3rd inning of the Mets first regular-season game, against the Cardinals, Felix Mantilla made history, drawing the first walk in Mets history. It came with one man on base and one out against Larry Jackson and proved to be an effective strategic maneuver. Mantilla's walk was overshadowed by the first RBI in Mets history, by Charlie Neal. The maneuver was particularly effective as the Mets tallied twice in the frame, with Mantilla scoring on a Frank Thomas sac fly, tying the game at two.
The intimidating one...In the 9th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS, the Mets mounted a remarkable rally that might not have been possible were it not for what happened with them trailing 3-2, with a runner on third and one man out. Astros reliever Dave Smith worked Gary Carter carefully, putting him on base with a free pass. Next up was Darryl Strawberry, who was as likely to hit into a double play (if Smith threw a good splitter) as belt a go-ahead homer. With the count 3-2, Strawberry hit one of the most amazing foul balls you'll ever see. Bob Murphy estimated it as travelling 500 feet, with Gary Thorne chiming in that it landed in the eighth row of the fifth level. Clearly flummoxed, Smith walked Strawberry to load the bases. Ray Knight followed with a game-tying sac fly and little did we know that we had a few more innings left to play.
Ball on the Walk...They refer to the story of the game of September 20, 1973, by a different name, but lest we forget that the pivotal contest of the NL East was won in the 13th inning and that Ron Hodges' game-winning single would not have been possible were it not for the lack of control by Luke Walker, who bypassed John Milner and Ken Boswell to commence the lucky frame.
Walk This Rey(es)...It took Jose Reyes a full month, until May 3 of the 2005 season, to draw his first walk, and this one from Tim Worrell, which forced home a run in the ninth inning of an otherwise uneventful blowout loss to the Phillies, is one of the few in Mets history that got its proper due- a standing ovation.
Memories of the Summer of '69...Tommie Agee's remarkable catches helped vault him into Mets Hall of Fameworthy status and properly so. But what may really have sapped Baltimore's strength in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series took place in the second inning. With two outs and nobody on, Orioles hurler Jim Palmer must have thought that a walk would have no consequence. After all, the next two spots after Jerry Grote took his free base, were occupied by Bud Harrelson and Gary Gentry. Palmer clearly didn't expect what followed- a single by Harrelson and a two-run double by Gentry, turning a 1-0 lead into a very safe 3-0 cushion.
The Prattfall...Previous to Robin Ventura's grand slam single that left those attendees at Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS giddy, Todd Pratt stepped to the plate in a dangerous spot, with the Mets trailing by a run, and a force possible at any base, with three on and one out. A poorly placed ground ball and the Mets season would have been over. Pratt crouched a bit tighter than usual and coaxed four mislocated pitches from Kevin McGlinchy, bringing home the tying run and setting up the fantastic finish.
The recordbreaker...Speaking of 1999, John Olerud needed no performance enhancement to shatter the Mets record for walks in a season. Olerud surpassed the mark of 97, previously held by Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry (who still has the career mark), on August 18 in San Diego. Though the game was not stopped to pay tribute, Olerud was unfazed. He walked three times that day, giving him an even 100, then received 25 more free tickets over the rest of the season. No one will likely come close to his club mark of 125 any time soon.
Welcome Home Tom Terrific...We'll make an exception to our rule prohibiting references to walks by Mets pitchers for one of a different nature. On Opening Day, 1983, Tom Seaver returned to the family. In one of the most chilling non-game related moments in Mets history, Seaver soaked in a thunderous standing ovation during his walk from the field to the dugout prior to the contest's beginning. Seaver got a no-decision (he walked one), but pitched well and the Mets won, 2-0.
And since we're in such a good mood, with the opening of a baseball season (and plenty of new walk memories) beginning for the Mets on Monday, here's a few extra pieces of Walk Minutiae for you to share with your friends and family.
* Keith Hernandez is the only Mets player to ever lead the NL in walks. He did so in 1986 when he drew 94.
* The 1999 Mets drew the most walks in club history- 717. The 1964 Mets drew the fewest 353 for a Mets squad in a non-shortened season.
* The Mets have drawn 2,383 intentional walks, which accounts for 10.6 percent of their walk total.
* Harry Parker holds the Mets record for most walks in a season by someone who got no hits in that particular season. In 1975, he went 0-for-18 but drew four walks.
* "The Walking Man," also known as Ed Yost, never played for the Mets, but did coach for the team from 1968 to 1975. He was joined on staff by Rube Walker (no relation to Chico and his 38 Mets walks), a coach from 1968 to 1981.
* Former pitcher Bob Walk walked 47 Mets in 110 innings against them, which might explain the 7-7 record and 4.91 ERA
* Lastly, we return to our roots with this nugget that you may recall. The Mets have drawn 15 walk-off walks in their illustrious history. Amazingly, Ron Swoboda has four of them.
My apologies to my fellow bloggers for being late on sharing their late-breaking news. Check out "Faith and Fear" for the latest on the Mets big move and Metstradamus for info on Bud Selig's latest move.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Minutiae Break: The Minutest Minutiae
I just installed a piece of software on my laptop that I've particularly enjoyed in the past, the 2006 edition of the Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia. This computer program is an extraordinarily useful tool for people who do what I do. It is a statistical repository for baseball information dating back to the earliest days of the sport. It allows us to learn about the game and share that knowledge through forums such as these. It allows the dyingest diehard and the casualist follower to unite in breaking down the game in the most minute detail.
I tend to cater to that first group and shall do so again in this space. One of the great functions of the SBE is that it allows you to run customizable searches regarding past seasons and thus caters to the trivia buffs of the baseball world.
I used to write something for my college newspaper that a wise editor titled "Since you asked." Basically, it was a summary of silly trivia that I found particularly interesting that week. I realize that no one asked about the following goofy Mets factoids, but this is the place to come for them. Where else are you going to learn that...
The most career plate appearances for a Met, without hitting a HR for the team, is 798, by Alex Trevino. Current Met Steve Trachsel ranks 10th at 275.
The most hits by a Met, without hitting a triple for the team is 252, by Willie Montanez. Ramon Castro enters the season in 28th place with 51.
The most RBI by a Met in a season, by someone who didn't draw any walks that season, is 16 by Shawon Dunston in 1999.
The most singles for a Met, without hitting any extra-base hits, is 22 by Pat Zachry.
The only Met whose only Met hit was a HR is Chris Jelic, who went 1-for-11 with the 1990 Mets.
The most innings pitched by a Met in a single season, without allowing a HR, is 70 2/3 by Doug Sisk, in 1986. Juan Padilla made a valiant effort at this mark last season. He ranks second in team history with his 36 1/3 homerless innings.
The most strikeouts by a Met in a single-season, without walking a batter, is 7, by Tom Gorman in 1982.
The worst hits-per-9 inning ratio for any Met with 100 or more career innings pitched is 11.49 by Mike Bruhert.
The only Mets with double-digit ERA and at least one win are Tom Martin (10.06) and Mike Matthews (10.80)
Can you tell that I can't wait for some real games to write about?
I tend to cater to that first group and shall do so again in this space. One of the great functions of the SBE is that it allows you to run customizable searches regarding past seasons and thus caters to the trivia buffs of the baseball world.
I used to write something for my college newspaper that a wise editor titled "Since you asked." Basically, it was a summary of silly trivia that I found particularly interesting that week. I realize that no one asked about the following goofy Mets factoids, but this is the place to come for them. Where else are you going to learn that...
The most career plate appearances for a Met, without hitting a HR for the team, is 798, by Alex Trevino. Current Met Steve Trachsel ranks 10th at 275.
The most hits by a Met, without hitting a triple for the team is 252, by Willie Montanez. Ramon Castro enters the season in 28th place with 51.
The most RBI by a Met in a season, by someone who didn't draw any walks that season, is 16 by Shawon Dunston in 1999.
The most singles for a Met, without hitting any extra-base hits, is 22 by Pat Zachry.
The only Met whose only Met hit was a HR is Chris Jelic, who went 1-for-11 with the 1990 Mets.
The most innings pitched by a Met in a single season, without allowing a HR, is 70 2/3 by Doug Sisk, in 1986. Juan Padilla made a valiant effort at this mark last season. He ranks second in team history with his 36 1/3 homerless innings.
The most strikeouts by a Met in a single-season, without walking a batter, is 7, by Tom Gorman in 1982.
The worst hits-per-9 inning ratio for any Met with 100 or more career innings pitched is 11.49 by Mike Bruhert.
The only Mets with double-digit ERA and at least one win are Tom Martin (10.06) and Mike Matthews (10.80)
Can you tell that I can't wait for some real games to write about?
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Walk-Offs in Movies, TV, and Other Places
Note: I'm leaving this post up through the end of the week, a) because I don't have time to pump out something new and b)because I was hoping to build a really good list of entertainment industry walk-offs...so if you're looking for something new, check back on Monday or so...
Of course, if there's a major trade or move, I'll adjust and try to post something...
In the meantime, click on the "Table of Contents" link as well. It has been updated.
SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk
Caught the ending of "A League of Their Own" on one of the movie channels the other day and it got me to thinking that it would be fun to compile a list of walk-offs from movies, television, and other forms of entertainment. Here's the start, and only the start, as I spent about 30 minutes or so thinking it over Help me fill in the blanks by filling out the comments section.
"A League of Their Own"-- Racine beats Rockford for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League championship when Kit Keller (Lori Petty) bowls over older sister Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) to score the winning run on a two-out, two-run, inside-the-park home run.
"Cheers" -- In the episode titled "Endless Slumper," Sam Malone (Ted Danson) gives his lucky bottlecap to Red Sox pitcher Rick Walker (Christopher MacDonald). Sam gets real antsy after he gives the bottlecap away and calls Walker in the middle of a game to try to get it back, but Walker is unavailable until the game ends. Unfortunately for Sam, the game goes 20+ innings (ending on a walk-off home run) and when Rick Walker finally comes to the phone, he tells Sam that he lost the bottlecap. It turns out that the bottlecap was from the last beer that Sam drank before he admitted he was an alcoholic. Sam, tempted to drink again, slides a glass of beer away and picks up a new lucky bottlecap, much to the relief of waitress, Diane Chambers (Shelley Long).
"Fever Pitch" -- Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon) and Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) enjoy a fine night on the town, but their fun is spoiled when Ben learns he missed a Red Sox comeback walk-off win against the Yankees.
"L.A. Law" -- In an episode titled "The Unsterile Cuckoo"...Arnie Becker (Corbin Bernsen) hits a game-winning walk-off home run, lifting McKenzie-Brackman to a win over a rival law firm in a company softball league.
"The Natural" -- OK, I realize this is gonna get me in trouble, but it's been about 15 years since I've seen this movie, even though it's on often... If I recall correctly, Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) uses a "Savoy Special" model bat after his "Wonderboy" breaks and hits a walk-off home run for the New York Knights in the next-to-last scene of the movie. The homer hits the light tower and sets off quite a show.
"One Day at a Time" -- In the episode titled "Hardball," 'adopted son' Alex Handris (Glenn Scarpelli) asks his uncle, Max Horvath (Michael Lembeck) to let him play on the local baseball team. Max relents after being persuaded by sister-in-law Barbara Cooper (Valerie Bertinelli). Max gets hurt and is unable to coach the big game, but has the play-by-play relayed to him via walkie-talkie. Alex winds up costing his team the game when he kicks a ball away in the last inning.
"Peanuts" -- In the comic strip by Charles Schulz, Peppermint Patty allows Charlie Brown to get the final out, with her team ahead 50-0 in the bottom of the last inning. Patty goes to sell popcorn, but gets knocked unconscious by a Charlie Brown wild pitch. When Patty is revived she is told that her team lost 51-50, when Charlie Brown gave up 51 runs.
True Metkel & Eberts know...Phil Mankowski, who appeared in 21 games for the Mets in 1980 and 1982 played a teammate of Roy Hobbs in "The Natural." He appeared in one Mets walk-off win, against the Pirates on September 29, 1980
Of course, if there's a major trade or move, I'll adjust and try to post something...
In the meantime, click on the "Table of Contents" link as well. It has been updated.
SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk
Caught the ending of "A League of Their Own" on one of the movie channels the other day and it got me to thinking that it would be fun to compile a list of walk-offs from movies, television, and other forms of entertainment. Here's the start, and only the start, as I spent about 30 minutes or so thinking it over Help me fill in the blanks by filling out the comments section.
"A League of Their Own"-- Racine beats Rockford for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League championship when Kit Keller (Lori Petty) bowls over older sister Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) to score the winning run on a two-out, two-run, inside-the-park home run.
"Cheers" -- In the episode titled "Endless Slumper," Sam Malone (Ted Danson) gives his lucky bottlecap to Red Sox pitcher Rick Walker (Christopher MacDonald). Sam gets real antsy after he gives the bottlecap away and calls Walker in the middle of a game to try to get it back, but Walker is unavailable until the game ends. Unfortunately for Sam, the game goes 20+ innings (ending on a walk-off home run) and when Rick Walker finally comes to the phone, he tells Sam that he lost the bottlecap. It turns out that the bottlecap was from the last beer that Sam drank before he admitted he was an alcoholic. Sam, tempted to drink again, slides a glass of beer away and picks up a new lucky bottlecap, much to the relief of waitress, Diane Chambers (Shelley Long).
"Fever Pitch" -- Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon) and Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) enjoy a fine night on the town, but their fun is spoiled when Ben learns he missed a Red Sox comeback walk-off win against the Yankees.
"L.A. Law" -- In an episode titled "The Unsterile Cuckoo"...Arnie Becker (Corbin Bernsen) hits a game-winning walk-off home run, lifting McKenzie-Brackman to a win over a rival law firm in a company softball league.
"The Natural" -- OK, I realize this is gonna get me in trouble, but it's been about 15 years since I've seen this movie, even though it's on often... If I recall correctly, Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) uses a "Savoy Special" model bat after his "Wonderboy" breaks and hits a walk-off home run for the New York Knights in the next-to-last scene of the movie. The homer hits the light tower and sets off quite a show.
"One Day at a Time" -- In the episode titled "Hardball," 'adopted son' Alex Handris (Glenn Scarpelli) asks his uncle, Max Horvath (Michael Lembeck) to let him play on the local baseball team. Max relents after being persuaded by sister-in-law Barbara Cooper (Valerie Bertinelli). Max gets hurt and is unable to coach the big game, but has the play-by-play relayed to him via walkie-talkie. Alex winds up costing his team the game when he kicks a ball away in the last inning.
"Peanuts" -- In the comic strip by Charles Schulz, Peppermint Patty allows Charlie Brown to get the final out, with her team ahead 50-0 in the bottom of the last inning. Patty goes to sell popcorn, but gets knocked unconscious by a Charlie Brown wild pitch. When Patty is revived she is told that her team lost 51-50, when Charlie Brown gave up 51 runs.
True Metkel & Eberts know...Phil Mankowski, who appeared in 21 games for the Mets in 1980 and 1982 played a teammate of Roy Hobbs in "The Natural." He appeared in one Mets walk-off win, against the Pirates on September 29, 1980
Friday, December 09, 2005
Minutiae Break: The Bowl of Soup Mets
So Roberto Hernandez walks off into the Mets sunset to Pittsburgh, though not by his choice, since team management decided it could live without him. Age couldn't have been the reason, since based on the signing of Julio Franco, they're willing to shell out the dough for the aged.
Hernandez had a good season for the Mets in 2005. It was a really good season, one that far exceeded expectations. You could count his bad outings on two hands, which isn't bad for a guy that pitched 67 times and was only charged with runs on 12 occasions. I talked to a couple of people this season (not Mets fans) who disliked Roberto Hernandez for one reason or another, but as much as they tried, they couldn't change my opinion that he was legitimately one of the team MVPs.
Sitting here on a Friday night with nothing better to do, it got me to thinking about others whose Metsy days lasted only a single season. I wrote a couple of pieces for New York Mets Inside Pitch titled "Mets for a Minute" about some whose tenure was of cup-of-coffee length. The list I want to make is of the guys who stuck around a little bit longer and had a little bit of success, whose cup of coffee was actually a bowl of soup (wonton or chicken noodle, preferably). Ideally I was looking for players who put up good numbers with the Mets (thus, the likes of Yogi Berra don't qualify) or made very significant contributions.
Hopefully this list hasn't been generated before and if it has, hopefully I can give it enough of my own spin to make it unique. Thanks to UltimateMets.com, which recently included a list of years played on its roster page, thus making the work for this one-year wonder chart significantly easier. Here's our nine-man Roberto Hernandez All-Stars squad
Richie Ashburn (1962) The first Mets All-Star is the ideal choice for team captain, as he hung it up after hitting .306 primarily as leadoff man and centerfielder in the inaugural season. If Jose Reyes had walked as much as Ashburn did (81 times), he would have gotten a heck of a lot more than one 10th-place MVP vote MVP vote. Ashburn noses out Felix Mantilla, who also would have been a credible representative from this squad.
Bob Johnson (1967) Overlooked and underappreciated, Johnson may have been one of the best utility men in Mets history, at least from an offensive perspective. He hit .348 with five home runs in 230 at-bats, while playing a little bit at second, first, and shortstop. Looks to me like he was basically a better version of Chris Woodward. The Mets were able to get good value for Johnson in the offseason, sending him to Cincinnati for Art Shamsky.
Jack DiLauro (1969) Without DiLauro, the 1969 Mets would have only won 99 games. DiLauro was basically Randy Niemann, circa 1986, the lefty long man who wasn't really needed, but who filled in capably whenever asked (2.40 ERA). DiLauro's lone victory came in the second game of a doubleheader on July 20, 1969, and in looking at the boxscore, it raised a scorekeeping question. Not to cause a scandal here, but shouldn't DiLauro have gotten the save instead of the win?
Claudell Washington (1980) Washington was a Flushing coup for four months, mostly here for the bad times that were the end of the 1980 campaign, but he put up pretty decent numbers during his tenure (.275 BA, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 17 SB) and even had a three-homer game. That he left via free agency for Atlanta, if I'm not mistaken, cleared the way for Mookie Wilson to get a look the next season. You'll notice there were no selections from the 70s. None warranted it, from what I could see. If you have a suggested one, please let me know via the comments section.
Ed Hearn (1986) The standard by which all future Mets backup catchers have been measured, at least in my mind. Hearn hit .265 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 49 games as Gary Carter's caddy, but even 20 years later, it feels like he was better than his numbers. He was a superior player to Barry Lyons, John Gibbons, Kelly Stinnett, Mackey Sasser, and all those others who tried but failed to live up to the lofty expectations Hearn set. Plus, he netted David Cone in an offseason trade. The shame for Hearn was that 1986 was the peak of his career. Thankfully he was able to battle back from life-threatening health issues that plagued him shortly after retirement
Orel Hershiser (1999) Shawon Dunston would have been the ideal choice here, but his time of service wasn't long enough to qualify. Hershiser valiantly fills his spot, going 13-12 with a 4.58 ERA, but was another who was better than his numbers. He gave the Mets exactly what they needed, particularly in the must-win Game 162 against the Pirates and was a true bulldog in his three postseason appearances as well.
Derek Bell (2000) Roberto Hernandez should take heed of what happens when you leave New York and end up in Pittsburgh. Bell hit .266 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI as rightfielder and No. 2 hitter, but fizzled miserably at the end of the season and when he was injured in the NLDS, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Pittsburgh, enamored by his .432 batting average against them that season, proffered $5 million his way and Bell went the way of "Operation Shutdown" hitting .173 in his final season in the bigs.
Mike Hampton (2000) Mets fans may view him as a traitor but they can't forget the 15 wins and 3.14 ERA, nor the fact that he may have authored the best game of his career to clinch the NLCS. He was a legitimate hitter as well (Baseball-Reference.com tells us the most similar batsman was the great Elam Vanglider, which may be one of the great unknown baseball names of all-time). Hampton cited the better schools of Colorado for reason for his departure, but I think that most products of the New York City school system could figure out that departing for a Rocky Mountain High isn't a smart thing to do.
Tony Clark (2003) Clark hit .232 with 16 home runs but had a knack for timely hits and was a respectable glove. It says something that the Yankees thought highly enough of him to sign him for 2004. Clark isn't quite Reggie Sanders when it comes to changing jerseys on an annual basis but he's proven to be well-liked and respected wherever he goes (except maybe Boston). We'll keep him on our team for more than a year.
Hernandez had a good season for the Mets in 2005. It was a really good season, one that far exceeded expectations. You could count his bad outings on two hands, which isn't bad for a guy that pitched 67 times and was only charged with runs on 12 occasions. I talked to a couple of people this season (not Mets fans) who disliked Roberto Hernandez for one reason or another, but as much as they tried, they couldn't change my opinion that he was legitimately one of the team MVPs.
Sitting here on a Friday night with nothing better to do, it got me to thinking about others whose Metsy days lasted only a single season. I wrote a couple of pieces for New York Mets Inside Pitch titled "Mets for a Minute" about some whose tenure was of cup-of-coffee length. The list I want to make is of the guys who stuck around a little bit longer and had a little bit of success, whose cup of coffee was actually a bowl of soup (wonton or chicken noodle, preferably). Ideally I was looking for players who put up good numbers with the Mets (thus, the likes of Yogi Berra don't qualify) or made very significant contributions.
Hopefully this list hasn't been generated before and if it has, hopefully I can give it enough of my own spin to make it unique. Thanks to UltimateMets.com, which recently included a list of years played on its roster page, thus making the work for this one-year wonder chart significantly easier. Here's our nine-man Roberto Hernandez All-Stars squad
Richie Ashburn (1962) The first Mets All-Star is the ideal choice for team captain, as he hung it up after hitting .306 primarily as leadoff man and centerfielder in the inaugural season. If Jose Reyes had walked as much as Ashburn did (81 times), he would have gotten a heck of a lot more than one 10th-place MVP vote MVP vote. Ashburn noses out Felix Mantilla, who also would have been a credible representative from this squad.
Bob Johnson (1967) Overlooked and underappreciated, Johnson may have been one of the best utility men in Mets history, at least from an offensive perspective. He hit .348 with five home runs in 230 at-bats, while playing a little bit at second, first, and shortstop. Looks to me like he was basically a better version of Chris Woodward. The Mets were able to get good value for Johnson in the offseason, sending him to Cincinnati for Art Shamsky.
Jack DiLauro (1969) Without DiLauro, the 1969 Mets would have only won 99 games. DiLauro was basically Randy Niemann, circa 1986, the lefty long man who wasn't really needed, but who filled in capably whenever asked (2.40 ERA). DiLauro's lone victory came in the second game of a doubleheader on July 20, 1969, and in looking at the boxscore, it raised a scorekeeping question. Not to cause a scandal here, but shouldn't DiLauro have gotten the save instead of the win?
Claudell Washington (1980) Washington was a Flushing coup for four months, mostly here for the bad times that were the end of the 1980 campaign, but he put up pretty decent numbers during his tenure (.275 BA, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 17 SB) and even had a three-homer game. That he left via free agency for Atlanta, if I'm not mistaken, cleared the way for Mookie Wilson to get a look the next season. You'll notice there were no selections from the 70s. None warranted it, from what I could see. If you have a suggested one, please let me know via the comments section.
Ed Hearn (1986) The standard by which all future Mets backup catchers have been measured, at least in my mind. Hearn hit .265 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 49 games as Gary Carter's caddy, but even 20 years later, it feels like he was better than his numbers. He was a superior player to Barry Lyons, John Gibbons, Kelly Stinnett, Mackey Sasser, and all those others who tried but failed to live up to the lofty expectations Hearn set. Plus, he netted David Cone in an offseason trade. The shame for Hearn was that 1986 was the peak of his career. Thankfully he was able to battle back from life-threatening health issues that plagued him shortly after retirement
Orel Hershiser (1999) Shawon Dunston would have been the ideal choice here, but his time of service wasn't long enough to qualify. Hershiser valiantly fills his spot, going 13-12 with a 4.58 ERA, but was another who was better than his numbers. He gave the Mets exactly what they needed, particularly in the must-win Game 162 against the Pirates and was a true bulldog in his three postseason appearances as well.
Derek Bell (2000) Roberto Hernandez should take heed of what happens when you leave New York and end up in Pittsburgh. Bell hit .266 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI as rightfielder and No. 2 hitter, but fizzled miserably at the end of the season and when he was injured in the NLDS, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Pittsburgh, enamored by his .432 batting average against them that season, proffered $5 million his way and Bell went the way of "Operation Shutdown" hitting .173 in his final season in the bigs.
Mike Hampton (2000) Mets fans may view him as a traitor but they can't forget the 15 wins and 3.14 ERA, nor the fact that he may have authored the best game of his career to clinch the NLCS. He was a legitimate hitter as well (Baseball-Reference.com tells us the most similar batsman was the great Elam Vanglider, which may be one of the great unknown baseball names of all-time). Hampton cited the better schools of Colorado for reason for his departure, but I think that most products of the New York City school system could figure out that departing for a Rocky Mountain High isn't a smart thing to do.
Tony Clark (2003) Clark hit .232 with 16 home runs but had a knack for timely hits and was a respectable glove. It says something that the Yankees thought highly enough of him to sign him for 2004. Clark isn't quite Reggie Sanders when it comes to changing jerseys on an annual basis but he's proven to be well-liked and respected wherever he goes (except maybe Boston). We'll keep him on our team for more than a year.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Minutiae Break: The Mets Stiffo Rap
It was a few months ago that I referenced something here ...
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/minutiae-break-worst-mets-relievers.html
...known as "The Mets Stiffo Rap," a foray into the world of creativity in lyric, by our occasional guest contributor, Barry Federovitch. It is a fitting tribute to the mediocre Met.
After I waited patiently for several months, Barry finally found the verses we enjoyed so much way back when...So as I stall for time before blogging about Cameron/Nady, here is the full text of the "Mets Stiffo Rap." Feel free to sing along or contribute your own thoughts.
Now Brock Pemberton can hit dat ball
and Joe Nolan went o-for-them all....
If Randy Tate don't do the job
then they'll be going deep on a Hank Webb lob...
Look, look, it's behind Cliff Cook.
Mark Bradley's the man who loves to crash
and Jose Moreno can only dash.
If Torre'd put Searage in the game
then Alex Trevino'll take the blame....
Hey, boy! Jumpin' Joe Foy....
Father, father, pray for Jim Gosger.
Now there's surely a point why I wrote this song
as sure as Ellis Valentine should be gone...
While waiting for Schneck to come around,
don't look at Paul Siebert on the mound....
Ouch, ouch, come on Bob Rauch!
I'm gone, gone....
like a ball from Brent Strom.
http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/minutiae-break-worst-mets-relievers.html
...known as "The Mets Stiffo Rap," a foray into the world of creativity in lyric, by our occasional guest contributor, Barry Federovitch. It is a fitting tribute to the mediocre Met.
After I waited patiently for several months, Barry finally found the verses we enjoyed so much way back when...So as I stall for time before blogging about Cameron/Nady, here is the full text of the "Mets Stiffo Rap." Feel free to sing along or contribute your own thoughts.
Now Brock Pemberton can hit dat ball
and Joe Nolan went o-for-them all....
If Randy Tate don't do the job
then they'll be going deep on a Hank Webb lob...
Look, look, it's behind Cliff Cook.
Mark Bradley's the man who loves to crash
and Jose Moreno can only dash.
If Torre'd put Searage in the game
then Alex Trevino'll take the blame....
Hey, boy! Jumpin' Joe Foy....
Father, father, pray for Jim Gosger.
Now there's surely a point why I wrote this song
as sure as Ellis Valentine should be gone...
While waiting for Schneck to come around,
don't look at Paul Siebert on the mound....
Ouch, ouch, come on Bob Rauch!
I'm gone, gone....
like a ball from Brent Strom.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Minutiae Break: The Agbayani List
So I started to write a blog about Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS, but I got bored rather quickly. My thinking was that rehashing this game wasn't going to be anything special, because it is such a well-known contest in Mets history. I don't have a particularly good story about watching the game, other than that I was at work, and when the Mets won, a Phillies fan termed their post-game celebration excessive.
Then I discovered something. In the beginning of my writing, I had misspelled the last name of the man who hit the walk-off home run that won that particular game. My initial spelling of his name was "Agbyani," which thus was missing an "a"
As someone who works in sports media (and was 5th grade class spelling champ at PS 190), I know the value of spelling . I have had a number of spelling encounters (though none with Aaron or Tori) over the years. When I was 12, I pointed out a flea-market forgery to my dad when I noticed someone selling a photo signed "Mickey Mantel." I'm fascinated by the number of people who think of the former Orioles shortstop as Cal Ripkin Jr. (Paul White of Sports Weekly wrote a great piece on that subject a few years ago).
So it occurred to me that there are a good number of Mets, who over the years have been the victims of bad spellings. I sought to find a few. Baseball-Reference.com was one resource because it actually has a section for misspellings on its player pages. Google was another source, as I found 131 hits for "Benny Agbyani."
So without further ado, I present "The Agbayani List," a tribute to Mets with tricky-to-spell names from A to Z. Now you too can conduct your own Mets spelling bee.
Tommie Agee: Often forgotten fact, lost in the two great catches he made in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series is that Agee homered to lead off the Mets first inning, giving them all the scoring they would need. ("Tommy Agee" -- 1,879 Google hits)
Joe Grzenda: Only two players in MLB history have had their last name start with the letters "Grz." Raise your hand if you knew Joe Grzenda (11 games pitched with the 1967 Mets) and Mike Grzanich (1 IP with the 1998 Astros). And on that note, former Met Rick Trlicek is the only MLB player to start his last name with "TRL." ("Joe Grezenda" -- 1 Google hit)
Gregg Jefferies: I once misspelled Gregg's last name on one job assignment. I left out a letter in his last name (in between "f" and "r"). My boss told me afterwards: You get an "E" for that error. Very clever on his part. ("Gregg Jeffries" -- 947 Google hits)
Ryan McGuire: Next to "Ripkin," the most commonly misspelled name I've seen in the non-sports sector is "Mark McGuire." Chances are they weren't looking for the ex-Met (1 game in 2000). ("Ryan McGwire" -- 516 Google hits).
Doug Mientkiewicz: If we can coax the NL into starting the "Designated Fielder" position, maybe Doug would come back next year. (many variations, most notably "Doug Mintkayvich" -- 3 Google hits)
Jeff Musselman: I can still remember clear as a bell how I found out that the Mets traded Mookie Wilson. The WFAN update anchor that day teased the deal going into the break stating that "The Mets get some muscle, man." What a disappointment. ("Jeff Mussleman" -- a whopping 1,520 Google hits)
Ron Swoboda: This would have been a good newspaper headline/tongue twister after his catch in Game 4 of the 1969 World Series: "Swoboda's Swagger: Swift Swipe."("Ron Swaboda" -- 249 Google hits)
Marv Throneberry: When I was a little kid, I used to think his name was "Thornberry." Sad but true: I also used to think that "Babe Ruth" was the name of a city in Lebanon from hearing about it on the news so much. ("Marv Thornberry"-- 153 Google hits)
Pat Zachry: The neat thing about Pat Zachry was that, during his Mets career, he bore a slight resemblance to my uncle, Zachary. My Google search turned up someone selling a "Pat Zachary" 1981 Topps card (the resemblance to my uncle is more clear on the 1980) for $26.10. I think the decimal point is in the wrong place. ("Pat Zachary"-- 366 Google hits)
That's my initial list at this point. Feel free to comment with any others.
True Metbayanis know...The 5 Mets who were native Hawaiians are Benny Agbayani, Ron Darling, Carlos Diaz, Sid Fernandez, and Tyler Yates, but obviously Agbayani is the only one with a walk-off hit...The other cool tidbit is that in all three Mets win in that NLDS, the final Giants out was registered by Barry Bonds.
Then I discovered something. In the beginning of my writing, I had misspelled the last name of the man who hit the walk-off home run that won that particular game. My initial spelling of his name was "Agbyani," which thus was missing an "a"
As someone who works in sports media (and was 5th grade class spelling champ at PS 190), I know the value of spelling . I have had a number of spelling encounters (though none with Aaron or Tori) over the years. When I was 12, I pointed out a flea-market forgery to my dad when I noticed someone selling a photo signed "Mickey Mantel." I'm fascinated by the number of people who think of the former Orioles shortstop as Cal Ripkin Jr. (Paul White of Sports Weekly wrote a great piece on that subject a few years ago).
So it occurred to me that there are a good number of Mets, who over the years have been the victims of bad spellings. I sought to find a few. Baseball-Reference.com was one resource because it actually has a section for misspellings on its player pages. Google was another source, as I found 131 hits for "Benny Agbyani."
So without further ado, I present "The Agbayani List," a tribute to Mets with tricky-to-spell names from A to Z. Now you too can conduct your own Mets spelling bee.
Tommie Agee: Often forgotten fact, lost in the two great catches he made in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series is that Agee homered to lead off the Mets first inning, giving them all the scoring they would need. ("Tommy Agee" -- 1,879 Google hits)
Joe Grzenda: Only two players in MLB history have had their last name start with the letters "Grz." Raise your hand if you knew Joe Grzenda (11 games pitched with the 1967 Mets) and Mike Grzanich (1 IP with the 1998 Astros). And on that note, former Met Rick Trlicek is the only MLB player to start his last name with "TRL." ("Joe Grezenda" -- 1 Google hit)
Gregg Jefferies: I once misspelled Gregg's last name on one job assignment. I left out a letter in his last name (in between "f" and "r"). My boss told me afterwards: You get an "E" for that error. Very clever on his part. ("Gregg Jeffries" -- 947 Google hits)
Ryan McGuire: Next to "Ripkin," the most commonly misspelled name I've seen in the non-sports sector is "Mark McGuire." Chances are they weren't looking for the ex-Met (1 game in 2000). ("Ryan McGwire" -- 516 Google hits).
Doug Mientkiewicz: If we can coax the NL into starting the "Designated Fielder" position, maybe Doug would come back next year. (many variations, most notably "Doug Mintkayvich" -- 3 Google hits)
Jeff Musselman: I can still remember clear as a bell how I found out that the Mets traded Mookie Wilson. The WFAN update anchor that day teased the deal going into the break stating that "The Mets get some muscle, man." What a disappointment. ("Jeff Mussleman" -- a whopping 1,520 Google hits)
Ron Swoboda: This would have been a good newspaper headline/tongue twister after his catch in Game 4 of the 1969 World Series: "Swoboda's Swagger: Swift Swipe."("Ron Swaboda" -- 249 Google hits)
Marv Throneberry: When I was a little kid, I used to think his name was "Thornberry." Sad but true: I also used to think that "Babe Ruth" was the name of a city in Lebanon from hearing about it on the news so much. ("Marv Thornberry"-- 153 Google hits)
Pat Zachry: The neat thing about Pat Zachry was that, during his Mets career, he bore a slight resemblance to my uncle, Zachary. My Google search turned up someone selling a "Pat Zachary" 1981 Topps card (the resemblance to my uncle is more clear on the 1980) for $26.10. I think the decimal point is in the wrong place. ("Pat Zachary"-- 366 Google hits)
That's my initial list at this point. Feel free to comment with any others.
True Metbayanis know...The 5 Mets who were native Hawaiians are Benny Agbayani, Ron Darling, Carlos Diaz, Sid Fernandez, and Tyler Yates, but obviously Agbayani is the only one with a walk-off hit...The other cool tidbit is that in all three Mets win in that NLDS, the final Giants out was registered by Barry Bonds.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Minutiae Break: The Slowest Mets
This likely being the final week of Mike Piazza's Mets career, we'll take the time to pay tribute to his walk-off accomplishments.
That comes tomorrow (aka Tuesday). Today we have some fun.
I share a trait with Mike Piazza. I walk faster than I run. In second grade, I peaked speed-wise. I ran the anchor leg in class relay races, often against our speedsters, Leon Johnson and Daniel Caraballo. I won a few. I lost most of the time. It was all downhill from there.
When Mike Piazza runs, he runs hard. I grant him that and applaud the effort every time he grounds to short. The problem is that at his fastest, he runs at the speed of a second-grader. It is one of his two primary flaws (the inability to throw out basestealers being his other foible). I think Mookie Wilson could reach second base on a ground ball single down the line before Mike Piazza would reach first. Keep in mind that Mookie is approaching 50 years of age.
If we're going to toast Mike Piazza this week, than we must roast him as well. We have done a "Tidrow List" in tribute to bad Mets relief pitchers and a "McRae List" for Mets that were difficult to watch. We shall honor Mike's sprint-deficiency by creating a list in his honor.I present "The Piazza List," a celebration of the slowest Mets of my lifetime (since 1975).
Position Players
Mike Jacobs- Thankfully there is someone to whom Piazza can pass the torch. Jacobs is someone whose foot speed is about 1/100th of his bat speed. Jacobs may turn out to be Richie Sexson or more likely, Ben Broussard, but I'm willing to guess that if he ever gets 500 AB in a season, not only will he strike out 140 times, but he'll probably lead the majors in GIDP. If they add a skills competition at the All-Star Game, might I suggest a Slowest Man Competition (Televised on ESPN8, The Ocho). The top two seeds could be Jacobs and ex-Met slug Jason Phillips. Jacobs has an outside chance to break Carlos Baerga's Mets mark for most GIDP in a season of less than 100 AB (8 in 1996).
Octogenarian Staub- That's the name I'm giving to Rusty Version 2.0, one of the most popular Mets of all-time, because by the time he made his mark as the great pinch-hitter with the looping swing, it took him 120 steps to go 90 feet.
Elliott Maddox- There's not much worse than a baseball player who thinks he's fast, but really is not. There was a time when Elliott Maddox had speed, like 1972 when he stole 20 bases for the Rangers. By the time he reached the Mets, that dashing ability, and his baseball acumen had unfortunately evaporated. Maddox attempted to steal 28 bases with the Mets. He was caught 22 times.
Mike Vail and Jose Vizcaino- Madox's baserunning issues were rivaled only by two men, Vail and Vizcaino. Vail never stole a base as a Met, but was gunned down on eight occasions. Vizcaino somehow stole a base in 1994, but was given the thumb on 11 other occasions.
Willie Montanez- No Mets player has had more plate appearances without a triple than Shea-Hey Willie's 1,121. Yet he had nine stolen bases. Go figure.
Mackey Sasser- And no Met had more plate appearances without a steal than Mackey Sasser's 1,002 (0-for-3 in steal attempts as a Met, one career stolen base came with the 1993 Mariners). Yet, he had five triples with the Mets. Go figure. The other trait he shared with Piazza: an inability to cleanly throw the ball to second base.
Honorable Mentions: Ron Hodges, Mo Vaughn, Joe (4 GIDP in one game) Torre, Butch Huskey, John Olerud, and Barry Lyons among others
Pitchers
Sid Fernandez- In 496 at-bats with the Mets, the heavily-built Fernandez had two triples. Explain to me how he finished with two more than Rickey Henderson had during his Mets tenure? Fernandez is best known in my inner circle for injuring himself while legging out a three-bagger in the midst of a no-hitter against the Giants in 1987. Somewhere a cry of anguish is heard on the island state of Hawaii: "Why didn't I stop at first base??????"
Alejandro Pena- No reliever in Mets history walked more slowly from bullpen to mound than Pena (rivaled in baseball only by Lee Smith), whose unimpressive 96-game run in 1990-91 with the Flushing 9 preceded an amazing couple of months with the 1991 Braves, whom he carried to Game 7 of the World Series. I forget who said it (Tim McCarver or Tommy Lasorda?) but someone said of Alejandro: "He even stands slow."
James Baldwin- When Baldwin came in to pitch for the Orioles against the Yankees the other day, YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay noted that nobody in baseball walked from the mound to the dugout more slowly than this Met for a Minute (15.00 ERA in two starts in 2004), whom I subsequently dubbed "The Patron Saint of Four-and-a-Half Hour Games."
Steve Trachsel- He is a must for this list since he is well documented as one of the slowest workers in baseball (along with Russ Ortiz). A Greg Maddux-Trachsel matchup is fascinating, more as a battle of wills between two contrasting moundsmen, than for the game itself. They met during Trachsel's Mets tenure on September 22, 2001, but Maddux, perhaps spooked by Trachsels' aura, lasted only 1/3 of an inning. The rematch came July 17, 2003 when Maddux pitched a complete game and won in a very manageable 2:26
That comes tomorrow (aka Tuesday). Today we have some fun.
I share a trait with Mike Piazza. I walk faster than I run. In second grade, I peaked speed-wise. I ran the anchor leg in class relay races, often against our speedsters, Leon Johnson and Daniel Caraballo. I won a few. I lost most of the time. It was all downhill from there.
When Mike Piazza runs, he runs hard. I grant him that and applaud the effort every time he grounds to short. The problem is that at his fastest, he runs at the speed of a second-grader. It is one of his two primary flaws (the inability to throw out basestealers being his other foible). I think Mookie Wilson could reach second base on a ground ball single down the line before Mike Piazza would reach first. Keep in mind that Mookie is approaching 50 years of age.
If we're going to toast Mike Piazza this week, than we must roast him as well. We have done a "Tidrow List" in tribute to bad Mets relief pitchers and a "McRae List" for Mets that were difficult to watch. We shall honor Mike's sprint-deficiency by creating a list in his honor.I present "The Piazza List," a celebration of the slowest Mets of my lifetime (since 1975).
Position Players
Mike Jacobs- Thankfully there is someone to whom Piazza can pass the torch. Jacobs is someone whose foot speed is about 1/100th of his bat speed. Jacobs may turn out to be Richie Sexson or more likely, Ben Broussard, but I'm willing to guess that if he ever gets 500 AB in a season, not only will he strike out 140 times, but he'll probably lead the majors in GIDP. If they add a skills competition at the All-Star Game, might I suggest a Slowest Man Competition (Televised on ESPN8, The Ocho). The top two seeds could be Jacobs and ex-Met slug Jason Phillips. Jacobs has an outside chance to break Carlos Baerga's Mets mark for most GIDP in a season of less than 100 AB (8 in 1996).
Octogenarian Staub- That's the name I'm giving to Rusty Version 2.0, one of the most popular Mets of all-time, because by the time he made his mark as the great pinch-hitter with the looping swing, it took him 120 steps to go 90 feet.
Elliott Maddox- There's not much worse than a baseball player who thinks he's fast, but really is not. There was a time when Elliott Maddox had speed, like 1972 when he stole 20 bases for the Rangers. By the time he reached the Mets, that dashing ability, and his baseball acumen had unfortunately evaporated. Maddox attempted to steal 28 bases with the Mets. He was caught 22 times.
Mike Vail and Jose Vizcaino- Madox's baserunning issues were rivaled only by two men, Vail and Vizcaino. Vail never stole a base as a Met, but was gunned down on eight occasions. Vizcaino somehow stole a base in 1994, but was given the thumb on 11 other occasions.
Willie Montanez- No Mets player has had more plate appearances without a triple than Shea-Hey Willie's 1,121. Yet he had nine stolen bases. Go figure.
Mackey Sasser- And no Met had more plate appearances without a steal than Mackey Sasser's 1,002 (0-for-3 in steal attempts as a Met, one career stolen base came with the 1993 Mariners). Yet, he had five triples with the Mets. Go figure. The other trait he shared with Piazza: an inability to cleanly throw the ball to second base.
Honorable Mentions: Ron Hodges, Mo Vaughn, Joe (4 GIDP in one game) Torre, Butch Huskey, John Olerud, and Barry Lyons among others
Pitchers
Sid Fernandez- In 496 at-bats with the Mets, the heavily-built Fernandez had two triples. Explain to me how he finished with two more than Rickey Henderson had during his Mets tenure? Fernandez is best known in my inner circle for injuring himself while legging out a three-bagger in the midst of a no-hitter against the Giants in 1987. Somewhere a cry of anguish is heard on the island state of Hawaii: "Why didn't I stop at first base??????"
Alejandro Pena- No reliever in Mets history walked more slowly from bullpen to mound than Pena (rivaled in baseball only by Lee Smith), whose unimpressive 96-game run in 1990-91 with the Flushing 9 preceded an amazing couple of months with the 1991 Braves, whom he carried to Game 7 of the World Series. I forget who said it (Tim McCarver or Tommy Lasorda?) but someone said of Alejandro: "He even stands slow."
James Baldwin- When Baldwin came in to pitch for the Orioles against the Yankees the other day, YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay noted that nobody in baseball walked from the mound to the dugout more slowly than this Met for a Minute (15.00 ERA in two starts in 2004), whom I subsequently dubbed "The Patron Saint of Four-and-a-Half Hour Games."
Steve Trachsel- He is a must for this list since he is well documented as one of the slowest workers in baseball (along with Russ Ortiz). A Greg Maddux-Trachsel matchup is fascinating, more as a battle of wills between two contrasting moundsmen, than for the game itself. They met during Trachsel's Mets tenure on September 22, 2001, but Maddux, perhaps spooked by Trachsels' aura, lasted only 1/3 of an inning. The rematch came July 17, 2003 when Maddux pitched a complete game and won in a very manageable 2:26
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Minutiae Break: The McRae List
OK, so you liked "The Tidrow List," and there seemed to be enough clamoring for a "hitters version" to make doing one worthwhile. The Mets have certainly had their share of mediocre position players, historically speaking. Many a good player has donned the jersey only to have his skills turn to jello. Many a bad player has shown off his wares, or lack thereof, while donning a Mets jersey.
You may have read my bashing the play of Brian McRae, whom I dubbed "The Rally Killer" for his ability to turn good situations into bad ones (witness wandering off first base during a game-winning sacrifice fly against the Yankees and his stumbling around third base as the potential winning run in the 14th inning on Opening Day, 1998) and his inability to come through in clutch situations (statistical evidence lacking at the moment, but anecdotal evidence remains in the memory banks). It is in his honor that I have compiled this list, one that isn't necessarily of the worst position players in Mets history. Think of it more as a grouping of players who were memorably tough to watch (admittedly, this is a list that deals mostly my time as a baseball fan). A bad batting average is not required, as you'll see.
Oh, and for those friends, family members and fans of the players selected, take this in the spirit in which it is written, and remember that the comments are coming from someone who hit .250 during his best season in Little League
The backup catchers- I'm too young to remember the good days of Ron Hodges, but his skills, like those of Dick Tidrow, had long diminished by the time I became a regular attendee of games in 1984 (he was hitting a DiFelice-esque .114 by mid June, but rallied to finish his final season at .208). Hodges, along with fellow catchers of that era Junior Ortiz and Ronn Reynolds, was my introduction to the understanding that backup catchers aren't usually very good (exhibit A: Orlando Mercado, who once tripled in the ninth inning to break up a Don Mossi perfect game in a solo rendition of Strat-o-Matic baseball), Ed Hearn not withstanding.
The one-hit wonders- All hail Tito Navarro (1-for-17 in 1993), Rick Parker (1-for-16 in 1994), Terry Blocker (1-for-15 with a horrific outfield collision in 1985) and Chris Jelic (1-for-11 in 1990) for they are the fab four. They hold the distinction of being the only four Mets position players with batting averages greater than .000 but less than .100. We'll be kind and cut Sandy Alomar Sr. and company some slack, since he's currently Willie Randolph's bench coach. Alomar has the most at-bats of any Mets position player who never got a base hit (22). Perhaps it was foreshadowing for his son, which bring us to...
The Hall of Jello- My gosh, the list of great, or at least very good players whose skills had eroded due to age (Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Ken Boyer), flab (Mo Vaughn, Jim Fregosi, Carlos Baerga), personal issues (Joe Foy), overrated skills (Juan Samuel), or mysterious reasons still unknown to the human eye (Roberto Alomar) is a lengthy one and one actually better handled by Howard Blatt in his book "Amazin' Mets Memories" which I heartily recommend (I'm referencing the "All-Time Busts" lists on page 345).
"The Jerkstore called and it's looking for you..." Jeff Kent showed skill as a Met, but his attitude made it hard to root for him (as has been shown at his other pit stops on his likely way to Cooperstown). Likewise for Dave Kingman, Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman (whose trip to Cooperstown, at least in his eyes was apparently halted by Shea Stadium's playing surface), Richie Hebner, and Eddie Murray.
The Rally Killers- Who did you never want on base in a key situation? In my era, the answer was two-fold. Brian McRae and Jay Payton. We mentioned McRae's flaws already. Payton still owes Mets fans an apology for getting thrown out at third base to squash a late rally against the Braves during the disastrous final weekend of 1998.
The Made Goods- Yoda-like sage Don Zimmer was 4-for-52 with a memorably ugly 0-for-34 in a 14-game stint with the 1962 Mets, banished out of town in a trade before the going got really bad. His post-playing career hasn't been too shabby as a coach and manager. The same is true for Wayne (3-for-33 in 1964) Graham, who won a national championship coaching Rice University in 2003. One other fellow makes this list in an honorary fashion. One day in 1986, I was a little slow getting out of the bathtub as my dad was beckoning me to come watch the first at-bat in the career of Stan (5-for-24) Jefferson. He let me know after I missed it that I'd surely regret not having seen the first at-bat for any future all-time great, so now I make it a point to catch Mets debuts if I can. Jefferson whiffed in that first AB, but he made a significant impact in his post-baseball career as a New York City police officer.
Utilitarians- I would have called these guys "Futility Infielders" but that moniker is already taken by a pretty good website. Uselessians might have been more appropriate for the likes of Teddy Martinez, Bill Almon (walk-off tie-in: Almon was the head coach of Brown University's baseball team, which once lost a game to my alma mater, The College of New Jersey, on a walk-off home run), Mario "They win the damn thing by the score of 10-9" Diaz, Jeff McKnight, and Junior "No No" Noboa, who earned his nickname when my college roommate wrote a parody for the school paper referencing Harry Frazee's sale of Babe Ruth to allegedly finance the show "No No Nanette." Special mention for Ron Gardnhire and Bobby Valentine, who had much more success after their playing days concluded.
The overhyped- The defining moment of Jeff Torborg's struggles as Mets manager came when he informed the media prior to his first season "Mets fans are going to love Bill Pecota." (Memo to Jeff Torborg: They didn't) Mets management has a bad history of telling its fans that they are going to fall for someone. That someone is more likely to fall flat- like Kaz Matsui or Roy Staiger.
The "Out"field- Dave Schneck and Jim Gosger both made my friend Barry's "Mets Stiffo Rap" though I can't remember the rhyme for Schneck. Gosger's was something like "Oh father, Oh father, pray for Jim Gosger." Likewise we could have done the same for Dan Norman, Pepe Mangual and Ryan Thompson, giving us a five-man unit that could compete with anybody.
On By Request- Because Metstradamus is a wise man (see his comments in the previous post), we include Brian Giles, Mark Bradley and Tucker Ashford. And because Greg at "Faith and Fear in Flushing" knows of what he blogs, we'll include the great Phil Mankowski, whose claim to fame was appearing in "The Natural" as (if I recall correctly) the third baseman who takes a grounder to the groin while staring at a woman in the stands. That seems like a good note on which to end a team such as this one.
You may have read my bashing the play of Brian McRae, whom I dubbed "The Rally Killer" for his ability to turn good situations into bad ones (witness wandering off first base during a game-winning sacrifice fly against the Yankees and his stumbling around third base as the potential winning run in the 14th inning on Opening Day, 1998) and his inability to come through in clutch situations (statistical evidence lacking at the moment, but anecdotal evidence remains in the memory banks). It is in his honor that I have compiled this list, one that isn't necessarily of the worst position players in Mets history. Think of it more as a grouping of players who were memorably tough to watch (admittedly, this is a list that deals mostly my time as a baseball fan). A bad batting average is not required, as you'll see.
Oh, and for those friends, family members and fans of the players selected, take this in the spirit in which it is written, and remember that the comments are coming from someone who hit .250 during his best season in Little League
The backup catchers- I'm too young to remember the good days of Ron Hodges, but his skills, like those of Dick Tidrow, had long diminished by the time I became a regular attendee of games in 1984 (he was hitting a DiFelice-esque .114 by mid June, but rallied to finish his final season at .208). Hodges, along with fellow catchers of that era Junior Ortiz and Ronn Reynolds, was my introduction to the understanding that backup catchers aren't usually very good (exhibit A: Orlando Mercado, who once tripled in the ninth inning to break up a Don Mossi perfect game in a solo rendition of Strat-o-Matic baseball), Ed Hearn not withstanding.
The one-hit wonders- All hail Tito Navarro (1-for-17 in 1993), Rick Parker (1-for-16 in 1994), Terry Blocker (1-for-15 with a horrific outfield collision in 1985) and Chris Jelic (1-for-11 in 1990) for they are the fab four. They hold the distinction of being the only four Mets position players with batting averages greater than .000 but less than .100. We'll be kind and cut Sandy Alomar Sr. and company some slack, since he's currently Willie Randolph's bench coach. Alomar has the most at-bats of any Mets position player who never got a base hit (22). Perhaps it was foreshadowing for his son, which bring us to...
The Hall of Jello- My gosh, the list of great, or at least very good players whose skills had eroded due to age (Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Ken Boyer), flab (Mo Vaughn, Jim Fregosi, Carlos Baerga), personal issues (Joe Foy), overrated skills (Juan Samuel), or mysterious reasons still unknown to the human eye (Roberto Alomar) is a lengthy one and one actually better handled by Howard Blatt in his book "Amazin' Mets Memories" which I heartily recommend (I'm referencing the "All-Time Busts" lists on page 345).
"The Jerkstore called and it's looking for you..." Jeff Kent showed skill as a Met, but his attitude made it hard to root for him (as has been shown at his other pit stops on his likely way to Cooperstown). Likewise for Dave Kingman, Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman (whose trip to Cooperstown, at least in his eyes was apparently halted by Shea Stadium's playing surface), Richie Hebner, and Eddie Murray.
The Rally Killers- Who did you never want on base in a key situation? In my era, the answer was two-fold. Brian McRae and Jay Payton. We mentioned McRae's flaws already. Payton still owes Mets fans an apology for getting thrown out at third base to squash a late rally against the Braves during the disastrous final weekend of 1998.
The Made Goods- Yoda-like sage Don Zimmer was 4-for-52 with a memorably ugly 0-for-34 in a 14-game stint with the 1962 Mets, banished out of town in a trade before the going got really bad. His post-playing career hasn't been too shabby as a coach and manager. The same is true for Wayne (3-for-33 in 1964) Graham, who won a national championship coaching Rice University in 2003. One other fellow makes this list in an honorary fashion. One day in 1986, I was a little slow getting out of the bathtub as my dad was beckoning me to come watch the first at-bat in the career of Stan (5-for-24) Jefferson. He let me know after I missed it that I'd surely regret not having seen the first at-bat for any future all-time great, so now I make it a point to catch Mets debuts if I can. Jefferson whiffed in that first AB, but he made a significant impact in his post-baseball career as a New York City police officer.
Utilitarians- I would have called these guys "Futility Infielders" but that moniker is already taken by a pretty good website. Uselessians might have been more appropriate for the likes of Teddy Martinez, Bill Almon (walk-off tie-in: Almon was the head coach of Brown University's baseball team, which once lost a game to my alma mater, The College of New Jersey, on a walk-off home run), Mario "They win the damn thing by the score of 10-9" Diaz, Jeff McKnight, and Junior "No No" Noboa, who earned his nickname when my college roommate wrote a parody for the school paper referencing Harry Frazee's sale of Babe Ruth to allegedly finance the show "No No Nanette." Special mention for Ron Gardnhire and Bobby Valentine, who had much more success after their playing days concluded.
The overhyped- The defining moment of Jeff Torborg's struggles as Mets manager came when he informed the media prior to his first season "Mets fans are going to love Bill Pecota." (Memo to Jeff Torborg: They didn't) Mets management has a bad history of telling its fans that they are going to fall for someone. That someone is more likely to fall flat- like Kaz Matsui or Roy Staiger.
The "Out"field- Dave Schneck and Jim Gosger both made my friend Barry's "Mets Stiffo Rap" though I can't remember the rhyme for Schneck. Gosger's was something like "Oh father, Oh father, pray for Jim Gosger." Likewise we could have done the same for Dan Norman, Pepe Mangual and Ryan Thompson, giving us a five-man unit that could compete with anybody.
On By Request- Because Metstradamus is a wise man (see his comments in the previous post), we include Brian Giles, Mark Bradley and Tucker Ashford. And because Greg at "Faith and Fear in Flushing" knows of what he blogs, we'll include the great Phil Mankowski, whose claim to fame was appearing in "The Natural" as (if I recall correctly) the third baseman who takes a grounder to the groin while staring at a woman in the stands. That seems like a good note on which to end a team such as this one.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Minutiae Break: Worst Mets Relievers
It occurs to me after 79 straight walk-off related posts and some fatigue still remaining from Saturday's finish that I did promise to bring Metspective on other issues related to the Flushing 9, so I offer this posting up as a "Minutiae Break." This came about after several discussions related to the offhand Dick Tidrow/Danny Graves remark the other day, the conclusion of which indicated that it would be fun to create a list of the worst Mets relievers of all-time.
I don't want to step on the territory of other bloggers, like "Faith and Fear in Flushing,"Mets Guy in Michigan" and "Metstradamus," so I'll tread carefully here, aided by their influence. Should any friends, family members, or fans of these pitchers visit this site, I mean no harm. I'm just here to have a little fun with this topic.
The ground rules are as follows: The pitcher must have had a Mets stint as long as Dick Tidrow's (11 games, 15 2/3 innings), for whom we shall name the list in his honor (or rather, in honor of my mom's interpretation of his name); and the pitcher must have had no redeeming qualities as a Met (hence Doug Sisk and Neil Allen are exempt, because at one time, they were good pitchers for the team). Feel free to chime in with your comments.
Without further ado, I present "The Don De Darrow List" It is a very dirty dozen that make the initial grouping.
Wilmer Mizell (1962) Picking the pre-1980 guys is tough because I didn't get to see them pitch, other than on highlight tapes (hence I only listed four), but selecting the pride of Vinegar Bend, Alabama is not too tough. He had a 7.34 ERA and allowed more than 17 baserunners per 9 innings over a 38-inning tenure that marked the end of the career for a former All-Star. His was a tough choice over the likes of Sherman "Roadblock" Jones, Willard Hunter and Ray Daviault as a representative of the gory days of Mets baseball.
Chuck Estrada (1967) Estrada won 33 games in his first two big league seasons, for the 1960-61 Orioles, but by the time he became a Met, those All-Star days were long since past. In nine games (two starts), he posted a 9.41 ERA (yielding 45 hits+walks in 22 innings)
Brent Strom (1972) Strom pitched six games in relief, five as a starter, so he and his 6.82 Mets ERA barely qualifies, but survives on sentiment. In my previous career as a New Jersey-based journalist, a colleague named Barry Federovitch and I composed the "(Bleep)y Mets list" upon which this presentation is partly inspired. He turned it into a poem "The Mets Stiffo Rap" and the lyrics of such have since been forgotten, other than the final line of "I'm gone, I'm gone. Like a ball from Brent Strom."
Paul Siebert (1977-78) Ever see the Peanuts comic strip where Snoopy quizzes Woodstock on baseball trivia and the little bird is sharp enough to know of former minor leaguer Ollie Beijma? Poor Snoopy was disappointed he couldn't come up with a stumper. That was kind of how I felt one day, when I asked a fellow Shea Stadium tour guide (best summer job ever) named Mike Duggan (he also works in the luxury suite) to name the other player included in the deal that sent Dave Kingman to the Padres for Bobby Valentine (June 15, 1977). How was I supposed to know he'd remember Paul "4.50 ERA in 56 games" Siebert?
Dick Tidrow (1984) The man for whom the list is named has to be included. How did we know Tidrow was finished? Perhaps this was a clue: the last six games in which he pitched, the Mets were outscored, 63-19. Neither he nor Craig Swan, both of whom had their Mets careers conclude on the same day (May 7, 1984), were capable of being anything more than mop-up men for a staff on which the younger pitchers were emerging the leaders. The departure of Tidrow and Swan marked the end of an era for them, and bad Mets relievers (although you could surely include the likes of Bob McClure, Gene Walter and Don "Opening Day Save" Aase" on your own list if you so desired), which is why we skip ahead several years for our next pick.
Paul Gibson (1992-93) For my money, the best baseball action video game was Accolade's "Hardball" primarily because it is the only one I ever played in which the primary perspective for the batter-pitcher matchup came from the centerfield camera, rather than one behind the plate. That made it feel like you were watching a real game on TV, as you played.
There were a couple of flaws in "Hardball" (only two teams to choose from; baserunners could only advance and not retreat), but it was fun to go up to the plate against fictional pitchers like Tony Frisina, Doc Tompkins and Tommy Euler. I mention this because Paul Gibson had a "Hardball" equivalent in video immortals Lefty Wright and Pepi Perez. Each threw four pitches, none faster than 70 miles-per-hour, and each was routinely and repeatedly pummeled. Gibson had slightly better numbers than those counterparts, but a 5.22 ERA in 51 ugly appearances made me hunt for the "Escape" key when I watched him work.
You might notice that I skipped a potentially easy choice in Doug "Rule V Draft, 5.19 ERA" Simons, but I'm not going to do anything to besmirch the family name. One funny aside...In 1991 I won a trivia contest on WFAN's airing of Mets Extra (I believe the correct answer was Chico Walker) and host Howie Rose remarked "Our winner is Mac Simons...I wonder if he's related to Doug?" Howie blamed his producer for the bad handwriting that led to him saying my name wrong. By the way, there's no relation.
Dave Telgheder (1993-94) What does Telgheder have in common with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, and Steve Trachsel? They are among the 26 pitchers who have given up four home runs in an inning. Telgheder did it with the Athletics in 1996, shortly after his 30-game, 5.04 ERA career with the Mets had reached a climax. Thanks to regular reader, Gus from Plantsville, CT for suggesting his addition, without which I might have been tempted to list Barry "9.39 ERA" Jones .
Eric Gunderson (1994-95) To show that we don't have a statistical bias, Gunderson and his 2.70 ERA in 49 appearances makes the list. If Gunderson was so good, why did the Mets let him go on waivers? Besides, listing Gunderson allows me to tell a brief story about my 10 week stint as a Shea Stadium tour guide in 1994 for the failed Nickelodeon venture beyond the right field bullpen. One of the games set up for little kids was a "toss a ring on the milk bottles" contest, which was virtually impossible. No one ever won. To enter the ballpark, players had to walk through the mini entertainment complex and one day, Gunderson wandered in, and called for one of the game attendants to toss him a ring. Gunderson took the ring and nonchalantly flicked his wrist without even looking at the target. Bullseye. Guess he had a special skill, but one we didn't see much on the mound. For that he makes the list, over the likes of fellow lefties Ricardo Jordan and Rich Rodriguez.
John Hudek (1998) I celebrated Hudek's arrival along with the departure of Carl Everett before I realized the existence of a very significant law of baseball physics: "If you trade an everyday player for a middle reliever, you will regret it." I didn't learn from the trade of Rico Brogna for the previously mentioned Jordan and Toby Borland, but the Everett-Hudek deal was the last to sucker me in. The 1990s/2000s are the glory days of Tidrow-esque relievers, which is why we feel compelled to list so many, yet still managed to leave others, like Takashi Kashiwada, Satoru Komiyama and Mike Maddux off the list.
Billy Taylor (1999) Got into a discussion with someone at work regarding where Braden Looper ranked among the current 30 MLB closers (this was after Saturday's game). I rated him in the top 14. This individual informed me that Looper was 18th, at best, and that the only "gimmes" that Looper was clearly better than were Fernando Rodney (Tigers) and Mike Macdougall (Royals). You ever come up with the perfect line after it was too late? This was a classic example. The guy walked away and it came to me.
"This coming from someone who once tried to convince me that Billy (8.10 ERA) Taylor for Jason Isringhausen was a good trade????"
Tom Martin (2001) Among the pitchers who meet both Tidrow qualifications, none had a higher ERA than Tom "10.06" Martin, according to the fine tool "The Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia (lefty Bobby Jones should be happy...that note kept me from selecting him as representative of this era). The frightening thing is that 10.06 isn't even his highest season ERA. In 1998, prior to becoming a Met, he had a 12.89 ERA in 14 appearances with the Cleveland Indians (we'll discount the 16.20 ERA with the 2002 Devil Rays since it came in only two outings)
Danny Graves (2005) Remember a year or so ago when the Mets were accused of padding the roster of the playoff-bound Brooklyn Cyclones at the end of the season, giving them a shot at a championship. It will be interesting if they do the same thing with the Norfolk Tides, and if so, Graves would be a prime candidate to become a temporary resident in Virginia.
All right? Who else did I miss ? Post a comment, or e-mail. Please follow the Tidrow rules...
I don't want to step on the territory of other bloggers, like "Faith and Fear in Flushing,"Mets Guy in Michigan" and "Metstradamus," so I'll tread carefully here, aided by their influence. Should any friends, family members, or fans of these pitchers visit this site, I mean no harm. I'm just here to have a little fun with this topic.
The ground rules are as follows: The pitcher must have had a Mets stint as long as Dick Tidrow's (11 games, 15 2/3 innings), for whom we shall name the list in his honor (or rather, in honor of my mom's interpretation of his name); and the pitcher must have had no redeeming qualities as a Met (hence Doug Sisk and Neil Allen are exempt, because at one time, they were good pitchers for the team). Feel free to chime in with your comments.
Without further ado, I present "The Don De Darrow List" It is a very dirty dozen that make the initial grouping.
Wilmer Mizell (1962) Picking the pre-1980 guys is tough because I didn't get to see them pitch, other than on highlight tapes (hence I only listed four), but selecting the pride of Vinegar Bend, Alabama is not too tough. He had a 7.34 ERA and allowed more than 17 baserunners per 9 innings over a 38-inning tenure that marked the end of the career for a former All-Star. His was a tough choice over the likes of Sherman "Roadblock" Jones, Willard Hunter and Ray Daviault as a representative of the gory days of Mets baseball.
Chuck Estrada (1967) Estrada won 33 games in his first two big league seasons, for the 1960-61 Orioles, but by the time he became a Met, those All-Star days were long since past. In nine games (two starts), he posted a 9.41 ERA (yielding 45 hits+walks in 22 innings)
Brent Strom (1972) Strom pitched six games in relief, five as a starter, so he and his 6.82 Mets ERA barely qualifies, but survives on sentiment. In my previous career as a New Jersey-based journalist, a colleague named Barry Federovitch and I composed the "(Bleep)y Mets list" upon which this presentation is partly inspired. He turned it into a poem "The Mets Stiffo Rap" and the lyrics of such have since been forgotten, other than the final line of "I'm gone, I'm gone. Like a ball from Brent Strom."
Paul Siebert (1977-78) Ever see the Peanuts comic strip where Snoopy quizzes Woodstock on baseball trivia and the little bird is sharp enough to know of former minor leaguer Ollie Beijma? Poor Snoopy was disappointed he couldn't come up with a stumper. That was kind of how I felt one day, when I asked a fellow Shea Stadium tour guide (best summer job ever) named Mike Duggan (he also works in the luxury suite) to name the other player included in the deal that sent Dave Kingman to the Padres for Bobby Valentine (June 15, 1977). How was I supposed to know he'd remember Paul "4.50 ERA in 56 games" Siebert?
Dick Tidrow (1984) The man for whom the list is named has to be included. How did we know Tidrow was finished? Perhaps this was a clue: the last six games in which he pitched, the Mets were outscored, 63-19. Neither he nor Craig Swan, both of whom had their Mets careers conclude on the same day (May 7, 1984), were capable of being anything more than mop-up men for a staff on which the younger pitchers were emerging the leaders. The departure of Tidrow and Swan marked the end of an era for them, and bad Mets relievers (although you could surely include the likes of Bob McClure, Gene Walter and Don "Opening Day Save" Aase" on your own list if you so desired), which is why we skip ahead several years for our next pick.
Paul Gibson (1992-93) For my money, the best baseball action video game was Accolade's "Hardball" primarily because it is the only one I ever played in which the primary perspective for the batter-pitcher matchup came from the centerfield camera, rather than one behind the plate. That made it feel like you were watching a real game on TV, as you played.
There were a couple of flaws in "Hardball" (only two teams to choose from; baserunners could only advance and not retreat), but it was fun to go up to the plate against fictional pitchers like Tony Frisina, Doc Tompkins and Tommy Euler. I mention this because Paul Gibson had a "Hardball" equivalent in video immortals Lefty Wright and Pepi Perez. Each threw four pitches, none faster than 70 miles-per-hour, and each was routinely and repeatedly pummeled. Gibson had slightly better numbers than those counterparts, but a 5.22 ERA in 51 ugly appearances made me hunt for the "Escape" key when I watched him work.
You might notice that I skipped a potentially easy choice in Doug "Rule V Draft, 5.19 ERA" Simons, but I'm not going to do anything to besmirch the family name. One funny aside...In 1991 I won a trivia contest on WFAN's airing of Mets Extra (I believe the correct answer was Chico Walker) and host Howie Rose remarked "Our winner is Mac Simons...I wonder if he's related to Doug?" Howie blamed his producer for the bad handwriting that led to him saying my name wrong. By the way, there's no relation.
Dave Telgheder (1993-94) What does Telgheder have in common with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, and Steve Trachsel? They are among the 26 pitchers who have given up four home runs in an inning. Telgheder did it with the Athletics in 1996, shortly after his 30-game, 5.04 ERA career with the Mets had reached a climax. Thanks to regular reader, Gus from Plantsville, CT for suggesting his addition, without which I might have been tempted to list Barry "9.39 ERA" Jones .
Eric Gunderson (1994-95) To show that we don't have a statistical bias, Gunderson and his 2.70 ERA in 49 appearances makes the list. If Gunderson was so good, why did the Mets let him go on waivers? Besides, listing Gunderson allows me to tell a brief story about my 10 week stint as a Shea Stadium tour guide in 1994 for the failed Nickelodeon venture beyond the right field bullpen. One of the games set up for little kids was a "toss a ring on the milk bottles" contest, which was virtually impossible. No one ever won. To enter the ballpark, players had to walk through the mini entertainment complex and one day, Gunderson wandered in, and called for one of the game attendants to toss him a ring. Gunderson took the ring and nonchalantly flicked his wrist without even looking at the target. Bullseye. Guess he had a special skill, but one we didn't see much on the mound. For that he makes the list, over the likes of fellow lefties Ricardo Jordan and Rich Rodriguez.
John Hudek (1998) I celebrated Hudek's arrival along with the departure of Carl Everett before I realized the existence of a very significant law of baseball physics: "If you trade an everyday player for a middle reliever, you will regret it." I didn't learn from the trade of Rico Brogna for the previously mentioned Jordan and Toby Borland, but the Everett-Hudek deal was the last to sucker me in. The 1990s/2000s are the glory days of Tidrow-esque relievers, which is why we feel compelled to list so many, yet still managed to leave others, like Takashi Kashiwada, Satoru Komiyama and Mike Maddux off the list.
Billy Taylor (1999) Got into a discussion with someone at work regarding where Braden Looper ranked among the current 30 MLB closers (this was after Saturday's game). I rated him in the top 14. This individual informed me that Looper was 18th, at best, and that the only "gimmes" that Looper was clearly better than were Fernando Rodney (Tigers) and Mike Macdougall (Royals). You ever come up with the perfect line after it was too late? This was a classic example. The guy walked away and it came to me.
"This coming from someone who once tried to convince me that Billy (8.10 ERA) Taylor for Jason Isringhausen was a good trade????"
Tom Martin (2001) Among the pitchers who meet both Tidrow qualifications, none had a higher ERA than Tom "10.06" Martin, according to the fine tool "The Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia (lefty Bobby Jones should be happy...that note kept me from selecting him as representative of this era). The frightening thing is that 10.06 isn't even his highest season ERA. In 1998, prior to becoming a Met, he had a 12.89 ERA in 14 appearances with the Cleveland Indians (we'll discount the 16.20 ERA with the 2002 Devil Rays since it came in only two outings)
Danny Graves (2005) Remember a year or so ago when the Mets were accused of padding the roster of the playoff-bound Brooklyn Cyclones at the end of the season, giving them a shot at a championship. It will be interesting if they do the same thing with the Norfolk Tides, and if so, Graves would be a prime candidate to become a temporary resident in Virginia.
All right? Who else did I miss ? Post a comment, or e-mail. Please follow the Tidrow rules...
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Moonlight Mets Minutiae
Wednesday marks the 100th anniversary of the major-league debut of Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, the player who served as the inspiration for a character bearing that name in the movie "Field of Dreams." Graham's big league career consisted of one game, but no plate appearances for the 1905 world champion Giants. He retired not long afterwards and became a highly-regarded doctor in Minnesota.
Graham is the most famous of many moonlight players, whose careers consisted of one game and no plate apperances. The Associated Press did a really nice piece on the subject over the weekend and got quotes from one Mets moonlighter, Kevin Morgan, who now works as the Mets Director of Minor League Operations after a career that consisted of one plate appearance.
For the purpose of that story, the definition of a "Moonlight" player was expanded slightly, to cover those players whose careers consisted of one game. We'll further broaden it to define a Mets "Moonlighter" as someone who either a) played only one game for the Mets (entering 2005) or b)a non-pitchers whose Mets career consisted of one plate appearance.
The full list of Mets "Moonlighters" consists of 20 names, from second baseman Luis Alvarado to pitcher Mac Scarce, the latter of whose Mets career consisted of one batter faced (he gave up a walk-off hit to Richie Hebner and was traded shortly thereafter).
The lone true "Moonlighter" in the group may not be so for very long. Joe Hietpas, currently with the Binghamton Mets caught one inning of one game in 2004 for an all-too-brief introduction to the major leagues. Hietpas is presently with the Binghamton Mets and has struggled offensively, but his rifle arm behind the plate may make him useful to the Mets when rosters expand in September.
Two Mets Moonlighters- Rodney McCray and Kenny Greer were directly involved in walk-off wins and you really have to be a diehard fan to remember their Mets stints.
The 1992 Mets were viewed at year's end as a vastly overpriced and overhyped squad, but it didn't look that way in early May when the Mets were playing well at home, and entered their game on May 8 with an eight-game home win streak and a 16-13 overall mark. It was a rainy Friday night, one that sent many fans home after a delay spanning more than two hours, even though the pitching matchup featured aces David Cone for the Mets and Orel Hershiser for the Dodgers.
New York trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the seventh but rallied. They got a run in the seventh on Chico Walker's bases-loaded walk (they could have had more, but a Willie Randolph strikeout helped kill the comeback), then tied the game in the eighth on a sacrifice fly and another bases-loaded walks, this one yielded by ex-Mets closer Roger McDowell.
In the ninth, the Mets loaded the bases on a single, a sacrifice and two more walks (Dodgers pitchers walked 12 Mets) with one out, giving them the possibility of hitting into a bases-loaded double play to end three straight innings. McCray, used exclusively as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement in his first 15 games, was up because he had pinch run for Eddie Murray earlier and stayed in the game. Just after 1:15 a.m., McCray punched a single to left center field and the Mets had their win. In May of 1991, McCray crashed through an outfield fence trying to make a catch in a minor league game, his best-remembered moment. He also holds a fairly unique claim to fame of getting a walk-off hit in his last big league at-bat.
Many felt that the 1993 Mets disgraced the uniforms they wore with their performance on and off the field that season, but on September 29, 1993, they did their fans proud (more or less). The 158th game of a 59-103 was a 1-0, 17-inning struggle of a win over the Cardinals. As Joe Sexton wrote in the New York Times: "The Mets don't have much talent. They don't have many triumphs. Mercy isn't anything they come by easily, either."
The two teams combined for 12 hits and the Mets got the last one, a long double to center field by Jeff Kent, plating Murray with the winning run just after the clock struck midnight. Bobby Jones was the other story of the night, as he pitched 10 scoreless innings of four-hit, five-walk ball, striking out nine. Some might even call it one of his best Mets outings ever (we presume you'll rate Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS as #1). Jones finished the season as a bright spot- 2-4 with a 3.65 ERA- but the Mets didn't score in their last 34 2/3 innings with him on the mound.
Dallas Green had a short bullpen that night, and after using Jeff Innis and Mauro Gozzo for three innings each, Green turned to rookie Kenny Greer, who hadn't pitched in a month (he wasn't even in the Mets system until the Yankees dealt him over for veteran Frank Tanana on September 17). Greer struck out two in the 17th, earning the win. The moonlight shone brightly on Greer that night, but his outing couldn't have been all that impressive. The Mets never used him in the majors again and after an eight-game stint with the Giants in 1995, he was out of the big leagues for good.
True Metlighters know...That this is the list of Mets "Moonlighters"
One-Game Mets
Luis Alvarado (1977, second base, 0-2 in last of 463 MLB games)
Gary Bennett (2001, catcher, 1-for-1)
Francisco Estrada (1971, catcher, Mexican League superstar)
Bob Gibson (1987, pitcher, last game of 98-game MLB career was attended by this writer)
Kenny Greer (1993, 1-0, 1 IP, 2 K, only win was a walk-off win)
Joe Hietpas (2004, only Mets position player- one game, no AB)
Manny Hernandez (1989, pitcher, tossed 1 IP in final game of 14-game career)
Brett Hinchliffe (2001, pitcher, 36.00 ERA over 2 IP, last of 14 MLB games)
Jesse Hudson (1969, pitcher, only MLB appearance)
Dave Liddell (1990, catcher, 1-for-1 in only MLB at-bat)
Ryan McGuire (2000, 1 game in RF)
Doc Medich (1977, pitcher, took loss in only start)
Kevin Morgan (1997, third baseman, 0-for-1, now works in Mets front office)
Dan Murray (1999, pitcher 2 IP, 13.50 ERA)
Don Rose (1971, pitcher, traded with Estrada in Nolan Ryan/Jim Fregosi dea, subject of a feature I wrote on "Mets for a Minute" for New York Mets Inside Pitch magazine)
Mac Scarce (1975, pitcher, allowed walk-off hit to Richie Hebner, only batter faced with Mets)
More than One Game, Only one plate appearance (non-pitchers)
Charlie Greene (1996, catcher, 2 games, 0-for-1)
Gary Matthews Jr. (2002, OF, 2 games, 0-for-1)
Rodney McCray (1992, OF, 1-for-1, 18 games. Only AB, his last MLB AB, was a walk-off hit)
Ralph Milliard (1998, second base, 10 games, 0-for-1, 3 runs scored)
Graham is the most famous of many moonlight players, whose careers consisted of one game and no plate apperances. The Associated Press did a really nice piece on the subject over the weekend and got quotes from one Mets moonlighter, Kevin Morgan, who now works as the Mets Director of Minor League Operations after a career that consisted of one plate appearance.
For the purpose of that story, the definition of a "Moonlight" player was expanded slightly, to cover those players whose careers consisted of one game. We'll further broaden it to define a Mets "Moonlighter" as someone who either a) played only one game for the Mets (entering 2005) or b)a non-pitchers whose Mets career consisted of one plate appearance.
The full list of Mets "Moonlighters" consists of 20 names, from second baseman Luis Alvarado to pitcher Mac Scarce, the latter of whose Mets career consisted of one batter faced (he gave up a walk-off hit to Richie Hebner and was traded shortly thereafter).
The lone true "Moonlighter" in the group may not be so for very long. Joe Hietpas, currently with the Binghamton Mets caught one inning of one game in 2004 for an all-too-brief introduction to the major leagues. Hietpas is presently with the Binghamton Mets and has struggled offensively, but his rifle arm behind the plate may make him useful to the Mets when rosters expand in September.
Two Mets Moonlighters- Rodney McCray and Kenny Greer were directly involved in walk-off wins and you really have to be a diehard fan to remember their Mets stints.
The 1992 Mets were viewed at year's end as a vastly overpriced and overhyped squad, but it didn't look that way in early May when the Mets were playing well at home, and entered their game on May 8 with an eight-game home win streak and a 16-13 overall mark. It was a rainy Friday night, one that sent many fans home after a delay spanning more than two hours, even though the pitching matchup featured aces David Cone for the Mets and Orel Hershiser for the Dodgers.
New York trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the seventh but rallied. They got a run in the seventh on Chico Walker's bases-loaded walk (they could have had more, but a Willie Randolph strikeout helped kill the comeback), then tied the game in the eighth on a sacrifice fly and another bases-loaded walks, this one yielded by ex-Mets closer Roger McDowell.
In the ninth, the Mets loaded the bases on a single, a sacrifice and two more walks (Dodgers pitchers walked 12 Mets) with one out, giving them the possibility of hitting into a bases-loaded double play to end three straight innings. McCray, used exclusively as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement in his first 15 games, was up because he had pinch run for Eddie Murray earlier and stayed in the game. Just after 1:15 a.m., McCray punched a single to left center field and the Mets had their win. In May of 1991, McCray crashed through an outfield fence trying to make a catch in a minor league game, his best-remembered moment. He also holds a fairly unique claim to fame of getting a walk-off hit in his last big league at-bat.
Many felt that the 1993 Mets disgraced the uniforms they wore with their performance on and off the field that season, but on September 29, 1993, they did their fans proud (more or less). The 158th game of a 59-103 was a 1-0, 17-inning struggle of a win over the Cardinals. As Joe Sexton wrote in the New York Times: "The Mets don't have much talent. They don't have many triumphs. Mercy isn't anything they come by easily, either."
The two teams combined for 12 hits and the Mets got the last one, a long double to center field by Jeff Kent, plating Murray with the winning run just after the clock struck midnight. Bobby Jones was the other story of the night, as he pitched 10 scoreless innings of four-hit, five-walk ball, striking out nine. Some might even call it one of his best Mets outings ever (we presume you'll rate Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS as #1). Jones finished the season as a bright spot- 2-4 with a 3.65 ERA- but the Mets didn't score in their last 34 2/3 innings with him on the mound.
Dallas Green had a short bullpen that night, and after using Jeff Innis and Mauro Gozzo for three innings each, Green turned to rookie Kenny Greer, who hadn't pitched in a month (he wasn't even in the Mets system until the Yankees dealt him over for veteran Frank Tanana on September 17). Greer struck out two in the 17th, earning the win. The moonlight shone brightly on Greer that night, but his outing couldn't have been all that impressive. The Mets never used him in the majors again and after an eight-game stint with the Giants in 1995, he was out of the big leagues for good.
True Metlighters know...That this is the list of Mets "Moonlighters"
One-Game Mets
Luis Alvarado (1977, second base, 0-2 in last of 463 MLB games)
Gary Bennett (2001, catcher, 1-for-1)
Francisco Estrada (1971, catcher, Mexican League superstar)
Bob Gibson (1987, pitcher, last game of 98-game MLB career was attended by this writer)
Kenny Greer (1993, 1-0, 1 IP, 2 K, only win was a walk-off win)
Joe Hietpas (2004, only Mets position player- one game, no AB)
Manny Hernandez (1989, pitcher, tossed 1 IP in final game of 14-game career)
Brett Hinchliffe (2001, pitcher, 36.00 ERA over 2 IP, last of 14 MLB games)
Jesse Hudson (1969, pitcher, only MLB appearance)
Dave Liddell (1990, catcher, 1-for-1 in only MLB at-bat)
Ryan McGuire (2000, 1 game in RF)
Doc Medich (1977, pitcher, took loss in only start)
Kevin Morgan (1997, third baseman, 0-for-1, now works in Mets front office)
Dan Murray (1999, pitcher 2 IP, 13.50 ERA)
Don Rose (1971, pitcher, traded with Estrada in Nolan Ryan/Jim Fregosi dea, subject of a feature I wrote on "Mets for a Minute" for New York Mets Inside Pitch magazine)
Mac Scarce (1975, pitcher, allowed walk-off hit to Richie Hebner, only batter faced with Mets)
More than One Game, Only one plate appearance (non-pitchers)
Charlie Greene (1996, catcher, 2 games, 0-for-1)
Gary Matthews Jr. (2002, OF, 2 games, 0-for-1)
Rodney McCray (1992, OF, 1-for-1, 18 games. Only AB, his last MLB AB, was a walk-off hit)
Ralph Milliard (1998, second base, 10 games, 0-for-1, 3 runs scored)
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