Had David Wright homered in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Mets loss to Atlanta on Wednesday, it would have been grand redemption for his three miscues from earlier in the game.
It would not have been unprecedented for a player to have had such a horrific game in the field only to make up for it with walk-off plate performance. While the Mets were struggling in putting the finishes on their NL East title in 1986, the Braves and Giants had a gathering at Candlestick Park that is highly regarded in walk-off lore.
It took place on September 14, 1986 and was basically insignificant, but for this. In the fourth inning, then-Giants third baseman Bob Brenly made four (!) errors, allowing the Braves to send four men plateward for a 4-0 lead.
Brenly somehow kept his composure in the field (it helped that only one ball was hit his way in the next three innings) and that carried over in his trips to the plate. In the fifth inning, his home run cut the lead to 4-1. In the seventh inning, Brenly singled in two runs, tying the score at 6-6.
After shifting to the comfort of catcher, Brenly got one more chance up with two outs in the ninth inning, against Braves reliever Paul Assenmacher. Must I remind you that baseball is a game of redeeming features before I tell you what happened? Brenly took a mighty swing and clubbed a game-winning home run down the left field line. The Giants won in walk-off fashion, 7-6.
"I was the comeback player of the year in one afternoon," Brenly told reporters after the game.
True Metdeemers know...The Mets haven't had a walk-off win against the Braves since April 15, 2002. The just-over four-year drought is third-longest in team history against the Braves. The longest span between Mets walk-off wins against the Braves is just over four years and three months long (April 24, 1990/August 3, 1994).
It would not have been unprecedented for a player to have had such a horrific game in the field only to make up for it with walk-off plate performance. While the Mets were struggling in putting the finishes on their NL East title in 1986, the Braves and Giants had a gathering at Candlestick Park that is highly regarded in walk-off lore.
It took place on September 14, 1986 and was basically insignificant, but for this. In the fourth inning, then-Giants third baseman Bob Brenly made four (!) errors, allowing the Braves to send four men plateward for a 4-0 lead.
Brenly somehow kept his composure in the field (it helped that only one ball was hit his way in the next three innings) and that carried over in his trips to the plate. In the fifth inning, his home run cut the lead to 4-1. In the seventh inning, Brenly singled in two runs, tying the score at 6-6.
After shifting to the comfort of catcher, Brenly got one more chance up with two outs in the ninth inning, against Braves reliever Paul Assenmacher. Must I remind you that baseball is a game of redeeming features before I tell you what happened? Brenly took a mighty swing and clubbed a game-winning home run down the left field line. The Giants won in walk-off fashion, 7-6.
"I was the comeback player of the year in one afternoon," Brenly told reporters after the game.
True Metdeemers know...The Mets haven't had a walk-off win against the Braves since April 15, 2002. The just-over four-year drought is third-longest in team history against the Braves. The longest span between Mets walk-off wins against the Braves is just over four years and three months long (April 24, 1990/August 3, 1994).
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