Skip to main content

Our Special Bonds: October Notables (Answers)

Answers to the questions found here:

http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/10/our-special-bonds-october-notables.html

1) Jorge Posada joins current Mets manager Willie Randolph as the only Yankees to strike out to end a postseason series. Randolph pulled a Carlos Beltran, striking out looking to end Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS against the Royals.

2) A tough one for you youngsters...The Giants catcher the day of Bobby Thomson's HR was the second Mets manager, Wes Westrum. The Dodgers catcher later became pitching coach and worked under Gil Hodges on the 1969 Mets, Rube Walker.

3) "Future" Met is the clue that tells you that the answer wasn't Jesse Orosco. Instead, it was Alejandro Pena, who got the win when Kirk Gibson homered off Dennis Eckersley.

4) The Braves used a former Met, Jeff Reardon, to close the top of the 9th, prior to Francisco Cabrera's walk-off hit in the bottom of the frame, which clinched the 1992 NLCS for Atlanta.

5) 1960 World Series goat (and 1962 World Series star) Ralph Terry won 0 games for the Mets during his brief tenure with the team.

6) Armando Benitez gave up the tying home run, but it was Randy Myers who surrendered the winning home run by Bernie Williams to end the "Jeffrey Maier Game."

7) Some might think that this answer is Willie Randolph as well, but it's not. The next batter due up actually went hitless during his time with the Mets. Some might say his son, Roberto, did too. I'm referring to Sandy Alomar Sr. as the man scheduled to bat next prior to Chris Chambliss' home run.

8) As Pedro Martinez once asked: Who is Karim Garcia? Turns out, he was the guy who was likely to bat next had Tim Wakefield gotten Aaron Boone out.

9) He wasn't a Met for long, but you'll surely see his face in flashbacks to Luis Gonzalez's game-winning hit this week. It plated Jay Bell with the 2001 World Series-winning run.

10) The 1985 Cardinals were not a team that I enjoy remembering, and this guy had far better days against the Mets than for them. On the day that Ozzie Smith hit his unlikely home run, it was Tom Herr who had the other 2 RBI for St. Louis.

11) Let's end on a positive note, shall we? And in order to do so, we make the answer to our question a former Met that we remember in a good way: Shawon Dunston preceded Kenny Lofton's series-clinching hit, with a table-setting single. I don't think Giants fans remember it quite as well as we remember Dunston's most notable single.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 Profess...

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings ...

The 'Duca of Earl (and walk-offs)

If I told you that the Mets had just obtained a guy who is a career .316 hitter with runners in scoring position? How about if I told you that the Mets just traded for a hitter who has consistently ranked among the toughest in baseball to strike out? Or if I mentioned that the Mets just dealt for a player who was selected to the NL All-Star team the last three seasons, with the last honor coming via a vote by his peers? So, although he's on the down side age wise, his throwing arm isn't as good as it used to be, and he doesn't provide much power, there are a lot of good things that Paul Lo Duca brings to the New York Mets. For example: He'll sacrifice his body for the good of the team The Dodgers and Braves squared off on August 23, 2002 and Lo Duca made an impact both on the start and finish of this game. Three pitches after being dusted by Greg Maddux, Lo Duca made him pay with a first-inning home run. The Braves rallied to tie the game, 3-3 in the ninth, but their bu...