Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

So I had this piece in mind, a multi-thousand word reminiscence of the 2006 season and its most memorable moments. It was going to be called "Coming Full Circle," referencing how a sportswriting colleague of mine talked about circling all the meaningful games that your team plays during a season, so that it's easy at the end of the year to go back and refresh your memory. Then reality, in the form of work and other obligations set in. Thankfully, a fellow blogger has penned a work of a similar nature. I strongly recommend you check it out, as it will totally be worth your time. Part I is here and I imagine part II is forthcoming http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/2/2467800.html and when you're done with that, check out a few more links to some of the 20th anniversary stories regarding the game of October 25, 1986. Each offers its own unique, worthwhile perspective. Enjoy! http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/wilbur/sports_blog/blog/2006/10/25/an_er

Here are the answers to our trivia challenge of November 2, 2007, seeking to identify the Mets walk-off home run leaders. Questions posed here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/11/our-special-bonds-most-mets-walk-off-hr.html 1) All 3 of his walk-off HR came with a man on base (hint: Blas Minor): Bobby Bonilla 2) He once hit a walk-off HR in the 17th inning (hint: Charlie Hough): Dave Kingman 3) 12 total HR for Mets, but 4 were walk-off HR (hint: Dan Plesac): Chris Jones 4) All 3 of his walk-off HR were 3-run HR (hint: Bruce Sutter): Steve Henderson 5) All 3 of his walk-off HR came in extra innings (hint: Frank Dipino): Howard Johnson 6) Just under 1% of his career HR were Mets walk-offs (4) (hint: Rheal Cormier): Mike Piazza 7) Of those on this list, he's the only one to hit a walk-off HR for Mets and Yankees. He hit 3 as a Met (hint: John Franco): Darryl Strawberry 8) He had a walk-off in each of 4 consecutive seasons (hint: Dave Smith): Kevin McReynolds 9) Of his 4 walk-

All totals are regular season unless otherwise noted * The 2006 Mets went 97-65, beat the Dodgers in the NLDS in 3 games, and lost to the Cardinals in the NLCS in 7 games. * The 97 regular-season wins is the 5th best in Mets history, within the confines of a 162-game schedule. The 1999 Mets won 97 games as well (the only other Met team to reach 97), but it took them a 163rd game to reach the 97-win plateau. Most wins, Mets history 1986 108 1988 100 1969 100 1985 98 2006 97 1999 97 (163 games) * The Mets increased their regular-season win percentage by 87 points (.512 to .599), as a result of improving their win total by 14 games. That's their biggest increase by the team since a 105-point, 17-win jump from 1996 to 1997 (71-91 to 88-74). For those curious, the club record is 166 points and 27 wins from 1968 to 1969 (73-89 to 100-62). * Including the postseason, the Mets won 103 games, tied with the 1988 team for the third highest total in team history. The 1986 squad won 116. The 19

For a look at my offseason plans, go here http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/to-do-list.html I want to address the last comment of my last post: My wish that Carlos Beltran had swung the bat with an 0-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs in the last of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS. Nearly two weeks have gone by and I've yet to shake out the remnants of my sadness and anger related to this particular moment. The echo from the men's room at Grand Central Station still rings my cries of anguish from that evening, and my car still reverberates from my yelp after picking it up at the airport the other day... "WHY DIDN'T HE SWING??????????" I have read the eloquent New York Times column by Bill Rhoden, listened to the words of Mets general manager Omar Minaya, and read the thoughts of other bloggers and their friends who have come to the defense of Beltran on the subject. While their thoughts are perfectly legitimate and their interests are pure, I

For a look at the offseason itinerary, go here http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/to-do-list.html The Mets had 11 walk-off wins, tied for the 3rd most in team history and their most since netting 11 in 1995. Most walk-off wins in season Mets history 1971 14 1983 12 2006 11 1963 11 1969 11 *includes postseason* 1986 11 *includes postseason* 1995 11 *includes rain-shortened "asterisk" game (5 seasons with 10) The breakdown was as follows 4 walk-off singles 3 walk-off home runs 2 walk-off sacrifice flies 1 walk-off double 1 walk-off error by the opposing pitcher 6 extra-inning walk-offs The grand tally is now at 341* documented walk-offs, a total that includes postseason, in Mets history. The * is in place for two reasons, one of which has been previously explained several times, and the other because I have no verification that the tally is 100% accurate. By my count, I have written about, in some form, approximately half of those 341 games, so we still have a long ways t