Skip to main content

Our Special Bonds: Know Your Rays (Answers)

Answers in italics to questions posed here

http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-special-bonds-know-your-rays.html

1) 20 pitchers have pitched for both the Mets and Rays. Only one of those 20 had a winning record FOR THE RAYS. Name him.
- Victor Zambrano

2) The Mets have employed 4 players who hit 10+ career home runs for the Rays. Here are hints for each one
Player 1- Navidad
-Mike DiFelice
Player 2- Shares his initials with those after whom a famous bridge is named
-Gerald Williams
Player 3- If you go to Shea, buy a burger in his honor
-Bubba Trammell
Player 4- Currently plays in the state of Texas
-Ty Wigginton

3) The Mets won the first meeting with the Rays. The losing pitcher in that game pitched 2 career games for the Mets. Name him.
-Dennis Springer

4) A man who played against the Mets in a postseason broke up Rick Reed's no-hitter in the 7th inning of that game. Name him.
-Wade Boggs

5) The Rays hitting coach is Steve Henderson. Steve Henderson got his first MLB hit against what father of a major leaguer?
-Floyd Bannister

6) The Rays version of David Wright, Evan Longoria, played college baseball at Long Beach State. Two former Mets played at Long Beach State. One is also a former Ray. The other scored a very important run in the 1969 World Series. Name them.
-Steve Trachsel and Rod Gaspar

7) The Rays all-time saves leader is a former Met. Name him.
Roberto Hernandez

8) The Mets made Scott Kazmir their first pick in the 2002 MLB Draft. Only one other player drafted by the Mets that year has made the major leagues. His initials are the same as "Major Leagues." Name him.
Matt Lindstrom

9) The Rays all-time single-season batting leader (minimum 300 plate appearances) is a former Met. Is it...
a) Rey Sanchez
b) Miguel Cairo
c) Aaron Ledesma
d) Jason Tyner

A- Aaron Ledesma

10) When the Rays picked their players in the expansion draft, prior to the 1998 season, they plucked Carlos Mendoza from the Mets. Carlos Mendoza played a role in a very significant walk-off win in 1997. What was his "brand new shiny" role?

On September 13, 1997, Carlos Mendoza got his first major-league hit, a single off Expos pitcher Dustin Hermanson, that stood as the only hit until the ninth inning. If I recall right, it was a controversial hit on which official scorer Bill Shannon was critiqued for his decision. The Mets rallied from 6-0 down in the 9th to tie (on Carl Everett's "brand new shiny" grand slam") then won in extra innings on a Bernard Gilkey walk-off home run.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
8 comments
Read more

Green Party

* Mets walk-off win #347 was the Mets 6th this season, against no defeats. This is the first time in Mets history that they've started a season with at least 6 walk-off wins before their first walk-off defeat. * It was Shawn Green's 2nd career walk-off home run, his first since September 20, 2001, when he homered in the 13th inning to beat Greg Swindell and the Diamondbacks, 3-2. It was the second walk-off home run allowed by Russ Springer, but his first since April 11, 2000, when Ed Sprague and the Padres beat him with a 13th inning home run. It was the first home run that Springer allowed all season. * This is the 5th time in Mets history that they've had as few as 3 hits and won a game in walk-off fashion. The last was June 28, 1998, when they had 3 hits and beat the Yankees 2-1 on Luis Lopez's sacrifice fly (the game where Brian McRae nearly cost the Mets the winning run by wandering aimlessly off first base on the SF). The fewest Mets hits in a Mets walk-off win is...
9 comments
Read more

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more