Skip to main content

Stitch in Time Saves Conine

Don't know if you've seen this "Actober" contest that FOX has been promoting all season, inviting fans to recreate famous moments in baseball history. Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Orlando Hudson joined in the fun, staging his version of Kirk Gibson's limp-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

The Mets could stage their own version given that they now have three integral parts from one of the most infamous moments in postseason history. The connection between Luis Castillo and Moises Alou regarding the "Bartman ball" from the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS has been well-documented, but oft forgotten among baseball historians is that it was new Met Jeff Conine who hit the sacrifice fly that gave the Marlins a 4-3 lead in an eventual victory.

It was also Conine, then the Marlins left fielder, who made the throw to cut J.T. Snow down at the plate to end the 2003 NLDS in dramatic fashion. This is a guy with a knack for the big moment. He went 4-for-4 in the first game in Marlins history, hit a go-ahead home run in the 8th inning of the 1995 All-Star Game (remember when the NL used to win that thing?), and was, prior to "retirement", a championship-level racquetball player. Hopefully Mr. Met won't be disturbed that the club has added a player known as "Mr. Marlin," but other than that, Conine should get along with the rest of the squad just fine.

I think the thing that I like best about Jeff Conine (besides his being a 58th-round draft pick in 1987) is that he's due for a true walk-off moment. On April 17, 1997, Conine collected his 684th career major-league hit, a walk-off home run against Cardinals pitcher Mark Petkovsek. He's had 1,290 regular-season hits since, but none have been in walk-off fashion. (he has since won games via a walk-off E1 and a walk-off fielder's choice). Perhaps it will be of an Actober variety.

True Metnines know...Conine was hardly the only Mets-connected player with a role in the first game in Marlins history. The pitcher whom Conine first faced as a Marlin was then-Dodger Orel Hershiser, and the pitcher/catcher combo against whom Conine recorded the Marlins first stolen base was Rick Trlicek/Mike Piazza. Others of Methood to play in that game of April 5, 1993: Jose Offerman, Brett Butler, Darryl Strawberry, Roger McDowell and Lenny Harris for the Dodgers, as well as Dave Magadan, Chuck Carr, and ex-pitching coach Charlie Hough for the Marlins.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Games I Know: Phillies (Updated)

  The best wins against the Phillies in Mets history …   May 5, 2022 – Mets 8, Phillies 7 The Mets score 7 runs in the 9 th inning to overcome a 7-1 deficit and win in Philadelphia.   April 29, 2022 – Mets 3, Phillies 0 Tylor Megill and 4 Mets relievers combine on the second no-hitter in franchise history.   September 22, 2016 – Mets 9, Phillies 8 (11) The Mets tie it in the 9 th on a Jose Reyes home run and win it in the 11 th on a 3-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera.   July 17, 2016 - Mets 5, Phillies 0 Jacob deGrom pitches a one-hitter. Only hit is a single by Zach Eflin in the 5 th inning.   August 24, 2015 – Mets 16, Phillies 7 David Wright homers in his first at-bat in more than 4 months. The Mets hit a team-record 8 home runs.   July 5, 2012 – Mets 6, Phillies 5 The Mets score 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9 th to beat Jonathan Papelbon. The winning run scores on David Wright’s bloop down the right field line.   August 13

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

Trip(le) Through Time

In their illustrious history, the Mets have had one 'Triple Crown Winner,' so to speak and I'm not talking about the typical meaning of the term. I've gotten some queries recently as to whether a walk-off triple is even possible and I'm here to tell you that it is. There has been one, and only one, in Mets history, though I don't have the full explanation of circumstances that I would like. It took place against the Phillies on September 10, 1970. This was a marathon game that would have fit in perfectly with those having taken place so far this season and allowed the Mets to maintain a temporary hold on first place in an NL East race oft forgotten in team history. It went 14 innings, with a tinge of controversy in a negated Ken Boswell home run, a thrilling play by Bud Harrelson, who stole home in the third inning, and some stellar relief pitching, in the form of five scoreless innings from Danny Frisella, aided by Tim McCarver getting thrown out in a rundown b