Skip to main content

42 Ways To Walk-Off

You can read the tribute we wrote to Jackie Robinson last year at http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/04/remembering-jackie-robinson.html

Since we're paying tribute to baseball's greatest No. 42 today, I thought I'd share that the 42nd walk-off win in Mets history took place on Father's Day, June 18, 1967, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cubs.

New York Times writer Leonard Koppett, who would later pen books about the Mets, pointed out that Father's Day had been bad luck for the Mets, as their history indicated they'd lost 9 of 10 games on such a date, including being perfectoed by Jim Bunning in 1964.

The bulk of the attention on this day was paid more to Game 2, a Mets defeat, one suffered by prize prospect Tom Seaver, but Game 1 is actually of greater significance for our purposes.

The Mets appeared headed to defeat in this one, as they trailed early, 3-0, thanks to back-to-back home runs by Ernie Banks and Randy Hundley against Mets starter Bob Shaw.

The comeback began in the sixth inning when the Mets scratched out a run on a force out by Tommy Davis (the Mets tied an MLB "record" by hitting into three force outs in the inning). They got to within 3-2 in the seventh on Bud Harrelson's RBI double, and tied the score in the eighth on Al Luplow's sacrifice fly. The Mets had a chance to take the lead in the eighth, but Jerry Buchek's strikeout with the bases loaded ended that.

The Cubs mustered a pretty good scoring threat in the visiting 10th, but that was quashed when Hundley grounded out with two men on base. In the home 10th, Tommie Reynolds ended matters with a game-winning home run, the only walk-off home run of his career.

True Metbinsons know... Three Mets who wore uniform #42 got a walk-off hit for the Mets: Ron Hodges, Butch Huskey, and Mo Vaughn.

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