Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Didn't realize this until just a few moments ago (thanks, Baseball-Reference), but Johan Santana's 10+ strikeout game was the 300th REGULAR SEASON double-digit strikeout effort by a pitcher in franchise history. They've also had 3 such efforts in postseason. So we've had 47 fewer such games than we've had walk-offs. * Your all-time leader in Mets 10+ K games: No surprise, Tom Seaver with 62. Most 10+ strikeout games Mets history Tom Seaver 62 (including 2 in postseason) Dwight Gooden 47 (including 1 in postseason) David Cone 33 Sid Fernandez 31 Jerry Koosman 24 Nolan Ryan 14 >> Mets broadcaster Ron Darling ranks 10th with 7 * 49 different Mets pitchers have struck out 10 batters in a game. Among the others who, like Santana, have exactly one. Charlie Puleo Roy Lee Jackson Randy Tate Dennis Ribant Pat Zachry * The most surprising name on the list of 10+ K Mets pitchers: How about Tug McGraw? The Tugger had 10 in six innings in an 8-5 walk-off win over the Astro...

David Wright is emotional when it comes to walk-offs. Check out his reaction to walk-off win #349, courtesy of YouTube I don't think the SNY cameras caught it, but after Wright flied out to deep center in the bottom of the 10th of this most recent walk-off win, he went bonkers, including the utterance of a rather loud profanity, one that could be heard a couple levels up in the ballpark. Poor David. He wants, so badly, to hit a walk-off home run. Maybe some day. Other minutiae from the craziness... * This was the 3rd time that Laz Diaz was the home plate umpire for a Mets walk-off win, the first since the Mets beat the Marlins, 3-2, on Mike Jacobs walk-off single in the 12th inning on September 20, 2005. * At 4 hours, 45 minutes, this was the 10th-longest walk-off win in Mets history (including 2 postseason games- Ventura single in 1999, and Agbayani HR in 2000), and the 9th-longest Mets walk-off win in Shea Stadium history. * Joel Hanrahan is one of 11 pitchers to lose to the Mets...

Frustration is leaving your Connecticut apartment at 3:20 pm and returning to your Connecticut apartment at 3:20am. Walk-off number 350, aka "A long, ugly game that turned out pretty" (Willie Randolph's words) was the 2nd Mets walk-off win of the season and the 330th (including postseason) to take place at Shea Stadium. Frustration is not bringing your sweatshirt to go with your light jacket because you're only gonna be at the ballpark for three hours, maximum, and the temp isn't gonna drop that much. It was the 3rd walk-off win in Willie Randolph's tenure to last at least 14 innings, the first since May 23, 2006 when Carlos Beltran's walk-off HR beat the Phillies in the 16th inning. Frustration is your fourth through seventh hitters striking out in succession, not once, but twice, against a pitcher who had never struck out more than four batters in any GAME. It was the first time the Mets got a walk-off win in a game in which the opposing starter struck o...

So I've got this little mini-series of a thing going here on frustrating losses and loyal reader Eric Orns contributed nicely to the cause, both with the title for this piece and the suggestion to look into one rather petrifying game, which led to another neat discovery. I don't know how many of you took heed when Jeff DaVanon signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. Jeff's father, Jerry played in the major leagues too, and from what I can tell, didn't have a hugely successful career, other than a pair of shining moments against the Mets. My sympathies if you remember the 1-0 10-inning loss to the Astros on July 6, 1976, as if you're a Mets fan, you'd have wanted to block this one far out of your memory. In this game, the Mets had eight hits and drew 10 walks against Astros starter J.R. Richard (167 pitches) and scored NO RUNS. Kudos to the record keepers who alerted the media to the major-league records set, at the time, in this game: Most men left on bas...

As a public service announcement for those who read my post of frustration from 2 days ago. It should be noted that the Mets have never lost a game in which they allowed 0 runs. They are now 521-0-1 in such circumstances. The story of the tie can be found here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/delayed-attribution.html

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 ...

I must admit that 19 hours later, I'm still sitting here muttering "How could the Mets lose that game?" I am incredulous at the idea that they could hit into a double play in 5 innings in a row, that they could make the errors and stupid baserunning mistakes unbefitting of this kind of a team. But you know what? Sometimes that's just the way it goes...just like losing a game on a non-shot off a skate (hello, fellow Rangers fans). You have to take the good with the bad. These things happen. For example: * On 3 occasions, the Mets have lost games in which they scored 11 runs. Amazingly, they happened in consecutive years: 1995 (May 6, 13-11 to the Reds, blew an 11-4 lead), 1996 (August 21, 12-11 to the Giants), and 1997 (May 6, 12-11 to the Rockies). * The Mets have twice lost games in which they hit 5 home runs. They fell 9-8 to the Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 4, 1993, and 8-6 at home to the Reds on August 3, 1962. * The Mets have twice lost games in which they ...