Never would have thought I'd be writing these kinds of notes today, but I guess it makes sense, since I balk at using the divider-free urinals in the Citi Field restrooms (like George Costanza, I'm more of a stall guy)...
* I count 490 regular-season balks from 157 pitchers in Mets history. I could be wrong, but that's the quick tally I got from a lookup on Baseball-Reference.
* The first balk in Mets history took place in the first inning of their first game, when Roger Craig dropped the ball while going into his pitching motion, facing Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer. Some have identified this as the play in which the Mets allowed their first run (thanks to an errant recreation done for a record), but the balk only advanced runners to second and third.
* During the early days of the franchise, if a Mets pitcher committed a balk, it was almost a guaranteed loss. The Mets were 4-41 in the first 45 games in which one of their pitchers balked.
* How bizarre this this? The Mets didn't win a game at Shea Stadium in which their pitcher committed a balk until they beat the Cardinals on June 20, 1969! Prior to that, the Mets had lost their first 10 Shea efforts in which a Mets pitcher committed a balk.
* The Mets three balks in their first seven games is one fewer than they had ALL OF LAST SEASON.
* Your all-time leading Mets balker is Dwight Gooden with 32, eight more than David Cone's 24. Ron Darling (21) and Jerry Koosman (20) are the other pitchers with 20+
* Pedro Feliciano's third Mets balk moves him into a tie for 37th on the Mets all-time balk list with, among others, John Franco, Anthony Young, and John Pacella. Yet he's only two balks away from moving into their top 20 all-time.
* The Mets club record for most innings without a balk is 1,005 1/3, by Tom Glavine. Jim McAndrew ranks way behind in second place at 729 2/3.
* The Mets have never won a game via walk-off balk.
* The Mets have lost a game via walk-off balk- May 28, 1989, against the Dodgers. The guilty balker (and spitter) was Roger McDowell.
* I count 490 regular-season balks from 157 pitchers in Mets history. I could be wrong, but that's the quick tally I got from a lookup on Baseball-Reference.
* The first balk in Mets history took place in the first inning of their first game, when Roger Craig dropped the ball while going into his pitching motion, facing Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer. Some have identified this as the play in which the Mets allowed their first run (thanks to an errant recreation done for a record), but the balk only advanced runners to second and third.
* During the early days of the franchise, if a Mets pitcher committed a balk, it was almost a guaranteed loss. The Mets were 4-41 in the first 45 games in which one of their pitchers balked.
* How bizarre this this? The Mets didn't win a game at Shea Stadium in which their pitcher committed a balk until they beat the Cardinals on June 20, 1969! Prior to that, the Mets had lost their first 10 Shea efforts in which a Mets pitcher committed a balk.
* The Mets three balks in their first seven games is one fewer than they had ALL OF LAST SEASON.
* Your all-time leading Mets balker is Dwight Gooden with 32, eight more than David Cone's 24. Ron Darling (21) and Jerry Koosman (20) are the other pitchers with 20+
* Pedro Feliciano's third Mets balk moves him into a tie for 37th on the Mets all-time balk list with, among others, John Franco, Anthony Young, and John Pacella. Yet he's only two balks away from moving into their top 20 all-time.
* The Mets club record for most innings without a balk is 1,005 1/3, by Tom Glavine. Jim McAndrew ranks way behind in second place at 729 2/3.
* The Mets have never won a game via walk-off balk.
* The Mets have lost a game via walk-off balk- May 28, 1989, against the Dodgers. The guilty balker (and spitter) was Roger McDowell.
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