Skip to main content

Our Special Bonds: The 2000s

Let's play a little end-of-decade trivia. Answers in the comments section.

1- Two pitchers had the most shutouts for the Mets in the decade. The easy one is better known for a shutout he pitched in another decade. The harder one allowed only nine hits over the 36 innings of those four shutouts. Name them.

2- What Mets pitcher do we remember for having the most strikeouts in a game in the 2000s?

3-In the very first game of the decade, a Mets pitcher came within one ____ of tying a club record. Fill in the blank, name the pitcher, and name the pitcher who is the record-holder for that stat (hint: they share a first name).

4- Every Mets starting pitcher in a game this decade retired at least one batter, except one, who left with an injury that would sideline him for a month. This pitcher had an ERA over 5 in his lone season of the decade with the Mets, but is remembered pleasantly. Name him.

5- Among pitchers with 10+ starts for the Mets this decade, this one had the LOWEST percentage of quality starts (3 ER or less in 6+ IP). This pitcher has a very HISTORIC claim to fame, but it didn't come with the Mets. Name him.

6- Besides Jose Reyes, name the 2 Mets shortstops who had a multiple-homer game this decade. One did it in 2001, the other in 2004.

7-Name the Met who had the highest on-base percentage with the team this decade...minimum 20(!) plate appearances. Hint: He had 2 stints with the team- one in 2002 and the other in 2008.

8- All of the following players had multiple games of 4+ strikeouts this decade for the Mets, except one. Which of these only had one? Mike Cameron, Jeromy Burnitz, Mike Piazza, Cliff Floyd, David Wright.

9- Which of these Mets DID draw 4 walks in a game at some point during the decade: Richard Hidalgo, Todd Zeile, Xavier Nady, Bubba Trammell, or Jay Payton.

10- Who had the Mets first walk-off hit of the decade- a game winning home run against the Brewers?

Comments

metswalkoffs said…
1- The pair of pitchers who had 4 shutouts this decade for the Mets: Al Leiter and Steve "I threw two one-hitters in 2003" Trachsel.

2- We remember John Maine for his 14 strikeouts against the Marlins in Game 161 of the 2007 season.

3- In the first game of the decade, Mike Hampton walked 9 Cubs, coming within 1 of the club record for walks in a game, previously set by MIKE Torrez.

4- The only Mets pitcher to make a start this decade in which he retired 0 batters was Bobby Jones, early in the 2000 season.

5- Mike Bacsik, who allowed Barry Bonds 756th career home run, made 12 starts with the Mets, but only 2of them (16.7%) were deemed quality starts statistically.

6- Desi Relaford and Kaz Matsui (against the Yankees) are the two Mets shortstops with a multi-homer game this decade, other than Jose Reyes.

7- Brady Clark had a .435 on-base percentage for the Mets in the 2000s in his pair of stints that spanned 24 plate appearances.

8- Mike Cameron is the only batter on that list to have ONLY one four-strikeout game during the 2000s for the Mets. All of the others had more.

9- From that list, Richard Hidalgo is the only one to draw four WALKS in a game this decade for the Mets.

10- The first Mets walk-off hit of the decade was a home run by Melvin Mora to beat the Brewers on April 20, 2000.

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...