Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

This weekend, we celebrate the accomplishments of mediocrity, and I say that with pride. The 1969 Mets were a great team and one of the best stories in baseball history. One thing they were not was an offensive juggernaut. The 1969 Mets hit .242 as a team. The only teams with a worse batting average were the two expansion franchises, the Expos and Padres. But it was a consistent .242. I looked up their offensive numbers from the season-ending surge that propelled them from 9 1/2 games out to the NL East title. In that stretch, they hit...242. The 1969 Mets slugging percentage of .351 ranked next-to-last in the NL, as was their .662 OPS. The 1969 Mets struck out 1,089 times- third-most in the National League. The 1969 Mets were the 11th-best team in the NL for hitting doubles, the eighth-best for hitting home runs and the eighth-best for stealing bases. They fare a little better, rankings-wise, when you include the AL within these tallies, but not by much. You know what offensive catego

Appropos of nothing, I used Baseball-Reference to create a Mets grand slam database the other day. Figured my first use of it would be for some good, fun, trivia questions, ones a little tougher than "Who has the most grand slams in Mets history?" (Mike Piazza, 6). Answers in the comments section 1- The record for most grand slams allowed by a pitcher against the Mets is 3. Name the pitcher who allowed them. Hint: The Mets who hit them were Robin Ventura, Cliff Floyd, and David Wright. 2- Name the 3 Mets who hit multiple grand slams in 2006. Hint: Two are easy. One is hard. 3- Angel Pagan became the 2nd Met whose first name started with "A" to hit a grand slam. Who was the first? Hint: He played in the 1960s. 4- Four Hall of Famers have allowed a grand slam to the Mets. Name them. Hint: Steve Carlton and Don Sutton didn't... 5- What Met was the first to hit 3 grand slams for them in the same season, doing so in 1976? Hint: He played first base 6- Who is the only

WALKOFFSVILLE, NY. (MW) – Brett Hinchliffe's latest retirement lasted all of eight years. The 0-5 career moundsman with the 10.22 ERA has done an about-face and will pitch for the Mets this season. "I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be," Hinchliffe said Tuesday. "You're 35, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don't have to do that much and I agree with that. If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too." If the wait for Hinchliffe's decision seemed never-ending, it was resolved in a few short hours. He jumped on a team plane and was picked up at LaGuardia Airport by manager Jerry Manuel himself. The two drove to the team's ballpark, where Hinchliffe waved to hundreds of cheering fans. No less than 90 minutes later, Hinchliffe was on the field in his familiar No. 32 jersey with blue shorts and a Mercury Mets hat, a vision that has had opposing fans cringing about fo

Chipper Jones has accomplished a lot against the Mets in his career. But there's one area in which he's a little short. There are 7 players who have a 1.000 OPS against the Mets (on-base percentage + slugging percentage...minimum 150 plate appearances). Chipper Jones is not one of them. Chipper is the best of those who doesn't have a 1.000 OPS. His presently stands at .993. The "Magnificent 7" are an interesting group- one that includes two former Mets players and a former Mets manager. Best OPS vs Mets Minimum 150 Plate Appearances 1.086- Albert Pujols 1.078- Frank Howard 1.066- Rico Carty 1.056- Mike Piazza 1.038- Derek Jeter 1.028- Todd Helton 1.001- Claudell Washington.

Dare to dream... This Date in Mets History tells us that on August 16, 1969 "The Mets amazing stretch drive, one that would carry them to the World Championship begins..." Fistbumps to Daniel Murphy, Mike Pelfrey, and David Wright. * Walk-off win number 360 (including postseason) was the Mets 4th walk-off win of the season, their first since May 29. * It was Murphy's first walk-off RBI as a Met and the first by a Mets lefthanded hitter against a lefthanded pitcher since Carlos Delgado beat Scott Eyre and the Cubs with a two-run walk-off single on May 17, 2005. * It was the Mets 71st walk-off 3-2 win, their first since beating the Nationals, 3-2 in 14 innings, on April 17, 2008. * It was the Mets first 3-2 walk-off win IN REGULATION since a 3-2 walk-off win over the Marlins on April 9, 2006. * It was the Mets 26th walk-off win against the Giants, the most famous of which was also a 3-2 final score, in 13 innings in Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS. * It's the second tim