Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Monday marks the 21st anniversary of "decision-day," in which I picked going to Hebrew School over watching the seventh through ninth innings of Game 6 of the NLCS between the Mets and Astros. In honor of the memory of that game, I figured it worthwhile to offer another of my trivia quizzes. This one is 6 questions, in honor of Game 6 (instead of 16, in honor of 16 innings). As always, thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the assistance. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-1986-nlcs-game-6.html 1) Among players with at least 50 plate appearances against the Mets in 1986, this "player of significance" had the 5th-best batting average, .347. Name him. 2) Only two players hit walk-off home runs against the Mets in 1986. One was Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The other was an infielder, who went 0-for-3 in this game, and struck out to open the 16th inning. Name him. 3) The Mets had two hits through the first eight innings against Bob Kne...

I haven't written one of these essays, devoted to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series in quite some time, partly due to the many stories I've already penned on that game, and partly because I've found the conjuring of trivia quizzes to be more entertaining and less time-consuming. I was in the midst of preparing another trivia quiz when I came upon a piece of information that just had to be shared. I'm a little puzzled that I hadn't previously read about it, so if someone is aware of a source for more information on this matter, please share it. September 21, 1969, is a significant day in Mets history in a rather peripheral sort of way, far beyond the Mets recording a doubleheader sweep against the Pirates, three days before clinching the NL East. It marks the major-league debut of one William Joseph Buckner for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The action for that day took place in San Francisco, appropros for the moment since the teams of those two cities meet this week (albei...

Part of a continuing series of essays within this blog related to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series There was a brief discussion the other day, when I told the story of a Mets loss on the night of Richard Nixon's resignation announcement, of other significant events to take place on the date of momentous Mets victories. Loyal reader Barry Federovitch pointed out that the famous "Ball on the Wall" victory over the Pirates took place the same day as the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Fellow blogger Greg from "Faith and Fear in Flushing" noted how Matt Franco's game-winning hit against Mariano Rivera in 1999 took place the same day of Brandi Chastain's goal that gave the United States women's soccer team victory in the championship game of the World Cup. While I haven't been able to find many events of historical or sporting significance, I did come across one of particular importance to some. If...

The hubbub surrounding Tom Glavine's re-signing failed to intrigue me enough to cure my case of blogger's block and in search of inspiration, I went to my freshly purchased 1986 World Series DVD set. My viewing of choice was Game 7 and the "Extras" bonus collection that adds some fresh perspective to the memories. The most entertaining viewing on the latter came in the form of a discussion between Mike Piazza and Mookie Wilson in which Piazza asks Mookie just what it was like to be a part of the most memorable moment in Mets history. Mookie recounts the usual stories and mentions that he and Buckner chat about their most significant encounter and tells how Buckner has made good money by turning a negative situation into a positive one. I wonder if they ever got around to discussing their come-togethers in Game 7, lesser appreciated than that in Game 6, but each bearing some significance on the final outcome. For those who forget, the first came in the second inning, a...

Let's extend the feel-good 1986 flashback for one more day, since it beats the alternative of pontificating about blood clots, Piazza-beaners, and Albert Pujols. Of the Mets 30 walk-off wins against the Cardinals, the one that's relevant to this particular subject matter took place in the first game of a doubleheader on August 14, 1986, a "Mitch-mash" as the New York Daily News referred to it the following day. I don't believe this game was referenced in any way this past reunion weekend and that may be because of what followed- a 4-game losing streak, the only such skid of that season. The hero of this particular contest was among those who returned to Shea Stadium for this past Saturday's festivities, Kevin Mitchell. The Mets most versatile player during that memorable season (he played six positions), Mitchell was in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, but in this game, he was second to none. With Ron Darling and the Mets trailing 2-1 in the 7th inning, M...

Continuing our everlasting series on the events of October 25, 1986... Michael Tucker got hurt as a young player creating his own walk-off scenario but perhaps a far more dangerous proposition for a player is celebrating the actual walk-off moment itself. Though the post walk-off scenario is certainly fun and entertaining, caution must be exercised to prevent accident and injury. Consider the Mets mini-pummeling of Jose Valentin a few weeks ago, which was actually mild in comparison to what the Dodgers did to Cookie Lavagetto after his walk-off hit broke up a no-hitter and won a World Series game back in 1947. "They are beatin' him to pieces," said Red Barber on the radio broadcast. "It's taken a police escort to get Lavagetto away from the Dodgers." Or consider the story of current Norfolk Tide Tagg Bozied . In July of 2004, while playing for the Padres Triple-A squad, Bozied hit a walk-off grand slam. When the team converged on Bozied, as he jumped on home...

* From a story in the October 28, 1986 edition of the Boston Globe , the day after the World Series concluded...really! It came from a notes column co-written by Dan Shaughnessy, Jackie MacMullan and Larry Whiteside. "Trade talks at the World Series are at best preliminary, but one source says the Red Sox have now added backup first baseman Danny Heep to the deal in which outfielder Mookie Wilson would come to Boston...The Mets want a middle reliever in return and have their sights on Bob Stanley."

Part of a continuing series of posts related to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I don't remember if it was during the initial viewing or one of the many reruns of the events of October 25, that my dad and I became rather puzzled by the judgement of NBC's broadcast crew. "The Miller Lite Player of the Game (portrayed humorously in the " RBI Baseball Reenactment of Game 6 ") is Marty Barrett," Vin Scully declared with two outs, nobody on, and Gary Carter up in the last of the 10th inning. Scully proceeded to run down Barrett's credentials- three singles, two walks, two RBI, and "handled everything hit his way" (one putout, four assists). Several issues come into play here. One is that the game was not over yet, but that one's so obvious that it goes without saying? The other issue is this: By citing Barrett aren't you slighting the man who, had the Red Sox won, would have had the biggest hit in franchise history? It's not like Dave H...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8547285560243429315&q=RBI+baseball&pl=true The above is a link to an amazingly done reenactment of the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 WS, using the video game RBI baseball. I suggest you check it out while waiting for my next posting. I'm planning my own version, using sock puppets...

Continuing our series of essays tying in various aspects related to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. We've talked in the past about the signs indicating that its your year and how so many events foreshadowed the end result for the 1986 New York Mets, but those same mysterious powers were at work for a couple of other baseball teams that season. That's what I like so much about that particular season. My fellow bloggers over at Faith and Fear in Flushing are relating, on a weekly basis, their favorite thoughts about that campaign and I encourage you to indulge them every Friday. I don't know what their topic of choice is this week, but I'm going to write about one of my favorite 1986 games, one that I've never even seen, other than in boxscore form. If you thought the Mets comeback on October 25, 1986 was improbable, fasten your seatbelts, as a wise man once said, for one that surpasses it in terms of amazingness and includes a couple of Metsian blasts from the past....

News item: Last weekend, the Atlanta Braves named Roger McDowell to replace Leo Mazzone as pitching coach I am curious to see what kind of big-league pitching coach Roger McDowell is, because his personality as a ballplayer didn't suggest coaching was in his future. Apparently McDowell was smarter than he looked, and often as a player, he looked very silly. He had a reputation, not only as a prankster (master of the hotfoot), but as a jokester. McDowell once walked around the field wearing his pants as a shirt and his shirt as his pants. He didn't exactly exude maturity. I thought he was cool because he blew big pink bubbles with his gum on the pitching mound. I also think he's cool because he was part of a lot of walk-off wins. No relief pitcher since 1986 has had more decisions than Roger McDowell had that season, when he went 14-9 in the regular campaign and added a postseason triumph in only the most important game of the season, Game 7 of the World Series (albeit a che...

You don't have to have a long, drawn out story about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series for it to be worthwhile. The fact that people can remember anything about that particular October 25 makes it noteworthy. Here are a couple of other memories that my friends shared. If you haven't contributed already, feel free to share yours in the comments section. Mike Duggan October 1986....It was the best of times, It was the best of times. After striking out on getting post season tickets when they originally went on sale, my brother in law was able to get us tickets for three games, Game 4 of the NLCS ( We lost to Mike Scott), Game 1 of the World Series (Mets lost 1-0 when Tim Teufel let a ground ball go thru his legs) and Game 7 of the World Series. The tickets were way up in sec 42 of the Upper Deck, but I was going to post season games for the first time in my life. The Mets were terrible all my life. I never thought this could happen. October 25, 1986. I received a phone call from my...

Sometimes, the best stories come from the moments we miss. Paul Alfieri, a media relations executive for Motorola, continues our series on Game 6 of the 1986 World Series by sharing his recollections of some magical moments. I was in Los Angeles for most of the 1986 World Series. I was 11 at the time, and we lived in New Jersey, but my dad was on extended assignment for his job on the West Coast. My Mom and sisters had flown out there to move him home, right smack on the middle of the Series. I was in the airport, watching the start of Game 6 on a monitor hanging in the terminal. Sometime during the third inning, we boarded the flight, and I lost contact. I was a nervous wreck... The flight was either a late evening or redeye (I don't remember which) but I know that I fell asleep listening to Channel 9 in my headphones (the one where you can hear the pilots talk to the ground towers). I was awakened by an announcement from the copilot, letting "all the Boston Red Sox fans...

Our tribute to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series moves along as Ken Hirdt, statistician for the Elias Sports Bureau, shares his remembrance of the evening of October 25. I was 10 years old, watching the game in my parents’ bedroom with my brother while the family was having a dinner party with a few friends from Queens. (We had moved from Queens to Westchester two years earlier.) Towards the end of the game my brother fell asleep and I went down to watch with the grownups. For some reason, I was drinking warm milk. And I (or my mom – don’t remember the specifics at this point) had left it on the stove too long and it had that skin on top. And it grossed me out. But I watched the end of the game, Mookie’s at-bat and Buckner and all that, went crazy yelling at the TV with all the adults and I have not had warm milk since.

We continue our series on Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, with guest writer Barry Federovitch, a sportswriter and copy editor for the Trenton Times, sharing his thoughts on where he was the evening of October 25. As Oct. 25 turned to Oct. 26 in 1986, I was sitting in my parents' living room in Howell, New Jersey, alone. They were both asleep. I had just broken up with a girlfriend I deeply loved and was in a distracted depressed state anyway. When it got to two outs, nobody on for the Mets in the bottom of the 10th inning, I bitterly muttered to the television set ''I've had a crappy year, why should it be any different for them.'' At that moment, Gary Carter singled. When Kevin Mitchell came to bat, I began pacing back and forth between the living room and kitchen. When Ray Knight got two strikes, I put my hands over my face like I was watching a horror movie. At the instant the ball got away from Gedman, I closed my eyes and at first didn't know what happ...

For those who didn't read the most recent post, this week we are celebrating the 19th anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. As such, I have asked friends, acquaintances, and colleagues from all walks of life to share their stories of where they were on the evening of October 25, 1986. We begin with Division III sports afficianado Gordon Mann. I was probably either crying or sleeping or both. You see, my mother wouldn't let me stay up past a certain bedtime. While my mother was sympathetic to my sports fandom, that sympathy only extended so far -- roughly 9:30 as I recall. During football season I used to look forward to Monday night so I could watch MacGyver and then the introduction to Monday Night Football. That was back when they used the dramatic music and a simpler intro narrated by Al Michaels ("JimPlunkett knows the Broncos well") instead of scantily clad cheerleaderslip synching in dopey faux-bar scenes to that country guy's played-out"Are y...

I will be heading out of town at the end of the week for seven to 10 days (those who know me know where I'll be), but I wanted to maintain regular blog postings through the end of the World Series. So, this post will stay up through the weekend and will set the tone for a series of postings from guest bloggers next week. The theme of these posts deals with Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, as part of my "Didja ever notice..." series. I can tell you where I was for all sorts of events of varying significance. I can remember everything from my reaction when my sister was born (March 23, 1981, awoken from sleeping in the middle of the night after having watched the Burt Reynolds movie "The End" with my grandmother) to when O.J. Simpson was acquitted on murder charges (in a dorm room, along with several students at The College of New Jersey, one of whom kept saying over and over again "What a crock!") I can tell you where I was when Ross Jones got his firs...

And no, I'm not talking about Rich Gedman, Bob Stanley, Calvin Schiraldi, and John McNamara. If you're reading this post, chances are that you know about their foibles in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I'm here to spread the word about the others, whose poor showings hurt their squads in postseason matchups against the Mets. Such as... Tony Gonzalez and Orlando Cepeda, whose eighth-inning errors in Game 1 of the 1969 NLCS led to a five (unearned) run rally, and a 9-5 Mets win that set the tone for the next two games, in which the Mets pounded Braves pitching for 18 runs and 27 hits. Paul Blair, Don Buford, Davey Johnson, Brooks Robinson, and Frank Robinson: The Orioles hit only .146 in losing the 1969 World Series in five games to the Mets. This supposedly fearsome fivesome went a combined 9-for-91 against the Amazins. Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, because if we're going to pick on the Hall of Fame Robinsons, there are two Cooperstown residents who wore the horns in the ...

I have two memories related to Bill Buckner and the aftermath of the 1986 World Series. The first is seeing him on crutches at a National Pastime baseball card show a few weeks after the series concluded. He was there along with Mike Witt and Eric Davis, and while I don't remember getting their autographs (I did on a baseball on which the signatures have since faded away), I do remember the crutches and the sad look on his face. The other comes from working as a tour guide at Shea Stadium in the summer of 1994. We were gathered as a group in the old Jets locker room when fellow tour guide Lane Luckert tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a man applying fresh paint to one of the walls. "Hey look," Lane said, pointing to a man with a bushy mustache and a slight resemblance to a former player. "It's Bill Buckner." That was a good moment for a few yucks, though I don't think the real Buckner would have laughed at the time. Remember that this was just two...

In TV, they call it a tease. When you see a news update during a commercial break in the tv show that you're watching, the goal is to entice you with just enough information to make you watch the news. Teases are well planned out, from the video you're watching to the description of what you can see, IF you tune in later. Sometimes the teases work. Sometimes they're a little too good. Monday nights in 1984 were CBS nights in our household, particularly from 9 to 11 pm. There was a sitcom with family appeal Kate and Allie , a humorously written comedy from a proven talent, Newhart, followed by an hour-long crime drama, Cagney and Lacey. On December 10, Emma McCardle developed a crush on her piano teacher, Dick Loudon got sued for plagarism, and Chris Cagney worried that Sgt. McKenna had given in to his cocaine addiction. Sometime between Dick's courtroom appearance and Cagney's confrontation with her police colleague, real news took over. CBS's New York affilate ...