Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo is the patron saint of all walk-off broadcasters because he has the ability to express the feelings of all those who have suffered the agony of a walk-off defeat in just one cry of anguish... "OHHHH NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While there is no need to get into the horrors that befell the Mets in the final days of the 1998 baseball season, we must at least acknowledge them to provide the context for this story. The chase for the NL's wild card spot bore down to the last week of September, as the Cubs and Mets dueled, and the Giants made a quick, last-ditch uphill chase. The Cubs and Mets entered September 23rd tied, with the not-so-relevant Giants 2 1/2 back, with 4 games left to play. The Cubs and Brewers were wrapping up a series in Milwaukee that afternoon, prior to the Mets game with the Expos. The Cubs were sputtering a bit, but they had won the previous day and took a comfortable early lead with St...

I'm in the mood to wish a Happy Hanukkah to someone and since I've already written about the likes of Shawn Green , Elliott Maddox , and Norm Sherry , I thought I'd offer a friendly shout-out to former Mets catcher Greg Goossen, since obscurity seems to be our specialty here. Goossen appeared in 99 Mets games from 1965 to 1968, serving as a third-string catcher behind Jerry Grote his first three seasons and a backup first baseman in his last Mets campaign. That he not well remembered (other than for Casey Stengel saying "He's a 20-year-old kid. In 10 years, he has a chance to be 30.") may have something to do with the fact that in those 99 games, the Mets only won 28 times (they lost 70 and tied once). In 1967, his appearance virtually assured a Mets defeat, as he played in 37 games and the New Yorkers were victors only thrice. The next year, Goossen had a little bit more good fortune. In a season bereft of walk-off victories, Goossen had the opportunity to pa...

Thanks to those who helped us clear the 20,000 hit mark. Happy holidays! Santa Klaus, and yes there's a reason I've spelled it that way, came down the Shea Stadium chimney a little prematurely in 1965, but Mets fans didn't mind, as he came bearing a perfectly nice gift- a walk-off win over the Houston Astros. April 15 of that season marked an unusually early time for the Flushing 9 to be celebrating victory, as it was only their third game of the season. It was a taxing day for some (pardon the pun), but one of the last good ones as Mets manager for Casey Stengel, a jolly, happy soul if there ever was one. There was some early excitement in this one, as in the second inning, the Mets defense turned a triple play. With runners on first and third, Jimmy Wynn hit a fly ball to right-center field. Johnny Lewis made the catch, and his throw home was in time for catcher Chris Cannizzaro to tag oncoming runner Walt Bond for the second out. Meanwhile, future Met Bob Aspromonte got ...

Regular readers may recall that I got a little prematurely excited during the season regarding the religious status of former Met Mike Jacobs, thinking initially that he, like me, was Jewish before learning that he was not. While Jacobs won't be lighting the menorah or spinning the dreidel this Sunday (yes, the first night of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas), six other former Mets will. Two had walk-off hits for the Flushing 9. As it turns out, we've already written about one , but we'll give the other recognition today. Elliott Maddox, a native of East Orange, New Jersey, was a baseball star at the University of Michigan, whose baseball claims to fame are varied. You can read more about them here http://jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=baseball&ID=121 but to summarize, Maddox played on the 1971 Washington Senators (the final season of baseball in D.C. until 2005), finished as high as eighth in the AL MVP voting while with the Yankees, and, before joining the Mets, ...