Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

I want to make the quizzes on this site a consistent occurrence during the offseason (ie: weekly) and I was blocked for something to write about until I found out that Friday marks the 72nd birthday for a Mets nemesis (and former pitching coach, Bob Gibson). I've done my fair share of referencing Gibson on this site, though his 28-14 mark against the Flushing fellows makes it hard to find too many positives. I don't know the demographics of my readership, but I'm guessing those that never saw Gibson pitch will struggle mightily with this quiz, while those in the 50-and-older set, will have a better shot. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/11/our-special-bonds-hoot-and-holler.html (As always, thank you Baseball-Reference.com) 1) Bob Gibson allowed at least five home runs to 7 different players. Two of them have a Mets connection. One played for the Mets for a single season and is not fondly remembered. The other coached for the Mets, the same year that Gibso...

So I got sucked in to watching a chunk of this major upset in college basketball last night, in which Gardner-Webb shocked Kentucky. Turns out that Gardner-Webb was named after the former governor of North Carolina and his wife, which is funny, because I thought it was dubbed in that manner in honor of a pair of former Mets walk-off winners. We've written about Rob Gardner previously (Wes Gardner never got a walk-off win for the Mets) and I think he could live up to the Gardner-Webb nickname (see blog title) but I don't believe we've ever referenced former Met Hank Webb. Webb (who looked a little like Calvin Schiraldi) won 7 games in his big league career and though he had cameo appearances with the Mets in 1972, 1973, 1974 (his miscue cost the Mets in a 25-inning loss to the Cardinals),and 1976, his only victories came with the 1975 Mets. The first of those came as the result of some walk-off perseverance. Webb had pitched three innings of relief in a 7-3 loss to the Brav...

Kudos to David Wright and Carlos Beltran. Most Gold Gloves Mets History Keith Hernandez 6 (1B) Rey Ordonez 3 (SS) Carlos Beltran 2 (OF) Tommie Agee 1 (OF) David Wright 1 (3B) Bud Harrelson 1 (SS) Doug Flynn 1 (2B) Robin Ventura 1 (3B) Ron Darling 1 (P) Some interesting minutiae * Tommie Agee was the first Mets Gold Glove winner (1970), winning in the same year in which he had a walk-off steal of home. * Keith Hernandez had one more Mets Gold Glove (6) than he had walk-off RBI (5). * Rey Ordonez had as many Mets walk-off hits as he had Gold Gloves (3). * Doug Flynn is the only position player on this list not to have had a walk-off hit for the Mets. * Ron Darling allowed a walk-off home run the year after he won the Gold Glove (he won in 1989). It was the only walk-off allowed by Darling in his Mets career. * Hernandez, Ordonez, Ventura, Beltran, and David Wright all had walk-off hits in years in whic...

I've liked what Marlon Anderson has brought to the Mets in both of his stints with the team, so I'm happy to hear that he's going to re-sign with the club. He is quite the useful player and his value is significant. I also like the following piece of trivia: Marlon Anderson's first career walk-off hit came against the Marlins. How funny is that? That there's a Mets connection throughout this game makes it pretty cool. It happened on April 9, 2001, when Anderson was a second baseman, hitting eighth, for the Phillies, who had to rally to pick up this particular victory. Florida jumped out in front 4-1 edge with four runs in the third, capped by Cliff Floyd's three-run home run against Bruce Chen, following a two-out error. Bobby Abreu's home run cut the lead to 4-2 in the sixth and Philadelphia's game-tying rally would come in the seventh inning when the first two hitters reached, and Brad Penny was chased for Braden Looper. The future Mets closer got outs...

Got a request on Thursday from someone who was looking for a list of the Mets all-time leaders in walk-off home runs. I obliged with an answer, and it occurred to me how that query should be acknowledged among my most frequently asked questions. Rather than to provide the list in its simplest form, let's have a little fun, with another trivia challenge. The answer to each of these questions is a Met who hit at least 3 walk-off home runs in his career. As a hint, I will provide the name of at least one pitcher against whom the answer hit a walk-off HR. That will allow you to establish the era for the player in question. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/11/our-special-bonds-most-mets-walk-off-hr.html 1) This Met hit 3 walk-off HR in his tenure and all 3 came with at least one man on base. Pitcher hint: Blas Minor 2) I wouldn't identify this Met as being part of club royalty, but among his 3 walk-off HR was one that came in the 17th inning of a game. Pitcher hin...

There were no walk-off wins for anybody on the day Moises Alou was born, and while father Felipe wasn't in the delivery room in Atlanta, he was a part of baseball history. July 3, 1966, is famous, not just for the birth of a Met-playing Alou, but for one of the most unlikely great performances of all-time. There were no walk-offs on this date, but this event was neat enough to merit inclusion in this blog. Felipe and the Braves were in San Francisco, taking on the Giants, right around the same time brother Matty's Pirates were squaring off in a doubleheader with the Mets (the teams would split a pair of one-run games). Perhaps distracted by childbirth issues, Felipe Alou went 0-for-3 from the leadoff spot, but was a close witness to something significant. The Braves pitcher that day was Tony Cloninger, and if that name rings a bell, it should. Cloninger was a 24-game winner for the Braves the previous season, but no one remembers that, because of what happened on this day. The ...

And with today being Halloween, the New York Knicks will dress themselves up as a reputable organization. Seriously, this is a tough time for me as a sports fan. The Jets season basically feels as if the Mets merely extended their schedule past the 162-game mark and kept playing as they were throughout the last two weeks. The Rangers looks mediocre too. And I find it hard to root for a team (though I still will) that employs Isiah Thomas and Zach Randolph. So we stick with baseball... * My fav tidbit from the World Series: Jonathan Papelbon's 5-out save was the longest save to close out a World Series since Jesse Orosco's 6-out save in 1986. * Possible slogan for 2008: You Gotta Have Less (The Red Sox had, including postseason, 4 walk-off wins, 3 fewer than the Mets). Though, at this point, I'm leaning towards: Make The Last Game, the Best Game. * A-Rod: Sure, bring him on. Posada: Absolutely, but not for 3 years. Schilling: Yeah, shoot, maybe he'd even post a link to t...

Going away for about 10 days or so (maybe a little less). May try to post once while I'm on the road, but don't count on it. In the meantime, try out a quiz on the 2007 World Series and its relationship to the Mets. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-2007-world-series.html 1) Among pitchers Todd Helton has had more than 10 plate appearances against in his career, his highest career batting average is against this former Met, who pitched against the Rockies on Opening Day, 1995. Name him. 2) Name the Red Sox regular, who homered off a former teammate, giving his team a walk-off win against the Mets on May 29, 2004. 3) This former Mets and Rockies pitcher held Manny Ramirez to 1 hit in 10 career at-bats when the two faced each other (including postseason). He struck Ramirez out 4 times. Name the pitcher. 4) Terry Francona hit 1 career home run against the Mets. It came in 1985 against a pitcher better known for pitching in only one game for t...

I've been debating whether to purchase one of these CitiField bricks ($195 for a 3-line inscription, in case you hadn't heard), and to this point haven't been able to pull the trigger on a purchase. Being of a background in which both creativity and Metsitivity have been encouraged, I do have a few suggestions on brick phraseology, for those who may be contemplating their own purchase (15-character per line limit). I'd also encourage the Mets to include a smattering of bricks with these historic words of choice. Ya Gotta Believe Baseball Like It Oughta Be The Happy Recap (15 characters exactly) Ball On The Wall Gets By Buckner (15 characters exactly) Mets score 19 And win! Amazin' Amazin' Amazin' The Magic Is Back Welcome to Kiner's Korner (would also make a good name for a concession area) Shoe Polish Play Marvelous Marv It's Outta Here (another 15'er) and here are some that I don't think will slip past the censors Why didn't he swing???...

Happy anniversary to the Grand Slam Single (October 17, 1999), and we'll make this the last of 3 straight days of Mets quizzes, with these questions specifically geared towards that game and series. If you want to read a remembrance of the game, go here http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/walk-off-most-foul.html Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-grand-slam-single.html 1) Masato Yoshii started and pitched 3 innings, Octavio Dotel relieved and pitched 3 innings, but name the Met whose 3 1/3 inning stint was the longest for the Mets in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS. 2) Three players for the Braves in that game also played for the Mets at one point in their career. Name the backup catcher, the starting outfielder, and the relief pitcher, the latter of whom was the losing pitcher in Game 4 of this series. 3) Name the (now-disdained) Met who had the team's highest batting average in the series (minimum 10 AB), though he played, but did not bat in...

Today is a Sweet 16th in Mets history, as in a celebration of October 16th, 1969, when the Mets (the Colorado Rockies of their time) clinched the World Series with a win over the Orioles. We thought we could best commemorate that with a quiz. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-miracle-mets-answers.html Just a note: We hope you like these quizzes...expect to see a lot of them this winter. They're easy to write. They're entertaining. They're difficult (that's the point...you shouldn't be able to easily think of the answer). And they're the kind of clever discourse we like to encourage in this space. 1) The 1969 Mets won exactly 100 games during the regular season. How many teams prior to the '69 Mets won exactly 100 games in a regular season? Name them. 2) The Met who took the worst 0-for in the 1969 World Series (0-for-7) had the game-winning hit in the game in which the Mets won their 100th game. Name him. 3) Three Mets ...

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...

On this, the anniversary of the unspeakable (bad things involving Kenny Rogers and Carlos Beltran), I think I have found one of the great statistical bizarre-ities in Mets history. The Mets are 1-2 in games in which their pitcher strikes out 16 and walks 0. The Mets are also 1-2 in games in which they have a pitcher strike out 0 and walks 6. How in the world am I supposed to explain that? Dwight Gooden had back-to-back 16-strikeout, 0-walk games, which I think is one of the most remarkable accomplishments in club history. Unfortunately, in baseball, as in life, Gooden won and then lost. The first of those games was a 2-0 win over the Pirates on September 12, 1984, in which Gooden was backed by Hubie Brooks' 4th-inning home run against John Tudor. Gooden allowed five hits, and the funny thing is that the only innings in which he didn't record a strikeout were the first and the ninth. He had a chance at a 19 K game had he struck out the side in the 9th, but instead, the Pirates w...

I haven't seen this kind of refuse to lose attitude (altitude?) from the Colorado Rockies since Opening Day 1995. Finally, the Rockies have a new signature moment to replace the Dante Bichette fist-pump that concluded that miserable evening of baseball, the play in which Matt Holliday scored the wild-card clinching run without ever touching home plate. And if Colorado keeps winning, that game against the Mets will be pushed farther and farther out of the memory banks. It's about time. If you wanted to rate the worst losses in Mets history, that in hindsight didn't really mean much, Opening Day, 1995, ranks atop the list. Remember that in 1995, we were welcoming baseball back after an early season's end and a canceled World Series, due to labor issues. The Mets would have been better off skipping over this one (the umpires did...they were on strike and the game was reffed by replacements). It was the first baseball game at Coors Field and the Mets felt hospitable enough ...

So as I pick at the carcass that is Yankees defeat, I decided to endeavor an exercise. It occured to me that Jorge Posada (who has the ability to become a free agent if he chooses) would be a good option as far as being the Mets starting catcher next season. I think that determining who the starting catcher is next season will be the most important thing the Mets will do this offseason (because I don't see the pipe dream wishes for Santana and Oswalt coming true). Catcher is the most interesting of needs, because there is one player who could be out there, who is significantly better than all the others. It doesn't interest me to evaluate the other positional possibilities at this point, but for some reason, I've been preoccupied thinking about catcher these last two days. I figured it was worth a closer look. Possible Starting Catchers 2008 Mets Paul Lo Duca Upside: You know what you're getting. He's gonna hit about .270 with 8 home runs, and not strike out very mu...

Faced without baseball for two days, we look for things to do to fill our spare time. In such situations, we like to fill our voids with trivia and offer up this October baseball quiz you might enjoy. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-october-notables.html 1) Let us begin with a question of recent significance. Prior to Jorge Posada, this Met was the only player to strike out FOR THE YANKEES to end a postseason series. Name him. 2) The opposing catchers in the October 3, 1951 game in which Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard Round the World" both later worked for the Mets. Name them. 3) What future Met was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, in which Kirk Gibson hit the game-winning home run against Dennis Eckersley? 4) What former Met was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, in which Francisco Cabrera singled in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 9th. 5) Ralph Terry gave up the World Series-winn...

Alright...after a week of bitterness, it's time to focus on some of the positives from this season. Let's start with this list. #10 July 7- Mets 5, Astros 3 (17) The final spot on the list came down to this game, the 1-0 walk-off against Oakland on June 23 , and the crazy 7-6 win in Florida on September 23 . In the end, this game had too much goodness to pass up. Carlos Beltran, in his best moments of 2007, saved the game with the top defensive play of the season, than won it in the 17th, snapping an 0-for-6 in the contest with a go-ahead single. #9 September 12- Mets 4, Braves 3 In future games of Mets word association, September 12, is going to have the most negative of connotations, because it will be remembered in the following manner. "The Mets had a 7-game lead over the Phillies after a win on September 12..." But what a win it was, one in which Shawn Green celebrated the Jewish New Year with a go-ahead hit in the 8th, one that made up for multiple bullpen foibl...

At some point today, Tom Glavine will announce that he's declining the 2008 option on his contract, thus making himself a free agent while he contemplates retirement, a return to the Mets, or the likeliest option, signing with the Braves. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/10/our-special-bonds-hopefully-this-means_04.html I've already made it known that I don't want him back and I don't want to rehash my reasoning. I had this whole plan to write another essay, nicknaming him "The Stench," but it's just not worth it. I guess I softened slightly after hearing his appearance on WFAN the other day (reduced my Glavine anger to 99 on a scale of 100). I'll say this...had it just been a couple dink hits and a 2-3 run first-inning, I think I could have lived with it better. But the throwing error and the HBP basically ended any chance of us ever having a positive relationship. Let's just complete the divorce proceedings with this goodbye tribute trivia. ...

Hockey season starts today and the Mets have already frightened me into refusing to believe that the Rangers could contend for a Stanley Cup (I'm having visions of a season-ending cruciate tear for Henrik Lundqvist). So I thank them for that, and send them my best wishes for the off-season within this posting. There are a few people I've left out in the address that follows, so please feel free to share your own ideas for them in the comments section. Jose Reyes walk-off, and don't do too much this winter. We don't need you to break down again like a gasping racehorse at the end of the season. Moises Alou walk-off while your knees are still capable of allowing you the ability to play with your future grandkids. And thank you for your efforts. Luis Castillo, walk-off, sit down, and don't get up again until February. Your knees need the rest too. Shawn Green, walk-off into whatever business-world endeavor you wish. Your performance at the conclusion of your career was...

Let me say that I'm glad that Willie Randolph will be brought back for next season. I don't think it ever should have been an issue. What happened was not Willie's fault. I've been asked by about 1962 different people where I am placing the blame. For me it's a simple order to the list: 1) Players 2) The person who picked the players. If Willie makes the list, it's somewhere down at the bottom, probably just below Chan Ho Park. Let's look at where we were when Willie was hired: pathetically hopeless. Let's look at where we are now: just plain pathetic There were 20 victories separating the line between "pathetically hopeless" and "just plain pathetic", but only 1 (or 2) victories separting "just plain pathetic" from "champion." That's the residual bitterness talking, but the reality of it is that the Mets are a lot better with Willie Randolph than without him. Willie is a hunch manager, but for the most part, h...