Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Watching the Dan Uggla stonehands exhibition during the All-Star Game the other day, I couldn't help but be reminded of Roberto Alomar. The Roberto Alomar is a Good Met era lasted maybe 5 minutes longer than our love for Bill Pecota. He became a shell of the player he previously was, both offensively and defensively as his career evaporated before our eyes. The Roberto Alomar lasted about 100 plate appearances from July 4-28, 2002. In that 21-game span, Alomar hit .371, scored 18 runs and drove in 12. Within that stretch were six games against the Reds, four of which the Mets won. In those four wins, Alomar was the ultimate pest, with 10 hits in 17 at-bats, along with five RBI. The best of those games was a walk-off win on July 26 (a game witnessed in person by none other than Bill Buckner), a game that began with Alomar getting his 2,500th career hit in the first inning, as Merengue Night began on a happy note, with the Mets taking a 2-0 lead. Alomar drove in the second run with h...

A friend of mine says that I've gotten away from reminiscing about previous Mets walk-offs on this site, and in scouring through my database, looking for games I haven't written about, I realized that there are some good stories left to be told, ones that are just as good as winning 10 in a row by rallying from two runs down in the ninth.. Since we're currently in a Mets-Reds phase, we might as well tie them into the mix, and we can do so by reminiscing about the matchup of Darryl Strawberry and John Franco. As most of you know well, Franco's sinkerball vexed many a lefthanded hitter. Lefthanders had 1,100 at-bats against Franco and managed a slugging percentage of only .306 with 11 home runs. Barry Bonds hit .229 against Franco, and made a rather enormous couple of outs against him in the 2000 postseason. Mark Grace, another solid lefthanded batsman of the era, managed just a .148 batting average against Franco. Strawberry wasn't even that good. In 14 at-bats, he m...

The Mets "I Can't Believe They Started On Opening Day" team Apologies to the folks at MetsGeek or FaithandFear if they'd already written this, but I knew it would aid in my quest... C- Tim Spehr '98 1B- Mike Marshall '90 2B- Ricky Gutierrez '04 SS- Al Moran '63-64 3B- Bill Pecota '92 LF- Gene Clines '75 CF- Ryan Thompson '94 RF- Mike Howard '83 P- Randy Jones '82 True Metsomniacs know... The Mets have had walk-offs by both Billy's and Joel's. Billy Baldwin's only Mets home run was a walk-off home run against the Cubs on September 24, 1976. Joel Youngblood had three walk-off hits for the Mets, a single, a double, and a home run.

For some reason, I was going around telling myself that Mike Pelfrey was the most unlikely Mets NL Player of the Week selection since John Pacella. This is not to be confused with undeserving, as I felt Pelfrey was rightly selected for his 15 shutout innings. I just think that there are a bunch of other Mets who would be more likely choices. John Pacella never won Player of the Week though, and I'm still wondering why I thought he had. But these unlikely pitchers did... Neil Allen Weeks ending July 6, 1980, and August 23, 1981 Yes, that's right: Neil Allen twice won Player of the Week honors, impressive now since I don't think closers win this award too often any more. Allen's first award was given for a three-appearance stretch in the midst of the time when it seemed like the magic was back. He threw 6 2/3 shutout innings of relief, earning a pair of saves, and may have been more of an award for the two-month spurt in which he managed 10 saves and an 0.96 ERA. Allen we...

George: Is there a pinkish hue? Jerry: A pinkish hue? George: Yes, a rosy glow. Jerry: There's a hue. Seinfeld, "The Fix-Up" (original airdate February 5, 1992) Go figure that the Mets are heading into the All-Star Break playing a brand of baseball unprecedented in modern times (this 3 hits or fewer in five straight games thing). The Mets got "fixed-up" albeit in a different manner from George Costanza. And for all those bloggers that put together First Half Report Cards, those can be ripped up right about now. In that same episode, Jerry made this notation in the opening monologue. I tell ya, I never really understood the importance of the conductor. I mean between you and me, what the hell is this guy doing? Well, apparently ours is doing something right these days. Enough to give me both a rosy glow and a pinkish hue when thinking about the team for which I root. On to the minutiae about Saturday's game (our next post will come after the All-Star Break)....

Reminder: A Mets Walk-Up win is a win in which the Mets score the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. A walk-up home run or RBI is the one that gives the Mets the lead for good. The term "walk-up" is an offshoot of walk-off and is used to describe the process of scoring to take the lead, and then walking up the dugout steps and back on to the field for the top of the 9th. * Mets Walk-Up Win # 166 was the Mets second walk-up win of the season. It was their first since May 31, when they scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Dodgers, 3-2. * The Mets have what you could call a walk-up imbalance. They have 7 walk-up wins against the Rockies, but only 4 walk-off wins against them. That's extremely unusual, considering that the Mets have more than twice as many walk-off wins (353) as walk-up wins (166). * Damion Easley's last two home runs against the Rockies have been a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 10th on April 24, 2007, and a wa...

It seems timely to mention that this year is the 40th anniversary of what some might say is the best pitching performance by a Met in All-Star Game history. 1968 was the Year of the Pitcher, so it's not at all stunning that that year's All-Star Game had a final score of NL 1, AL 0, especially when you consider that the National League's first four pitchers are all Hall of Famers. The last of that quartet was the least experienced of the four, 23-year-old Tom Seaver, who had already made a name for himself by closing out the 15th inning of the previous year's Midsummer Classic. But in this instance, he bettered that performance. Check out these reviews, courtesy of a great article in the New York Times "Seaver was the toughest...he threw the hell out of the ball." -- AL manager Dick Williams "Seaver throws awfully hard," -- Boog Powell "He battled me and never gave in to me." -- Carl Yastrzemski What did Seaver do to earn their compliments? ...

They say good things come in threes, so here are three notes off Thursday's game. * The Mets held the Giants to 3 hits in each of the 3 games in this series. The last time the Mets allowed 3 hits or fewer in 3 straight games, we were too busy celebrating to notice. It was Games 161, 162, and 163 of the 1999 regular season (otherwise known as: Rick Reed's best game as a Met, the wild pitch heard 'round NYC, and Al Leiter's best game as a Met) * The Mets have allowed 3 hits or fewer in 3 straight games one other time- April 28-30, 1992- against the Astros. The wins in those 3 games were 4-0, 1-0 and 4-3. * 3 players that I'm liking a lot at this point... Damion Easley, who came off the bench Thursday. Did you know the Mets are 51-30 in games that Easley has started over the last two years? Fernando Tatis, who now has as many 4+ RBI games as a Met as Moises Alou (1). Argenis Reyes, who reminds me of Jose Oquendo (5 career walk-off hits, none for the Mets). True Metple...

Balloting closes at 5pm for the Final Vote competition at MLB.com. Here are 5 minutiae reasons to vote for No. 5, David Wright. 1) He's a .367 career hitter with 22 RBI in 24 games at Yankee Stadium. He's 12-for-25 with 2 home runs there this season. 2) He's a .326 hitter in interleague play, with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 59 games. 3) In the final man role, he's most likely to be used as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. He's a perfect 1.000 hitter as a pinch-hitter (1-for-1!) and is 87-for-108 career in stolen base attempts (80.6 percent successful). 4) He's got a walk-off hit against Mariano Rivera, whom he'd likely face late in the game, so he won't be intimidated by facing the AL's top closer in a critical spot, with home-field advantage on the line. 5) He has a sense of what's meaningful to Mets fans, having already previously homered against Kenny Rogers in an All-Star Game (joining Lee Mazzilli as the only Mets to homer in an All-Star Game...

It's not my usual style to insult teams, but the current state of the Giants offense can be summed up in this manner. You could in one moment watch them send up a batter named Emmanuel, then within a few eye-blinks be watching them send up a batter named Lewis. They also happen to have a shortstop whose offensive skills would make Mario Diaz look like Babe Ruth (Trivia here: One of two calls to WFAN in my lifetime was a plea, about 15 years ago, that the Mets not trade Bobby Jones for Omar Vizquel...Howie Rose agreed, saying he'd be very "squeamish" about trading Bobby Jones. I still wouldn't make the deal, today :) ) This marks the first time in a LONG time that the Giants have a team without a significantly scary offensive threat. Your Giants of Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, of Will Clark, Jeff Leonard, and Kevin Mitchell, even those of Jack Clark, and Chili Davis, are long, long, long, long gone. Of course, I say this, and they'll probably put up 40 runs in th...

We can expect another one of these in a couple of weeks. Or maybe in this next series, since the Giants bring this kind of game out of us as well. The last time the Mets won a 10-9 game in Philadelphia was July 25, 1990, and if you've read your Metstradamus or Faith And Fear , you were probably reminded of how Mario Diaz (much like Bobby Richardson circa Game 7, 1962 World Series) was in the right place at the right time, snuffing out a potentially miraculous six-run Phillies rally in the 9th inning, with the catch of a line drive at shortstop. It brought an utterance of "damn" from Bob Murphy, probably the closest that the Hall of Fame announcer ever came to swearing on air. Slightly less than a month later, on August 19, the Mets and Giants played virtually a twin affair to that contest, on a Sunday at Candlestick Park. Much like Pedro Martinez, alleged Mets ace Dwight Gooden was struggling, coming off a two-start stretch in which he allowed eight runs in 11 innings. I...

Visitors who came from MetsBlog...please check out the rest of the site: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com Let's play multiple-choice trivia, since my plans for a couple lengthy essays were scuttled by a 12-hour workday. Which Sports Night character did the proprietor of this blog most resemble during Fernando Tatis's home run? No hints, other than to say that if you read my blog two years ago, you might recall the reference. A- Danny He was embarassing himself during a conversation with Hillary Clinton at the time of the Tatis HR. B- Jeremy He was playing sports trivia in a local bar with an adult film actress/choreoanimator at the time of the Tatis HR. C- Isaac He was in the bathroom at the time of the Tatis HR D- Dana He was at a showing of "The Lion King" at the time of the Tatis HR I'll keep you all in suspense...The answer is in the comments section. True Metnights know... Sports Night debuted on September 22, 1998, a dark day in Mets history, at it marked t...

Inspired by the noticing that Rickey Henderson never had a triple for the Mets. An Agent Zero (named after a fictitious movie reference in Seinfeld) is a player who never had a (fill in the blank) for the Mets. For the purposes of these lists, I did include pitchers within the tally. Agent Zeroes Mets History Most Plate Appearances, No Singles 47- Randy Tate 34- Brian Daubach 23- Andy Hassler 22- Sandy Alomar Sr. 21- Mike Remlinger >> Next position player: Ross Jones, 13 Most Plate Appearances, No Doubles 252- Pat Zachry 183- Jeff Duncan 179- Nolan Ryan 162- Roger Craig 118- Glendon Rusch >> Next position player: Dick Stuart, 96 Most Plate Appearances, No Home Runs 798- Alex Trevino 657- Chris Cannizzaro 541- Jon Matlack 457- Al Leiter 455- David Cone 355- Tom Glavine 340- Phil Linz Most Plate Appearances, No RBI 78- Eric Hillman 73- Doug Saunders 63- Ray Burris 62- Anthony Young 58- Charlie Puleo 57- Neil Allen >> Next position player: Harry Chiti, 43 Most Plate Appe...

* Walk-off loss #377 was the Mets 6th walk-off loss of the season, surpassing their total from all of 2007. * It marks the 2nd time this season that the Mets have lost 2 games by walk-off in a 3-game span (Padres, June 5, 7). * This is the 40th time that the Phillies have beaten the Mets in walk-off fashion, and the third straight season in which they've had at least one walk-off win against the Mets. * Duaner Sanchez is the 6th different pitcher to be on the mound at the end of a Mets walk-off loss this season, joining Matt Wise, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, Pedro Feliciano and Carlos Muniz. * This is the 2nd time in Mets history that they lost a July 4 game in walk-off fashion. I don't feel like looking up the details, but the other defeat game via walk-off catcher's error (Norm Sherry) against the Cubs on July 4, 1963. * Carlos Beltran, who looks as lost at the plate as at any point in his Mets career, is now 3-for-26 in games that the Mets have lost in walk-off fas...

How bored am I? Bored enough to ask the question: By letter, who is THE BEST PLAYER TO EVER WEAR A METS UNIFORM by letter of the alphabet? Note, that this is not: WHO IS THE BEST MET by letter of the alphabet? This will be a much different list. Thankfully, UltimateMets.com makes this a fairly easy project, allowing you to see an alphabetical list of everyone who ever played for the Mets. Best Players to Wear Mets Uniform By Letter of Alphabet A- Roberto Alomar That's a good one to get you stirred up right away... B- Yogi Berra Remember...it's best player overall, not as a Met... C- Gary Carter Runner-up: David Cone. D- Carlos Delgado Good battle for 2nd between Shawon Dunston, Len Dykstra, and Ron Darling. E- Carl Everett An unusually weak letter in the Mets alphabet history. Everett is the best among 15 choices. F- John Franco You could argue that this is the first case in which the player picked would also be considered the best Met. G- Tom Glavine As much as it pains me… H...

Let's play a game...I call it "Who has more triples?" The answers are linked in the comments section. * Who has more career triples...Jose Reyes or Keith Hernandez? Jose Reyes tied Mookie Wilson's Mets triples record on Thursday with the 62nd of his career. Most Triples Mets History 62- Mookie Wilson 62- Jose Reyes 45- Bud Harrelson 33- Cleon Jones 31- Steve Henderson 30- Darryl Strawberry * Who has more career triples...Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran? Carlos Beltran has the same number of triples in his career as Wade Boggs and Bobby Bonilla. Who has more career triples...Jose Reyes or Willie Randolph? Mookie Wilson still has the Mets club record for most games with a triple. Most Games with at least one triple Mets History 61- Mookie Wilson 58- Jose Reyes 44- Bud Harrelson 33- Cleon Jones 31- Steve Henderson 30- Darryl Strawberry Who has more triples...Jose Reyes or Mickey Mantle? Jose Reyes has now had 4 seasons with 10+ triples. The all-time record is held by Ty Cob...

Yes, another post today (keep scrolling down for the others). Apparently Wednesday was historic...it marked the 2,000th time, by Baseball-Reference calculations, that a Mets starter got a no-decision. I must admit I find this kind of list fascinating. Most No-Decisions Mets Starter, Team History 75- Ron Darling 75- Tom Seaver 74- Sid Fernandez 71- Jerry Koosman 61- Dwight Gooden 60- Bobby Jones 59- Craig Swan I mentioned that the Mets were 4-14 when Pedro Martinez started and got a no-decision. Tom Seaver can relate. The Mets went 29-46 in games in which Tom Seaver started and got a no-decision. Most Mets Losses Starting Pitcher Got No-Decision 46- Tom Seaver 40- Sid Fernandez 36- Jerry Koosman 34- Dwight Gooden 33- Craig Swan 30- Ron Darling 27- Bobby Jones Yet, they were 45-30 in games in which Ron Darling started and got a no-decision. Most Mets Wins Starting Pitcher Got No-Decision 45- Ron Darling 35- Jerry Koosman 34- Sid Fernandez 33- Bobby Jones 29- Tom Seaver 27- Dwight Gooden

I could have written a detailed history of Carlos Beltran's strikeouts, but instead I chose to write in honor of the best team in baseball... Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/07/our-special-bonds-know-your-rays.html 1) 20 pitchers have pitched for both the Mets and Rays. Only one of those 20 had a winning record FOR THE RAYS. Name him. 2) The Mets have employed 4 players who hit 10+ career home runs for the Rays. Here are hints for each one Player 1- Navidad Player 2- Shares his initials with those after whom a famous bridge is named Player 3- If you go to Shea, buy a burger in his honor Player 4- Currently plays in the state of Texas 3) The Mets won the first meeting with the Rays. The losing pitcher in that game pitched 2 career games for the Mets. Name him. 4) A man who played against the Mets in a postseason broke up Rick Reed's no-hitter in the 7th inning of that game. Name him. 5) The Rays hitting coach is Steve Henderson. Steve Henderson got his first ...

So I recently bought a book called "The Book" (yes, that's the title) which is a rather interesting look at the mathematics of baseball strategy. Among the things it looks at, in-depth are win probabilities, ie: the chance of a team winning, based on how often teams in that situation have won over a certain period of time. The 2008 Mets * Lost a game to the Brewers in which they led 6-2 in the top of the 4th According to the win probability chart in "The Book," the home team, when leading by 4 runs in the top of the 4th, wins nearly 87 percent of the time. * Lost a game to the Diamondbacks in which they led 5-1 in the top of the 3rd According to the win probability chart in "The Book," the home team, when leading by 4 runs in the top of the 3rd, wins 85 percent of the time. * Lost a game to the Diamondbacks in which they led 4-0 in the top of the 8th. According to the win probability chart in "The Book," the home team, when leading by 4 runs ...

Tony Armas Jr. was the 28th starter that the Mets have put on the mound since August 23, 2004. None of them were named Scott Kazmir. So yes, it's fair to say that we definitely miss the guy. Kazmir pitches for the Rays, in their attempt to complete a sweep against the Red Sox on Wednesday. Here are Kazmir's career totals, for an era that began with the Rays on August 23, 2004 W-L 42-32 ERA 3.50 Strikeouts 689 Starts 108 Here are the Mets leaders in those categories since August 23, 2004 Wins- Tom Glavine, 44 (4.03 ERA) ERA- Aaron Heilman 3.61 (minimum 300 IP) Strikeouts- Pedro Martinez, 398 (yes, nearly 300 fewer than Kazmir) Starts- Tom Glavine, 107 And for those curious. At last check (I don't even wanna know if he pitched Tuesday), Victor Zambrano was 0-6 with a 9.45 ERA in 2008 for the Triple-A Colorado Sky Sox. True Metmirs know... The Rays have 3 walk-off wins in games started by Scott Kazmir, though none yet in 2008.