Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

For a guy who was such an ordinary player, new Mets first base coach Luis Alicea was pretty good at this walk-off thing. Eight times in his 13-season career, Luis Alicea won a game with a walk-off something. That account includes three sacrifice flies and five singles, which is a pretty decent ledger for an MLB tenure. A couple of neat Mets-related twists to his walk-offs. * The first of those 3 walk-off sacrifice flies came against Mike Maddux and the 1993 Mets. Alicea did a nice job battling back from an 0-2 count before smacking a liner to center that plated future Met Todd Zeile with the winning run. * Alicea also had two walk-off RBI against pitchers who pitched for the Mets- Ricky Bottalico in 1996 and Pat Mahomes in 2001. * Among those whom Alicea has driven in via walk-off: current Mets Fernando Tatis (in 1998!) and Carlos Beltran (2001). True Meticea know... Luis Alicea hit .181 against the Mets and .177 at Shea Stadium in his career. His one home run against them was a game-...

For those curious... * The Mets have had 214 walk-off wins under Republican rule, 142 under Democratic rule. But they've had more walk-off wins under Bill Clinton than any other president. Mets Walk-Off Wins By Presidential Administration 65-Bill Clinton 64-Ronald Reagan 61-George W Bush 46-Richard Nixon 31-Lyndon Johnson 28-George HW Bush 26-Jimmy Carter 20-John F. Kennedy 15-Gerald Ford * The first African-American Met with a walk-off hit was Choo Choo Coleman. You can read about it here. http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2005/11/little-engine-that-could.html * The most successful election years for Mets walk-off wins were 1996 and 1988. Mets Walk-Off Wins In A Presidential Election Year 1996-10 1988-10 1984-9 2008- 8 2004- 8 1980- 8 2000- 7 1972- 7 1976- 7 1992- 6 1964- 6 1968- 3

For a guy whose major-league career consisted of 81 at-bats, new third base coach Razor Shines (yes, that's his real name...Razor is a middle name, passed down in his family through multiple generations) sure has a lot of connections to the New York Mets. * Razor made his major-league debut on September 9, 1983, and shall be forever known as "The Guy Whom Frank Howard didn't feel comfy about Tom Seaver pitching to..." Simple version of the story: Razor came up as a pinch-hitter with two men on base and one out. Howard pulled Seaver for Jesse Orosco and Expos skipper Bill Virdon countered with Jim Wohlford, denying Shines his first AB. Orosco struck out both Wohlford and Tim Raines to end the game. That, combined with a Phillies win, knocked the Expos out of first place in the NL East. * Razor's first MLB hit came in a Mets walk-off win, on October 2, 1983, the final game of the season, and the second game of a doubleheader between the Mets and Expos. Shines batted...

Answers in the comments section 1- How many former Mets played for the 2008 Phillies? 2- Name the members of the 1986 Mets who also played for the Phillies at some point in their career. 3-Name the former Met who hit exactly 100 career home runs for the Phillies, most for anyone who played for both the Phillies and Mets. 4- Name the only pitcher to win 40+ games for both the Phillies and Mets. 5- Tug McGraw and this pitcher both pitched for the Mets, and the 1980 Phillies, at some point in their career. Name him. 6- Two infielders who pitched for the Mets also played for the Phillies at some point in their careers. Name them. 7- Name the only player to play for the 1962 Mets and the 1964 Phillies team that choked away the NL pennant. 8- Name the former Met who struck out with the bases loaded and two outs to end GAME 5 of the 1980 World Series. 9- Of those who played for both the Mets and Phillies, who had the most stolen bases FOR THE PHILLIES? 10- Name the members of the 2008 Mets wh...

Favorite Shea memories will have to wait... Headed out of town for a bit... Next posting comes after the World Series ends... If you're wondering who I'm rooting for... http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2008/06/my-fair-weather-friends.html http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2008/05/ray-of-nope.html

You know what else was cool about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series? He didn't just hit it against Joe The Plumber. He hit it against Hall of Fame relief ace Dennis Eckersley, among the best pitchers in the game. That got me to thinking. The Mets have had walk-off wins against everyone from Juan Acevedo to Pat Zachry. But who's the best pitcher against whom they've ever had a walk-off win? You can vote in the poll on the right. The candidates... Steve Carlton Opening Day 1975 (Joe Torre). Carlton was in a 2-year stretch in which he wasn't quite the pitcher who twice won 20 games previously, but he was in the prime of his career, and won 20 four more times afterwards. Dennis Eckersley April 4, 1996 (Brent Mayne). The Mets got to the 42-year-old version of Eck, who was still pretty good, posting 30 saves, and getting the Cardinals to within one win of the World Series. Bob Gibson September 23, 1969 (Bud Harrelson). Gibson was one year ...

You know what else is neat about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run (the anniversary of which is today)? He turned loss into win with one swing. I LOVE the come-from-behind walk-off home run. The two best kinds of walk-offs are: a) the come-from-behind walk-off home run (when you think of that, you think of Kirk Gibson and Bobby Thomson) b) the come-from-behind walk-off hit with a close play at the plate (when you think of that, you think of Francisco Cabrera) The first walk-off win in Mets history came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Hobie Landrith. The first Mets walk-off win to come after this blog's existence came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Cliff Floyd. I speak from the experience of having been there for Floyd's home run. You can't get a more exciting moment in a game than that. As it turns out, Kirk Gibson was the master of the come-from-behind walk-off home run. In his 17 seasons in the major leagues, he hit 5 of them...

The most amazing thing about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series is that he hit it while injured. "Everyone is banged up at this time of year," the announcers tell us, but few were quite as banged up as Gibson, who had a bad left hamstring and a swollen right knee, aggravated by a phenomenal catch in Game 3 of the NLCS at Shea. Gibson played all-out throughout his 17-year career and was frequently hurt. Gibson only played half a season in each of the two years that followed his walk-off home run, and was a shell of the player that won the NL MVP. He only played the equivalent of nearly a full season three times. Gibson hit a LOT of really big home runs in his major league career, and you could argue that total would have been increased significantly if he had stayed healthy. The Mets had their Kirk Gibson moment in the first season of Shea Stadium, and in the last season as well. We told the tale two years ago of one of the most improbable ...

This week, Wednesday specifically, marks the 20th anniversary of the home run that made the term "walk-off" a part of popular baseball culture- Kirk Gibson's dramatic game-ending home run in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Dennis Eckersley introduced the phrase when commenting about allowing the home run, after the game. Because that walk-off is of great significance to the baseball world, because I thought it was a cool moment, and because there are many ways in which I can connect that home run to the Mets, I thought I would pay it proper tribute here. So that will be the topic of discussion in a few essays this week. It is worth noting that Kirk Gibson hit two home runs in the ninth inning of games during the 1988 season. If a lesson had been learned from that first one, the second might not have occurred. I'm referring to the game between the Mets and Dodgers of May 31, 1988, one of the better victories of the season, but one that came at a s...

So word on the street, as I'm rooting for the Rays and piecing together some memories of Shea Stadium, is that Orlando Hudson wants to be a Met. Good for him. Great for us. This is an easy call. Speaking of which, the GM should be on the horn to the instructional league folks telling them to move Daniel Murphy's lesson plan from second base back to left field. Orlando Hudson's best attribute is not his .300 batting average, his .360+ on-base percentage, his ability to bunt the ball farther than Luis Castillo can hit it, nor his three Gold Gloves. The best thing about Orlando Hudson is that he's a guy who can say enough's enough, and the Mets need players like that. Why do I say that? Because Orlando Hudson has proven, through his walk-off history, that he can put an end to lengthy games. Remember the 14-inning Saturday Knight (Brandon's Mets debut) affair against the Cardinals, when Albert Pujols creamed a long home run off Aaron Heilman. It seemed that when Puj...

The Mets PR staff recently e-mailed me a list of those who pulled the numbers from the outfield fence, counting down the last 81 games at Shea Stadium. I hadn't seen that list publicly, and I wanted others to be able to reference it as well, so I am publishing it here... 81 Kathy Shea Anfuso, her son-in-law Victor, and granddaughter, Michelle daughter of Bill Shea 80 Mr. Met 79 Lincoln Mercury representatives – Peter Spina and Kenneth Toscano 78 Mets Fan Club for Kids Member Alex Holmes 77 Citi Representative Michael Freiberg 76 SNY Kids Clubhouse Hosts Gabe Cohen and Caitlin Fichtel 75 Ed Charles and JRF Scholar Elizabeth Gil 74 Broadcaster Howie Rose 73 Ron Hunt, Jack Fisher and Tim Harkness 72 Longtime employee Bob Mandt 71 Jack Lang Day reps (Randy, Brian, Craig and Victoria Lang) 70 Youth Baseball Leader Bob Reid and players from the Bayside Little League 69 Laura Dyer and Amy Stack from DavisVision 68 Harry and Digit from Cyberchase 67 Sarah Drews, representing the CW11 for A...

"I need somebody to hit!" No, those words weren't those from Jerry Manuel to his team during the final weekend of the season. Instead, I choose to quote from the immortal comic strip character Lucy Van Pelt. Charlie Brown went away for an extended period of time and poor Lucy had no one to pick on. That's kind of how I feel about the 2008 Mets. In 2006, I could be mad at Carlos Beltran for not swinging. In 2007, I could be mad at Tom Glavine for not caring. In 2008, who am I supposed to be mad at. It's wasted anger to be upset with Scott Schoeneweis, considering he's dealing with personal issues of a much larger scale, with the premature birth of a child. For that matter, it seems silly to be angry at relievers who were thrust into roles for which they weren't really fully equipped to handle. It's wasted anger to be mad at Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran, or Carlos Delgado, or David Wright. Their seasons were too good. It's wasted anger to be mad at...

Some commentary on 2008 to come, but while you're waiting, a piece I had been waiting to publish... Shea Stadium was a stat-wrecker to many a good player. Here are a few whose numbers there paled in comparison to those produced elsewhere. Roberto Clemente .262 BA 4 HR 35 RBI 70 Games He hit .317 for his career. Clemente hit .462 at Shea in 1965, but as the Mets pitchers got better, his numbers got worse. From 1969 to 1972, the final four years of his career, Clemente hit .186 at Shea, including .130 in 1969 . Joe Morgan .235 BA 7 HR 33 RBI 97 Games Plus a 2-for-12 in the 1973 NLCS Johnny Bench .229 BA 11 HR 41 RBI 78 Games Bench was a sub-.100 hitter at Shea three times: In 1968, 1969, and 1976. Ozzie Smith .229 BA 0 HR 21 RBI 112 Games Yes, he's not in the Hall of Fame for his hitting, but still...the batting average plummets by 30+ points here. Tony Perez .227 BA 13 HR 45 RBI 106 Games Clearly, this was a Big Red Machine issue... Ken Griffey Jr. .216 BA 4 HR 11 RBI 26 Games P...

Give me a little time to catch up on some stuff (probably a day, maybe a little more) and we'll post some appropriate commentary here.

It was written by an imposter :)

Those who know what "The Penske File" is will appreciate our take on Jerry Manuel's comment after Thursday's Mets win: "I really feel like we're about to take off..." What we think he's going to say, probably sometime in the next 24 hours is... "I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression. What is was going to say was I really feel like we're about to take off...for the rest of the winter. We expended so much energy getting through the first 145 games, we had nothing left for the last 17. You saw the last of what was left on Thursday. Oh, and our board of directors ..."

As per usual, thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the ability to dig out some of these nuggets * Walk-off win #356 was the Mets 8th walk-off win of the season, their first since a 5-4 win over the Braves on August 21. * It was the Mets first walk-off win against the Cubs since last May 17 when Carlos Delgado capped a 5-run rally with a 2-run single in a 6-5 win. * Carlos Beltran got his 4th Mets walk-off hit, the first that wasn't a home run. Beltran's last walk-off single came April 13, 2000 for the Royals against the Orioles. * The win came 4 years to the day of another Mets walk-off win against the Cubs. On September 25, 2004, with the Cubs fighting for a playoff spot, Victor Diaz hit a game-tying three-run home run with two outs in the ninth, and Craig Brazell hit a walk-off home run in the 11th to hand the Cubs a crushing, 4-3 loss. * The Mets also had walk-off wins on September 25, 1971 (Bob Aspromonte 15th-inning single), September 25 1984 (Rusty Staub home run), Septem...

I remember, going home from Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS thinking (and likely verbalizing) that the Mets were going to pay the price for Carlos Beltran taking strike three to end their season, for a long time. You can summarize the last two seasons of frustration and angst in that one at-bat by David Wright, with a runner on third and nobody out, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning. Too overanxious to make up for the mistakes of two years ago, Wright made the mistake of swinging on 3-0, and then struck out on a 3-2 pitch that was barely closer to the plate than that of the premier of Bermuda a couple days ago (yes, I'm reusing that line). The Cubs didn't want to face Wright. They were content with the idea of letting either Carlos Delgado or Beltran beat them, and Wright should have known better than to do what he did. There is no one better on the Mets in walk-off situations than David Wright, but his overzealousness on Wednesday, as well as some abysmal at-bats b...

Yesterday we wrote about Merkle's Boner in regards to its lessons in how not to walk-off. Today, in an effort to cheer ourselves up about our current fate, we write about Gardner's Gaffe. I'm referring to Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS, better known as The Bobby Jones Game , which would rank among my all-time favorite events attended at Shea (a list is coming, eventually). The Mets had a 2-games-to-1 lead at the time and the momentum pendulum was swinging totally opposite the direction it's in these days. We didn't know in the bottom of the first inning that Jones was going to pitch a one-hit shutout. But we did know it was going to be a good day for the Mets pretty quickly. Giants starter Mark Gardner, a good friend of Jones from their sharing Fresno, California as a home, got the first two Mets out in the home first inning. Gardner then got ahead of Mike Piazza 0-2 and threw a knee-high fastball near the outside corner of the plate. From my TV viewing today, it looks lik...

Today is the 100th anniversary of Merkle's Boner, otherwise known as the best example of how not to walk-off. Stories on the subject vary, but the basic details were that the Giants and Cubs were playing a key game in New York inthe 1908 pennant race, and the Giants were on the verge of winning. Al Bridwell appeared to single in Moose McCormick with the winning run. However, Fred Merkle, the baserunner on first, did not touch second base, and this was spotted by Johnny Evers. Craziness ensued, with Christy Mathewson attempting to steer Merkle back to second, while Giants pitcher Joe McGinity and Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers wrestled for position. Eventually, with fans having come on to the field, one got ahold of the ball and heaved it into the stands. Eventually police were called in and no decision was rendered as to the status of the game. The next day, the game umpires decided that Merkle was out, and that thus, the game was not over. League officials ruled the game had to ...