Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

It's 10:40 on Saturday night, and though I'm really looking forward to writing some postseason stuff, I'm rather fatigued, so I'll post briefly on other matters Frank Robinson will manage his final game on Sunday bringing to a close a career in baseball that spanned more than 50 seasons. There are a lot of things that could be said about Frank Robinson, but let's just offer up this piece of information, courtesy of MikeMav.com : Since 1957, no-player has had more walk-off RBI than Frank Robinson's 27. For those curious, only one came against the Mets- a walk-off home run against Danny Frisella on July 18, 1972. The man who ranks second on the walk-off RBI list in that span will learn his fate on Monday. Dusty Baker and the Cubs will likely part ways but I have a feeling he won't be out of work for that long. Remember that there were many wishing, not too long ago, that Baker was managing the Mets. It's a shame that his tenure ended with a season ruined b

Potential Opponent Astros (NL Central champs) Mets walk-off wins vs opponent * 19 (includes one when the team was known as the Colt 45's) Mets walk-off losses vs opponent * 35 Postseason walk-off history vs opponent * The Mets won Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS, 6-5 over Houston, on Len Dykstra's 2-run home run in the last of the 9th. They won Game 5, 2-1 on Gary Carter's single in the bottom of the 12th. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/10/heightened-perspective.html http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/10/i-kid-you-not.html Most recent walk-off win vs opponent * April 13, 2005, when Jose Reyes singled off Dan Wheeler in the 11th inning to give the Mets a 1-0 win. Longest walk-off win vs opponent * It took 14 innings for the Mets to beat the Astros in Game 2 of a doubleheader on May 31, 1970, winning on Duffy Dyer's pinch-hit single. Noteworthiest walk-off win vs opponent * The 2 playoff games are in their own category. For regular season, there are two really good one

Third in a series...   Potential Opponent   * Cardinals (NL Central champs)   Mets Walk-Off Wins vs Opponent   *31   Mets Walk-Off Losses vs Opponent   * 32   Postseason Walk-Off History vs Opponent   * None, though I prefer to think of a walk-out instead of a walk-off, when while walking down the Shea Stadium ramps following Game 4 of the 2000 NLCS, my dad turned to me and said "Mike Hampton will pitch the game of his life tomorrow."   Most Recent Walk-Off Win vs Opponent   *   August 22, 2006, when the Mets rallied from a 7-1 deficit to beat one-man-show Albert Pujols on Carlos Beltran's 2-run home run off Jason Isringhausen.   Longest walk-off win vs opponent   * September 29, 1993, when the Mets beat the Cardinals 1-0 in 17 innings at the close of a season of misery. Kenny Greer earned his first and only major-league win as human scourge Jeff Kent drove in the winning run with a double off Les Lancaster   Noteworthiest walk-off wins

Second in a series looking at the Mets walk-off history against potential first-round foes. Potential Opponent * Padres (NL West champ or wild card) Mets walk-off wins vs opponent * 19 Mets walk-off losses vs opponent * 24 Postseason walk-off history vs opponent * None Most recent walk-off win vs opponent * On July 19, 2005, Chris Woodward hit a 2-run home run off Chris Hammond to give the Mets a 3-1 11-inning victory. Longest walk-off win vs opponent * Twice the Mets have beaten the Padres in walk-off fashion in a 15-inning game. The first came on September 3, 1983, on a Brian Giles (same name as the current Padre) sacrifice fly. The second was on April 27, 1994 on Fernando Vina's single. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/04/life-of-brian.html Noteworthiest walk-off win vs opponent * Mike Piazza's two-run home run off Trevor Hoffman on April 28, 1999, gave the Mets a 4-3 win. The Padres had won their previous 181 games when leading after eight innings. Most unusual walk-of

First in a series looking at the Mets walk-off history against potential first-round foes. Repeat after me: "I will not be concerned by the Mets foibles at the finish...I will not be concerned by the Mets foibles at the finish...I will not be concerned by the Mets foibles at the finish." Potential Opponent Dodgers (NL West champ or wild card) Mets walk-off wins vs opponent: 29 Mets walk-off losses vs opponent 36 Postseason walk-off history vs opponent None to speak of, though the Dodgers did beat the Mets in the 1988 NLCS, and the Mets came within a few feet of a walk-off in Game 4 (the Mike Scioscia HR game) when, after Darryl Strawberry popped out, Kevin McReynolds flied out to shallow center to end the game against Orel Hersisher and the Dodgers, with the Mets trailing by a run in the last of the 12th inning. Most recent walk-off win vs opponent * May 20, 2001- Tsuyoshi Shinjo wins it for Armando Benitez with a walk-off single off Terry Adams with 2 outs in the last of the

There are only 2 home games remaining in the regular season (maybe one by the time you read this) and we've been waiting more than a month for the Mets to win via walk-off for the 12th time in 2006 (the last such triumph came on August 22). One thing that I rediscovered in my personal life this past week is the value of patience, so I'm not clamoring for this kind of victory as much as I might have been not too long ago. Sometimes the Mets require their fans to wait, and wait, and wait, for a walk-off that never comes. I can tell you that as good as the 1968 season was for the New York Mets, it was not a good year for walk-offs That year, the most victorious (73) in franchise history to that point, the Mets had only three walk-off wins, all of which came within a 6-day span. So had I been alive and inspired to blog that season, I would have had to have been awfully creative the rest of the year. The last of the three walk-off victories that season came on May 21, in the team