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The 411 on Metskilledya

The post counter on my blogger page tells me that this is post #411 and I'll go with that, even though some of them consist of me merely saying "No post today, back tomorrow."

With that in mind, my goal today is to be as informative as I was in post #410, which I'd have to rank among my all-time favorites (maybe at 500, we'll do a "best of"). So today, rather than pay tribute to Mets killers, I'm going to borrow an idea from Jerry Seinfeld and do the opposite. It's my little tribute to his tv show (and George's gym teacher, Mr. Heyman) that I'm going to refer to the players I write about today as "Metskilledya."

Again, following the Q and A format, with mucho kudos to the Play Index section at Baseball-Reference.com

Who holds the record for longest "hitless" streak against the Mets?
Well, in order to do this, we have to adjust our criteria to suit what Baseball-Reference can handle, and as a result, there are several answers.

The most consecutive games without a hit, against the Mets (with at least 1 AB or SF per game) is 17. Dennis Martinez went 0-35 in a 17-game stretch from 1988 to 1993. Bill Hands was even worse, going 0-45 over 17 games from 1966 to 1970.

If we go the non-pitcher route, we're looking at Manny Sanguillen, who was 0-19 over a 15-game swing from 1979-80, but that includes time as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement.

If we enforce the criteria that you had to start each game, the longest skein is 11 games, by shortstop Bobby Wine (0-26) from 1964 to 1965, one more than Mike Scioscia (0-32 over 10 starts in 1987-88) and Tommy Gregg (0-37 over 10 starts from 1989 to 1991).

Aren't you glad you asked?

Who holds the record for most consecutive STARTS without reaching base, against the Mets (non-pitchers)

The answer is two guys whose names I've never heard- Luis Gomez (1980) and the immortal Skip Jutze (1973-76)

Who, among non-pitchers has the longest streak of games, without a home run, against the Mets?

The answer is a former Met, Larry Bowa, who had none over 254 games from 1970 to 1985. That doesn't particularly appeal to me because he never hit home runs. Among credible home run hitters, the top two are basically Lou Brock (118 games, 1967 to 1974) and our favorite, Bill Buckner (78 games, 1970-1979).

Who, among non pitchers, has the longest streak of games with a strikeout, against the Mets?

Not surprisingly, the answer is former Met Andres Galarraga, who struck out in 19 straight games against them from 1988-1989. If we include pitchers, the answer becomes Wayne Twitchell and Bob Veale, who each had 21-game runs. Special kudos to current Met farmhand Fernando Tatis, who had a run of 19 straight starts with a whiff from 1998-2001.

Who had the most consecutive games of hitting into a double play against the Mets?

A twin killing deserves a twin "Metskilledya." John Kruk (1986-87) and Al Oliver (1969) share the honors, with four games apiece.

Who suffered a loss in the most consecutive games against the Mets?

Interestingly, the answer is a former Met, Pete Falcone, who lost 7 straight appearances against the Mets from 1976-1978, despite a respectable 4.04 ERA. Falcone finished his career an unremarkable 0-9 against the Mets, making him the patron saint among "Metskilledya" pitchers.

This question has a fun spinoff. If you make the query: Whose team suffered the most defeats in his consecutive appearances against the Mets (make sense?), the answer is poor Larry McWilliams. During one stretch of his career (1985-1988), McWilliams appeared in 16 games against the Mets, and his team dropped all 16. His name was McWilliams, not McLucky.


What team had the longest losing streak against the Mets?
The 1986-87 Pirates dropped 15 straight in one stretch, four worse than the 1969 Padres, but they got their revenge by hurting the Mets division title chances in the latter part of the 1987 season.

What team went the most games without a home run, against the Mets?
The 1991 Cardinals, reliant on speed more than power, won 8 of 12 games against the Mets in one span without going deep once, edging out the 1969-70 Phillies (11) by one game.

And just to appease those curious from Wednesday night's disaster...

True Metrezs know...The most walks by a Mets pitcher in a walk-off win is 8, by Rick Ownbey, against the Expos on September 21, 1982. Ron Gardenhire, yes the current Twins manager, bailed Ownbey out with a walk-off home run to give the Mets a 2-1 win.

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