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Our Special Bonds: Hoot and Holler

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 Gibson did (1981), and shares the last name of a former Mets manager. Name them.

2) Bob Gibson struck out Willie Stargell 41 times, the most of anyone he struck out. He struck out a member of the 1969 Mets 37 times (in 74 at bats!). Name this Met, who actually didn't face Gibson once in 1969.

3) Bob Gibson allowed 4 walk-off home runs in his career. The first came in 1962, against the Dodgers, and was hit by a future one-year Met. Name him.

4) Bob Gibson's first loss to the Mets was a 1-0 defeat on July 27, 1962. The only run of the game scored on an error by the shortstop, who is related to a member of the 2007 Mets. Name the error-maker.

5) It was said that Bob Gibson would have hit his own grandmother, if she were crowding the plate. He never faced his grandma in a major-league game, but the two players he hit the most (6 times) both played for the Mets. One got hit a lot. The other became a Mets manager. Name them.

6) Bob Gibson hit one home run at Shea Stadium and the pitcher against whom he homered was pretty prominent in Mets history and in the history of another team as well. Name him.

7) Bob Gibson hit a grand slam against the Mets on July 26, 1973. The opposing pitcher was John Strohmayer (wouldn't expect you to know that). The batter before Gibson walked (perhaps intentionally) and I think it's funny that he shared his name with a famous boxer. Name that player who, to my knowledge, has no connection with the Mets.

8) One of the more famous Gibson games against the Mets was in the final weekend of the 1964 season, when he lost 1-0, keeping the NL pennant race alive into the final two days. The pitcher who beat him also beat him 1-0 in the 1962 season. And the hitter who drove in the only run hadn't even turned 20 yet. Name them both.

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