Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Got a request on Thursday from someone who was looking for a list of the Mets all-time leaders in walk-off home runs. I obliged with an answer, and it occurred to me how that query should be acknowledged among my most frequently asked questions. Rather than to provide the list in its simplest form, let's have a little fun, with another trivia challenge. The answer to each of these questions is a Met who hit at least 3 walk-off home runs in his career. As a hint, I will provide the name of at least one pitcher against whom the answer hit a walk-off HR. That will allow you to establish the era for the player in question. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/11/our-special-bonds-most-mets-walk-off-hr.html 1) This Met hit 3 walk-off HR in his tenure and all 3 came with at least one man on base. Pitcher hint: Blas Minor 2) I wouldn't identify this Met as being part of club royalty, but among his 3 walk-off HR was one that came in the 17th inning of a game. Pitcher hin...

There were no walk-off wins for anybody on the day Moises Alou was born, and while father Felipe wasn't in the delivery room in Atlanta, he was a part of baseball history. July 3, 1966, is famous, not just for the birth of a Met-playing Alou, but for one of the most unlikely great performances of all-time. There were no walk-offs on this date, but this event was neat enough to merit inclusion in this blog. Felipe and the Braves were in San Francisco, taking on the Giants, right around the same time brother Matty's Pirates were squaring off in a doubleheader with the Mets (the teams would split a pair of one-run games). Perhaps distracted by childbirth issues, Felipe Alou went 0-for-3 from the leadoff spot, but was a close witness to something significant. The Braves pitcher that day was Tony Cloninger, and if that name rings a bell, it should. Cloninger was a 24-game winner for the Braves the previous season, but no one remembers that, because of what happened on this day. The ...

And with today being Halloween, the New York Knicks will dress themselves up as a reputable organization. Seriously, this is a tough time for me as a sports fan. The Jets season basically feels as if the Mets merely extended their schedule past the 162-game mark and kept playing as they were throughout the last two weeks. The Rangers looks mediocre too. And I find it hard to root for a team (though I still will) that employs Isiah Thomas and Zach Randolph. So we stick with baseball... * My fav tidbit from the World Series: Jonathan Papelbon's 5-out save was the longest save to close out a World Series since Jesse Orosco's 6-out save in 1986. * Possible slogan for 2008: You Gotta Have Less (The Red Sox had, including postseason, 4 walk-off wins, 3 fewer than the Mets). Though, at this point, I'm leaning towards: Make The Last Game, the Best Game. * A-Rod: Sure, bring him on. Posada: Absolutely, but not for 3 years. Schilling: Yeah, shoot, maybe he'd even post a link to t...