Skip to main content

10K: Rarer Than A Walk-Off Win

Didn't realize this until just a few moments ago (thanks, Baseball-Reference), but Johan Santana's 10+ strikeout game was the 300th REGULAR SEASON double-digit strikeout effort by a pitcher in franchise history. They've also had 3 such efforts in postseason. So we've had 47 fewer such games than we've had walk-offs.

* Your all-time leader in Mets 10+ K games: No surprise, Tom Seaver with 62.

Most 10+ strikeout games
Mets history

Tom Seaver 62 (including 2 in postseason)
Dwight Gooden 47 (including 1 in postseason)
David Cone 33
Sid Fernandez 31
Jerry Koosman 24
Nolan Ryan 14
>> Mets broadcaster Ron Darling ranks 10th with 7

* 49 different Mets pitchers have struck out 10 batters in a game. Among the others who, like Santana, have exactly one.

Charlie Puleo
Roy Lee Jackson
Randy Tate
Dennis Ribant
Pat Zachry

* The most surprising name on the list of 10+ K Mets pitchers: How about Tug McGraw?
The Tugger had 10 in six innings in an 8-5 walk-off win over the Astros, in the second game of a doubleheader on September 22, 1967. Jerry Buchek won the game with a 3-run walk-off home run.

* The Mets are 216-84 (.720 win percentage) in the regular season, when one of their pitchers strikes out 10+, but only 1-2 in postseason.

* It was the 47th time that the Mets had a pitcher strike out 10+ Phillies in a game. The Mets are "only" 30-17 in those games (.638 win percentage).

* All 303 games of 10+ K were recorded by starters. The most strikeouts by a Mets reliever in a game is 9 (in 4 innings), by Tug McGraw, against the Padres on August 10, 1971.

* It was Johan Santana's 40th regular-season game with 10+ K. That ranks 22nd among pitchers in the "BB-Reference.com PI" era (back to 1956). Next up: Kerry Wood and Camilo Pascual, with 41. Nolan Ryan leads the list with 215.

* This was the 41st time a Mets pitcher struck out 10+ and walked none (including once in the postseason). Tom Seaver leads the way with 11 of those (including 1 in postseason). Johan Santana has as many 10+ K, no walk games as a Met as Ron Darling (1).

* Johan Santana also has a 10+ K game against the Mets. He has as many 10+ K games against the Mets as last Thursday's Nationals starter John Lannan (1). There have been 254 10+ K games against the Mets (249 in regular season, 5 in postseason). Steve Carlton leads the way with 10. Oddest name on the list? Bob Bruce, with 5. He averaged 5.9 strikeouts per 9 innings for his career.

Among those with 1 10+ K game against the Mets

Scipio Spinks
Al Santorini
Santiago Guzman
Joe Hesketh
Balor Moore

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Games I Know: Phillies (Updated)

  The best wins against the Phillies in Mets history …   May 5, 2022 – Mets 8, Phillies 7 The Mets score 7 runs in the 9 th inning to overcome a 7-1 deficit and win in Philadelphia.   April 29, 2022 – Mets 3, Phillies 0 Tylor Megill and 4 Mets relievers combine on the second no-hitter in franchise history.   September 22, 2016 – Mets 9, Phillies 8 (11) The Mets tie it in the 9 th on a Jose Reyes home run and win it in the 11 th on a 3-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera.   July 17, 2016 - Mets 5, Phillies 0 Jacob deGrom pitches a one-hitter. Only hit is a single by Zach Eflin in the 5 th inning.   August 24, 2015 – Mets 16, Phillies 7 David Wright homers in his first at-bat in more than 4 months. The Mets hit a team-record 8 home runs.   July 5, 2012 – Mets 6, Phillies 5 The Mets score 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9 th to beat Jonathan Papelbon. The winning run scores on David Wright’s bloop down the right field line.   August 13

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings

Trip(le) Through Time

In their illustrious history, the Mets have had one 'Triple Crown Winner,' so to speak and I'm not talking about the typical meaning of the term. I've gotten some queries recently as to whether a walk-off triple is even possible and I'm here to tell you that it is. There has been one, and only one, in Mets history, though I don't have the full explanation of circumstances that I would like. It took place against the Phillies on September 10, 1970. This was a marathon game that would have fit in perfectly with those having taken place so far this season and allowed the Mets to maintain a temporary hold on first place in an NL East race oft forgotten in team history. It went 14 innings, with a tinge of controversy in a negated Ken Boswell home run, a thrilling play by Bud Harrelson, who stole home in the third inning, and some stellar relief pitching, in the form of five scoreless innings from Danny Frisella, aided by Tim McCarver getting thrown out in a rundown b