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Aspro Doom

The folks at MikeMav.com were kind enough not only to confirm my belief that Jack Clark was tied for most walk-off RBI in the 1980s, but to provide a list of the walk-off RBI leaders by each decade in which the Mets have existed.

The most intriguing list comes from the 1960s:

Most Walk-Off RBI
1960s
13- Frank Robinson
13- Bob Aspromonte
13- Roberto Clemente
11- Felipe Alou
10- Ron Santo

What name doesn't belong?

I'll give you a hint:

Frank Robinson ranked 3rd in the 1960s with 1,011 RBI
Ron Santo ranked 5th in the 1960s with 937 RBI
Roberto Clemente ranked 8th in the 1960s with 862 RBI
Felipe Alou ranked 30th in the 1960s with 611 RBI

The other guy on the list, Bob "I was the last active player who was a Brooklyn Dodger" Aspromonte, had 417 RBI, the 71st-most in the decade.

A quick look at his career totals indicates that on his best day he was decent, and for the most part, he was a very average player. But one with one skill.

For whatever reason, Bob Aspromonte was able to raise his game significantly when a walk-off scenario beckoned. Aspromonte had a knack for the 9th. Aspro hit .277 when the game was in the 9th inning or later, .249 otherwise.

Aspromonte was involved in a pair of walk-off scenarios, both for and against the Mets, though the latter two didn't come until the 1960s were completed.

Aspro could actually claim a 14th walk-off RBI in the decade, if we counted his game-tying single for the Astros against the Mets in the ninth inning of the first game as a doubleheader on September 8, 1962, but since the winning run scored on Frank Thomas's error (Aspro was credited with only the tying RBI), we won't.

Aspro's other anti-Met moment was in the 24-inning game between New York and Houston on April 15, 1968 when his bases-loaded grounder scooted through the legs of Mets second baseman Al Weis. Aspro got the winning RBI in that instance, as determined by the official scoring.

Aspromonte had a pair of walk-off hits for the 1971 Mets in his final major league season.

On May 25, he beat Jim Bunning and the Phillies with an 11th-inning single down the right field line (after a nice take-out slide by Tommie Agee prevented a rally-killing double play).

On September 25, his 15th-inning single to center scored Bud Harrelson (nice avoidance of tag at home plate, according to newspaper accounts) and concluded a 2-1 win over the eventual World Champion Pirates.

For those curious, a look at the other decades:

1970s
15- Dusty Baker
12- Graig Nettles
12- Tony Perez
11- 9 guys

1980s
14- Andre Dawson
14- Jack Clark
13- Ted Simmons
12- Alan Trammell
12- Carney Lansford
12- Phil Garner

1990s
14- Ron Gant
13- Todd Zeile
12- Mark Grace
12- Matt Williams
11- Joe Carter
11- Mickey Tettleton

2000s
16- David Ortiz
13- Joe Crede
12- Orlando Cabrera

True Metspromontes know...
I'm going to decline comment on Monday's game (much like LeBron James with Game 6), other than to offer up one statistical nugget, courtesy of http://fangraphs.com/

J.J. Putz
Percent of Batters Swings That Were Misses

2006- 31.1
2007- 24.7
2008- 24.7
2009- 17.9
(Note: In same span, average fastball speed has declined from 95.6 to 93.5 MPH)

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