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In the Summer of '69 Part II

Continuing our game summary noting Mets past and present who were born during the championship season of 1969.

Part I is linked here:
http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2009/05/in-summer-of-69-part-i.html

(Thanks again to http://metstats.wordpress.com/ for the birthday data)

June 2, 1969 (Kurt Abbott)
The Mets got to .500 to stay with a 2-1 win over the Dodgers, evening their record at 23-23. Jerry Koosman rescued the Mets after a dicey start to the ninth inning put a Dodgers runner on third with no outs, coaxing a pair of popouts before getting Jim Lefebvre on a fly to left to end the game. The Mets got their lone runs on consecutive fourth-inning RBIU hits by Jerry Grote and Al Weis.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Kurt Abbott's lone Mets walk-off hit was a home run to beat the Orioles on June 8, 2000.

August 19, 1969 (Matt Franco)
One of the most famous Mets regular season walk-off wins came on the same day that a player who would shine in an equally famous walk-off win 30 years later, was born.

The closest thing to beating Mariano Rivera by walk-off (which Franco did on July 10, 1999) was to beat Juan Marichal by walk-off, which the Mets did on this date. It took until the 14th inning for the Mets to get the game's lone run on their only extra-base hit of the day, a Tommie Agee home run. That provided great reward for the 10 shutout innings from Gary Gentry and four zeroes in relief from Tug McGraw on a day where Willies Mays and McCovey were a combined 0-for-11.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Matt Franco had the walk-off hit in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers on April 24, 2000. That game lasted only nine innings.

August 26, 1969 (Ricky Bottalico)
As part of a stretch in which the Mets went 12-1, they swept three doubleheaders from the Padres, with this one the last of the trio, in San Diego. This was an unusual pair of wins in that it was a day in which Jim McAndrew (shutout) pitched better than Tom Seaver (8-4 winner). Tommie Agee did some nifty things for the offense, with five hits and three runs scored in seven at-bats.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know... Ricky Bottalico was the losing pitcher in a 1-0 Mets walk-off win on Opening Day, 1998.

September 7, 1969 (Darren Bragg)
Before vaulting taking a couple wins from the Cubs and eventually vaulting into the NL East's top spot, the Mets had to first down the Phillies. They did so on this date thanks to Nolan Ryan's three shutout innings in relief of Gary Gentry (foreshadowing playoff success). A six-run explosion in the seventh and eighth frames put the Mets up 9-3 and featured key hits from Ken Boswell, Tommie Agee, and Rod Gaspar.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Darren Bragg's best game of his 18 as a Met was a four-RBI effort in support of Al Leiter, in an 8-0 win over the Dodgers, May 18, 2001.

September 22, 1969 (Jeff Barry)
The game before the game before the Mets clinched the NL East was the opener of an eventual three-game sweep of the Cardinals. The Mets habitually beat Nellie Briles and did so on this date, 3-1. Tom Seaver got the win and had an RBI, improving his mark for the season to 24-7. The Mets took the lead in the sixth inning on an Art Shamsky RBI single, one following a passed ball by future broadcaster Tim McCarver.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...The Mets went 3-12 in Jeff Barry's 15 games with the team, with one of the wins a 9-8 triumph in Pittsburgh on July 7, 1995. The Mets rally from an 8-3 deficit was capped by Todd Hundley's two-run home run with one out in the ninth.

September 25, 1969 (David Weathers)
One day after clinching the NL East, the Mets had the day off. Dennis D'Agostino, author of This Date In Mets History notes that they spent the day cutting "a record of 10 baseball songs, setting Tin Pan Alley back 50 years."

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Of the more than 900 games in which David Weathers has pitched, he was the winning pitcher in two Mets walk-off wins.

October 6, 1969 (Robert Person)
The most valuable person on this date was Nolan Ryan, who allowed two runs in seven innings of relief in the Mets pennant-clinching 7-4 win over the Braves in Game 3 of the NLCS. Tommie Agee, Ken Boswell and Wayne Garrett each homered and combined for all seven of the Mets RBI. The key out for Ryan was Moises Alou's dad, Felipe, who lined to short with two men on to end the eighth inning.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Robert Person was traded by the Mets to get John Olerud, who had a pair of walk-off hits in his three seasons with the Mets.

October 12, 1969 (Jose Valentin)
The Mets got their first World Series win, edging the Orioles, 2-1 in Baltimore on a ninth-inning single by Al Weis. Jerry Koosman went 8 2/3 innings to get the victory over Dave McNally, getting final-out help from Ron Taylor. The other Mets run came on a home run by Donn Clendenon.

Those celebrating a happy Mets birthday know...Jose Valentin's lone walk-off hit for the Mets came on July 26, 2006, in a 1-0 extra-inning win against the Cubs.

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