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Just Win (One For The) Baby

Mike Pelfrey had his start pushed back from Saturday to Monday, allowing him to be with his wife for the birth of their child.

So he won't be pulling a Jon Matlack.

This Date In Mets History is great for anecdotes and one-liners that allow us to learn things such as what happened on July 2, 1975.

"Hours after the birth of his son, Danny, Jon Matlack beats the Cubs, 7-2."

There's a little more to it than that, as I gleaned from reading newspaper accounts of the game, going. beyond the basics (Felix Millan's four RBI and a Joe Torre home run)

For one, Matlack was up at 6 a.m. to get his wife to the hospital for the birth of their third child (a boy).

For another, he pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits., making for a heck of a long day.

Lastly, he somehow managed to walk three times as a hitter.

He was the second Mets pitcher to do that, joining Jay Hook, while tying a major league record in the process (the last MLB pitcher with three walks in a game- Joaquin Andujar in 1984).

Notes like that get me excited, because as you know, I'm a big fan of that kind of minutiae. You know what I think of them?

They're awesome,...baby!

True Mets babies know...One of my favorite Ralph Kiner stories is about how he used to struggle to beat his wife at her sport, tennis (she was a professional player).

Kiner has noted that he was quite pleased the first time he won a match from her. I'm paraphrasing here, but his next line was something along the lines of:

"And a few weeks later, our first child was born."

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