Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

* Mets Walk-Off Loss #382 is the second walk-off loss of the 2009 season. * It was the 17th walk-off walk in Mets history, the second such walk-off against the Phillies. It was the first time the Mets lost via walk-off walk against the Phillies since June 25, 1982 (Bill Robinson vs Pete Falcone). * It's the 42nd walk-off win for the Phillies against the Mets. They have 5 walk-off win against the Mets since the start of the 2007 season. * It's the second walk-off loss the Mets have suffered on a May 2, the first since 1978 when Biff Pocoroba of the Braves beat the Mets, 5-4, with a walk-off single. * Ken Takahashi becomes the oldest Met to make his MLB debut (age 40), displacing Dae-Sung Koo (age 36).

I can't believe that I've never written about the Mets walk-off win of July 9, 1973. But after multiple unsuccessful searches, I've come to the conclusion that I have not written about the game played the day that Tug McGraw first uttered "Ya Gotta Believe!" during a pre-game team meeting with chairman Donald Grant. Perhaps I have, in which case you're treated to a blogging rerun, but it's not checked off in the "written" column of my database, which seems like an odd oversight on my part. McGraw's yelp is much more remembered than the game, which sounds like it would have been a good fit for an instant classic. Pitchers Tom Seaver and Don Wilson were in charge for six innings before Lee May homered for a 1-0 Houston lead in the seventh. The score stood that way until the home ninth, and the Mets survived being down to both their last out and their last strike before Jim Beauchamp tied the game with a two-on, two-out single to left center. T...

Maybe this hitting triples thing isn't the best of ideas. The Mets have now tripled in four consecutive games. They've lost three of those games. The club record for consecutive games with a triple is 5, set in 1969. I'm going to reminisce about the first of those games, because I think we all need something fun to read right about now. The 1969 Mets started slow. They were 2-5, 7-10, 10-13, and then 15-18 heading into their May 16 matchup with the Reds. This one is interesting for a number of reasons, first for its pitching matchup as the Mets went with usual reliever Tug McGraw against ex-Met Jack Fisher. Both got jostled a bit: McGraw charhed for five runs in five innings, Fisher for two runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings on what was a soggy day. Tempers flared a bit, with Ed Kranepool and the Reds first base coach getting into what the papers described as a wrestling match, though none were ejected. The Mets left six on base through six (sound familiar) but led 4-3 head...

It was a good night for the old guys- Gary Sheffield and Sergei Fedorov- and a lousy night for all others concerned with the outcomes of the Mets and Rangers games. Sheffield's triple had me checking out a list of the oldest Mets to triple, and while I could certainly see Willie Mays, Moises Alou, and even Orlando Hernandez tripling at some point, I was left puzzled to see one other name on the 40-year-old Mets to triple list. Frank Tanana. The New York Times devoted its game story for the contest of August 18, 1993 to Tanana's feat, though it doesn't explain how in the world he managed to hit one. Newsday does though, sharing that in the sixth inning, Tanana pulled a hanging slider down the first base line, and made it all the way to third base when rightfielder Tim Costo struggled to retrieve the ball. Newsday provided this quote: "I watched it the whole way," Tanana said. "I was hoping he would come up with it so I didn't have to go to third. When I ...

I've fallen a bit behind, something not uncommon for both the Mets and Rangers of late. I missed the chance to commemorate the Mets 7,500th game but I won't miss the opportunity to pay tribute to Omir "President" Santos, whom you may have heard Monday became the third Met whose first career home run was a grand slam (Jack Hamilton and Jose Reyes the others). We'll do that by reminiscing about the first grand slam hit at Shea Stadium. The honor went to Jim Hickman, and it accounted for all the Mets scoring in a 4-2 triumph over the Pirates, providing the home team with a rare 4-game win streak. Like Santos, Hickman went to left field, though this was described in the papers as a towering blast, one that cleared the distance marker that stood 371 feet from home plate (those used to exist to measure home runs). The New York Times game story and a little research fills in a few other blanks in a rather nifty manner: * The slam came against Vern Law, who had beaten ...