Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

In Boston, they refer to the game of May 13, 2007 as "The Mother's Day Miracle." The Red Sox were trailing the Orioles, 5-0 in the ninth inning, and were being three-hit by Jeremy Guthrie. Julio Lugo led off the ninth and grounded out. Coco Crisp followed by popping up to the catcher. Or not. Ramon Hernandez muffed the ball, allowing Crisp to reach first base. For some reason, that resulted in Guthrie's removal, in favor of Danys Baez, despite Guthrie having thrown only 91 pitches. David Ortiz doubled to center on Baez's second pitch, scoring Crisp. Wily Mo Pena singled, advancing Ortiz to third. With the outcome having gotten slightly more dicey, Baez was pulled for Orioles closer Chris Ray. That didn't work either. Ray walked both J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis, forcing in a run to make it a 5-2 game. With the bases loaded, Jason Varitek lined a double to right center. Two more runs scored and the tying run, Youkilis, went to third base. Now it was 5-4, Oriole

So this is what it's come to, celebrating the arrival of mediocre, journeymen has-beens (whatever happened to Wilson Valdez?). If we must, we must. Angel Berroa beat the Mets with a walk-off hit once, something of which I have no recollection. The game took place on June 12, 2004 and the Mets were in the midst of a 5-game losing streak. This was one that would have fit in well in 2009. A 2-0 Mets lead disappeared when Berroa hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning against Al Leiter. In the seventh, Leiter found success against Berroa, getting him to pop out to help escape a runner on third, one-out jam. The Royals took the lead in the home eighth when Carlos Beltran singled, stole second (Joe McEwing failed to get down a tag) and scored on Mike Sweeney's hit off David Weathers. The Mets tied the game in the ninth on Todd Zeile's RBI double, but Zeile would get doubled off second on Kaz Matsui's fly out to end the inning. Zeile evidently was at home plate when the dou

Continuing Monday's list of the most notable plays at the plate in Mets history September 20, 1973 We've referenced "Ball on the Wall" many times in our writings here, and I strongly suggest you check out some of what we've done on the subject that was a vital game between the Mets and Pirates. The moment of moments took place in the top of the 13th when Pirate Richie Zisk was thrown out by Mets left fielder Cleon Jones trying to score on what he had to have thought was a sure-thing home run to left field by Dave Augustine. Imagine his shock to learn that the ball hit the fence, caromed to Jones, and with a perfect relay throw to home plate, Zisk was toast. I've read a good number of accounts on what took place on that play, but Jones' account, as featured in the next day's pages of the Bucks County Courier Times, trumps any I've read. "The ball didn't hit the top of the fence," Jones said. "It hit the corner of the two-by-four,

Their success on Sunday notwithstanding, the Mets have struggled to hit home runs throughout 2009. So, rather than partake in chatter related to Monday's Home Run Derby, I thought I'd create my own little project. I call it the Run Home Derby. I took about a week to compile the most memorable plays at the plate in Mets history, IE: instances in which someone was indulging in a different kind of home run. The play could be by a Met, as was the case in a couple of instances, or against the Mets, which make up a significant portion of the listings. For those who like the "Best Games I Know" series, think of this as the "Best Plays I Know." They are listed chronologically, beginning with those from the 1960s, and I encourage you to submit any I may have omitted. April 15, 1965 The Karate Kid had a winning maneuver called "The Crane." The Mets, on this date, had one called "The Krane." In the second inning of their meeting with the Astros, the