Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

The Mets have now lost 386 games by walk-off, including postseason. 7 of them have been by walk-off grand slam. Do you really want to know any more than that?

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- J

In 1964, Braves outfielder Rico Carty, who made a career of putting up Amazing numbers against the Mets, hit .509 against them, with eight home runs and 27 RBI. Albert Pujols didn't quite take his game to that astronomical level, but hius 2009 season against the Mets was a near duplicate of that of the man he figures to rreplace as the greatest Cardinal of all-time. Check this out: Stan Musial vs 1962 Mets- .468 BA, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 2 K, 11 BB Albert Pujols vs 2009 Mets- . 469 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 2 K, 7 BB What's particularly impressive from a Pujols perspective is that he put up those numbers in 9 games. Musial did his damage in 17 games. Stan the Man does have one accomplishment on his resume that Pujols doesn't, at least not yet. Musial hit three home runs in a game against the Mets on July 8, 1962. Pujols has five multi-homer games against the Mets, but has yet to hit three against them in one contest. Most Multi-HR Games vs Mets 8- Willie McCovey 6- Willie Mays 5- Albert Pu

The folks at "Faith and Fear" told you on Wednesday morning that 'Stranger Things Haven't Happened' in regards to this Mets team. And then came Wednesday's game. Let's review. * Mets starter Jonathon Niese pitched 1 2/3 innings, and the Mets won, 9-0. The Mets have never thrown a shutout in a game in which their starter lasted fewer than two innings. * Reliever Nelson Figueroa, who pitched on Monday, not only pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings; he also tripled AND drew a walk. Nelson Figueroa is the second pitcher in Mets history to triple and draw a walk in the same game. The other did it twice (1970 and 1983): Tom Seaver. * I repeat: Mets reliever Nelson Figueora tripled and walked. A major league relief pitcher had not tripled and walked in the same game since Astros reliever Ron Cook...in 1970! * I repeat again: Mets reliever Nelson Figueroa tripled... The Mets are 4-0 all-time when they have a relief pitcher hit a triple. The 3 others: Eric Cammack (2000)

Look at it this way...at least you got to see a Met rarity on Tuesday night. Mark DeRosa's go-ahead HBP in the 10th inning marked the first time that the Mets have ever allowed a go-ahead, extra-inning HBP IN THEIR HOME BALLPARK. Would like to compile a list of the dumbest injuries in Mets history. Luis Castillo is not the first Met to be a dugout-steps victim (Pat Zachry, after allowing a hit to Pete Rose to extend Rose's hit streak, kicked the dugout steps and broke his ankle), but he seems a worthy candidate for such a list. The truly down Mets fan knows... This marked the 2nd time the Mets have allowed a go-ahead extra-inning HBP in any ballpark. The other, amazingly enough, also came against the Cardinals. It was a walk-off hit by pitch, drawn by Jerry Davanon against Jack Aker on July 25, 1974.

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, I want Nelson Figueroa inducted. To complete the sentence...I want Nelson Figueroa inducted into the Minor League Baseball Hall of Fame. Nelson Figueroa's career minor league record is 119-79. That's perseverance, dedication, and greatness. When we think of Mets pitchers with extended minor league careers, we think Rick Anderson, Terry Leach, and Rick Reed among others. But Figueroa's numbers dwarf all of them. Figueroa's career winning percentage in the minor leagues is .601. For comparitive purposes: Win Percentage in MLB Tom Seaver: . .603 Tom Glavine: .600 So it's safe to say that Nelson Figueroa, from a minor league perspective, is in pretty good company. For what it's worth, I'd watch a Figueroa minor league start over a Glavine Mets start any day. True Metgueroas know... Nelson Figueroa's 10-21 career MLB record is a near match for former Met reliever Jeff Innis (10-20).

It's late, so I'm keeping it really brief... Fistbumps = Angel Pagan * Walk-up win #171 (walk-up=bottom of 8th win) was the Mets 3rd of the season and 2nd this week. * Angel Pagan hit the 5th walk-up grand slam in Mets history, his first career grand slam Walk-Up Grand Slams Mets History (game-winning grand slam in bottom 8th) 2009- Angel Pagan (Diamondbacks) 2009- Fernando Tatis (Rockies) 1985- Gary Carter (Braves) 1978- Lee Mazzilli (Phillies) 1963- Jim Hickman (Braves) * This was only the 2nd walk-up win by the Mets against the Diamondbacks. The other came on May 6, 1998. Coincidentally, it was the 2nd Mets walk-up win in a week's time (May 3) and the other came against the Rockies.