Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

The Mets won a road game by scoring the go-ahead run in the 9th inning. Fistbumps, upon awakening, will be awarded to Cory Sullivan...

Wednesday was the first time in a long time that the Mets, in a performance emblematic of the 2009 season, met all of the following criteria: * They played at home * They played a 9-inning game * They had at least 11 hits AND at least 4 walks * They managed 2 runs or fewer We mention this because the last time the Mets met all of the preceding criteria, they won via walk-off, and we haven't had much chance to celebrate past walk-offs this season. The game of reference took place on May 14, 1989 against the Padres, and the Mets went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, instead of Wednesday's lovely 2-for-18 effort (the second 2-for-18 of the season!). The Mets scored their first run in the opening inning on a bases-loaded single by Gregg Jefferies, but would set the tone for the rest of the contest by leaving three men on base. The home team would manage baserunners in every inning, killing off rallies in a variety of manners (three double plays), while stranding a dozen b

Steve Carlton gave up a Casey Stengel-esque 37 home runs to the Mets. That's the most home runs the Mets have hit against any pitcher. They've hit 33 home runs against Ferguson Jenkins, 30 against John Smoltz and 28 against Greg Maddux. The former is in Cooperstown. The latter two will be, or should be. They've hit 28 home runs against Rick Reuschel, who will need to pay admission to get into the Hall of Fame. He interrupts the path to Phil Niekro (27) and Juan Marichal (25). They've hit 25 home runs against Livan Hernandez, the most they've hit against anyone who was, at one time, a Met. That's one more than they've hit against Tom Glavine (24), and I wish they'd hit 24-hundred against him. They've hit 23 home runs against Don Carman- the same number they've hit against Bob Gibson (the Cardinal, not the ex-Met)- and that's the only time you'll ever see those two mentioned in the same sentence. There's no point (Dave Lapoint, 6) in go

We continue along with our ranking of the most Metmorable home runs among the 6,000+ hit in team history with a look at #50-41. For those who may have missed our first piece in this series, you can find it here: http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2009/09/sixty-count-em-sixty-most-metmorable.html We'll continue to rate them every Monday until we complete our list of 60. Your thoughts and feedback are welcomed in the comments section. 50- Robin Ventura, May 20, 1999 (#4,241, 4,245) Let's talk Robin Ventura grand slams, and I'm referencing home runs, not singles. Ventura hit 18 grand slams in his major league career, including five for the Mets. A pair came on the same day, one in each end of a doubleheader against the Brewers.He became the first player ever to hit a grand slam in both ends of a doubleheader. The common thread is that they both came on 3-2 pitches from lefties with two outs- the first in the first inning against Jim Abbott, the second in the fourth inning of the nigh