Skip to main content

They Don't Make Em Like The Mook Any More

"There are certain things that stay with you, your whole life in sports. Mookie flying is one of those things."
-- Blogger's father, 1:10pm on Feb 9.

During the 1987 season, Mookie Wilson was on first base in seven instances in which the batter at the plate hit a double.

How many times do you think Mookie scored?

I'll give you a hint: Every time.

According to some recent reading I've done,

The average runner scores from first base on a double around 40-45 percent of the time.

Mookie's career percentage: 65 percent (45 of 69)

The average runner goes first to third on about 27 percent of singles hit.

Mookie's percentage: 50 percent (120 of 240)

The average runner scores from second base on about 58 percent of singles hit.

Mookie's percentage: 75 percent (162 of 215)

How good was Mookie Wilson? Let me put it to you this way.

The guy turns 54 years old today (and got an early present by being re-hired by the Mets as a minor league instructor). I'd take the current Mookie replacing Beltran for a few weeks in centerfield over any of our current options.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Mookie doesn't always get the credit he deserves. The guy defined "hustle" and he was one hell of a fine baserunner; fast, smart and aggressive. His career numbers don't fully convey how important he was to the 1980's Mets.
1:44 AM
Anonymous said…
Just wanted to add that every time Mookie went from first to third, his helmet flew off everytime too.
9:14 AM
ChrisKelsey said…
Your dad is right. One of my clearest and fondest baseball memories is of Mookie scoring from second base on an infield single (or was it a ground out?) in the division clincher at Shea in 1988. I had the best seats I'd ever had at a baseball game--field level behind third base--and I felt like I was running alongside him. The Mets' dominance officially ended the day they traded Mook to the Jays. Jeff Musselman, for chrissake ...
9:59 AM
Anonymous said…
Mookie was my favorite player on the team in the glory days of the late 80s. It wasn't just the Buckner ball and all that. And it wasn't because he was the best. It was just fun to watch him, and he always seemed to make the most of the ability that he had.
10:52 AM
dave crockett said…
I Always loved his feet-first pop-up slide he used to be on his feet quickly in case of an errant throw.

My clearest memory of Mookie is going in and taking out Cincy 2B Ron Oester on a play some thought dirty. It was the quintessential aggressive-but-not-dirty play. I loved watching him play.
11:31 AM
Anonymous said…
I've seen Mookie go from 1st to 3rd when the batter hit a ground ball out. How many guys do that????!!!
2:32 PM
Term Papers said…
Certainly There are some things that stay with us, our whole life in sports. Mookie flying is one of those things.
6:49 AM
john-e-be said…
"The guy turns 54 years old today (and got an early present by being re-hired by the Mets as a minor league instructor). I'd take the current Mookie replacing Beltran for a few weeks in centerfield over any of our current options."

Perhaps Mookie's new gig is the front office's thinly-veiled, incentive-laden offer to come to camp and make the major league roster after he grows tired of the constant scenario of: "No, no. Not like that. Here, let me show you."
3:42 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trip(le) Through Time

In their illustrious history, the Mets have had one 'Triple Crown Winner,' so to speak and I'm not talking about the typical meaning of the term. I've gotten some queries recently as to whether a walk-off triple is even possible and I'm here to tell you that it is. There has been one, and only one, in Mets history, though I don't have the full explanation of circumstances that I would like. It took place against the Phillies on September 10, 1970. This was a marathon game that would have fit in perfectly with those having taken place so far this season and allowed the Mets to maintain a temporary hold on first place in an NL East race oft forgotten in team history. It went 14 innings, with a tinge of controversy in a negated Ken Boswell home run, a thrilling play by Bud Harrelson, who stole home in the third inning, and some stellar relief pitching, in the form of five scoreless innings from Danny Frisella, aided by Tim McCarver getting thrown out in a rundown b
Post a Comment
Read more

Best Games I Know: Phillies (Updated)

  The best wins against the Phillies in Mets history …   May 5, 2022 – Mets 8, Phillies 7 The Mets score 7 runs in the 9 th inning to overcome a 7-1 deficit and win in Philadelphia.   April 29, 2022 – Mets 3, Phillies 0 Tylor Megill and 4 Mets relievers combine on the second no-hitter in franchise history.   September 22, 2016 – Mets 9, Phillies 8 (11) The Mets tie it in the 9 th on a Jose Reyes home run and win it in the 11 th on a 3-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera.   July 17, 2016 - Mets 5, Phillies 0 Jacob deGrom pitches a one-hitter. Only hit is a single by Zach Eflin in the 5 th inning.   August 24, 2015 – Mets 16, Phillies 7 David Wright homers in his first at-bat in more than 4 months. The Mets hit a team-record 8 home runs.   July 5, 2012 – Mets 6, Phillies 5 The Mets score 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9 th to beat Jonathan Papelbon. The winning run scores on David Wright’s bloop down the right field line.   August 13
Post a Comment
Read more

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings
Post a Comment
Read more