Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

I will be heading out of town at the end of the week for seven to 10 days (those who know me know where I'll be), but I wanted to maintain regular blog postings through the end of the World Series. So, this post will stay up through the weekend and will set the tone for a series of postings from guest bloggers next week. The theme of these posts deals with Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, as part of my "Didja ever notice..." series. I can tell you where I was for all sorts of events of varying significance. I can remember everything from my reaction when my sister was born (March 23, 1981, awoken from sleeping in the middle of the night after having watched the Burt Reynolds movie "The End" with my grandmother) to when O.J. Simpson was acquitted on murder charges (in a dorm room, along with several students at The College of New Jersey, one of whom kept saying over and over again "What a crock!") I can tell you where I was when Ross Jones got his firs...

And no, I'm not talking about Rich Gedman, Bob Stanley, Calvin Schiraldi, and John McNamara. If you're reading this post, chances are that you know about their foibles in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I'm here to spread the word about the others, whose poor showings hurt their squads in postseason matchups against the Mets. Such as... Tony Gonzalez and Orlando Cepeda, whose eighth-inning errors in Game 1 of the 1969 NLCS led to a five (unearned) run rally, and a 9-5 Mets win that set the tone for the next two games, in which the Mets pounded Braves pitching for 18 runs and 27 hits. Paul Blair, Don Buford, Davey Johnson, Brooks Robinson, and Frank Robinson: The Orioles hit only .146 in losing the 1969 World Series in five games to the Mets. This supposedly fearsome fivesome went a combined 9-for-91 against the Amazins. Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, because if we're going to pick on the Hall of Fame Robinsons, there are two Cooperstown residents who wore the horns in the ...

I have two memories related to Bill Buckner and the aftermath of the 1986 World Series. The first is seeing him on crutches at a National Pastime baseball card show a few weeks after the series concluded. He was there along with Mike Witt and Eric Davis, and while I don't remember getting their autographs (I did on a baseball on which the signatures have since faded away), I do remember the crutches and the sad look on his face. The other comes from working as a tour guide at Shea Stadium in the summer of 1994. We were gathered as a group in the old Jets locker room when fellow tour guide Lane Luckert tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a man applying fresh paint to one of the walls. "Hey look," Lane said, pointing to a man with a bushy mustache and a slight resemblance to a former player. "It's Bill Buckner." That was a good moment for a few yucks, though I don't think the real Buckner would have laughed at the time. Remember that this was just two...

OK, the J.C. Martin piece below completes my tour of Mets postseason walk-offs. Here are the links to a couple that I wrote during the regular season. More "Didja Ever Notice" stuff to come... 1999 NLCS Game 5 (6 yrs ago today-- October 17, 1999) http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/walk-off-most-foul.html 1986 WS Game 6 http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/10/didja-ever-notice-how-telecast-ended.html http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/09/didja-ever-notice-what-they-wrote.html http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/09/didja-ever-notice-signs-signs.html http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/didja-ever-notice-look-on-his-face.html http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/didja-ever-notice.html

Before Francisco Cabrera and Jerry Willard, there was J.C. Martin. I'm talking about no-name backup catchers who became noteworthy (at least in my eyes) for their walk-off accomplishments (Cabrera in the 1992 NLCS preceded by Willard in the 1991 World Series). Martin, the Mets primary caddy to Jerry Grote for two seasons, only got one plate appearance in the 1969 World Series, but he made the most of it. The Mets had already surprised many by taking a 2-games-to-1 series lead on the mighty Orioles, doing so on the strength of a ninth-inning RBI by Al Weis to win one contest and a one-man offensive and defensive show by centerfielder Tommie Agee to win another. In Game 4, played on Wednesday, October 15, they had their ace on the mound in Tom Seaver and Baltimore had a worthy counterpart in southpaw Mike Cuellar, who like Seaver, would go on to win his league's Cy Young. Let's appreciate the rarity of that because it marks the last time a World Series pitching matchup featur...

In TV, they call it a tease. When you see a news update during a commercial break in the tv show that you're watching, the goal is to entice you with just enough information to make you watch the news. Teases are well planned out, from the video you're watching to the description of what you can see, IF you tune in later. Sometimes the teases work. Sometimes they're a little too good. Monday nights in 1984 were CBS nights in our household, particularly from 9 to 11 pm. There was a sitcom with family appeal Kate and Allie , a humorously written comedy from a proven talent, Newhart, followed by an hour-long crime drama, Cagney and Lacey. On December 10, Emma McCardle developed a crush on her piano teacher, Dick Loudon got sued for plagarism, and Chris Cagney worried that Sgt. McKenna had given in to his cocaine addiction. Sometime between Dick's courtroom appearance and Cagney's confrontation with her police colleague, real news took over. CBS's New York affilate ...

Next blog post will likely be Friday morning. In the meantime...In case you missed it, Bill Buckner was in New York to help market a beer commercial that has the theme of "Second Chances." Apparently in said commercial, Mighty Casey gets another turn at bat and hits a home run. Buckner did the media tour on Tuesday and here are a few of the stories that were written. I will have something to say on the subject in a "Didja ever notice?" post (part of my series on 1986 WS Game 6) that will run either this weekend or next week. Newsday story http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--billbuckner1011oct11,0,6519370.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork New York Post http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/29386.htm NY Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/354875p-302501c.html AP Story http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2187744 Lastly, here's a link to "Elias Says" on ESPN.com. They had an unbelievable nugget linking Hideki Matsui...

Awhile back I was granted a unique perspective on Len Dykstra's walk-off home run that won Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS. A colleague of mine showed me some footage from a camera positioned in, of all places, the upper deck in right field. When given the chance to peek at this discovery, I took careful notes, such that I can almost tell you what it was like to be there (even though I wasn't). Here's some of what I jotted down in the form of both suggestions and observations. Why is it that the No. 7 train still looks exactly the same as it did nearly 20 years ago? (the footage opened with a shot of a train passing just prior to the start of the last of the ninth) They should bring back "Let's Go Mets!" as the ninth-inning rally theme music. It works much better than "I Need a Hero" or the theme from "Rocky." Speaking of which, whatever happened to "The Curly Shuffle?" On that note, bringing back the Rally Cap might be something fun and ...

So I started to write a blog about Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS, but I got bored rather quickly. My thinking was that rehashing this game wasn't going to be anything special, because it is such a well-known contest in Mets history. I don't have a particularly good story about watching the game, other than that I was at work, and when the Mets won, a Phillies fan termed their post-game celebration excessive. Then I discovered something. In the beginning of my writing, I had misspelled the last name of the man who hit the walk-off home run that won that particular game. My initial spelling of his name was "Agbyani," which thus was missing an "a" As someone who works in sports media (and was 5th grade class spelling champ at PS 190), I know the value of spelling . I have had a number of spelling encounters (though none with Aaron or Tori) over the years. When I was 12, I pointed out a flea-market forgery to my dad when I noticed someone selling a photo signed "...

Forgive me if I've shared some of these stories before, but thinking about Todd Pratt's playoff-winning home run gets me going on a bad tangent... When Pratt hit his walk-off home run on October 9, 1999, I was in the middle of a football broadcast in Schenecteday. I had access to tickets for both Game 3 and 4 of the NLDS, chose to go to Game 3, and fulfill a work commitment, both for a local radio station and a newspaper, the next day. I received nary a scoring update during the course of the game and didn't find out until I got to the SID's office that the Mets had won the game. I was pretty groggy that day, from not having gotten home from Shea until 2:30am and than awakened five hours later to catch a ride to Schenectady (Union 20, College of New Jersey 3. The Union SID gave me a high-five when I shared the Mets score.). Craig Brazell's walk-off home run against the Cubs on September 25, is also a memory missed due to a football broadcast (St. Lawrence 34, Coast ...

The NHL returned to business on Wednesday night with the opening of the 2005-06 season after the sport suffered through an ugly one-year absence. I've had an odd relationship with hockey, which has fluctuated between my second and fourth-favorite sports, usually depending on how good the Rangers, a franchise with a history more tormented than the Mets, were. I also covered the sport at the minor-league level for almost three full seasons during my tenure as a sportswriter in New Jersey. Hockey is a challenging sport to write about because the action happens so fast that it's hard to describe with accuracy and with flair (particularly without benefit of full-fledged instant replay in the minors), but I feel like I did a decent job on the beat, particularly in covering the human-interest angles (Human-interest is an issue with hockey ,in that there aren't a lot of interested humans, at least in the United States, but that's another topic for another day.) So I'll take...

We're working on our reminiscences of Mets postseason walk-off wins and promise to share some stories next week, but for now we stick with a topic that's garnered a little attention this week. So a former Mets nemesis, Jim Leyland is back in the dugout again, taking over the Tigers after a six-season hiatus. He says he's ready to withstand the day-to-day grind and hopes to bring prominence back to the city of Detroit, where it has long been absent, in the form of a championship like the one he won for the Marlins in 1997. We'll see how he does after a few walk-off losses, like some of those he had managing against the Mets. I always thought of Leyland as the picture of managerial misery in his stints with the Pirates, Marlins and Rockies. He always looked pretty unhappy his face drained of pleasure from a few too many thousand cigarettes. This was someone far too stressed from something that's supposed to be a fun game. I also thought of him as a worthy foe and a pr...

Continuing our "Didja ever notice?" series on Game 6 of the 1986 World Series "A little roller up along first...behind the bag!!! It gets through Buckner!!! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!!!... ... ... If one picture is worth a thousand words, than you have seen about a million words...but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Mets are not only alive, they are well, and they will play the Red Sox in Game 7 tomorrow. Let's go down on the field in this madhouse, to Marv Albert." That's what NBC broadcaster Vin Scully had to say in describing the final play of the baseball game that took place at Shea Stadium on October 25, 1986. In the space in which there are ellipsis (between the words "Mets win it" and "If one picture," there is a gap, one that lasted three minutes and 23 seconds. In that time, viewers watched the magic of television, as all sorts of fascinating images f...

With the playoffs beginning Tuesday, I thought I'd share my favorite postseason walk-off story from 2004. It's good to know that I'm a positive influence on the young people of America. It was about a year ago that I had to make a long drive to upstate New York for work purposes, meaning that I wouldn't get to watch that day's playoff action. I was significantly curious about the results, so I have the afternoon game that Friday, Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS between the Red Sox and Angels, my closest auditory attention. As day became night and the game stretched out, thanks to Vladimir Guerrero's game-tying grand slam, I ran into an issue of significance. I was hungry. I was well-fortified by an early lunch, but having left later than expected, I was also eager to get to my hotel room. My stomach battled by brain for a good half hour as this game remained even through the eighth, ninth, and into the 10th. There was a sign on the turnpike for an upcoming stop at whic...

For those curious regarding Monday's managerial maneuverings, it's as easy as 1-2-3 to tie them in to Mets walk-offs... The Mets only had one walk-off win against Dodgers manager Jim Tracy (the team and former skipper mutually parted ways on Monday). It was a 6-5 triumph on May 20, 2001, decided on a hit by Tsuyoshi Shinjo. The Mets had two walk-off wins against Tigers teams managed by Alan Trammell (fired on Monday). Mike Cameron did the honors on both days, with a game-winning homer and a game-winning single on June 18 and 19, 2004. The Mets had three walk-off wins against Marlins skipper Jack McKeon (announced his retirement on Sunday), all coming, as previously mentioned, during the 2005 season. Also noteworthy on Trammell from a walk-off perspective, tying things back to the Mets: On October 3, 1987 (18 years prior to his firing), he had a walk-off single (one that should have been ruled an error on shortstop Manny Lee) in the 12th inning of a 3-2 Tigers win against the Bl...

The Mets had eight walk-off wins, matching their 2004 total. The breakdown was as follows 5 walk-off singles 2 walk-off home runs 1 walk-off walk 6 extra-inning walk-offs The grand tally is now at 330* documented walk-offs, a total that includes postseason, in Mets history. The * is in place for two reasons, one of which I'll explain at another time, and the other because I have no verification that the tally is 100% accurate. By my count, I have written about, in some form, 89 of those 330 games, so we still have a long ways to go... Let us review the Mets year in walk-offs. April 13 vs Astros : Jose Reyes singled off the gloves of both pitcher Dan Wheeler and shortstop Adam Everett, allowing Victor Diaz to race home from second with the winning run, after a weak throw home by Astros second baseman Chris Burke. This was the second game of a three-game sweep of the Astros in the Mets first homestand of the season. Game summary: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=250413121 April ...

I know some people were wondering if I'd maintain this blog once the season ends. The answer is that I will. Here's the tentative plan. I will post a couple of pieces next week. One is a Mets walk-off year in review. Another is a reminiscence about a non-Mets walk-off moment from the 2004 Division Series that I enjoyed. I will probably post a couple of times a week during the playoffs, perhaps relating current events to Mets events of the past (probably will do something on Mets postseason walk-off home runs). It is highly unlikely that I will post during the World Series, as work beckons. Perhaps I will file a "Didja ever notice?" piece (about 1986 WS Game 6) or two away to run during that time. I'd guess that during the winter months, I'll post an average of twice a week. I have some stories I want to tell. I may try to track down some Mets walk-off alums. I may delve into a few non-Mets walk-offs, if you'll indulge. If the Mets make a big free agent sig...

For those of you who missed it earlier this seson, here's a link to a post I did regarding a Mike Piazza walk-off home run from 2001. Wanted to make sure some of you saw it, as it completes my review of Piazza's walk-off home runs as a Met, to this point. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/07/clairvoyance-prognostication-and-walk.html

Mike Piazza broke Carlton Fisk's home run record for catchers on May 5, 2004. On May 6, 2004, Mike Piazza hit what was probably, barring what would be some pretty neat circumstances these next few days, his last walk-off home run as a New York Met. Guess which one we're going to talk about? That home run put Piazza into a tie for most walk-off home runs in Mets history with four, a mark he shares with Kevin McReynolds, Chris Jones, Cleon Jones. (I guess you could say that keeping up with the Jones' was an issue for Piazza in more ways than one (Chipper and Andruw being his primary foes)). This is one of those lists that Piazza belongs on, and deserves to stay on, to aid in the argument of his being the most clutch hitter in Mets history (we can list Keith Hernandez as 1a if you like), which is another discussion entirely, one that perhaps we'll take on when Piazza signs this offseason with the Angels, Orioles, or Rangers. Anyhow, on this night, the Mets and Giants got i...

For those who linked from Metsblog.com, you can visit the rest of this site by clicking here Mike Piazza has made it a regular habit during his Mets career to go on these torrid hot streaks during which he delivers big hits in bunches and is impossible to get out. These runs take on several different forms but the best part about them is the oomph they provide for the rest of the team. The Mets have wasted some of Piazza's big hits, but they rarely waste one of Piazza's mega runs. There's the half-long version, which looks something like this .351 BA 18 HR 63 RBI .656 SLG Pct .430 OBP There's the month-long version, which looks something like this .375 BA 9 HR 20 RBI .750 SLG Pct .462 OBP And there's the week-long version, which resmembles something akin to this .500 BA 4 HR 9 RBI 1.292 SLG Pct .571 OBP The first set of numbers are his after the All-Star Break in 1998. The second set comes from May, 2000. The last group is the one to which we refer today, as it come...