Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Randy Tomlin Getting back to the subject of Mets frustration (and Friday seems like a good day to do so, given Thursday's events), you may have heard on Sunday that Phillies starter Adam Eaton is one of baseball's all-time best pitchers against the Mets, with a 5-0 mark. In fact, there's only one retired pitcher with a better perfect record against the Mets. That would be former Pirate Randy Tomlin, who currently works as a pitching coach for the Potomac Nationals , a Class-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. For those who don't recall, this, in a nutshell, is Randy Tomlin's career, which spanned from 1990-1994. That coincides with a time in which the Pirates were on the rise, and the Mets were on a steep decline. Tomlin vs Mets W-L 9-0 (4-0 at Shea) ERA 2.05 Opp BA .216 Tomlin vs Everyone Else W-L 21-31 ERA 3.55 Opp BA .277 Randy Tomlin's nickname was "Whispers" and we thought it could be because the Mets couldn't get within earshot of a vic...

Here, we pay tribute to Billy Wagner, who has thrown eight no-hit innings this year, the first pitcher in Mets history to open a season with eight straight hitless appearances of at least one inning each. He's also the first pitcher in Mets history to have nine straight hitless outings of at least an inning each. You may recall (or blocked it out) that Wagner's last appearance in 2007 (7-4 loss to the Marlins on the final Friday) yielded a hit-free inning. So he's basically pitched the equivalent of a no-hitter, at nine innings and counting. The Mets have never had a pitcher throw a no-hitter in a regular season game. However, they've had "mini" no-hitters. Many of them. * It was the 3,270th time that a Mets pitcher appeared in a game, PITCHED AT LEAST ONE INNING, and finished with no hits allowed. John Franco is your all-time leader with 238 full-blown "minis." Your Top 5 Mets "Mini" No-Hit Outings (ie: 1+ innings, finished with no hits) J...

For those linked directly to this page, might I also interest you in what I wrote yesterday? http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2008/04/darryl-strawberry-your-time-has-come.html As well as something I wrote on Billy Wagner's hitless innings streak http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-no-hitters-but-many-minis.html How's this for synergy? About 2 minutes after I win a Brian Bannister bobblehead doll on E-Bay, Johan Santana became the first Mets pitcher with two doubles in a game since ... Brian Bannister tore his hamstring doing so, against the Giants on April 26, 2006. It's an eclectic group of pitchers that have twice doubled in a game for the Mets: Johan Santana (2008) Brian Bannister (2006) Bobby Jones (1997) Sid Fernandez (1986) Mike Scott (1982) Tom Seaver (1967) Gerry Arrigo (1966) For the record, the only pitcher to lose a game in which he doubled twice for the Mets was Seaver, who got beat that 1967 day on a walk-off home run by Joe Torre. For those curious abo...

Since the current team isn't worth talking about at the moment... I was, at some point, going to write an article about how the Mets next inductees ino the club Hall of Fame is a slam dunk: that you could coincide the opening of a real Mets Hall of Fame at Citifield with the induction of the entire 1969 Mets team, from 1-game wonder Jesse Hudson to Tom Seaver, they should all have their photos/names on display for all to see. But in thinking about it, I also began to ponder this. What to do about Darryl Strawberry? Darryl Strawberry has the most home runs (252) and most RBI (733) in Mets history. David Wright may surpass Strawberry someday as the best Mets home-grown position player, but that day has not come yet. Strawberry was a member of the team for eight seasons and in seven, the Mets were legit World Series contenders. He had an extraordinary number of positive contributions to the team. When he left, the Mets went south, and were a non-contender for a LONG time. Say what you...

Agbayani List : List of hard-to-spell Mets. Agent Zero : A player who has had zero (singles, doubles, etc) in their Mets career Agony To Ecstasy Finish : Game won when the final out is recorded on an opponents base hit. Armando Junior: A 30+ pitch 1-inning save. Bail-Out Walk-Off : Walk-off in which a save chance is blown in the top of the 9th. Benitezian Save : Save in which a pitcher walks 4+ in an inning or less Best Games I Know: Favorite Mets wins, sorted by opponent. Bugaboo : Pitcher against whom you have no HR, or no hits. Caught-Off: Game that ends on a caught stealing Chalk-Off: When a ball, on the precipice of fair/foul status, hits chalk. Charles Schulz : Wise American philosopher, though not a Mets fan. Clockhands Final : Game in which the final score is 12-6. Didja Ever Notice ?: Name given to questions regarding the events of October 25, 1986. GT2O RBI : Abbreviation for Game-Tying RBI with 2 outs in the 9th. HOTWOOD : Stands for "Home Openers That Weren't O...

I don't get many visitors on Sunday's, but just to have some fresh material up on site... David Wright currently leads the NL in RBI. He'd be trying to become the 2nd Met to lead the NL in RBI, joining hitting coach Howard Johnson (1991). By my count, 12 others, who played for the Mets at some point in their careers, have led their league in RBI (8 NL, 4 AL). Originally, I had hints listed...no one posted a guess in the comments section, so the answers are now listed below the hints. 2003 NL- Son of Dad Preston Wilson 1989 NL- "curveball, and that's gonna be hit to centerfield, base hit." Kevin Mitchell 1984 NL- Soonafter a Met Gary Carter 1976-78 NL- Metsmerize this George Foster 1971 NL - Skipper Joe Torre 1964 NL- In the Cards Ken Boyer 1962 NL- Initials are same as football scoring play Tommy Davis 1955 NL- Royalty Duke Snider 2003 AL- Slumping Carlos Delgado 1995 AL- He wasn't facing a pitching machine Mo Vaughn 1981 AL- Surly star Eddie Murray 1963 A...

Didn't realize this until just a few moments ago (thanks, Baseball-Reference), but Johan Santana's 10+ strikeout game was the 300th REGULAR SEASON double-digit strikeout effort by a pitcher in franchise history. They've also had 3 such efforts in postseason. So we've had 47 fewer such games than we've had walk-offs. * Your all-time leader in Mets 10+ K games: No surprise, Tom Seaver with 62. Most 10+ strikeout games Mets history Tom Seaver 62 (including 2 in postseason) Dwight Gooden 47 (including 1 in postseason) David Cone 33 Sid Fernandez 31 Jerry Koosman 24 Nolan Ryan 14 >> Mets broadcaster Ron Darling ranks 10th with 7 * 49 different Mets pitchers have struck out 10 batters in a game. Among the others who, like Santana, have exactly one. Charlie Puleo Roy Lee Jackson Randy Tate Dennis Ribant Pat Zachry * The most surprising name on the list of 10+ K Mets pitchers: How about Tug McGraw? The Tugger had 10 in six innings in an 8-5 walk-off win over the Astro...

David Wright is emotional when it comes to walk-offs. Check out his reaction to walk-off win #349, courtesy of YouTube I don't think the SNY cameras caught it, but after Wright flied out to deep center in the bottom of the 10th of this most recent walk-off win, he went bonkers, including the utterance of a rather loud profanity, one that could be heard a couple levels up in the ballpark. Poor David. He wants, so badly, to hit a walk-off home run. Maybe some day. Other minutiae from the craziness... * This was the 3rd time that Laz Diaz was the home plate umpire for a Mets walk-off win, the first since the Mets beat the Marlins, 3-2, on Mike Jacobs walk-off single in the 12th inning on September 20, 2005. * At 4 hours, 45 minutes, this was the 10th-longest walk-off win in Mets history (including 2 postseason games- Ventura single in 1999, and Agbayani HR in 2000), and the 9th-longest Mets walk-off win in Shea Stadium history. * Joel Hanrahan is one of 11 pitchers to lose to the Mets...

Frustration is leaving your Connecticut apartment at 3:20 pm and returning to your Connecticut apartment at 3:20am. Walk-off number 350, aka "A long, ugly game that turned out pretty" (Willie Randolph's words) was the 2nd Mets walk-off win of the season and the 330th (including postseason) to take place at Shea Stadium. Frustration is not bringing your sweatshirt to go with your light jacket because you're only gonna be at the ballpark for three hours, maximum, and the temp isn't gonna drop that much. It was the 3rd walk-off win in Willie Randolph's tenure to last at least 14 innings, the first since May 23, 2006 when Carlos Beltran's walk-off HR beat the Phillies in the 16th inning. Frustration is your fourth through seventh hitters striking out in succession, not once, but twice, against a pitcher who had never struck out more than four batters in any GAME. It was the first time the Mets got a walk-off win in a game in which the opposing starter struck o...

So I've got this little mini-series of a thing going here on frustrating losses and loyal reader Eric Orns contributed nicely to the cause, both with the title for this piece and the suggestion to look into one rather petrifying game, which led to another neat discovery. I don't know how many of you took heed when Jeff DaVanon signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. Jeff's father, Jerry played in the major leagues too, and from what I can tell, didn't have a hugely successful career, other than a pair of shining moments against the Mets. My sympathies if you remember the 1-0 10-inning loss to the Astros on July 6, 1976, as if you're a Mets fan, you'd have wanted to block this one far out of your memory. In this game, the Mets had eight hits and drew 10 walks against Astros starter J.R. Richard (167 pitches) and scored NO RUNS. Kudos to the record keepers who alerted the media to the major-league records set, at the time, in this game: Most men left on bas...

As a public service announcement for those who read my post of frustration from 2 days ago. It should be noted that the Mets have never lost a game in which they allowed 0 runs. They are now 521-0-1 in such circumstances. The story of the tie can be found here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/delayed-attribution.html

You can read the tribute we wrote to Jackie Robinson last year at http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/04/remembering-jackie-robinson.html Since we're paying tribute to baseball's greatest No. 42 today, I thought I'd share that the 42nd walk-off win in Mets history took place on Father's Day, June 18, 1967, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cubs. New York Times writer Leonard Koppett, who would later pen books about the Mets, pointed out that Father's Day had been bad luck for the Mets, as their history indicated they'd lost 9 of 10 games on such a date, including being perfectoed by Jim Bunning in 1964. The bulk of the attention on this day was paid more to Game 2, a Mets defeat, one suffered by prize prospect Tom Seaver, but Game 1 is actually of greater significance for our purposes. The Mets appeared headed to defeat in this one, as they trailed early, 3-0, thanks to back-to-back home runs by Ernie Banks and Randy Hundley against Mets starter ...

I must admit that 19 hours later, I'm still sitting here muttering "How could the Mets lose that game?" I am incredulous at the idea that they could hit into a double play in 5 innings in a row, that they could make the errors and stupid baserunning mistakes unbefitting of this kind of a team. But you know what? Sometimes that's just the way it goes...just like losing a game on a non-shot off a skate (hello, fellow Rangers fans). You have to take the good with the bad. These things happen. For example: * On 3 occasions, the Mets have lost games in which they scored 11 runs. Amazingly, they happened in consecutive years: 1995 (May 6, 13-11 to the Reds, blew an 11-4 lead), 1996 (August 21, 12-11 to the Giants), and 1997 (May 6, 12-11 to the Rockies). * The Mets have twice lost games in which they hit 5 home runs. They fell 9-8 to the Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 4, 1993, and 8-6 at home to the Reds on August 3, 1962. * The Mets have twice lost games in which they ...

Some minutiae on Friday's win ... * Nelson Figueroa is the 5th pitcher born in Brooklyn to start and win a game for the Mets, joining John Pacella, Ed Lynch, John Candelaria, and Pete Falcone. He's the 5th Brooklyn native to be a Mets starting pitcher (the other is Frank Seminara). Note: John Franco never started a game as a Met, which is why he's not listed. * As mentioned multiple times on the broadcast, Figueroa's last win was also against the Brewers, August 15, 2003. They are the only team in the majors against whom he has more than one win (he has 2). * Figueroa's only previous start at Shea Stadium was a Mets walk-off win- with the Phillies on July 29, 2001. He allowed two runs in six innings that day as well, and the Mets won 6-5 on Mike Piazza's 9th inning home run off Rheal Cormier. * This was only the 2nd time in Nelson Figueroa's last 22 outings that his team won the game (talk about ultimate-mop-up). His appearance in the Mets 13-0 win over the ...

I quote from the pilot episode of Cheers in this blog entry, hoping that walk-off win #349 will serve as the pilot episode for a better season ahead. For those curious, the quote originates from Diane taking a phone message for Sam. When she gets done, Sam asks for the message. Diane replies with the line I used in the title. Sam's punchline is "Thanks. What's the message?" From what I understand, you're supposed to keep things simple when writing a pilot episode, so we'll do so with these notes. * It only took the Mets 8 games (3 at home) to ensure that they'd have at least one walk-off win for the 47th straight season. It was their first walk-off win since August 21, 2007, when Luis Castillo singled in the winning run. * It's the first walk-off win against the Phillies since Carlos Beltran beat them with a 16th inning home run on May 23, 2006. It is the 34th walk-off win for the Mets against the Phillies, and only the second to last 12 innings. The ...

And you thought Wednesday night's game was weird. Shea Stadium has seen weirder. Though it's been awhile. The only other time the Mets scored AT LEAST 8 runs while getting 5 hits OR FEWER at home was on May 14, 1969, against the Braves. But this was not a garden-variety 9-run, 5-hit effort in a 9-3 walk-up victory (for newcomers: that means a game won in the bottom of the 8th, rather than 9th). This was one of those games that made the season particularly Metmorable, and the account from the New York Times is particularly entertaining. The matchup was one pitting a pair of future Hall of Famers- Tom Seaver and Phil Niekro, and for six innings, the knuckleballer was the better of the two. Not only did the Mets trail 3-0 heading to the home seventh, they were a team without a hit. Niekro retired the first 13 batters and had allowed no damage until Ken Boswell's triple started the seventh. Boswell would score on a groundout by Cleon Jones, but Niekro was still up, 3-1, headin...

For those unfamiliar with what game Governor Patterson was talking about during his interview with Kevin Burkhardt during Tuesday's Mets game. On May 4, 1964, the Mets and Braves clashed in Milwaukee (not Atlanta, yet) in more ways than one. The game itself was a great pitchers duel between Mets hurler Galen Cisco and Braves moundsman Denny Lemaster. The Mets, losers of 13 of 16 entering, got a run right off the bat, when third baseman Charley Smith clubbed a leadoff home run. They would not score again. In fact, Lemaster was the master, allowing only one hit the rest of the way. The Braves took the lead in the home second when Moises Alou's father, Felipe singled in two runs following an error by Mets centerfielder Joe Christopher. The Mets didn't really threaten again until the ninth inning when, with one out, Ron Hunt singled, than advanced to second on a Christopher single. Their biggest power threat, Frank Thomas followed, with a ground ball to third base, apparently n...

I actually thought it was pretty cool that Red Sox fans gave Bill Buckner a standing ovation upon his return to Fenway Park. I will say this though: I don't care if the Mets win the next 20 World Series. I would never endorse anything of the sort for Tom Glavine. Considering how Tuesday went, that's all I have to say for now.

The Mets have been 2-3 before. Many times. In fact, they were 2-3 in 1969, 1986, and 2000, so maybe that's a good omen. Of course, they've been 2-3 in some lousy years, so maybe not. But the Mets have never had as interesting a 2-3 start as they did 40 years ago. Greg Prince, of " Faith and Fear " did a nifty job chronicling the precursors to the Miracle team in the recently published Meet the Mets annual, but we'll zoom in a little closer on the beginnings of those beginnings. The 1968 Mets opened with a walk-off loss, but it wasn't just any walk-off loss. It was a blow-your-guts out and eat 'em with a knife-and-fork 5-4 loss, in a game in which Tom Seaver led Juan Marichal and the Giants, 4-2 in the ninth inning. Moises Alou's uncle Jesus delivered the stomach-punch, a two-run double off Danny Frisella that plated the tying and winning runs. The Mets didn't get many opportunities to win games like that. Some might even call it a devastating defe...

Can Johan "The best defensive pitcher the Mets have ever had" Santana play goalie for the New York Rangers? I think he would be pretty good actually, based on what I've seen from his first two starts. I have some slight concerns, both for the New York baseball team and the New York hockey team heading into this week. My baseball concerns can be alleviated by recalling that the 1986 Mets started 2-3. But I can't seem to shake my nervousness about the Rangers-Devils playoff matchup, scheduled to begin Wednesday night. What teams led the NHL in walk-off losses? Well, there was a tie- the Rangers and Blues, each with the unlucky 13. Who had the 2nd-most walk-off wins in the NHL? The Devils and Thrashers tied with 15, trailing only the Oilers. I'm sorry, but as much as I like Henrik Lundqvist, I have to admit that I'd take Martin Brodeur over him every day of the week (even though 9 of those 13 losses were in shootout, and there are no playoff shootouts). And given...