Last Mets Walk-Off Grand Slam…
Kevin McReynolds, June 25, 1991 vs. Montreal Expos
Scott Ruskin was pitching for the ‘Spos.
On base for the Mets: Keith Miller, Daryl Boston, Dave Magadan
retrosheet.org
Matt Harvey has a no-hitter after two innings. #Nats
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@washingnats Passive aggressive tweet of the night. |
Mets Manager Casey Stengel closely studies the action during a 1963 game. (Neil Leifer/SI)
GALLERY: Classic Photos of the New York Mets
When I got back to my locker, I checked my phone and the missed call was from 8:10 p.m. I’m like, why would he call me at that time? I’m at first base. He sees me at first base.
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Mets first baseman Ike Davis on Jay Horwitz, the team’s director of media relations and the “Barry Bonds of butt dialing.” (via washingtonpoststyle)
According to SportsNetNY, he’s a nice guy with a great Twitter account. |
With Alex Rodriguez’s benching by manager Joe Girardi for today’s fifth game of the ALDS against the Orioles, he finds himself connected to Hall of Famer Willie Mays - but not in a way A-Rod would want.
The only other time that a player with more than 600 home runs did not start a playoff game was Game 2 of the 1973 World Series when Mays, in his last season as a ballplayer, was not in the lineup for the Mets against the Oakland A’s. (He would pinch run for Rusty Staub in the 9th. The game would go 12 and Mays would end up 1-2 with an RBI and run scored.)
Random note: Mays final major league at-bat was in Game 4 of the World Series when he pinch hit for reliever Tug McGraw (then of Mets, best known as a Phillie) in the 10th inning. Mays grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Images:
A-Rod, copyright Elsa/Getty Images and courtesy si.com
The Say Hey Kid, courtesy thecrazymetsfan.com
David Wright gets his 1,419th hit as a Met, setting the all-time franchise record, during Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. New York defeated Pittsburgh 6-0 behind seven strong innings from Jeremy Hefner. (Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)
GALLERY: Iconic Photos of the New York Mets
CORCORAN: Updated pennant race standings
Keith Hernandez’s mustache has rarely left its perch below his nose in his adult life. It is the thicker, longer cousin to his eyebrows, the hirsute geometric center of his face. His mustache is an entity and a signature. After years of renown, it was voted the top sports mustache of all time in a survey by the American Mustache Institute in 2007.
But now, the Hernandez mustache might have a month of life left in it.
He announced the possibility of shaving it last week on a Mets broadcast. But…
Read: NYTimes
Next time you flip open your dictionary, get ready to shvitz. Because Gary Carter has forced his way in there. From the Associated Press:
“So who’s responsible for lobbing F-bomb far and wide? Kory Stamper, an associate editor for Merriam-Webster, said she and her fellow word spies at the…
Davey Johnson has the 20th best winning percentage of all-time, .562. That includes a .500 or better percentage with every team he has managed: Mets, Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, and the Nationals.
If the Nationals hold their position in the NL East, Johnson will become the first manager to lead four different teams to the playoffs. (Only the Dodgers didn’t reach the postseason.)
Hall of Fame anyone?
Davey Johnson
July 21, 2012
Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
In 2004, Roger Jongewaard was awarded the Roland Hemond Lifetime Achievement Award from Baseball America in honor of his career in baseball. Jongewaard was a scout, and a mighty good one at that.
Beginning with the New York Mets, Jongewaard pushed the team to draft future stars including Darryl Strawberry (#1 overall in 1980), Lenny Dykstra (13th round, 1981), and Billy Beane (#23 overall in 1980), who disappointed as a player, but made his name as the GM for the Oakland A’s and became famous as the subject of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball.
Jongewaard moved to the Seattle Mariners in 1985 and was instrumental in the decision to take a high school graduate from Moeller High School in Cincinnati: Ken Griffey, Jr. (#1 overall in 1987)*. Six years later, Jongewaard recommended drafting a high school shortstop from Florida named Alex Rodriguez (#1 overall in 1993).
Roger Jongewaard, who passed away at the age of 76, was named West Coast Scout of the Year in 2005 and was named a Legend in Scouting by the Professional Baseball Scouting Association in 2010.
Additional sources: USAToday.com and baseball-reference.com
(Image of Griffey courtey of pittpeas.mlbblogs.com; image of A-Rod is courtesy of North and South of Royal Brougham; image of Darryl Strawberry is courtesy of sikids.com and copyright of Manny Millan/SI.)
* Jongewaard convinced the Mariners to take Griffey over Cal State-Fullerton pitcher Mike Harkey. Harkey was drafted 4th by the Cubs. He would play for 8 seasons for four different teams, finishing with a 36-36 career record.
- OOTD
(Source: seattletimes.com)
8012th Time’s the Charm
The New York Mets’ Johan Santana has thrown the first no-hitter in the franchise’s history - which dates back to 1962.
Santana’s line:
9 IP 0H 0R 0ER 5BB 8K 134 pitches
Take that, San Diego Padres. (The Padres have never had a no-no either. Their drought goes back to their entry into the NL in 1969.)
Sources: baseball-reference.com and MLB AtBat 2012 app
