In winning their first National League pennant in 14 years, the 2000 Mets gave their fans a wealth of memories. But on an evening at Shea Stadium, outfielder Benny Agbayani gave one fan more than he should.
With Mike Hampton working on a shutout and protecting a one-run advantage, the San Francisco Giants had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the fourth. Reminder — one out.
Bobby Estalella hit a fly ball in the general direction of Agbayani in left field. Benny drifted over to his right and made the catch. Jeff Kent tagged from third. But thinking his grab ended the inning, Agbayani ran by the stands and handed the ball to a youngster.
He quickly realized his mistake, but it was too late. The gaffe was costly at the time. Kent scored, and so did Ellis Burks — who was able to take two extra bases.
“I looked at the scoreboard and I guess I saw the strike count instead of the outs,” Agbayani said to the New York Times. “I just glanced at it. It could have cost us the game and that would have been especially tough for Mike Hampton, the way he pitched.”
“My teammates kept telling me not to worry about it, that it was already done.”
It was easy to forgive Benny. For one, he had established himself a fan favorite thanks to his unlikely rise to the majors and narrowly avoiding being released earlier in the season. The Mets also had his back in more ways than just words. Although Agbayani compounded his rough night in the field with a bad night at the plate, the other hitters — namely Todd Zeile — picked up their downtrodden teammate. Zeile’s two-run double off Felix Rodriguez in the seventh flipped the contest in favor of New York, which went on to win for the 19th time in its last 25 games and saved Agbayani from further embarrassment.
Benny truly got the last laugh in October when he offered another ball into the stands — not with his hand, but rather with his bat — as a home run in the 13th inning of Game 3 of the National League Division Series defeated the Giants and helped the Mets on their way to the World Series.
