Good morning, Mets fans! The slate of postseason games Wednesday contained loads of fireworks as home runs were slugged and tickets were punched. The day started out in Philly, where Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos both sent two balls out of the park on their way to a 10-2 win over the Braves and a 2-1 series lead. The Diamondbacks took over the nightcap as they lit Lance Lynn up like a...
Good morning, Mets fans! Wednesday brought another slate of four Wild Card matchups and made sure there would be no games left to play on Thursday, as all four series ended in two-game sweeps. The Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies all advanced last night, giving themselves off until Saturday by closing out the series early. While it was a day of...
It would’ve been hard for anything to exceed the hype of the first All-New York World Series in 44 years, but the personal confrontation between the Mets’ power-hitting catcher and the Yankees’ most renowned starting pitcher did just that. Few hitters gave Roger Clemens as much trouble as Mike Piazza. The pair faced off 25 times. Against a pitcher who would strike out more than...
More often than not in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Braves got the better of the Mets. That dominance extended into the 1999 NLCS when Atlanta overcame New York in six games to advance to their fifth World Series trip of the decade. At Shea Stadium 22 years ago, just when it looked like the end result would be all-too-familiar, the Mets managed to get the Braves’ number. Ten, to be...
It would’ve been difficult for anything to exceed the hype of the first World Series pitting two New York teams in 44 years, but the personal clash between the Mets power-hitting catcher and the Yankees’ most renowned starting pitcher did just that. Few hitters gave Roger Clemens as much trouble as Mike Piazza. The two faced off 25 times. Against a pitcher who would strike out more...
He had been part of the Mets organization since 1991, began with the major league club in 1993, was an Opening Day starter in the mid-90s, and an All-Star in 1997. By the time they reached the postseason in 1999, Jones was one of the longest-tenured players. But when it came time to make up the playoff roster, Jones — who had a 5.61 ERA in just 12 appearances — was left off. Getting the chance...
The greatest comeback in Mets history? Game 6, 1986 World Series — obviously. The largest deficit ever overcome by a Mets team? That would be September 2, 1972 in Houston — making up eight runs on the Astros. What took place on a Friday night in June at Shea Stadium 21 years ago doesn’t hold the same significance as the ‘86 Fall Classic and not quite the depth of recovery in ‘72 at...
The card above is from the 2002 Fleer set. I came across it recently while cleaning out and organizing baseball cards that haven’t been seen by the author in quite some time. What was the date of the game played? Can we determine the exact play in the game? Was Jay Payton safe on the play? Who is the umpire, and who is the opposition player also shown on the card? Did the Mets win the...
Cue the Baha Men. The Mets embraced this one-hit wonder musical group’s top track during the postseason, as most of the country did in the summer. They even allowed them to alter “Who Let the Dogs Out?” with a Mets theme. And speaking of things that were confined to the year 2000, Mike Hampton in New York had already been considered a success by the time October arrived. He was...
The Division Series match-up pitting the Mets against the 97-win Giants assumed the usual headliners: New York’s duo of Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo along with San Francisco’s power odd couple of Barry Bonds and former Met Jeff Kent, the likely MVP of the National League. Postseason baseball, though, has a way of placing the spotlight on the unheralded — those who happen to...
It’s generally a bad idea to give good teams any extra chances to win. The Mets, who came into the middle of August as arguably the hottest team in baseball, took full advantage of their opponents’ occasional generosity while repressing their own self-inflicted mistakes. The end result was five wins in eight games that week, giving them 21 victories over their previous 27 games. A...
Twenty years ago today, Mets outfielder Derek Bell stepped to the plate leading off the bottom of the eighth inning against Braves pitcher Don Wengert with New York trailing 8-1. The Mets were all but toast against the first place Braves. With two outs in the inning, the Mets were still losing 8-2 and only had one runner on base. Back-to-back singles by Todd Zeile and Jay Payton brought the...
