The Von Hayes Game Haunts Me to This Day

Forget Freddy Krueger.  This is the true man of my nightmares.  (MLB.com)

On June 11, 1985, the Mets took on the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium.  New York entered the game with a 31-22 record, leaving them just three games behind the first place Chicago Cubs.  The Phillies, on the other hand, were already falling out of contention in the N.L. East with a 20-34 mark.  Only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians had a worse record in the majors than the phloundering Phils at the time.

Starting for the Mets that night was Tom Gorman, who was making just his seventh start in the big leagues but was entering the game with a solid 2.52 ERA.  Philadelphia countered with Charles Hudson, who had lost each of his previous four starts, with the Phillies having scored a total of seven runs in those four contests.

Clearly, the Mets appeared to have an advantage coming in to the game.  Then Von Hayes happened.  And I haven’t recovered since.

Without going into too much detail for fear that I’ll suffer a post-traumatic Mets disorder breakdown, Gorman faced seven batters and retired one of them.  He couldn’t retire Von Hayes, who led off the game with a home run.  Gorman had already been replaced by Calvin Schiraldi by the time Hayes batted for a second time in the first frame, not like Hayes could tell the difference, as he launched a grand slam off Schiraldi.  An inning later, with Schiraldi still in the game, Hayes singled and scored a run.

After two innings, the Mets were losing, 16-0.  And then it got worse.

Schiraldi allowed ten runs before manager Davey Johnson ended his suffering.  The Mets then scored seven unanswered runs to make it 16-7, at which time Johnson summoned Joe Sambito from the bullpen to relieve Doug Sisk, who had pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings.  Clearly, Sambito decided he was going to pay homage to Schiraldi’s performance, as he gave up ten runs of his own.  Included in the carnage was a bases loaded walk to Von Hayes, who later came around to score his fourth run of the game on a groundout.

The final straw in what became a 26-7 loss came during the WHN radio post-game show when the turning point of the game was announced.  Was it Von Hayes’ leadoff homer or his grand slam?  How about Sambito giving up a ten-spot after the Mets had cut the deficit to a “manageable” nine runs?  Nope, it happened well before either of those events took place, as fellow Von Hayes Game sufferer Vince Vincenzo can attest.

I can tell you exactly what I was doing during this game - Jr year of HS studying for a Regents exam the next morning I’m listening on the radio. In the post game they announced the answer for the turning point of the game contest for the next morning - the national anthem!

— Vincent Vincenzo (@vvincenzo) June 11, 2020

Oh say, can you see how much this game affected me.

Things eventually got better for the Mets following their historic loss to the Phillies, a game that forever put Von Hayes’ name in the minds of Mets fans who obsess over every little thing about their team.  (And by “Mets fans who obsess over every little thing about their team”, I mean me.)

New York passed the first place Cubs in the standings and went on to win 98 games in 1985, just two victories shy of a franchise record.  Yes, they lost the division to the St. Louis Cardinals instead of the Cubs, but they proved that the 1984 campaign - a year in which they won 90 games and finished above .500 for the first time in eight years - was not a fluke.  They continued their climb in 1986, a season that culminated in the franchise’s second World Series championship.

Since winning it all just sixteen months and sixteen days after the Von Hayes Game took place, the Mets have reached the playoffs six times, including three division titles and two National League pennants.  One would think that success would erase the events of June 11, 1985 from my mind.  One would be wrong.

The truly Hayesian effort continues to haunt me to this day.  Every time the Mets fall behind by a significant number of runs early in a game, I find myself saying aloud, “Who’s going to be Von Hayes in this game?”  Whenever a Mets reliever comes into the game in a mop-up role, proceeds to get shelled and then is left on the mound to take one for the team, the Schiraldi and Sambito Wrecking Crew come to mind.

Even while watching a Mets game that ends up well for the good guys, the Von Hayes Game is inevitably brought up.

During the current pandemic, SNY has taken to showing classic Mets games from years past.  One contest that has been aired ad nauseam is Game Seven of the 1986 World Series.  As we all know, while Von Hayes and his Phillies’ teammates were watching this game at home, the Mets were putting together their second straight comeback win against the Red Sox.  With the score tied in the seventh inning, Boston manager John McNamara brought in Calvin Schiraldi to face Ray Knight, who had delivered a key single against Schiraldi in the miraculous tenth inning comeback just two nights before.  Knight followed up his bloop in Game Six with a blast in Game Seven, taking Schiraldi out of the park to give the Mets the lead.  But they weren’t done yet.

After Knight circled the bases, Schiraldi allowed a hit to Lenny Dykstra, uncorked a wild pitch on a pitchout to Rafael Santana, then gave up another hit to Santana.  After Roger McDowell moved Santana into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, McNamara replaced Schiraldi with Joe Sambito, who continued to add gas to the fire.  Sambito issued two walks and allowed a sacrifice fly to Keith Hernandez, which scored the sixth run of the game, otherwise known as the run that was the difference in the 8-5 championship-clinching win by the Mets.

A normal fan would have just celebrated the rally by the Mets, praising their clutch hitters coming up big in key late-inning situations.  I guess I’m not a normal fan.  Because this is what I was doing while watching that seventh inning (even though I mistakenly referred to it as happening in the sixth; I blame Von Hayes for my error).

Friendly reminder that Calvin Schiraldi and Joe Sambito, who pitched in this pivotal sixth inning, combined to give up 20 runs in the Von Hayes Game just a year earlier as members of the Mets.#Mets #SNY #1986WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/fR69g6DW1D

— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) May 25, 2020

We all have games that give us a kind of post-traumatic Mets disorder; games that are forever associated with the opposing player responsible for our pain.  Whenever someone mentions the Terry Pendleton Game, we know what they’re referring to.  The Mike Scioscia Game?  Don’t get me started.  Some people even can’t let go of the Jason Jennings Game (although I think those people remember it more for Donne Wall than for what Jennings did to the Mets).  Personally, I’m surprised that after his devastating performance against the Marlins to close out the 2007 season, Tom Glavine didn’t say, “I’m disappointed, but at least it wasn’t the Von Hayes Game.”

See what I mean about PTMD and not being able to let things go?

For me, I can’t seem to rid myself of the Von Hayes Game, which took place 35 years ago today.  It comes back to me during blowouts.  It comes back to me during World Series viewings.  It comes back to me when I flip the channel past VH-1 and think it stands for “Von Hayes Won”.  Heck, I can’t even see the Van Halen logo and not think of Von Hayes.

You can't unsee it, can you?

A third of a century after “The Von Hayes Game” became part of my vocabulary, the Mets defeated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 24-4.  In that game, played on August 16, 2018, the Mets broke a 31-year franchise record for runs scored in a game.  They pounded out 25 hits, of which 11 went for extra bases.  It got so bad for the home team that they used two position players to pitch the final three innings.  The Mets knocked them around as well, crossing the plate nine times in those three frames.

I should have been ecstatic at the offensive outburst.  I should have been thrilled the Mets beat up on a division rival.  I should have celebrated a long standing franchise record being toppled.  Instead, I just said four words as the game came to its conclusion.

“TAKE THAT, VON HAYES!!”

I guess it just goes to say that in good times and in bad, the man and the game that put his name in my brain will always find a way to haunt me.  Anyone know the number of a good exorcist?

Call the Ghostbusters.  I'm being haunted by Von Hayes. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

30 Years Later: "Little Roller Up Along First..."

Every generation has its defining moment.  People who grew up in the 1960s know exactly where they were when President Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated.  In the 1980s, every American knows where they were when the Space Shuttle exploded.  It's no different for Mets fans.

People who grew up rooting for the Mets remember every detail of the 1969 Miracle Mets' run to the World Series.  Fans of my generation well up with happy tears when you mention two words to them:  Game Six.  How can anyone forget the night of October 25, 1986?

The Mets were facing elimination entering Game Six of the 1986 World Series.  They fought back to tie the Series at Fenway Park after dropping the first two games of the Fall Classic at Shea Stadium.  Then Bruce Hurst shut them down in Game Five to send the series back to New York with the Mets down three games to two.

It was up to Bob Ojeda to save the Mets' season.  He was opposed by Roger Clemens, who was on his way to his first Cy Young Award.  Ojeda was also called upon for Game Six of the 1986 NLCS against the Astros, a game in which the Mets defeated Houston in 16 innings to claim the National League pennant.  In that game, Ojeda struggled early, giving up three runs in the first inning before settling down.  Game Six of the 1986 World Series was no different for Ojeda.  He gave up single runs to the Red Sox in each of the first two innings, but then settled down.

When Ojeda was replaced by Roger McDowell to start the seventh inning, the Mets had come back against Roger Clemens to tie the score at 2.  Although the drama that unfolded in the tenth inning is what Game Six is most known for, a number of interesting events occurred in the seventh inning that are often forgotten.

With one out and Marty Barrett on first base for the Red Sox, Jim Rice hit a ground ball near the third base line that barely stayed fair.  Ray Knight fielded it and threw wildly to first base, with the ball popping in and out of the glove of a leaping Keith Hernandez.  That brought up Dwight Evans with runners on the corners.  Evans hit a ground ball for the second out of the inning, but Barrett scored the go-ahead run and Rice was able to advance to second base.  That was when Mookie Wilson became a hero for the first time that night.

Roger McDowell was able to get ahead of Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman by throwing strikes on the first two pitches, but Gedman then grounded the 0-2 pitch from McDowell between short and third for a base hit that appeared to give the Red Sox an insurance run.  However, Mookie Wilson charged the ball and fired a strike to Gary Carter at home plate to cut down a sliding Jim Rice for the third out of the inning.

The defensive efforts of Wilson and Carter helped keep the Red Sox lead at one, a lead that would be erased when the Mets came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Roger Clemens had been pinch hit for in the top of the eighth inning, so the Red Sox brought in former Met Calvin Schiraldi to pitch the bottom of the eighth.  Schiraldi had been brilliant in relief for the Red Sox during the regular season, compiling a 4-2 record and a sparking 1.41 ERA.  However, all that changed once Lee Mazzilli led off the inning with a base hit.  Lenny Dykstra followed with a sacrifice bunt, but he reached first base safely when Schiraldi threw wildly to second base in a failed attempt to nail Mazzilli.  Now the Mets had two men on with nobody out for Wally Backman, who laid down a bunt of his own.  His successful sacrifice moved Mazzilli and Dykstra into scoring position for Keith Hernandez, who was intentionally walked to load the bases.  That brought up Gary Carter.  On a 3-0 pitch, Carter had the green light and lined a sacrifice fly to left field.  The fly ball allowed Mazzilli to score the tying run.  When neither team scored in the ninth inning, the stage was set for the most dramatic frame in Mets history.

The inning started with a bang, but not the one wanted by Mets fans.  Dave Henderson led off the tenth with a laser beam down the left field line that just stayed fair as it cleared the wall.  The home run off Rick Aguilera silenced the Shea Stadium crowd of 55,078 and gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.  They weren't done yet.  Aguilera came back to strike out the next two batters but then proceeded to give up a double to Wade Boggs and a run-scoring single to Marty Barrett.  The latter hit gave the Sox an insurance run as the lead was now 5-3.  The next batter was hit by a pitch.  Who was the victim of Aguilera's wayward offering?  None other than Bill Buckner (more on him later).  Now there were two men on base for Jim Rice.  Rice could have redeemed himself for being thrown out at home in the seventh inning with a hit in the tenth.  However, Rice failed to add to the Red Sox lead when he flied out to Lee Mazzilli in right.  His failure to come through in two crucial spots set up the events in the bottom of the tenth inning for the Mets.

Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez were due to lead off in the bottom of the tenth inning.  However, two fly balls later and the Mets were down to their final out with no one on base.  The dream was one out away from becoming a nightmare.  108 regular season wins and a thrilling NLCS against the Astros would mean nothing if the Mets couldn't start a rally against Calvin Schiraldi and the Red Sox.  The Shea Stadium scoreboard was flashing "Congratulations Red Sox: 1986 World Champions" and NBC had already awarded its player of the game to Marty Barrett.  Then Gary Carter stepped up to the plate and something special began to happen.

On a 2-1 pitch from Schiraldi, Carter singled to left.  Then Kevin Mitchell, pinch-hitting for Rick Aguilera lined a hit to center on an 0-1 curveball.  The tying runs were now on base for Ray Knight.  If you recall, Knight had made an error in the seventh inning that led to a run for the Red Sox.  Perhaps this game would never have gone into extra innings had Knight not committed his error.  Knight didn't care.  All he cared about was getting a hit to continue the inning.  Unfortunately for him, Schiraldi threw his first two pitches for strikes.  The Mets were down to their final strike, but Knight had a little something to say about that.

On a pitch that was headed for the inside corner of the strike zone, Knight fisted it over Marty Barrett's head into short center for another base hit.  Carter scored from second base and Mitchell went from first to third on the hit.  The tying run was 90 feet away and the winning run was at first base.  Red Sox manager John McNamara had made up his mind.  He was going to Bob Stanley to try to win the World Series.  Stanley would face one batter, Mookie Wilson, with everything on the line.

Stanley would throw six pitches to Mookie Wilson to get the count to 2-2.  Hoping for strike three with his seventh pitch, Stanley let go of the pitch and at the same time, let go of the lead.  The pitch was way inside, causing Mookie to throw himself up in the air to avoid getting hit.  Fortunately, the ball didn't hit Mookie or Rich Gedman's glove (or home plate umpire Dale Ford for that matter).  The ball went all the way to the backstop and Kevin Mitchell was able to scamper home with the tying run.  The wild pitch also allowed Ray Knight to move into scoring position with the potential winning run.  All Mookie needed to do now was get a base hit to drive him in, or perhaps he could so something else to bring him home.

During the regular season, John McNamara had always removed first baseman Bill Buckner for defensive replacement Dave Stapleton during the late innings.  However, this time Buckner was left in the game despite the fact that he was hobbling around on two gimpy legs and had just been hit by a pitch in the previous inning.  What was McNamara's reasoning for the decision?  He wanted Buckner to be on the field to celebrate their championship with his teammates.  Instead, Buckner was on the field for a different celebration.

Buckner was at first base as the count went to 3-2 on Mookie Wilson.  A mountain of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders once he went airborne to elude Stanley's pitch.  A relaxed Mookie came back to the plate to finish what he came up there to do.  After fouling off two more pitches, including a line drive that curved foul down the left field line, Wilson hit a slow ground ball that hugged the first base foul line, bringing Mets fans to their feet as Bill Buckner hobbled to the line in an attempt to field it.  I'll let NBC broadcaster Vin Scully describe what happened.

"Little roller up along first.  Behind the bag!  It gets through Buckner.  Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!"

A miracle had happened on the diamond.  Perhaps Mookie's grounder hit a pebble.  Perhaps Buckner took his eyes off the ball as he watched Mookie sprint down the first base line.  Perhaps God was a Mets fan.  Regardless of what caused it to happen, Mookie's grounder found its way under Buckner's glove and the Mets lived to see another day.  (Buckner later admitted in the film "Catching Hell" that his momentum as he approached the first base line caused his glove to close on its own, a split second before he would have fielded it.  With the glove closed before the ball reached it, the grounder was able to scoot by the gimpy first baseman.)

As a dejected Bill Buckner walked off the field, Shea Stadium was rocking as it never had before.  Mookie Wilson was still running towards second base because he had no idea that Ray Knight had scored the winning run.  Ron Darling, who was scheduled to start the seventh and deciding game of the World Series the following night (even though it was rained out and played two nights later), admitted that he could see dust falling from the roof of the Mets dugout because of the vibrations caused by the fans jumping up and down over it.  Keith Hernandez had left the dugout to go into Davey Johnson's office after making the second out of the inning, but never moved from the chair he was sitting in, even after the historic rally had begun because as he admitted afterwards, the chair he was sitting on had hits in it.

As the unbelievable events were flashing on the TV screen for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to have tickets to the game, Vin Scully came back on the air after a long pause to tell the viewers everything they needed to know about what they had just seen unfold at Shea Stadium on that Saturday night.  The recently retired Hall-of-Fame broadcaster said:

"If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words.  But more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game Six of the 1986 World Series.  The Mets are not only alive, they are well and they will play the Red Sox in Game Seven tomorrow."

Game Six didn't give the Mets the World Championship as many baseball fans mistakenly believe.  There was still one game left to play.  Although it was scheduled for the following night, rain put a hold on Game Seven until the night of Monday, October 27.  Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who had been scheduled to start the seventh game for the Red Sox, was scratched from his start to allow Met killer Bruce Hurst to pitch.  But I'll leave that narrative for another night.

For now, think of the memories you have of that unbelievable Game Six.  Imagine how different things would have been if Jim Rice had not been thrown out at home plate in the seventh inning, or if Bob Stanley had relieved Calvin Schiraldi before Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell or Ray Knight produced base hits in the tenth inning.  Mets fans who celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Miracle Mets during Citi Field's inaugural campaign might still be talking about that team as their only championship squad.

A miracle happened at Shea Stadium 30 years ago today, on October 25, 1986.  It is the single greatest Mets memory I have.  I'm sure for many of you reading this, it's your favorite Mets memory as well.  Do Mets fans believe in miracles?  If you watched Game Six of the 1986 World Series, the answer is a definite yes.

The Best On The Worst: Lee Mazzilli

When the Mets made their debut in 1962, they did so by employing a manager and several players who had achieved various levels of success on the New York baseball stage.  But Casey Stengel, Roger Craig, Gil Hodges and Don Zimmer did not replicate that success with the Mets.  Attempts to bring native New Yorkers into the fold also failed to generate fan-demonium at the Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium, as Brooklyn-born backstop Joe Pignatano failed to catch on with the Mets and Bronx-bred Ed Kranepool played well, but not nearly at the level expected from a player who broke Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg's home run records at James Monroe High School.

Other than Kranepool, whose team records were set more through longevity than actual successful seasons, the Mets did not have a true blue (and orange) New York success story with any of their players.  The athletes who contributed to the team's rapid rise in the late '60s and early '70s were mostly out-of-towners, with few native New Yorkers in the mix.  If the Mets drafted a native son, he was traded away before becoming a star (see Singleton, Ken).  Likewise, if the team traded for a player born in the Big Apple, it was usually after he had played his best baseball (see Torre, Joe).

After over a decade of existence, the team finally drafted a native New Yorker, developed him, and turned him into a fan favorite at Shea Stadium.  Unfortunately, once he became a star, there weren't that many fans coming to see the team play at the ballpark.

Lee Mazzilli was a hometown boy through and through at a time when fans were through with the Mets.

Lee Louis Mazzilli was a typical New York kid growing up in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn.  His parents were children of Italian immigrants and his father worked in the family business.  As a young man, Mazzilli was a two-sport athlete.  But his second sport wasn't a team sport.  In fact, as much as he loved baseball, Mazzilli was probably better at speed skating.

Mazzilli won several speed skating tournaments as a teenager, but knew he had a brighter future as a baseball player.  The Mets noticed Mazzilli's baseball skills as well, drafting him with the 14th overall pick in the 1973 June amateur draft, just a few selections behind future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Dave Winfield.

Growing up, Mazzilli idolized center fielder Willie Mays.  Like Mays, Mazzilli played stickball on the streets of New York.  Mazzilli would also corral fly balls using the same basket catch made famous by the former Giant.  Now Mazzilli was going to play for his hometown team, the New York Mets, the same team that employed the soon-to-be retired 42-year-old Mays.  Mazzilli never got to play with his boyhood idol on the field at Shea Stadium, but when he finally reached the big leagues in 1976, everyone had their eyes on him, just like they used to watch Mays.  But not everyone was looking at Maz for his baseball talent.

Before playing in his first game with the Mets, Mazzilli was a five-tool talent in the minors.  With blazing speed that he honed on the ice skating rink, Mazzilli turned fly balls in the power alleys into routine outs.  He also averaged over 40 steals per season from 1974 to 1976, while reaching double digits in home runs in each of those three campaigns.  The Mets finally called him up on September 7, 1976, but Mazzilli did not hit for a high batting average in the final month of the season, managing a .195 mark in 24 games.  However, Mazzilli did display a keen eye at the plate, drawing 14 walks in 93 plate appearances to give him a respectable .323 on-base percentage.  He also stole five bases and hit two homers, including a three-run blast for his first major league hit a day after making his big league debut.  Mazzilli's other homer was even bigger, as he crushed a walk-off two-run shot off Pirates closer Kent Tekulve on September 20, a blast that effectively ended the Bucs' reign atop the NL East.  (Pittsburgh won five division titles in six seasons from 1970 to 1975.)

Despite an up-and-down month at the plate in September, Mazzilli's future looked bright in New York.  And who could blame him for being optimistic?  He was 21 years old and in the major leagues playing for a Mets team that had just finished the 1976 season with 86 wins, the second-highest win total in franchise history.  Mazzilli appeared to have everything going for him except for one thing - his "franchise" teammate.

Tom Seaver was never one to keep his feelings to himself, especially when it came to his feelings on the state of the Mets.  When team chairman M. Donald Grant refused to join other teams by participating in the new concept of free agent signings, Seaver was livid.  "The Franchise" was in favor of the Mets signing outfielder Gary Matthews to a free agent deal after the former Rookie of the Year posted career highs in several offensive categories in 1976.

Photo by Harry Harris/AP

Matthews was not a center fielder by trade, but he would have provided much-needed stability in the Mets' outfield - an outfield that featured nine different players who started at least ten games for the team in 1976 and no player starting more than 111 games.  Center field alone saw five players start at least 14 games at the position, including Mazzilli.  But after Grant would not budge on his free agent stance, Seaver was quite upset, saying "how can you not even try" to sign Matthews.  With each passing day, Seaver was one step closer to becoming a former Met.  Finally, on June 15, 1977, the team's greatest player was traded to Cincinnati.  By then, Lee Mazzilli was on his way to becoming the team's new best player.  But that wasn't good enough to keep the rest of the team from returning to its pre-Seaver depths.

By 1977, the Yankees had replaced the Mets as the city's top draw.  The Bronx Bombers had just won their first pennant in a dozen years and then signed free agent Reggie Jackson during the off-season, bringing the slugger to New York a decade after the Mets passed on Jackson to draft Steve Chilcott as the top overall pick.  The Mets, who had always ranked in the league's top five in attendance since moving to Shea Stadium in 1964, saw their ticket sales drop dramatically in 1977.  From 1977 to 1983, the Mets finished in the league's bottom four in attendance six times, reaching rock bottom in 1979, when the team averaged fewer than 10,000 fans in attendance per game.  But the fans who did come out to Shea Stadium came out for one reason - to watch Lee Mazzilli.  As the saying goes, men wanted to be like him and women wanted to be with him.  And no one got more attention on those awful Mets teams than Mazzilli.

Mazzilli's looks were all he had going for him during the first month and a half of the 1977 season.  Under manager Joe Frazier, Mazzilli played horribly, batting .217 with no homers and only six RBI in his first 45 games.  But when Joe Torre - a fellow Italian-American from Brooklyn - took over as a player/manager in late May, Mazzilli's career took off.  Maz batted .263 from that point on, collecting 18 doubles, two triples, six homers, 40 RBI and 15 stolen bases.  Mazzilli improved upon those numbers in 1978, batting .273 with 28 doubles, five triples, 16 homers, 61 RBI and 20 steals for the Mets.  But he saved his best for 1979, when he became a first-time All-Star.

In 1979, the Mets reached the depths of their post-Seaver depression.  The team lost 99 games, their highest total since Seaver's rookie season in 1967.  Craig Swan was the only pitcher to win more than six games and the team struggled at the plate, finishing in the league's bottom three in most offensive categories.  But 1979 was also the year Lee Mazzilli fulfilled his five-tool destiny with the Mets.  Mazzilli finished the year with a .303 batting average, 15 homers, a career-high 79 RBI, 34 stolen bases and 12 outfield assists.  He also finished in the league's top ten in hits (181; 9th in the NL), doubles (34; 9th) and walks (93; 6th).  Mazzilli reached base 274 times in 1979, setting a Mets club record that wasn't surpassed for nearly two decades (John Olerud set the new team mark in 1998).  The only players in the National League who reached base more times than Mazzilli in 1979 were Pete Rose and Keith Hernandez, who was the league's co-MVP that year.

As great as his 1979 season was, the highlight of Mazzilli's breakout year occurred in the Midsummer Classic.  Although he sat on the bench for the first seven innings, Mazzilli hit a game-tying pinch-hit home run off Jim Kern in the eighth inning.  Ironically, Mazzilli was batting for Gary Matthews - the same player Tom Seaver wanted just a few years earlier in order to give the Mets an offensive force in the outfield.  One inning later, Mazzilli won the game by drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk off Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry.

The only thing tighter than the 1979 All-Star Game was Lee Mazzilli's pants. (AP Photo)

In 1980, the Mets' public relations team assured the fans that "the magic was back" at Shea Stadium.  But although the Mets flirted with the .500 mark in the month of July, the only things back at Shea were Lee Mazzilli, his sex appeal and another 95-loss season.  Mazzilli nearly duplicated his All-Star season in 1980, batting .280 with 31 doubles, 16 homers, 76 RBI, 82 walks and a career-high 41 stolen bases.

So how great was Mazzilli's three-year stretch from 1978 to 1980?  Well, Mazzilli had 93 doubles, 47 homers, 95 stolen bases and reached base 739 times in those three seasons.  According to baseball-reference.com, Mazzilli was the only player in baseball to accumulate all those offensive numbers during that time period.  But despite reaching levels that no other major league player was reaching, Mazzilli's tenure as a Met would soon come to an end.

In 1981, baseball took a two-month sabbatical because of the players' strike.  Mazzilli also took a break at the plate that season, as his average dipped to .228 and he hit just 14 doubles and six homers in 95 games.  Although Maz was only 26, new general manager Frank Cashen had a plan to rebuild the team through shrewd trades, and one of those trades would involve the Mets cutting ties with their top box office draw.

On April 1, 1982, the Mets sent Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for two pitching prospects.  Obviously, the trade didn't sit well with Mazzilli's adoring fans.  (It also didn't go over well with Rangers farm director Joe Klein, whose sole reaction to the deal was saying "this meeting is over; we're going to the bar".)  But Mets fans soon got over Mazzilli's basket catches, blazing speed and Brooklyn charm, especially when Ron Darling started to become one of the team's all-time great pitchers and Walt Terrell was flipped for Howard Johnson in a subsequent trade.

Mazzilli, on the other hand, had a tough time accepting the trade, but insisted he would remain a New Yorker, even though he would play his home games in Texas.  Mazzilli went on to say,

"I still don't really know where I am.  Mentally I'm not here yet.  Physically, I'm O.K., but emotionally and psychologically, there's a lot going through my mind.  One thing I'll tell you though - I'm going to stay the same way and there's no way I'm wearing a cowboy hat or boots." 




Mazzilli's six-year career with the Mets was over (or so everyone thought).  From 1976 to 1981, the center fielder was one of the best position players to ever put on a Mets uniform.  At the time of the trade, Mazzilli was among the team leaders in runs scored (349; 5th all-time), hits (714; 6th), doubles (133; 4th), triples (21; 6th), home runs (61; 8th), RBI (303; 7th) and walks (376; 4th).  He also left the team as its all-time leader in stolen bases.  Mazzilli's 139 thefts were two dozen more than what Bud Harrelson achieved in 13 seasons with the team.

For all of Lee Mazzilli's success with the Mets, he never got to play for a team that finished above fifth place in the division after his 24-game tryout in 1976.  He also never had a season of more than 323 at-bats after the trade to Texas, as Maz batted just .248 and averaged five homers and ten steals per season from 1982 to 1985 as a member of the Rangers, Yankees and Pirates.  His 1985 season in Pittsburgh was particularly difficult, as he started only 15 games for a Pirates team that lost 104 times.  In July of '86, Mazzilli reached a personal nadir, as the 31-year-old was released by the Bucs.  Mazzilli was now an unemployed 11-year veteran who had never played for a team that won more than 86 games.  But things were about to change for Maz, in a most unexpected way.

Less than two weeks after he was released by the Pirates, Frank Cashen decided to take a chance on the man he had traded away four years earlier, signing Lee Mazzilli to be a pinch hitter and corner outfielder.  The move irked George Foster, who considered the signing to be racially motivated against him, even though Foster had already lost playing time to fellow African-Americans Mookie Wilson and Kevin Mitchell.  Foster was released four days later.

Mazzilli was a key contributor off the bench as the Mets steamrolled their way to a division title.  He reached base in 30 of his 72 plate appearances (.417 OBP) and started games at first base, left field and right field, giving much-needed rest to Keith Hernandez, Mookie Wilson and Darryl Strawberry.  After more than a decade in the big leagues, Mazzilli was finally going to participate in the postseason, and he made the most of his opportunity.

For most of the NLCS and World Series, Mazzilli was quiet, collecting one hit in seven at-bats prior to Game 6 of the Fall Classic.  But Mazzilli got over his 1986 postseason doldrums just when the Mets needed him the most.  With the Red Sox just six outs away from a World Series title, Mazzilli stepped up to the plate as a pinch-hitter to lead off the eighth inning of Game 6.  On a 1-2 pitch from Calvin Schiraldi, Maz stroked a single to right field to get the Mets' rally started.  Four batters later, Mazzilli scored the tying run on Gary Carter's sacrifice fly.  The Mets would go on to win the game in dramatic fashion in the tenth inning.  Two nights later, in the seventh and deciding game, Mazzilli and the Mets found themselves down by three runs going to the bottom of the sixth.  Sid Fernandez had been dominant in relief of starter Ron Darling, but now El Sid's spot was up in the batting order with one out and no one on base.  Faced with a tough decision, manager Davey Johnson took Fernandez out of the game for pinch-hitter Lee Mazzilli.  It was a decision that ended up changing the outcome of the game and the series.

Mazzilli delivered a single off southpaw Bruce Hurst, less than 48 hours after Hurst had come within a strike of being named the World Series MVP.  Mazzilli's hit opened the flood gates for the Mets, as the team scored three runs in the inning to tie the game.  The Mets scored three additional runs in the seventh inning and tacked on two more in the eighth to claim the World Series crown.  After 11 seasons in the big leagues - more than half of them coming with the Mets and the majority of them coming with losing teams - Mazzilli had finally tasted the sweetness of victory.

Mazzilli played two-and-a-half more seasons with the Mets, reaching the postseason again in 1988 one year after posting one of the best seasons for a bench player in franchise history.  In 1987, Mazzilli had just 124 at-bats, but was able to record 12 extra-base hits and 24 RBI in very limited action.  He also batted .306 and had a .399 on-base percentage.  The 1988 season was not nearly as good for Mazzilli, as he slumped to .147 in 116 at-bats.  Finally, after batting .183 in 60 at-bats for the Mets in 1989, he was waived by the team, finishing up the year with Toronto.  Mazzilli earned his third postseason trip in four seasons as a member of the Blue Jays, then retired as a player at the end of the season.

After some time away from baseball, Mazzilli returned to the game to become a coach with the Yankees and later managed the Baltimore Orioles in 2004 and 2005.  He also worked as an in-studio analyst at SNY and continues to have an eye on the Mets, especially now that his son, L.J., is a minor leaguer in the Mets' system.

When Lee Mazzilli made his major league debut for the Mets in 1976, he became one of the few native New Yorkers to play for the team.  To this day, only 37 players who were born in the five boroughs have suited up for the Mets.  Ed Kranepool is the most notable of those players, and as the longest-tenured Met in team history, Kranepool is obviously the leader in most offensive categories for native New Yorkers.  But Lee Mazzilli is second to Kranepool in practically every category.  And he was a Met for far less time than Kranepool.

A quarter century after playing his final game as a Met, Mazzilli is still among the team's all-time leaders (regardless of his place of birth) in numerous offensive categories.  You can find his name in the team's top twenty in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, RBI and OBP.  And he still ranks in the top ten in walks (10th) and stolen bases (6th).  In New York, Mazzilli was a matinee idol at a time when no Mets fan had a player to idolize or ogle.  He was the best player on many bad Mets teams, then he became a bit player on some of the best Mets teams.

Lee Mazzilli put up outstanding numbers for several years with the Mets with little recognition from baseball lovers outside of the Big Apple.  But the Brooklyn kid finally got all the recognition he wanted when he won a World Series ring for the team he grew up with.  When he was a teenager, Mazzilli could have chosen to become a speed skater instead of a baseball player.  Instead, he sped his way into the hearts of Mets fans.  And that's the best anyone could have wished for.

Lee Mazzilli idolized Willie Mays.  Mets fans did the same with Lee Mazzilli.

Note:  The Best On The Worst is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting the greatest Mets players who just happened to play on some not-so-great Mets teams.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 6, 2014: Todd Hundley 
January 13, 2014: Al Jackson
   
 

October 25, 1986: "Little Roller Up Along First..."

Every generation has its defining moment.  People who grew up in the 1960s know exactly where they were when President Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated.  In the 1980s, every American knows where they were when the Space Shuttle exploded.  It's no different for Mets fans.

People who grew up rooting for the Mets remember every detail of the 1969 Miracle Mets' run to the World Series.  Fans of my generation well up with happy tears when you mention two words to them:  Game 6.  How can anyone forget the night of October 25, 1986?

The Mets were facing elimination entering Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  They fought back to tie the Series at Fenway Park after dropping the first two games of the Series at Shea Stadium.  Then Bruce Hurst shut them down in Game 5 to send the series back to New York with the Mets down three games to two.

It was up to Bob Ojeda to save the Mets' season.  He was opposed by Roger Clemens, who was on his way to his first Cy Young Award.  Ojeda was also called upon for Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS against the Astros, a game in which the Mets defeated Houston in 16 innings to claim the National League pennant.  In that game, Ojeda struggled early, giving up three runs in the first inning before settling down.  Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was no different for Ojeda.  He gave up single runs to the Red Sox in each of the first two innings, but then settled down.

When Ojeda was replaced by Roger McDowell to start the seventh inning, the Mets had come back against Roger Clemens to tie the score at 2.  Although the drama that unfolded in the tenth inning is what Game 6 is most known for, a number of interesting events occurred in the seventh inning that are often forgotten.

With one out and Marty Barrett on first base for the Red Sox, Jim Rice hit a ground ball near the third base line that barely stayed fair.  Ray Knight fielded it and threw wildly to first base, with the ball popping in and out of the glove of a leaping Keith Hernandez.  That brought up Dwight Evans with runners on the corners.  Evans hit a ground ball for the second out of the inning, but Barrett scored the go-ahead run and Rice was able to advance to second base.  That was when Mookie Wilson became a hero for the first time that night.

Roger McDowell was able to get ahead of Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman by throwing strikes on the first two pitches, but Gedman then grounded the 0-2 pitch from McDowell between short and third for a base hit that appeared to give the Red Sox an insurance run.  However, Mookie Wilson charged the ball and fired a strike to Gary Carter at home plate to cut down a sliding Jim Rice for the third out of the inning.

The defensive efforts of Wilson and Carter helped keep the Red Sox lead at one, a lead that would be erased when the Mets came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Roger Clemens had been pinch hit for in the top of the eighth inning, so the Red Sox brought in former Met Calvin Schiraldi to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning.  Schiraldi had been brilliant in relief for the Red Sox during the regular season, compiling a 4-2 record and a sparking 1.41 ERA.  However, all that changed once Lee Mazzilli led off the inning with a base hit.  Lenny Dykstra followed with a sacrifice bunt, but he reached first base safely when Schiraldi threw wildly to second base in a failed attempt to nail Lee Mazzilli.  Now the Mets had two men on with nobody out for Wally Backman, who laid down a bunt of his own.  His successful sacrifice moved Mazzilli and Dykstra into scoring position for Keith Hernandez, who was intentionally walked to load the bases.  That brought up Gary Carter.  On a 3-0 pitch, Carter had the green light and lined a sacrifice fly to left field.  The fly ball allowed Lee Mazzilli to score the tying run.  When neither team scored in the ninth inning, the stage was set for the most dramatic inning in Mets history.

The inning started with a bang, but not the one wanted by Mets fans.  Dave Henderson led off the inning with a laser beam down the left field line that just stayed fair as it cleared the wall.  The home run off Rick Aguilera silenced the Shea Stadium crowd of 55,078 and gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.  They weren't done yet.  Aguilera came back to strike out the next two batters but then proceeded to give up a double to Wade Boggs and a run-scoring single to Marty Barrett.  The latter hit gave the Sox an insurance run as the lead was now 5-3.  The next batter was hit by a pitch.  Who was the victim of Aguilera's wayward offering?  None other than Bill Buckner (more on him later).  Now there were two men on base for Jim Rice.  Rice could have redeemed himself for being thrown out at home in the seventh inning with a hit in the tenth.  However, Rice failed to add to the Red Sox lead when he flied out to Lee Mazzilli in right.  His failure to come through in two crucial spots set up the events in the bottom of the tenth inning for the Mets.

Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez were due to lead off in the bottom of the tenth inning.  However, two fly balls later and the Mets were down to their final out with no one on base.  The dream was one out away from becoming a nightmare.  108 regular season wins and a thrilling NLCS against the Astros would mean nothing if the Mets couldn't start a rally against Calvin Schiraldi and the Red Sox.  The Shea Stadium scoreboard was flashing "Congratulations Red Sox: 1986 World Champions" and NBC had already awarded its player of the game to Marty Barrett.  Then Gary Carter stepped up to the plate and something special began to happen.

On a 2-1 pitch from Schiraldi, Carter singled to left.  Then Kevin Mitchell, pinch-hitting for Rick Aguilera lined a hit to center on an 0-1 curveball.  The tying runs were now on base for Ray Knight.  If you recall, Knight had made an error in the seventh inning that led to a run for the Red Sox.  Perhaps this game would never have gone into extra innings had Knight not committed his error.  Knight didn't care.  All he cared about was getting a hit to continue the inning.  Unfortunately for him, Schiraldi threw his first two pitches for strikes.  The Mets were down to their final strike, but Ray Knight had something to say about that.

On a pitch that was headed for the inside corner of the strike zone, Knight fisted it over Marty Barrett's head into short center for another base hit.  Carter scored from second base and Mitchell went from first to third on the hit.  The tying run was 90 feet away and the winning run was at first base.  Red Sox manager John McNamara had made up his mind.  He was going to Bob Stanley to try to win the World Series.  Stanley would face one batter, Mookie Wilson, with everything on the line.

Stanley would throw six pitches to Mookie Wilson to get the count to 2-2.  Hoping for strike three with his seventh pitch, Stanley let go of the pitch and at the same time, let go of the lead.  The pitch was way inside, causing Mookie to throw himself up in the air to avoid getting hit.  Fortunately, the ball didn't hit Mookie or Rich Gedman's glove (or home plate umpire Dale Ford for that matter).  The ball went all the way to the backstop and Kevin Mitchell was able to scamper home with the tying run.  The wild pitch also allowed Ray Knight to move into scoring position with the potential winning run.  All Mookie needed to do now was get a base hit to drive him in, or perhaps he could so something else to bring him home.

During the regular season, John McNamara had always removed first baseman Bill Buckner for defensive replacement Dave Stapleton during the late innings.  However, this time Buckner was left in the game despite the fact that he was hobbling around on two gimpy legs and had just been hit by a pitch in the previous inning.  What was McNamara's reasoning for the decision?  He wanted Buckner to be on the field to celebrate their championship with his teammates.  Instead, Buckner was on the field for a different celebration.

Buckner was at first base as the count went to 3-2 on Mookie Wilson.  A mountain of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders once he went airborne to elude Stanley's pitch.  A relaxed Mookie came back to the plate to finish what he came up there to do.  After fouling off two more pitches, including a line drive that curved foul down the left field line, Wilson hit a little roller up along first, bringing Mets fans to their feet as Bill Buckner hobbled to the line in an attempt to field it.  I'll let NBC broadcaster Vin Scully describe what happened.

"Little roller up along first.  Behind the bag!  It gets through Buckner.  Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!"

A miracle had happened on the diamond.  Perhaps Mookie's grounder hit a pebble.  Perhaps Buckner took his eyes off the ball as he watched Mookie sprint down the first base line.  Perhaps God was a Mets fan.  Regardless of what caused it to happen, Mookie's grounder found its way under Buckner's glove and the Mets lived to see another day.  (Buckner later admitted in the film "Catching Hell" that his momentum as he approached the first base line caused his glove to close on its own, a split second before he would have fielded it.  With the glove closed before the ball reached it, the grounder was able to scoot by the gimpy first baseman.)

As a dejected Bill Buckner walked off the field, Shea Stadium was rocking as it never had before.  Mookie Wilson was still running towards second base because he had no idea that Ray Knight had scored the winning run.  Ron Darling, who was scheduled to start the seventh and deciding game of the World Series the following night (even though it was rained out and played two nights later), admitted that he could see dust falling from the roof of the Mets dugout because of the vibrations caused by the fans jumping up and down over it.  Keith Hernandez had left the dugout to go into Davey Johnson's office after making the second out of the inning, but never moved from the chair he was sitting in, even after the historic rally had begun because as he admitted afterwards, the chair he was sitting in had hits in it.

As the unbelievable events were flashing on the TV screen for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to have tickets to the game, Vin Scully came back on the air after a long pause to tell the viewers everything they needed to know about what they had just seen unfold at Shea Stadium on that Saturday night.  The Hall-of-Fame broadcaster said:

"If one picture is worth a thousand words, 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."

Game 6 didn't give the Mets the World Championship as many baseball fans mistakenly believe.  There was still one game left to play.  Although it was scheduled for the following night, rain put a hold on Game 7 until the night of Monday, October 27.  Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who had been scheduled to start the seventh game for the Red Sox, was scratched from his start to allow Met killer Bruce Hurst to pitch.  But I'll leave that narrative for another night.

For now, think of the memories you have of that unbelievable Game 6.  Imagine how different things would have been if Jim Rice had not been thrown out at home plate in the seventh inning, or if Bob Stanley had relieved Calvin Schiraldi before Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell or Ray Knight produced base hits in the tenth inning.  Mets fans who celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Miracle Mets three years ago might still be talking about that team as their only championship team.

A miracle happened at Shea Stadium 27 years ago today, on October 25, 1986.  It is the single greatest Mets memory I have.  I'm sure for many of you reading this, it's your favorite Mets memory as well.  Do Mets fans believe in miracles?  If you watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, the answer is a definite yes.

"Little Roller Up Along First..."

Every generation has its defining moment.  People who grew up in the 1960s know exactly where they were when President Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated.  In the 1980s, every American knows where they were when the Space Shuttle exploded.  It's no different for Mets fans.

People who grew up rooting for the Mets remember every detail of the 1969 Miracle Mets' run to the World Series.  Fans of my generation well up with happy tears when you mention two words to them:  Game 6.  How can anyone forget the night of October 25, 1986?

The Mets were facing elimination entering Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  They fought back to tie the Series at Fenway Park after dropping the first two games of the Series at Shea Stadium.  Then Bruce Hurst shut them down in Game 5 to send the series back to New York with the Mets down three games to two.

It was up to Bob Ojeda to save the Mets' season.  He was opposed by Roger Clemens, who was on his way to his first Cy Young Award.  Ojeda was also called upon for Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS against the Astros, a game in which the Mets defeated Houston in 16 innings to claim the National League pennant.  In that game, Ojeda struggled early, giving up three runs in the first inning before settling down.  Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was no different for Ojeda.  He gave up single runs to the Red Sox in each of the first two innings, but then settled down.

When Ojeda was replaced by Roger McDowell to start the seventh inning, the Mets had come back against Roger Clemens to tie the score at 2.  Although the drama that unfolded in the tenth inning is what Game 6 is most known for, a number of interesting events occurred in the seventh inning that are often forgotten.

With one out and Marty Barrett on first base for the Red Sox, Jim Rice hit a ground ball near the third base line that barely stayed fair.  Ray Knight fielded it and threw wildly to first base, with the ball popping in and out of the glove of a leaping Keith Hernandez.  That brought up Dwight Evans with runners on the corners.  Evans hit a ground ball for the second out of the inning, but Barrett scored the go-ahead run and Rice was able to advance to second base.  That was when Mookie Wilson became a hero for the first time that night.

Roger McDowell was able to get ahead of Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman by throwing strikes on the first two pitches, but Gedman then grounded the 0-2 pitch from McDowell between short and third for a base hit that appeared to give the Red Sox an insurance run.  However, Mookie Wilson charged the ball and fired a strike to Gary Carter at home plate to cut down a sliding Jim Rice for the third out of the inning.

The defensive efforts of Wilson and Carter helped keep the Red Sox lead at one, a lead that would be erased when the Mets came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Roger Clemens had been pinch hit for in the top of the eighth inning, so the Red Sox brought in former Met Calvin Schiraldi to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning.  Schiraldi had been brilliant in relief for the Red Sox during the regular season, compiling a 4-2 record and a sparking 1.41 ERA.  However, all that changed once Lee Mazzilli led off the inning with a base hit.  Lenny Dykstra followed with a sacrifice bunt, but he reached first base safely when Schiraldi threw wildly to second base in a failed attempt to nail Lee Mazzilli.  Now the Mets had two men on with nobody out for Wally Backman, who laid down a bunt of his own.  His successful sacrifice moved Mazzilli and Dykstra into scoring position for Keith Hernandez, who was intentionally walked to load the bases.  That brought up Gary Carter.  On a 3-0 pitch, Carter had the green light and lined a sacrifice fly to left field.  The fly ball allowed Lee Mazzilli to score the tying run.  When neither team scored in the ninth inning, the stage was set for the most dramatic inning in Mets history.

The inning started with a bang, but not the one wanted by Mets fans.  Dave Henderson led off the inning with a laser beam down the left field line that just stayed fair as it cleared the wall.  The home run off Rick Aguilera silenced the Shea Stadium crowd of 55,078 and gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.  They weren't done yet.  Aguilera came back to strike out the next two batters but then proceeded to give up a double to Wade Boggs and a run-scoring single to Marty Barrett.  The latter hit gave the Sox an insurance run as the lead was now 5-3.  The next batter was hit by a pitch.  Who was the victim of Aguilera's wayward offering?  None other than Bill Buckner (more on him later).  Now there were two men on base for Jim Rice.  Rice could have redeemed himself for being thrown out at home in the seventh inning with a hit in the tenth.  However, Rice failed to add to the Red Sox lead when he flied out to Lee Mazzilli in right.  His failure to come through in two crucial spots set up the events in the bottom of the tenth inning for the Mets.

Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez were due to lead off in the bottom of the tenth inning.  However, two fly balls later and the Mets were down to their final out with no one on base.  The dream was one out away from becoming a nightmare.  108 regular season wins and a thrilling NLCS against the Astros would mean nothing if the Mets couldn't start a rally against Calvin Schiraldi and the Red Sox.  The Shea Stadium scoreboard was flashing "Congratulations Red Sox: 1986 World Champions" and NBC had already awarded its player of the game to Marty Barrett.  Then Gary Carter stepped up to the plate and something special began to happen.

On a 2-1 pitch from Schiraldi, Carter singled to left.  Then Kevin Mitchell, pinch-hitting for Rick Aguilera lined a hit to center on an 0-1 curveball.  The tying runs were now on base for Ray Knight.  If you recall, Knight had made an error in the seventh inning that led to a run for the Red Sox.  Perhaps this game would never have gone into extra innings had Knight not committed his error.  Knight didn't care.  All he cared about was getting a hit to continue the inning.  Unfortunately for him, Schiraldi threw his first two pitches for strikes.  The Mets were down to their final strike, but Ray Knight had something to say about that.

On a pitch that was headed for the inside corner of the strike zone, Knight fisted it over Marty Barrett's head into short center for another base hit.  Carter scored from second base and Mitchell went from first to third on the hit.  The tying run was 90 feet away and the winning run was at first base.  Red Sox manager John McNamara had made up his mind.  He was going to Bob Stanley to try to win the World Series.  Stanley would face one batter, Mookie Wilson, with everything on the line.

Stanley would throw six pitches to Mookie Wilson to get the count to 2-2.  Hoping for strike three with his seventh pitch, Stanley let go of the pitch and at the same time, let go of the lead.  The pitch was way inside, causing Mookie to throw himself up in the air to avoid getting hit.  Fortunately, the ball didn't hit Mookie or Rich Gedman's glove (or home plate umpire Dale Ford for that matter).  The ball went all the way to the backstop and Kevin Mitchell was able to scamper home with the tying run.  The wild pitch also allowed Ray Knight to move into scoring position with the potential winning run.  All Mookie needed to do now was get a base hit to drive him in, or perhaps he could so something else to bring him home.

During the regular season, John McNamara had always removed first baseman Bill Buckner for defensive replacement Dave Stapleton during the late innings.  However, this time Buckner was left in the game despite the fact that he was hobbling around on two gimpy legs and had just been hit by a pitch in the previous inning.  What was McNamara's reasoning for the decision?  He wanted Buckner to be on the field to celebrate their championship with his teammates.  Instead, Buckner was on the field for a different celebration.

Buckner was at first base as the count went to 3-2 on Mookie Wilson.  A mountain of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders once he went airborne to elude Stanley's pitch.  A relaxed Mookie came back to the plate to finish what he came up there to do.  After fouling off two more pitches, including a line drive that curved foul down the left field line, Wilson hit a little roller up along first, bringing Mets fans to their feet as Bill Buckner hobbled to the line in an attempt to field it.  I'll let NBC broadcaster Vin Scully describe what happened.

"Little roller up along first.  Behind the bag!  It gets through Buckner.  Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!"

A miracle had happened on the diamond.  Perhaps Mookie's grounder hit a pebble.  Perhaps Buckner took his eyes off the ball as he watched Mookie sprint down the first base line.  Perhaps God was a Mets fan.  Regardless of what caused it to happen, Mookie's grounder found its way under Buckner's glove and the Mets lived to see another day.  (Buckner later admitted in the film "Catching Hell" that his momentum as he approached the first base line caused his glove to close on its own, a split second before he would have fielded it.  With the glove closed before the ball reached it, the grounder was able to scoot by the gimpy first baseman.)

As a dejected Bill Buckner walked off the field, Shea Stadium was rocking as it never had before.  Mookie Wilson was still running towards second base because he had no idea that Ray Knight had scored the winning run.  Ron Darling, who was scheduled to start the seventh and deciding game of the World Series the following night (even though it was rained out and played two nights later), admitted that he could see dust falling from the roof of the Mets dugout because of the vibrations caused by the fans jumping up and down over it.  Keith Hernandez had left the dugout to go into Davey Johnson's office after making the second out of the inning, but never moved from the chair he was sitting in, even after the historic rally had begun because as he admitted afterwards, the chair he was sitting in had hits in it.

As the unbelievable events were flashing on the TV screen for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to have tickets to the game, Vin Scully came back on the air after a long pause to tell the viewers everything they needed to know about what they had just seen unfold at Shea Stadium on that Saturday night.  The Hall-of-Fame broadcaster said:

"If one picture is worth a thousand words, 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."

Game 6 didn't give the Mets the World Championship as many baseball fans mistakenly believe.  There was still one game left to play.  Although it was scheduled for the following night, rain put a hold on Game 7 until the night of Monday, October 27.  Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who had been scheduled to start the seventh game for the Red Sox, was scratched from his start to allow Met killer Bruce Hurst to pitch.  But I'll leave that blog for another night.

For now, think of the memories you have of that unbelievable Game 6.  Imagine how different things would have been if Jim Rice had not been thrown out at home plate in the seventh inning, or if Bob Stanley had relieved Calvin Schiraldi before Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell or Ray Knight produced base hits in the tenth inning.  Mets fans who celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Miracle Mets three years ago might still be talking about that team as their only championship team.

A miracle happened at Shea Stadium 26 years ago today, on October 25, 1986.  It is the single greatest Mets memory I have.  I'm sure for many of you reading this, it's your favorite Mets memory as well.  Do Mets fans believe in miracles?  If you watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, the answer is a definite yes.

Just Call The Mets "Tea Totallers"

If you were watching the first inning of tonight's Mets-Phillies tilt, you were reminded of many things.  Fans from my generation will recall the game between the Mets and Phillies on June 11, 1985, otherwise known as The Von Hayes Game.

In that debacle, the Mets set the franchise record for runs allowed in a game, losing to the Phillies 26-7.  Aided by two first-inning home runs by Von Hayes including a grand slam, the Phillies took a 16-0 lead after two innings en route to their lopsided win.  Three Mets pitchers (Tom Gorman, Calvin Schiraldi and Joe Sambito) combined to give up all 26 runs.  Amazingly, almost incomprehensibly, Doug Sisk pitched 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief, despite entering the game with a 7.68 ERA.

That's what I was reminded of.  But more mature fans (and by more mature, I mean fans who remember seeing Dave Schneck and Al Schmelz stinking it up in Mets uniforms) might think of tonight's first inning and be reminded of this:



The Mets weren't nearly as bad against the Phillies as the Tea Totallers were against the Gas-House Gorillas in that classic Bugs Bunny sketch.  But they were pretty close, allowing eight first inning runs to their division rivals.

Instead of batters doing a conga line to home plate, it was Mets fans making a beeline toward the exits.  That's just what happens when the team you root is playing like a cartoon.

Chipper Jones Welcomes Josh Edgin To The Mets

On Friday, Josh Edgin became the 934th player in Mets history to play for the team.  He also became the 442nd player to take the mound for the Mets when he came into the game in the fifth inning to clean up the mess Miguel Batista left for him.  Edgin struck out both batters he faced to escape the bases loaded, one-out jam.  However, he didn't become a true Met until the following inning.  What happened to earn him this dubious honor?

Chipper Jones took him deep.

If chicks dig the longball, chicks must really dig Chipper Jones when he bats against the Mets.

Josh Edgin started the sixth inning trying to keep the Mets within one run of the Braves.  But he didn't check the playlist on Chipper Jones' Farewell Tour before the Braves' third baseman walked up to the plate to face him.  You see, Chipper Jones always has a second set when he faces the Mets.  It's a set that includes taking a new pitcher deep every time he sees him.  And Josh Edgin found out about that set one pitch too late.

In allowing Jones' 49th career HR against the Mets, Josh Edgin became the 35th different Mets pitcher to watch his meatball leave the yard.  27 of those 35 pitchers gave up exactly one home run to Jones.  Those pitchers are:

• Josias Manzanillo (1995)
• Pete Harnisch (1995)
• Pete Walker (1995)
• Mark Clark (1996)
• Jason Isringhausen (1997)
• Masato Yoshii (1999)
• Pat Mahomes (1999)
• Dennis Cook (1999)
• John Franco (2000)
• Glendon Rusch (2001)
• Satoru Komiyama (2002)
• Pedro Astacio (2002)
• Tom Glavine (2003)
• Jae Weong Seo (2003)
• Edwin Almonte (2003)
• Pedro Martinez (2006)
• Darren Oliver (2006)
• John Maine (2007)
• J.J. Putz (2009)
• Pedro Feliciano (2009)
• Pat Misch (2009)
• Johan Santana (2010)
• D.J. Carrasco (2011)
• Jonathon Niese (2011)
• R.A. Dickey (2011)
• Chris Schwinden (2011)
• Josh Edgin (2012)

Jones has also victimized eight different Mets pitchers on multiple occasions.  Those pitchers are listed below, along with the number of home runs they gave up to him and the years in which those home runs were hit:

• Bobby Jones: 4 HR (1996, 1997 [twice], 1998) 
• Steve Trachsel: 4 HR (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• Rick Reed: 3 HR (1999, 2001 [twice])
• Mike Pelfrey: 3 HR (2007, 2008, 2010)
• Orel Hershiser: 2 HR (1999 [twice])
• Aaron Heilman: 2 HR (2003, 2005)
• Dave Mlicki: 2 HR (1995, 1997)
• Al Leiter: 2 HR (1999, 2000)

Here are some additional tidbits of home run information, courtesy of Chipper Jones' bat and the good folks at baseball-reference.com.

Although Chipper Jones has five multi-HR games against the Mets, Bobby Jones is the only pitcher in Mets history to allow two home runs to Chipper in the same game, doing so on June 25, 1997.  Chipper's non-relative allowed a solo shot in the fourth inning followed by a grand slam in the fifth.  In each of Chipper Jones' other four multi-HR games against the Mets, he took multiple pitchers deep.

Since the Mets left Shea Stadium for Citi Field in 2009, Jones has hit ten home runs against them.  Those ten homers were hit off ten different pitchers, with Jones doing the 120-yard trot against (in order) J.J. Putz, Pedro Feliciano, Pat Misch, Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, D.J. Carrasco, Jonathon Niese, R.A. Dickey, Chris Schwinden and Josh Edgin.  (Here's a tip for Mets pitchers.  If you don't want to give up a home run to Chipper Jones, go by your given first name, not by your initials.  Got that, Putz, Carrasco and Dickey?)

The home run allowed by Edgin on Friday was the first given up by a Met to Jones in 2012.  If no other Met serves up a homer to the Braves' soon-to-be retiree (which is about as likely as Lucas Duda winning a Gold Glove this year), this would mark the fourth season in which Jones hit only one home run against the Mets.  In 1998, 2004 and 2008, Jones hit only one home run against the Mets, taking Bobby Jones deep in 1998, Steve Trachsel in 2004, and Mike Pelfrey in 2008.  Not by coincidence, those are the three Mets pitchers who allowed the most home runs to Jones during their time in Flushing.  (Pelfrey is tied with Rick Reed for third-most home runs allowed.)

Finally, Josh Edgin is not alone in allowing a home run to Chipper Jones during his major league debut.  Two other Mets pitchers received their "welcome to the majors" present from Chipper Jones in the form of a home run as well.

At Shea, at Citi, or at Turner Field, no Met pitcher is safe from Chipper Jones.

On July 7, 2003, Edwin Almonte made his major league debut for the Mets, pitching in relief of Jae Weong Seo, who had already given up a home run to Jones earlier in the game.  Almonte must not have been watching from the bullpen, as he allowed another home run to Jones in the eighth inning.  Almonte went on to pitch 11 more games in relief for the Mets in 2003, never recording a decision for the team, but finishing his abbreviated career with a whopping 11.12 ERA, the highest ERA for any Mets pitcher who appeared in at least 10 games.

Just last year, during the first game of a doubleheader on September 8, 2011, Chris Schwinden was rocked by a Chipper Jones home run in the third inning of his major league debut.  Like Almonte before him, Schwinden has not won a game in the major leagues, despite making six additional appearances (five starts) since his debut.  Fortunately, his 6.98 ERA as a Met is not the highest of any pitcher in Mets history who has made at least six starts.  That honor goes to Calvin Schiraldi, who was a Met before he lost Games 6 and 7 of the 1986 World Series to his former team.  Schiraldi had a 7.63 ERA as a Met in 15 appearances (seven starts) with the team in 1984 and 1985.  Fortunately for him, he was out of baseball by 1991, so he was not able to be taken deep by Chipper Jones.

Chipper Jones has not just welcomed Mets pitchers to the big leagues.  He has also given a goodbye present to one unfortunate soul.  On September 11, 2002, during the first game of a doubleheader, Jones hit a home run off Mets reliever Satoru Komiyama.  It was the last hit allowed by Komiyama in the major leagues, as he never pitched again after that game.  And just for the record, Komiyama finished his one-year career in the big leagues with an 0-3 record.  No wins.  Just like Almonte.  Just like Schwinden.  Just like Edgin (as of now).

Chipper Jones has always been one of the biggest thorns in the Mets' side.  Josh Edgin has now been pricked by that thorn.  Welcome to the big leagues, Josh.  You're a true Met now.