The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets: Jesse Orosco

In 1964 and 1965, the Mets finished at the bottom of the National League standings, losing a total of 221 games between the two seasons.  The team would not suffer through back-to-back last place finishes again until 1977 and 1978.  But between 1965 and 1977, New York posted seven winning seasons, raised two league pennants and claimed one miraculous World Series title.  Jerry Koosman, who was on the mound as the Mets were clinching that title, was also around for the team's regression in '77 and '78.  But following the club's second straight losing campaign in 1978, Koosman was given his walking papers.

Wanting to play in his home state of Minnesota, Koosman was dealt to the Twins in December 1978 for former Southern League Pitcher of the Year Greg Field and a player to be named later.  It took nearly two full months for that player to finally be named.  It took another seven years for that player to repeat one of Koosman's signature moments for the Mets.

Jesse Orosco was just a baby when he became a Met in 1979.  (B. Bennett/Getty Images)

Jesse Russell Orosco had only pitched in 20 rookie league games in the Twins' minor league system when he got the call in February 1979 that he was traded to the Mets.  Less than two months after being dealt to New York, Orosco found himself on the mound at Wrigley Field for his major league debut.  Injuries to left-handed pitchers Bob Myrick and Kevin Kobel left the team with a dearth of southpaws, which forced the club to promote Orosco much earlier than expected.  Orosco pitched to one batter in his debut and retired him on a fly ball.  The batter's name was Bill Buckner.  It would not be the last time Buckner and the Mets crossed paths.  It would also not be the last time Orosco stepped on a major league mound.  Not by a long shot.

After his successful first appearance on Opening Day 1979, Orosco slumped to a 5.73 ERA by the end of May.  In early June, manager Joe Torre moved Orosco from the bullpen to the starting rotation for two games before Orosco was ultimately sent back down to the minors.  Orosco bounced back and forth between Double-A and Triple-A for two-and-a-half seasons, waiting for a return trip to the majors.  He finally got that opportunity during the last month of the 1981 campaign and showed great improvement in his eight late-season appearances, posting a 1.56 ERA and 1.096 WHIP.

In 1982, Orosco completed his first full season in the majors.  Orosco lost ten out of 14 decisions, but two of the defeats came as a starting pitcher.  In those starts, Orosco allowed nine earned runs in 9⅔ innings.  Orosco excelled as a reliever, however, posting a solid 2.17 ERA in just under 100 innings.  His pitching coach, Bill Monbouquette, noticed the stark difference between Orosco's starts and relief outings, and decided that Jesse should not start again.

"He'd go four innings and his (velocity) would drop into the 70s," Monbouquette said.  "We thought Jesse should be a relief pitcher, and we could see Jesse was pitching defensively.  It wasn't exactly fear of the bat, but he was nibbling.  You're not going to get the calls from the umpire that way and you're not going to finish off the batter that way.''

Monbouquette and new manager George Bamberger eventually had a discussion with Orosco about his inconsistent first half (3.49 ERA, 1.341 WHIP), hoping to get the reliever to be more aggressive on the mound.

"We dug into him," Monbouqette said.  "It wasn't exactly an ultimatum, but we told him he could be a good relief pitcher if he learned to attack the hitters.''

After the talk with his pitching coach and manager, Orosco became one of the few bright spots in the bullpen, pitching to a 1.92 ERA and 1.063 WHIP after the All-Star Break.  Even more impressive was that Orosco pitched so effectively despite having to deal with the sudden passing of his father in August.  The death of the Orosco patriarch caused Jesse to focus more on honing his craft, not just as a tribute to his baseball-loving father, but because he wanted to support his family financially, which he would only be able to do if he became a mainstay in the bullpen.  Orosco responded by posting one of the greatest seasons by a Mets' reliever in franchise history.

Prior to June 15, 1983, Neil Allen had been the Mets' closer, with Orosco serving mostly as a set-up man.  But once Allen was traded to St. Louis for first baseman Keith Hernandez, Orosco received the bulk of the save opportunities.  Orosco finished the year with a 13-7 record and 17 saves in a career-high 110 innings.  He also posted an incredible 1.47 ERA, which to this day remains the lowest single-season mark for any Mets pitcher who threw at least 100 innings.

Not Doc.  Not Tom.  Not Kooz.  It's Orosco who has the lowest ERA of the 100-plus inning pitchers.

Orosco's efforts did not go unnoticed, as the reliever became an All-Star for the first time in 1983.  He also finished third in the race for the Cy Young Award - Orosco even received a first place vote - and was 17th on the MVP ballot, four spots ahead of Hernandez.  In doing so, Orosco became the first Mets pitcher not named Seaver or Koosman to finish in the top three of the Cy Young vote and the fourth (after Seaver, Koosman and Tug McGraw) to receive any MVP consideration.

''It's nice to have a good year,'' Orosco said.  ''Now, if I can go out and have two more years like this, I'll prove that I'm for real.''

It was clear that Orosco had arrived as a top-notch reliever in 1983.  It was also clear that he was on his way to proving he was "for real".  But the Mets had still not followed suit, as the team suffered through its seventh consecutive losing season in '83.  That was about to change, and Orosco played a key role in the club's long-awaited return to playoff contention.

The Mets lost five games in 1983 when they led going into the ninth inning and blew leads in 37 games overall.  A big reason for that was Neil Allen, who was charged with seven losses and two blown saves in 21 appearances before his trade paved the way for Orosco to take over his role in the bullpen.  In 1984, the Allen-less Mets lost just once when they held a ninth-inning lead and suffered 29 defeats in games where they once had a lead.  With Orosco and fellow reliever Doug Sisk combining for a 2.35 ERA in 110 appearances, the bullpen became one of the team's strong points.  In addition to Orosco's team-leading 1.057 WHIP (which was lower than N.L. Rookie of the Year Dwight Gooden's 1.073 mark), the closer became the first reliever in team history to reach the 30-save mark, notching 31 on the season.  He was also named to the All-Star team for a second consecutive year, becoming the first Mets reliever to be selected to multiple All-Star squads.

For only the second time in team history, the Mets won 90 games in 1984.  They looked to improve upon that in 1985 and did, winning 98 contests, although they fell short in their quest to qualify for the postseason.  Once again, Orosco was called upon to hold late-inning leads for the team's blossoming starting rotation, but this time he had a partner.  The success of right-handed rookie Roger McDowell allowed manager Davey Johnson to use either reliever in save situations depending on the pitcher-batter matchups.  As a result, both Orosco and McDowell finished the season with 17 saves.  The closing partnership continued into the 1986 campaign, a year in which the club finally had the season its long-suffering fans had been waiting for.

In 1986, the Mets won a franchise record 108 games, with Orosco and McDowell becoming the first - and only - pair of Mets teammates to each record 20+ saves in a single season.  That wasn't the only oddity the two relievers shared during the team's magical season.  They also relieved each other multiple times during a brawl-filled game in Cincinnati in July.

The game at Riverfront Stadium on July 22 appeared to be over without incident when Keith Hernandez lofted a fly ball to right field with two outs in the ninth inning.  But right fielder Dave Parker - the proud owner of three Gold Gloves for defensive excellence - dropped what would have been the final out of the game, allowing the tying runs to score.  In the tenth inning, Eric Davis, pinch-running for Reds' player-manager Pete Rose, slid hard into third base and received a fist to the face courtesy of Ray Knight.  Benches emptied, fights broke out all over the field and there were ejections aplenty.  In fact, there were so many players tossed that the Mets were left without a third baseman and an outfielder in the extra-inning affair.  (Right fielder Darryl Strawberry had been ejected earlier in the game for arguing balls and strikes.)  So Davey Johnson was forced to improvise.  He moved Gary Carter from behind the plate to the hot corner.  And he played musical chairs in the outfield by rotating Orosco and McDowell between the mound and right field.

For five innings, when one pitcher was on the mound, the other was in the outfield spot least likely to have a fly ball hit to it.  McDowell pitched three scoreless innings between his multiple trips to the mound and fortunately did not have any fly balls hit in his direction when Orosco was pitching.  Orosco, who contributed two zeroes of his own, wasn't as fortunate, as future Hall of Famer Tony Perez lifted a fly ball in his direction in the 13th inning.  But unlike Parker four innings earlier, Orosco got to the ball, used two hands and made sure he held on to it for the out.

"I squeezed it so hard," Orosco said after the game, "the stuffing could have come out."

Jesse Orosco, Ball Squeezer.  (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

An inning after Orosco's defensive "gem", Howard Johnson made sure his pitchers would not have to play in the outfield much longer.  Johnson's three-run homer off reliever Ted Power gave the Mets the lead and a couple of insurance runs.  Orosco didn't even have to move in right field as McDowell proceeded to retire the Reds in order in the bottom of the 14th on three routine ground balls.

"It was fun," Orosco said of his outfield debut.  "I was laughing out there.  But I'd better stay on the pitcher's mound.  I'm less nervous out there."

Fun was what the Mets had during their regular season ride to a division title.  Nervous was what the fans were during the team's tightly-contested postseason games.

In the NLCS, the Mets and Astros played four one-run games, with the Mets emerging victorious in three of the four affairs.  All three victories were credited to Jesse Orosco, who became the first pitcher in club history to win three postseason games in the same series.

Orosco earned the win in Game Three after Lenny Dykstra blasted a walk-off two-run homer against Dave Smith in the bottom of the ninth.  Orosco helped keep the game close, pitching two shutout innings.  Three days later, Orosco hurled two more scoreless frames in relief of Dwight Gooden, who had tossed ten innings of one-run ball.  Orosco would get credit for the win in Game Five once Carter singled home Wally Backman in the bottom of the 12th inning.  And then came Game Six in the Astrodome.

After playing a dozen innings in New York the previous day, the Mets appeared lifeless in Houston for the first eight frames in Game Six.  But a spirited rally against starter Bob Knepper and the now hittable Smith tied the game and sent it to extra innings.  Again.  The score remained tied until the 14th, when a single by Backman drove in Darryl Strawberry from second base.  Orosco was then called upon to finish the Astros and deliver the pennant to New York.  But Billy Hatcher had other things in mind.

Hatcher, who had hit just eight home runs in parts of three major league seasons, delivered a blast that hit and rolled down the netting attached to left field foul pole.  With the game tied once again, Orosco settled down and retired the next two batters to send the game to the 15th.  After the Mets failed to score in their half of the inning, Orosco had a stress-free bottom of the 15th, striking out Kevin Bass and Jose Cruz before getting Alan Ashby to ground out to end the inning.

In the 16th, the Mets finally broke through against the Astros' bullpen in a big way.  New York used two singles, a double, a walk, a well-placed sacrifice bunt (by Orosco) and two wild pitches to push three runners across the plate.  It appeared as if the Mets had punched their ticket to the World Series.  But as the saying goes, everything's bigger in Texas.  So are rallies by the home team.

Houston refused to begin their off-season quietly, as Hatcher once again drove in a run against Orosco in the bottom of the 16th.  Two batters later, Glenn Davis cut the Mets' lead to a single tally with a base hit of his own.  Up strolled Bass, with the tying and winning runs on base.  Orosco ran the count full, then paused as first baseman Keith Hernandez came over to him to offer some words of encouragement.

"Jesse, you throw another fastball, we're going to fight."

And with that, Orosco threw a slider to Bass, who went fishing for the pitch and missed.  The only fighting Orosco did that evening was in an effort to free himself from the avalanche of teammates who had descended upon him to celebrate their National League pennant.

This would've been a great shot of Jesse Orosco if not for his photobombing teammates.  (Ray Stubblebine/AP Photos)

As good as Orosco was against the Astros in the NLCS (0.875 WHIP, 10 Ks in 8 IP), he was even better against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.  Orosco pitched in four of the seven games, earning two saves.  He struck out six batters, walked none and allowed just two base runners in 5⅔ innings.  In Game Three, Johnson brought in Orosco to record the final four outs of the game.  He ended the eighth by retiring future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs on a groundout and the ninth by striking out another future Cooperstown enshrinee, Jim Rice.  Game Six saw Orosco face just one batter, but it was one he was quite familiar with, as it was Bill Buckner, the first batter he ever faced in the major leagues.  And just as he retired Buckner seven years earlier in his debut, Orosco coaxed the first baseman to fly out to end a scoring threat in the eighth.  Two innings later, the Mets turned a scoring threat of their own into the most memorable rally in team history.

After the events of Game Six, the Mets needed to win just one game to cap their greatest season since they won it all in 1969.  Once again, the team came from behind, turning a 3-0 sixth-inning deficit into a 6-3 seventh-inning lead.  But McDowell struggled to hold the lead in the top of the eighth, allowing two runs and exiting with the tying run on second base.  In came Orosco, hoping to save the Mets' season.  He proceeded to retire Rich Gedman on a liner, Dave Henderson on a strikeout and Don Baylor on a groundout, preserving the slim lead.

Four months earlier, Orosco found himself in an odd position - right field - and it worked out well for him and the team.  On this chilly night in late October, Orosco found himself in another unusual place; the batter's box.  After Strawberry had given the Mets a two-run cushion with a majestic home run, the Mets put two more runners on base which brought up Orosco's spot in the batting order.  Not wanting to take out his most dependable reliever, Johnson allowed Orosco to hit for himself and he discovered that Orosco was not only good at putting out fires, but he was equally adept at providing insurance.

"It was a 35-hopper up the middle," Orosco said of his Game Seven at-bat.  "Only my teammates remember it, but I like to remind people."

Indeed, Orosco shocked the Red Sox by grounding a ball past pitcher Al Nipper and into center field, scoring Knight from second base to give the Mets their second three-run cushion of the game.  Given some breathing room, Orosco proceeded to retire Ed Romero, Wade Boggs and Marty Barrett in order in the ninth inning to give the Mets the ultimate thrill of victory.  Gloves were flying, fans were crying and a 17-year championship drought was dying.  The Mets had won the World Series.

In 1969, Shea Stadium celebrated its first title with Jerry Koosman on the mound.  Seventeen years later, the man who came to the Mets in return for Koosman rejoiced on the hill as the team won its second championship.  It was perfect symmetry for a team that had come full circle from the time Orosco first pitched for the Mets in 1979.  But Orosco's time at the top was short-lived, as everything came crashing down for him and the team in 1987.

The Mets failed to repeat as world champions in 1987, as the entire starting rotation missed significant time due to injuries or rehabilitation.  The bullpen faltered as well, as McDowell posted a 4.16 ERA in 56 appearances and Orosco's ERA ballooned to 4.44 in 58 outings; nearly two runs higher than the 2.48 ERA he posted from 1979 to 1986.  Orosco's lifetime WHIP was just 1.178 entering the '87 campaign.  Orosco couldn't keep opposing hitters off base in 1987, posting a 1.416 WHIP and allowing more hits than innings pitched for the first time in his career.

Orosco lost nine games in 1987 while saving just 16.  His final loss came on September 30, when he allowed a walk-off homer to the Phillies' Luis Aguayo that all but ended the Mets' faint hopes of repeating as division champions.  (The Cardinals officially clinched the N.L. East title the following day.)  It was the second game-ending home run allowed by the southpaw on the season; he served up Tom Herr's walk-off grand slam in April.  It was also the final straw for Orosco in a Mets uniform.

Orosco wore the script uniform in 1987, just as the writing was on the wall for his departure.  (Dunn/Getty Images)

Two months after the conclusion of the 1987 campaign, the Mets sent Orosco to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team, eight-player trade.  The deal was a relief to Orosco, who had been the team's co-closer for three seasons and was set to lose more playing time due to the emergence of fellow lefty Randy Myers.

"I have no regrets," Orosco said after the transaction was finalized.  "Since 1985, I knew it was a lost opportunity for me.  Once Roger came up, I could see I was doomed.  He seemed to get more opportunities than I did.  Now, it's just time to move on."

With Orosco going west, three young pitchers were making their way east.  To complete the trade, the Mets received pitcher Jack Savage from the Dodgers and pitchers Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst from the Oakland A's.  Of the three, only Whitehurst produced any results in a Mets uniform, although his "results" amounted to 11 wins in 33 decisions as a starter and reliever in four seasons with the Mets.  Savage and Tapani were traded to Minnesota in 1989 for Frank Viola, but by the early '90s, both Viola and Whitehurst had pitched their final games in New York.  Meanwhile, Jesse Orosco was only halfway through his career.  And he had another World Series ring to go with it.

In 1988, the Dodgers used several players to close out ballgames.  Right-handers Jay Howell (21 saves) and Alejandro Peña (12 saves) split time as the ninth-inning relievers, while Orosco, as the sole left-hander of the group, saved nine games.  Manager Tom Lasorda also began using Orosco in shorter outings, as Orosco made 55 appearances but pitched just 53 innings.  Lasorda's stellar bullpen (Howell, Peña, Orosco and Brian Holton combined for a 2.03 ERA) was just as key to the Dodgers' success as N.L. MVP Kirk Gibson and Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser were.  The Mets found out just how good their bullpen was when they faced Los Angeles in the NLCS.

With all eyes on Hershiser, it was pitchers like Peña (one win, one save, one hit allowed in 4⅓ IP), Holton (one save, three base runners allowed in 4 IP) and Kiner's Korner devotee Ricky Horton (no runs allowed in 4⅓ IP) who kept the Mets at bay in the late innings.  But one of the biggest moments of the series came when Jesse Orosco took the mound at Shea Stadium to face his former team in Game Four.

The fourth game of the 1988 NLCS is the one that shifted the momentum of the series in the Dodgers' direction.  First, it was Mike Scioscia who delivered the game-tying homer off Dwight Gooden that sent the game into extra innings.  Then, it was Kirk Gibson who put the Dodgers ahead with a 12th inning blast of his own.  In the bottom of the 12th, the Mets put two runners on base before Lasorda summoned Orosco from the bullpen to face Hernandez and Strawberry.  A walk to Hernandez loaded the bases with one out, but Orosco induced a weak pop-up from Strawberry when a longer fly ball would have tied the game.  His job done, Orosco was removed for Hershiser, who retired Kevin McReynolds to end the game.  The Dodgers won the pennant three games later and went on to defeat the other team involved in the three-way trade that netted them Orosco, taking the Fall Classic from the Oakland A's in five games.

Jesse gave us thrills in the Mets jersey in '86 and agony in the Dodgers uniform in '88.  (Sandy Huffaker/NY Times)

Orosco had now won two championships in three seasons with two teams.  Although he never played in another World Series, he did become accustomed to changing teams.  Following his title with the Dodgers, Orosco played three seasons in Cleveland followed by three years in Milwaukee.  He then played four full seasons in Baltimore from 1995 to 1998, leading the American League with 65 appearances in 1995; the only time in his lengthy career that Orosco led the league in any pitching category.  Orosco's time with the Orioles also reunited him with manager Davey Johnson, who led Baltimore to back-to-back postseason berths in 1996 and 1997.  Orosco pitched 12 times for the Orioles in the playoffs, matching the number of postseason appearances he made for the Mets and Dodgers combined.

From 1999 to 2003, Orosco bounced around from team to team, pitching for the Orioles, Cardinals, Dodgers (again), Padres, Yankees and Twins.  He also made his way back to the Mets, as he was traded to New York in December 1999 for reliever Chuck McElroy.  But after some photo-ops in a Mets uniform and some appearances in Grapefruit League games, Orosco became the casualty of a crowded bullpen and was traded to St. Louis for utility man Joe McEwing before the 2000 season began, not getting the opportunity to make a victorious return to the Shea Stadium mound as a member of the Mets.

"We had too many lefties and somebody had to go," Orosco said.  "I'm glad it wasn't a pink slip."

After becoming a peripatetic pitcher for the last five seasons of his career, which included a cup of coffee with the team that originally traded him to the Mets, Orosco tried to hook up with one more team in 2004, signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  By then, the 46-year-old Orosco had already pitched 24 seasons in the big leagues and had appeared in a record 1,252 games.  But he never got a chance to make his 1,253rd appearance, as he announced his retirement from the game he loved prior to the start of Spring Training.

"To take it a quarter-century - I never imagined that," Orosco said.  "It's a sad day that I have to call it quits.  But it's a great day, too, for the fact I fulfilled my dream."

Jesse Orosco grew up as one of seven children in his household.  The son of a baseball-obsessed father, Orosco lived out his dream - as well as his dad's - by making it to the major leagues.  He was a part of two championship teams and made the playoffs with a third club.  And by the time he hung up his uniform for the last time, he had worn it on the field more often than any other pitcher in the history of the game.

As a member of the Mets, Orosco was a two-time All-Star and one of the better relievers in club annals.  His 2.73 ERA in eight years with the team is lower than every other pitcher to wear a Mets uniform other than Tom Seaver.  Orosco also ranks in the team's top five in games pitched (372) and saves (107).  In the playoffs, Orosco was even better, striking out 16 batters while walking only two in 13⅔ innings.  He posted a 1.98 ERA, 0.659 WHIP and earned three wins and two saves.  And of course, Orosco tossed two gloves up in the air; one to celebrate a pennant and one to fete a World Series title.

"We didn't have anything going on in the early '80s, took our licks the first few years," Orosco said upon his retirement.  "That was great, that was very memorable, to go from the worst to the best."
  
The Mets were regularly brought to their knees in surrender by their opponents when Orosco first played for the team in 1979.  Seven years later, Orosco falling to his knees became the symbol of a championship season.  To long-time Mets fans, there's no greater thrill of victory than that moment.

Victory!  (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)

Note: The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players and personnel who experienced the best of times and the worst of times with the team.  For previous installments, please click on the names below:

January 2, 2017: Tom Seaver
January 9, 2017: Mike Piazza
January 16, 2017: Wally Backman
January 23, 2017: Daniel Murphy
January 30, 2017: Frank Cashen
February 6, 2017: Ed Kranepool
February 13, 2017: Doug Sisk
February 20, 2017: Joan Whitney Payson 
February 27, 2017: John Franco and Armando Benitez 
March 6, 2017: Dwight Gooden
March 13, 2017: Bobby Valentine

 

The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets: Doug Sisk

Mets fans love their team.  It doesn't matter if the club is mired in last place or fighting for a title; the fans will always be supportive.  Occasionally, however, the team's fans have been known to show their disdain for a player or two, even though those individuals are wearing the team's colors and are playing on the same side as the athletes who get the loudest cheers.

Richie Hebner didn't like playing in New York.  The fans noticed.  Hebner, who was a gravedigger when he wasn't playing baseball, dug his own grave during his one season with the Mets.

Bobby Bonilla was actually from New York.  But after the Mets acquired him, he rubbed everyone the wrong way with his exploits, both on and off the field.  Bonilla called the press box during a game to dispute an error.  He then wore earplugs on the field to silence the boo birds at Shea.  The coup de grâce was when he offered to be a Bronx tour guide to a Daily News reporter.  And let's just say it probably would have been more violent than the seas during Gilligan's three-hour tour.

Besides hearing constant boos from the fans, Hebner and Bonilla shared something else.  They both played for awful Mets teams.

It's easy to dislike a player when the entire team is playing poorly.  But what about the player who receives negative reactions from fans when the team is playing reasonably well, perhaps even well enough to win a championship?  Or even worse, what if the player being booed was actually having a decent career with the Mets but no one remembers because they were too busy booing him?  Such was the plight of one championship reliever who was made to feel like less of a champion during the latter part of his career.

Doug Sisk didn't throw heat.  But fans often threw heat at him.  (Jacqueline Duvoisin/Getty Images)

Douglas Randall Sisk was drafted by the Mets in 1980 as an amateur free agent.  The Washington state native, who was born and raised approximately 2,400 miles away from where the 1969 and 1973 Mets played their home games, grew up rooting for those pennant winners despite the geographical distance between himself and the team.

"I can recall the '69 World Series and I could always name every player on that team," Sisk said to author Erik Sherman.  "And then I could always recall the '73 National League playoffs when Willie Mays was on the club.  I mean, how many kids from the Seattle area back then could name the rosters from those two teams?  I might have been the only one."

Sisk may have been the only Mets fan he knew in the Pacific Northwest, but he wasn't the only Mets farmhand making a rapid ascent to the big club.  After years of ineptitude brought about by a flawed front office and the dismantling of the team's minor league system, the Mets were committed to restructuring their farm with an influx of young talent.  By 1982, several of those players had become regulars at the major league level, with Wally Backman, Mookie Wilson and Hubie Brooks in the starting lineup just about every day, and Ed Lynch, Jesse Orosco and Neil Allen finding themselves on the mound more often than not.  Just weeks before the curtain closed on the 1982 campaign, Sisk was on the big stage as well.

Making eight relief appearances for the Mets following his September call-up, Sisk was quite effective, allowing just one run (a home run by future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson) in 8⅔ innings.  Sisk, who prior to his late-season promotion had never pitched above the Double-A level, broke camp with the Mets in 1983 and continued to shine.  Used in various relief situations, Sisk notched 11 saves and posted a 2.24 ERA in 104⅓ innings.  In doing so, he became just the fifth pitcher in team history to throw 100 or more innings while pitching exclusively in relief, joining Tug McGraw (1972), Skip Lockwood (1977), Jeff Reardon (1980) and Jesse Orosco (also in 1983; Orosco reached the 100-inning mark two weeks before Sisk did).

Amazingly, Sisk allowed just one home run in those 104⅓ innings in 1983, and once again, it was a future Hall of Famer who took him deep (Mike Schmidt).  To this day, Sisk is the only pitcher in club annals to pitch more than 100 innings in a season and allow fewer than three home runs in that campaign.

As great as Sisk was in 1983, he was even better in 1984, especially during the first half of the season.  Through July 1, Sisk had recorded 11 saves and was the owner of an otherworldly 0.50 ERA, allowing three earned runs in 53⅔ innings.  Opposing hitters were batting just .165 against the right-hander and slugging (if you want to call it that) at a .188 clip.

Sisk had always pitched to contact, nibbling at corners hoping to get batters to swing at his best pitch - the sinkerball.  As a result, hitters didn't collect many hits (just 29 of them through July 1), but they did draw their share of walks (31 bases on balls).  Still, the object of the game for a pitcher is to keep the opponent off the scoreboard and few pitchers were as effective at doing that during the first half of the 1984 season as Sisk was.

As the weather got hotter in July, so did the race for the N.L. East crown between the Mets and Chicago Cubs.  But one player who melted in the heat was Sisk, who allowed runs in six of his 12 outings during the month.  From July 28 to August 6, Sisk made three appearances on the mound.  All three times he pitched against the Cubs.  All three times he allowed runs.  And all three times the Mets lost.  His appearance on July 28, one in which he allowed four runs (three earned) without retiring a batter, caused the fans at Shea Stadium to serenade him with a chorus of boos once he left the mound.  It was a sound Sisk was not yet accustomed to.

It's scary how quickly fans turned on Sisk.

"You know, that's the first time I've ever been booed," Sisk said after the game.  "Oh well, I guess you've got to get booed once in a while."

Once in a while turned into every time he set foot on the mound, as the Shea faithful continued to show a lack of faith in their reliever.  Finally, after his third straight disappointing appearance against the Cubs on August 6, the Mets found a way to keep their once-dependable pitcher away from the hostile home crowd, placing Sisk on the disabled list with what the team called shoulder stiffness.  But the reliever begged to differ, claiming the transaction should not have happened.

''I don't think they should have disabled me,'' Sisk said.  ''I've had soreness in the shoulder in the past, and have pitched with it.  It's demeaning to me to be put on the disabled list.  It wasn't necessary.  It makes me feel they intend to trade me before next season.''

Upon his return from the disabled list, Sisk appeared in five more games in 1984.  He held the opposition scoreless in four of them.  The one time he was scored upon was - you guessed it - against the division-leading Cubs on September 8.

Sisk came into the game with the Mets trailing the Cubs by two runs.  He faced 14 batters in two innings, allowing eight of them to reach base.  But just two of them scored.  Wes Gardner then relieved Sisk and allowed two more Cubs to score.  Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, who went on to win the Cy Young Award that season, pitched a complete-game shutout as Chicago knocked off New York, 6-0.

It's obvious that Sisk didn't have his best stuff in that game, just as it's obvious that any loss by the second-place Mets to the first-place Cubs was going to sting.  But did Sisk deserve to get viciously booed by the fans on that late summer evening at Shea?  The Mets failed to cross the plate in nine innings.  Sisk came into the game with the Mets already trailing by two runs.  After he was taken out for a pinch-hitter, Gardner pitched an inning and two more Cubs circled the bases.  That means the Mets would have lost the contest anyway even if Sisk had pitched two perfect innings.  Going back to the three consecutive appearances against the Cubs prior to his stint on the disabled list, the first loss (July 28) was definitely on Sisk.  But the other two?  Not so much.

On July 29, Sisk took the mound in the ninth inning with the Mets trailing the Cubs, 2-0.  He then allowed the Cubs to tack on an insurance run.  The Mets failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and lost, 3-0.  That final result was certainly not Sisk's fault, as once again the team could not generate any offense.  Eight days later, Sisk entered the game against the Cubs with the Mets already trailing, 7-3.  He pitched a scoreless sixth, then put up another zero in the seventh.  Sisk then allowed two runs in his third inning of work and the Mets lost to Chicago, 9-3.  Again, New York would have lost even if Sisk had not allowed two runners to cross the plate after he had already pitched two scoreless innings.

When Sisk pitched his final game before being disabled, the Mets' record was 62-45.  When he returned on August 31, the Mets were 73-58.  That means the team posted a losing record (11-13) while Sisk was recovering from his injury.  They also lost four games to the Cubs in the N.L. East standings during Sisk's recovery, going from a slim 1½-game deficit to nearly being out of the race at 5½ games back.  The boo birds probably found a way to blame Sisk for that as well.

Overall, Sisk finished the 1984 campaign with 15 saves and a 2.09 ERA - numbers that were still quite impressive, but not enough to make fans stop booing.  Sisk then began the 1985 season with an 8.53 ERA in his first 11 appearances, which earned him a demotion to AAA-Tidewater.  His manager, Davey Johnson, was as tired of Sisk's poor outings as he was of the fans' reactions to them.

"It was a tough decision to make, but I couldn't think of anything else to do," Johnson said.  "I just felt that his failure, plus the way New York fans were getting on him that I thought this was my only option.  In Tidewater he'll get playing time and a chance to iron out his problems."

Sisk may have ironed out his problems at Tidewater, but the fans at Shea still had a few creases.  (Duvoisin/Getty Images)

When Sisk returned to the team after three weeks with the Tides, he did not pitch well at first.  On June 7, he was brought into an extra-inning affair against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing six runs (five earned) in his one frame.  Of course, the game took place at Shea Stadium, where the home team's fans got to witness the carnage and voice their displeasure.

A week after his trouncing at the hands of the eventual division champion Cardinals, Sisk was still the owner of an ungodly 7.68 ERA.  But after June 14, Sisk turned his season around, going 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA the rest of the way.  Included in his revival was a yeoman-like effort against the Braves on July 4, when he pitched 4⅓ shutout innings in the Mets' epic 16-13 victory.  Sisk also hurled two scoreless frames against his previous year's nemesis, the Cubs, on August 2, then followed it up with two shutout innings versus the Giants and two more zeroes against the Dodgers, earning the victory in each game.  Unfortunately for Sisk, all of those brilliant efforts took place on the road.  When he returned with his teammates to Flushing, those games in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles were distant memories for throaty Mets fans.

For the second straight year, the Mets fell short in their quest for a division title, making them more determined to advance to the postseason in 1986.  Also determined to recover from his worst season in the majors was Doug Sisk.  In late September 1985, Sisk was found to have bone chips in his right elbow and was thought to be lost for a significant part of the '86 campaign, if not all of it.  The bone chips, as well as a spur that was found in his pitching elbow, were the reason why Sisk did not pitch well in 1985.

"I kept mentioning all year that I wasn't right," Sisk said.  "I wasn't getting any leverage.  They thought I was a mental case.  They had me throwing sidearm in the bullpen.  Sidearm.  And I sat for 18 days, twice.  I was scared."

Despite a prognosis that cautioned against any pitching-related activities, Sisk spent the off-season swimming and chopping wood back home in Tacoma.  He then did some soft tossing, with his wife serving as his catcher.  Defying the odds, Sisk was back with the team in 1986 before Memorial Day.

Although Sisk got off to a bumpy start, posting a 4.02 ERA over his first 18 appearances, this time the heat of the summer brought back his effectiveness.  From July 29 to September 21, Sisk was one of the best relievers in baseball, posting a stellar 1.02 ERA in 35⅓ innings, while holding opposing hitters to a .238 batting average and .628 OPS.  However, fans still found the need to mercilessly boo Sisk despite his solid recovery from an awful 1985 campaign, causing Johnson to use him primarily when the team was trailing.  Johnson also tried not to use Sisk in games played at Shea Stadium, especially after the All-Star Break.  Once players returned from the mid-season hiatus, Sisk pitched just seven times in his home park until the Mets clinched the division title on September 17.  In the postseason, Sisk did not allow a run in two appearances.  But of course, both of those outings came in mop-up duty, as he pitched the final innings of games the Mets lost.

For the season, Sisk lowered his ERA by more than two runs, finishing the year with a 3.06 mark.  He also didn't allow a single home run in 70⅔ innings - not even to a future Hall of Fame slugger.  How unusual has it been over the years to pitch that many innings for the Mets and not give up a single long ball?

Without baseball-reference.com generating this chart for me, you'd still be booing Doug Sisk.

Since coming into the league in 1962, only five Mets pitchers have thrown at least 30 innings in a season without allowing a home run.  The only one to surpass 36⅓ innings in a tater-free campaign was Sisk in 1986, and he pitched almost twice as many innings as the next closest gopherless pitcher.

It's been more than half a century since the Mets played their inaugural season.  Since then, only ten pitchers have thrown more innings in a season than Sisk without allowing a single ball to leave the yard, as detailed in the chart below.

I wonder if the other pitchers on this list had to put up with constant boos from their home crowd.

The Mets failed to repeat as world champions in 1987, but Sisk had another solid season.  He pitched 78 innings - his highest regular season total since his fabulous 1983 campaign - and posted a 3.46 ERA.  He also walked just 22 batters, averaging 2.5 walks per nine innings, which was the lowest ratio of his career.

When the Mets were battling it out with the St. Louis Cardinals for the division title in September, it wasn't Sisk who gave up the crushing, season-changing homer to Terry Pendleton.  That was Roger McDowell.  And when New York was still mathematically alive during the last week of the season, Sisk wasn't on the mound giving up a walk-off blast to light-hitting pinch-hitter Luis Aguayo.  That was Jesse Orosco.  In fact, from August 31 until the end of the season, Sisk pitched ten times and recorded a 2.08 ERA.  Even more impressive was the slash line against him, as opposing hitters could only manage a .208/.240/.229 mark in those ten appearances spanning 13 innings.

The Mets used three relievers in high-leverage situations in 1987 (McDowell, Orosco and rookie Randy Myers).  McDowell finished the year with a 4.16 ERA, while Orosco's ERA ballooned to 4.44.  Myers, who finished sixth in the N.L. Rookie of the Year vote, had the lowest ERA of the three, but it was still a relatively high 3.96 mark.  And that was still half a run higher than the ERA posted by Sisk, who was traded to Baltimore at the end of the season.

Doug Sisk was a Met for six seasons.  He had a rough patch against the division-winning Cubs in 1984, but was mostly stellar against the rest of the league.  He admittedly had a difficult year in 1985, but an elbow injury was later revealed to be the reason for his ineffectiveness.  Still, fans viewed him as a scapegoat, booing him just about every time he stepped on the mound at Shea Stadium during the final three-and-a-half seasons of his tenure in New York.

They booed the owner of 3.10 lifetime ERA as a Met, which is tied for the seventh-lowest mark for all pitchers who threw at least 400 innings in franchise history.  Other pitchers in the top ten include Tom Seaver (2.57), Jesse Orosco (2.73), R.A. Dickey (2.95), Jon Matlack (3.03), Jerry Koosman (3.09) and Dwight Gooden (3.10).  Those pitchers were either Cy Young Award winners, Rookie of the Year Award recipients or pitchers who recorded final outs in the World Series for the Mets.  In other words, Sisk is in good company.

In addition, the man who was on the receiving end of the fans' vitriol during the latter part of his career allowed just 11 home runs in 412⅓ innings during his time with the Mets.  That's an average of 0.24 homers per nine innings - the lowest of any pitcher with at least 400 innings in club annals.  The only other hurler with a ratio under 0.50 is Roger McDowell.  The ten players directly behind Sisk on this list include the usual suspects - Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Gooden, Orosco - as well as other notable pitchers like Nolan Ryan, Bob Ojeda and David Cone.

Three world champion relievers.  Only one was booed regularly.  (NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images)

The 1985 season happened for Sisk.  It can't be erased.  But the other five years he was in New York, he pitched to a 2.63 ERA and held his opponents to a .248 batting average and .656 OPS.  He did this despite the fact that he wasn't a strikeout pitcher and had his share of walks when hitters were able to lay off his sinker.  But once a player is disliked in New York, he's always disliked in New York, even if his full résumé suggests that the hatred is unwarranted.

Doug Sisk experienced everything after being signed by the Mets in 1980.  He made his way through the minor league ranks quickly.  He joined Jesse Orosco to become a force in the bullpen just as the Mets were shedding their losing ways.  He was part of a world championship team.  But he couldn't get the fans on his side, no matter how hard he tried.  When his then-fiancee asked him why he didn't do anything about the constant derision, he only had one response.

"I can't beat up 60,000 fans."

Richie Hebner heard it from Mets fans.  Bobby Bonilla did, too.  The slow, rising crescendo of fans voicing their displeasure is enough to run the toughest players out of New York.  But not every player deserves that kind of treatment.  And certainly, a player who is a significant part of a team's rise to contention, culminating in an eventual championship, shouldn't have to be subjected to that kind of vocal negativity.

But that's what Sisk had to put up with for several years as a Met.  And unjust as it may be, that's also what he has had to deal with ever since he played his final game in New York.  Such is the agony of Doug Sisk, a player who wanted nothing more than to cherish being part of a victorious team accomplishment.

 

Note: The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of the Mets is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players and personnel who experienced the best of times and the worst of times with the team.  For previous installments, please click on the names below:

January 2, 2017: Tom Seaver
January 9, 2017: Mike Piazza
January 16, 2017: Wally Backman
January 23, 2017: Daniel Murphy
January 30, 2017: Frank Cashen
February 6, 2017: Ed Kranepool

 
 

30 Years Later: The "Other" Game Six (Mets vs. Astros)

When you say the words "Game Six" to any Mets fan, their thoughts immediately turn to the 1986 World Series.  You can't blame those fans for thinking of that memorable game first.  After all, the game in which Mookie Wilson hit a "little roller up along first" was voted by Mets fans as the most memorable moment in Mets history.

But that wasn't the only memorable Game Six for the Mets that season.  If not for the events of "the other Game Six", there might not have been a chance for Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner to etch their names in the memories of millions of Mets fans.  That first Game Six was played at the Astrodome in Houston and it took place 30 years ago today.

After playing a 12-inning classic in New York the previous afternoon, the Mets and Astros traveled to Houston to play their second day game in 24 hours on October 15, 1986.  The two teams would have had the day off before Game Six, but a rainout on October 13 forced them to sacrifice their travel day to play the extra-inning affair at Shea Stadium on October 14.  That game was won by the Mets, 2-1, when Wally Backman scored from second on a Gary Carter single.

Both teams were exhausted when they took the field for the 3 o'clock (Central Time) game, and rightfully so.  Unfortunately for the Mets, the Astros woke up from their slumber early in Game Six, scoring three runs off Bob Ojeda in the first inning.  The damage could have been worse, but Kevin Bass (more on him later) was tagged out on a failed suicide squeeze.  Even with the base running blunder, the Astros still held a 3-0 lead after one inning for starter Bob Knepper.

Kevin Bass was out coming home in Game Two (above), then again in Game Six.  He made a much bigger out at home later.

Knepper, who was in line for the win in Game Three before Lenny Dykstra took Astros closer Dave Smith deep in the bottom of the ninth, was dominant over the first eight innings of Game Six.  He faced the minimum three batters in seven of the eight innings, allowing only two hits and walking one.  The Mets were three outs away from a potential Game Seven matchup against Mike Scott, who had confounded them in Games One and Four.  The first batter in the ninth inning was pinch-hitter Lenny Dykstra.  In Game Three, Dykstra waited until Knepper was out of the game before delivering his big ninth inning hit.  This time, he didn't have to wait, driving a 1-2 offering from the Astros' southpaw to deep center field for a leadoff triple.  It all went downhill for Knepper and the Astros from there.

The next batter was Mookie Wilson, who hit a soft line drive on an 0-2 pitch that fell in for a run-scoring single.  Before you could say Dickie Thon, the Mets were on the scoreboard and the tying run was at the plate in Kevin Mitchell.  The Mets' rookie utility man grounded out, but in the process moved Wilson to second base.  Up came Keith Hernandez, who had gone 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Knepper.  Four pitches later, that oh-fer was no more.

Hernandez doubled to deep center off Knepper, scoring Wilson from second base and cutting the Astros' lead to one.  In doing so, Mex became the second lefty to collect an extra-base hit against Knepper in the ninth after the Mets' left-handed hitters had gone 0-for-7 against him through the first eight innings.  That was the end of Knepper's day, as he was removed from the game after throwing 101 pitches.  Knepper was replaced by Dave Smith, the salt-and-pepper haired reliever who had been tormented by the Mets all season.

Although Smith had an outstanding campaign in 1986, making his first All-Star team and finishing the year with 33 saves and a 2.73 ERA, the Mets were never intimidated by him.  Smith faced the Mets three times during the regular season, allowing five runs and eight base runners (four hits, three walks and one hit batsman) in three innings.  That continued in the postseason, as Smith allowed the game-winning two-run homer to Lenny Dykstra to give the Mets the victory in Game Three of the NLCS.  Four total appearances.  Four shoddy outings.  Might as well go five-for-five.

The first two batters against Smith both walked on 3-2 pitches, as Gary Carter and Darryl Strawberry showed patience at the plate which helped the Mets load the bases against the Astros.  The next batter was Ray Knight, who worked the count to 2-2 before becoming the fifth batter in the inning to produce with two strikes on him.  Knight hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Hernandez with the tying run and moving Kid and Straw into scoring position.  The next batter, Wally Backman, was intentionally walked to bring up pinch-hitter Danny Heep.  Heep worked the count full, but instead of becoming the sixth Mets batter to come through after strike two, the mighty Danny struck out, swinging at ball four, which would have given the Mets the lead.

Alas, the game was tied.  But the fun was just beginning.

Roger McDowell came in to pitch the tenth inning, as the Mets needed a new pitcher to replace Rick Aguilera, who had been taken out of the game when Lenny Dykstra pinch hit for him in the ninth inning.  McDowell would end up giving the Mets one of the best relief efforts in club history.

Perhaps it was a higher power that allowed Roger McDowell to pitch the game of his life in Game Six.

The Mets had hoped that McDowell would only have to pitch one or two innings, thinking that they would score against the Astros' bullpen.  But that was easier said than done, as the Mets failed to pick up a hit over the next four innings against Dave Smith and Larry Andersen.  Fortunately for the Mets, McDowell matched zeroes with the Astros' relievers, allowing only one base runner (a 12th inning single to Kevin Bass) over five innings of work.  The jolly Roger had gotten the Mets to the 14th inning, and the Astros were bringing in a new pitcher.  The time for zeroes had come to an end.

Aurelio Lopez was on the mound for the Astros to start the 14th inning.  Like Dave Smith, Lopez had also performed poorly against the Mets during the regular season.  His 7.36 ERA against New York was his highest earned run average against any team in 1986.  When manager Hal Lanier inserted Lopez into the game, he was hoping to get the reliever who allowed National League opponents to hit only .221 against him.  Instead, they got the reliever who couldn't get anyone out.

Gary Carter led off the inning with an opposite field single.  Darryl Strawberry then walked on four pitches.  After Ray Knight failed to sacrifice Carter to third (the Mets' catcher was thrown out by Lopez at third base), Wally Backman stepped up to the plate.  With one swing from the scrappy second baseman, the Mets had taken the lead, as Backman's single scored Strawberry from second base.  The Mets actually had a chance to do more damage against Lopez in the inning, as Lenny Dykstra was walked intentionally with two outs to load the bases for Mookie Wilson.  However, just as Danny Heep had done five innings before him, Mookie struck out against a struggling pitcher.  Nevertheless, the Mets had taken a 4-3 lead against the Astros and were now only three outs away from winning their third National League pennant.  But the Astros had the top of their order up and were not about to go quietly into the off-season.

Jesse Orosco was called upon to pitch the bottom of the 14th for the Mets, as McDowell had been removed for pinch-hitter Howard Johnson in the top of the inning.  After his five-inning, 58-pitch effort, McDowell was done for the late afternoon/early evening and it was up to Orosco to deliver the pennant.  His first batter was Bill Doran.

Doran was a speedy second baseman for the Astros who made excellent contact and was one of the best judges of balls and strikes in the league.  With 42 stolen bases in 1986, Doran placed fifth in the N.L. in that category.  He also finished fifth with 81 walks and was one of the toughest batters to strike out (57 Ks in 550 at-bats).  Doran's eye for strikes became even better in the postseason, as he had fanned only once in his first 25 postseason at-bats up to that point.  So what did Doran do as he faced Orosco in what quite possibly could have been his last at-bat of the season?  He struck out on four pitches.

Billy Hatcher

The next batter was center fielder Billy Hatcher.  Hatcher had just finished his first full season with the Astros after playing in 61 games for the Cubs in 1984 and 1985.  He had never been considered a power threat and was not a top candidate to get on base, as evidenced by his eight home runs in his first 641 career plate appearances and his .297 on-base percentage.  Hatcher had gone 5-for-23 in the series and should have been an easy out for Orosco, as he had never gotten a hit off the Mets' reliever in four career plate appearances.  But with a full count on him, Hatcher hit one of most memorable home runs in postseason history, crushing Orosco's offering to deep left field.  The ball was hit far enough, but would it stay fair?  That question was answered as the ball hit the screen attached to the foul pole, rolling down said screen, washing away the Mets' 14th inning pennant hopes.  The game was now tied, 4-4, and Orosco's save situation had now turned into a "let's get out of this inning alive" situation.

With the three and four hitters coming up, including the dangerous Glenn Davis, Orosco had to settle down or else a seventh game against Mike Scott would become a shocking reality.  The Mets' veteran got back on the mound and promptly retired Denny Walling and Davis on a weak grounder to first and a pop-up to second, respectively, to end the inning.  The game, which had already reached epic proportions, would go on.

Stunningly, despite his best efforts to blow the game for the Astros in the 14th inning, Aurelio Lopez was still on the mound for the 15th, but this time he fared better against the Mets, allowing only a two-out single to Gary Carter.  With Darryl Strawberry at the plate, Lopez threw a 1-1 pitch wildly, but Carter was thrown out at second base by catcher Alan Ashby to end the inning.

Orosco also went back to the hill for the bottom of the 15th, and he did even better than Lopez, striking out Kevin Bass and Jose Cruz to start the inning, before getting Alan Ashby to ground out to Wally Backman for the final out.  The 16th inning was upon us, only one day and 2,000 miles after the Mets and Astros had played 12 scintillating innings in New York.  Something had to give after 27 innings of pulse-pounding baseball.  Something did give when the Mets came to bat in the top of the 16th.

After his relatively easy 15th inning, Lopez was given the ball again to start the 16th, but this time he wouldn't be so lucky.  Darryl Strawberry, who was given a fresh turn at-bat after Gary Carter ran his way into the final out in the previous inning, led off the 16th with a double.  He was followed by Ray Knight, who delivered an opposite field single to score Strawberry from second.  That was it for Aurelio Lopez, who was removed from the game for Jeff Calhoun.  With Wally Backman at the plate and an 0-2 count on him, Calhoun uncorked a wild pitch, sending Knight to third.  Backman fought back from the 0-2 hole and was able to draw a walk.

Next came Jesse Orosco, who was allowed to stay in the game to sacrifice Backman over to second.  On the very first pitch to Jesse, who had already squared around to bunt, Calhoun threw another wild pitch, scoring Ray Knight and moving Wally Backman to second.  The Mets were now up by two runs in the 16th, but they were not done yet.  Orosco laid down a successful sacrifice, with Backman taking third on the play, and Lenny Dykstra drove him in with a single to right, giving the Mets a 7-4 lead.  Even though Mookie Wilson ended the inning by grounding into a double play, the Mets surely had to be happy with their three-run lead.  This time, they weren't going to give up the lead like they did in the 14th, especially with the Astros riding on fumes, right?  Unfortunately for the Mets and their fans, those fumes had one more rally left in them.

The bottom of the 16th began as the 14th inning had, with Jesse Orosco striking out the first batter (in this case, it was Craig Reynolds) to bring the Mets within two outs of winning the National League pennant.  But then Orosco started showing fatigue of his own, allowing the next three batters to reach base.  Pinch-hitter Davey Lopes started the rally with a walk, followed by consecutive singles by Bill Doran and Billy Hatcher.  The latter single scored Lopes from second base and put the tying runs on base for Denny Walling.

Davey Johnson could have taken Orosco out of the game there, especially since both singles by Doran and Hatcher were hit on the first pitch, but the Mets' manager stayed with his veteran closer, hoping he would reward his faith in him by getting the final two outs of the game.  It seemed as if Orosco would get out of the jam and deliver the pennant to New York when Denny Walling hit a ground ball to Keith Hernandez, who attempted to start an inning-ending double play.  However, the ball wasn't hit hard enough and the only out the Mets could get was a forceout of Billy Hatcher at second base.  The Astros now had runners on first and third and Glenn Davis was coming up.  A home run by the Astros' slugger would give Houston the improbable victory, adding more suspense to an already tense moment.  Although the left-handed Orosco didn't give in to the right-handed Davis, he still wasn't able to send him back to the dugout, as Davis produced a run-scoring single to center, scoring Doran and moving Walling to second base.  The game was now 7-6, and the tying and winning runs were on base for Kevin Bass.

Bass had already committed a mistake in the game way back in the first inning (hence the "more on him later" 21 paragraphs ago) when he got tagged out trying to scamper back to third base on a failed suicide squeeze attempt.  Had Bass not been caught, the game might have ended after nine innings.  Instead, the Mets and Astros were playing on into the Houston night in a game that seemingly did not want to end.

Baseball is a game of redeeming features, and Bass was being given a second opportunity to make up for the Astros' costly first-inning base running blunder.  Orosco was one out away from giving the Mets a hard-fought pennant, but was not making it easy for himself or his team.  After going to a 3-2 count on Bass, Keith Hernandez came over to the mound to deliver an ultimatum to Orosco.

"If you throw him another fastball, we're going to fight."

With those words, Jesse buckled down, looked in at catcher Gary Carter's signs and threw Kevin Bass a full-count slider.  In a moment that will forever live on in the minds and hearts of Mets fans, Bass flailed wildly at the pitch, striking out on the 3-2 offering and touching off a wild celebration on the Astrodome mound and on the streets of New York.

After four hours and forty-two minutes, the Mets had finally won their first pennant in 13 years.  They had overcome eight masterful innings by starter Bob Knepper and two furious extra-inning rallies by the Astros' hitters to come out on top.  Despite the game lasting 16 innings, the Mets only used four pitchers in the game, with none of them lasting fewer than three innings.  Davey Johnson put faith in his pitchers' arms and that faith was now taking the Mets to the World Series.

The Mets would go on to play the Boston Red Sox in that World Series, and they would play in another memorable Game Six, one that has become even more memorable than the one played in the NLCS.  But without that first epic Game Six, there might not have been a World Series appearance for the Mets in 1986.

Thirty years ago today, the Mets and Astros gave us baseball theater in Houston.  The curtain did not come down for 16 innings, but in the end, the players all came through with the performances of their lives.  It might now be known as "the other Game Six", but it'll always be one of the most amazing baseball games ever played.

YouTube video courtesy of nyknick4life