Big, Stupid Quiz

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

In honor of Mike Piazza’s final Met appearance (most likely), here’s a killer who-am-I quiz about Final Games as a Met. All of the following descriptions will detail the final appearance of a player for the Mets -- some may have continued with other teams; others may have retired. The players may have performed for the last time as a Met at any time of the year, including the postseason. Your cross-clue is that each who-am-I represents one Met season between 1962 and 2005 (but they’re not in order). This may help you narrow things down. Tell me who became an x-Met -- and when!

Answers much later.
***

1. Complaining of injury, I left a game with a week to go in the season and never made it back. I struck out in my final Met plate appearance.


2. In my last game with the Mets I pitched more innings (15) than I had in all my other Met appearances combined (10 over 4 games). You read that right: I started and went 15 fucken innings, gave up no runs and 5 hits. And I didn’t even win!


3. Game 3 of the World Series: I pinch-hit into a force play.


4. I’m a pitcher. In my final Met game I went 7 innings, allowed no earned runs, but lost 1-0 on an unearned run caused by my own friggin error. What a loser I was!


5. My Met career -- and as it turned out, my MLB career -- ended on a collision.


6. I was the starting pitcher. I walked the first four batters I faced, then gave up a single, getting the hook before retiring anyone. No wonder they gave up on me.


7. In my last Met appearance, I pitched the final three innings of a blowout win and earned my 8th career save. 359 more to go.


8. I was the starting pitcher but was taken out after 1 scoreless, hitless inning. No way did I think it was my last game as a Met.


9. My last at-bat as a Met (and the last of my career) was a 3-run homer. I think I’m the only player ever to do that for the Mets.


10. I pitched the last inning of the season. We won the game with a 9th inning rally, but I didn’t get the win, nor the save.


11. Who are we? We were teammates for a few seasons and we both ended our Met careers on the same day -- but in different games of a doubleheader -- as pinch-hitters. In the first game, one of us whiffed and stayed in the game at first base. In game 2, the other guy singled. We were traded to Los Angeles together.


12. The downright lousy game I tossed in my final Met appearance was overshadowed by controversy. I soon left as a free agent.


13. I lined out as a pinch-hitter and was released the next day, ingloriously ending a 12-year Met career.


14. I had only completed my first full year as a big leaguer when I played my last Met game -- 8 innings, 2 earned runs and a win. Folks remember me best for who I’d be traded for.


15. I played 809 of my 810 career games as a Met. In the last at-bat of my last game, I had an RBI single.


16. They called me a a disappointment when they traded me to the other league in June. But the guy got for me was even worse.


17. I remember this game: It was my first Major League triple! I’d go on to hit 64 more triples over the next 15 years, none as a Met.


18. I singled in three at-bats, finishing my third year with the Mets and the third straight year of declines in home runs, doubles and batting aaverage. Before I got any worse they traded me.


19. We appeared in the same final Met game. One of us was the starter, the other relieved. Second-guessers said afterward it should have been the other way around.


20. I pitched in relief and gave up a couple of runs. They thought I was done and traded me, but I had a 20-win season left.


21. I hit into a triple play at Wrigley Field and that was that for my career.

22. I struck out as a pinch-hitter in my final appearance as a Met. Because of another trade that happened that day fans barely noticed when I was traded.


23. I appeared in relief and went a third of inning, giving up 2 hits and a run. I didn’t know at the time I’d be claimed in the upcoming expansion draft.


24. I started in left field and went 1-for-4 with a double. They released me the following spring ending a 5-year career, spent all with the Mets.




25. In my last appearance for the Mets, I blew a save, but got a win. They booed me not out of town, just across it.


26. In my final day as a Met, I had 2 hits -- one each off a future Hall of Fame pitcher. Weirdly, only 1 showed in the boxscore.


27. My final Met game was also my final of 2,202 MLB games. In my final plate appearance I walked, was pinch-run for, and vowed to be back someday.


28. My last game as a Met was a memorable one: I singled twice, homered and won a new car.


29. I made a rare relief appearance in my final game as a Met, pitched a scoreless inning, and should have got the win. But fate had cruel plans in store.


30. I was once a solid Met contributor, but by August of this year I had lost starting assignments in the outfield and at first base and was relegated to pinch-hitting. That’s what I did in my final Met appearance: I popped out pinch-hitting to make the last out of a game, and was traded to Philadelphia the next day.


31. My last game as a Met was also the last game of a brief but memorable MLB career. I went 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored but was pinch hit for and replaced at first base by Kranepool.


32. My last Met game was a good one: I pitched 5 innings of 2-hit, scoreless relief and got the win in a 12-inning game at Montreal. My 6-year Met career would end by a trade after the season.


33. In my last game with the Mets -- also the last of my career -- I started at first base for only the third time in an 11-year career. I was a third baseman/outfielder, mostly.


34. In my final appearance as a Met, I ended the game -- and season -- on a pinch-hit groundout. They gave me a big hand anyway.


35. I doubled & scored twice to cap a great season during which I led the team in almost every statistical category. Then they traded me!


36. I had just lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to San Diego when they informed me I’d been traded to Montreal.

37. Better days (and some worse ones) were ahead for me when I played my last Met game (pinch-hit, flew out, stayed in center). They pretty much had to trade me, but got way too little back.


38. I started in right field, and went 2-for-4 with a double. I didn’t think this would be my last Met game -- they waited until the following spring training to trade me!


39. In my last game as a Met I singled and walked -- but I also made a costly error. I was in the AL the next year.


40. What turned out to be my last Met game was among the worst I ever had: 5.1 innings, 8 runs. We soon found out why.

41. My last appearance as a Met was flying out to right as a pinch-hitter: Not a bad decision if you ask me.

42. I went 1-for-3 with a bunt single. We lost, the home fans booed, and afterward, I commented about it. After that, the Mets paid someone else to take me.

43. I pitched 8 scoreless innings in my final Met appearance, then was traded to a playoff contender, for whom I disappointed.

44. Grounded out to shortstop 3 times, but got standing O’s anyway.

[metirish]

3. Game 3 of the World Series: I pinch-hit into a force play.

Darryl Hamilton ph for Reed in the 6th forcing Agbayani.

Good quiz

#44 - Piazza

[Theoldmole]

Just wild guesses.

#3 - Willie Mays


8 - Tom Seaver

11 - Kent and Vizcaino


30 - Rico Brogna

[Valadius]

44 - Mike Piazza, 2005.
7- Jeff Reardon, 1981.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think I recognized 6 of them:

1. Darryl Strawberry 1990
8. Tom Seaver 1983
15. John Stearns 1985
20. Jerry Koosman 1978
22. Joel Youngblood 1977
28. Armando Benitez 2003

[Valadius]

13 - Cleon Jones, 1975.

[Valadius]

17 - Amos Otis, 1969.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

9. Todd Zeile
25 - Armando Benitez

[Guest Edgy DC]

13. Hodges.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

12 - Dwight Gooden
23 - Don Shaw

[Valadius]

36 - Ron Darling, 1991.

[Lundy]

]26. In my final day as a Met, I had 2 hits -- one each off a future Hall of Fame pitcher. Weirdly, only 1 showed in the boxscore.

This has got to be Joel Youngblood in 1982. I'm guessing Fergie Jenkins in Chicago and Steve Carlton in Montreal.

[Guest Edgy DC]

33) Elliott Maddox

[nymr83]

]12. The downright lousy game I tossed in my final Met appearance was overshadowed by controversy. I soon left as a free agent.

Rick Reed?

]25. In my last appearance for the Mets, I blew a save, but got a win. They booed me not out of town, just across it.

Armando Benitez?

]30. I was once a solid Met contributor, but by August of this year I had lost starting assignments in the outfield and at first base and was relegated to pinch-hitting. That’s what I did in my final Met appearance: I popped out pinch-hitting to make the last out of a game, and was traded to Philadelphia the next day

Rico Brogna?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Reed went in a trade.

[Valadius]

4 - Roger Craig, 1963.

[Valadius]

42 - Rey Ordonez, 2002.

I was SO happy to see him go after his attack on the fans. Never learned to bloody hit.

[Valadius]

40 - Dwight Gooden, 1994.

[Valadius]

24 - Bruce Boisclair, 1979.

[Valadius]

6 - Nolan Ryan, 1971.

[Valadius]

29 - Orel Hershiser, 1999.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Bonus one:

BC) Nine innings, 1 run 6 Ks. and I'm moved a few days later for no real apparant reason and for nothing that even came close to equalling me

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Updates: Valadius is trying to run away with this thing. There's been some corerect guesses, and some incorrect guesses that look right but will reveal themselves to be wrong when viewed through our completed puzzle, which requires 1 guy per year.

You folks not including the year in your guesses are making it harder to correct and only get half-points.

Correct guesses so far:

44. Piazza 2005
3. Willie Mays (1973)
8. Tom Seaver (1983)
7. Jeff Reardon 1981
1. Darryl Strawberry 1990
8. Tom Seaver 1983
15. John Stearns 1985
20. Jerry Koosman 1978
28. Armando Benitez 2003
13 - Cleon Jones, 1975
17 - Amos Otis, 1969
9. Todd Zeile (2004)
25. Armando Benitez (2003)
36 - Ron Darling, 1991.
26. Joel Youngblood 1982 (Lundy also got the pitchers correct)
33. Elliott Maddox (1980)
4 - Roger Craig, 1963.
42 - Rey Ordonez, 2002.
40 - Dwight Gooden, 1994
24 - Bruce Boisclair, 1979
6 - Nolan Ryan, 1971.
29 - Orel Hershiser, 1999.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

28 Ray Knight Game 7 of the 1986 World Series

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

I want to say Jeff Kent for 16 in 1996

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

21 Joe Pignatano ending the 1962 season and Piggy's MLB career

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

22 Mike Phillips 1977

[Valadius]

30 - Frank Thomas, 1964.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

I'm guessing 37 is Len Dysktra 1989

[Valadius]

39 - Wally Backman, 1988.