Old Mets Games on TV

[Gwreck]

This Tuesday (2/19) a new "Mets Classic" on SNY: The Mets/Cubs from 2000 in Tokyo.

---

On today on ESPN Classic was a 1-hour version of the Darryl Kile No-Hitter from September '93.

Trivia time!

Medium:
Fill in the blanks in the starting lineup for your New York Mets that day:
[ ]CF
[ ]SS
Murray 1B
[ ]LF
Burnitz RF
Kent 2B
[ ]3B (Major League Debut)
Hundley C
[ ]P

Hard:
How did the Mets get their only run that game?

Extremely Hard:
Who were the three pinch-hitters (not defensive replacements) the Mets used in the game? Hint: 2 of them were the last 2 batters of the game, and they both struck out.

[Guest AG/DC]

McKnight scored the only run in some comedy of errata. I'm not sure what position he played.

[stevejrogers]

That was Butch Huskey's debut game

Bonilla in left.

[Fman99]

Joe Orsulak was in the lineup that day.

[Gwreck]

Medium:
Fill in the blanks in the starting lineup for your New York Mets that day:
[ ]CF
[ ]SS
Murray 1B
[Joe Orsulak]LF - Fman99
Burnitz RF
Kent 2B
[Butch Huskey]3B (Major League Debut) - SteveJ
Hundley C
[ ]P

Hard:
How did the Mets get their only run that game?

McKnight was walked. He advanced to second and then to third on a wild pitch, which really hit Orsulak on the foot -- he jumped away from the plate limping. Bagwell retrieved the ball from the backstop and made an errant throw to third. Credit to Edgy.

Extremely Hard:
Who were the three pinch-hitters (not defensive replacements) the Mets used in the game? Hint: 2 of them were the last 2 batters of the game, and they both struck out.

[Guest AG/DC]

I think maybe McKnight is our shortstop as well.

[DocTee]

I'll venture a guess that Chico Walker was somehow involved in this game.


I remember playing a video game that featured the '93 Mets, and Walker was always in the lineup.

[Valadius]

Mets/Cubs in Tokyo! YES!!! The freaking samurai helmet!!! One of my all-time favorite Met moments!

[Gwreck]

Medium:
Fill in the blanks in the starting lineup for your New York Mets that day:
[ ]CF
[Jeff McKnight]SS - Edgy
Murray 1B
[Joe Orsulak]LF - Fman99
Burnitz RF
Kent 2B
[Butch Huskey]3B (Major League Debut) - SteveJ
Hundley C
[ ]P

Hard:
How did the Mets get their only run that game?

McKnight was walked. He advanced to second and then to third on a wild pitch, which really hit Orsulak on the foot -- he jumped away from the plate limping. Bagwell retrieved the ball from the backstop and made an errant throw to third. Credit to Edgy.

Extremely Hard:
Who were the three pinch-hitters (not defensive replacements) the Mets used in the game? Hint: 2 of them were the last 2 batters of the game, and they both struck out.

Chico Walker struck out to end the game. DocTee

[DocTee]

Ryan Thompson, CF??

[Gwreck]

Medium:
Fill in the blanks in the starting lineup for your New York Mets that day:
[Ryan Thompson] CF - DocTee
[Jeff McKnight] SS - Edgy
Murray 1B
[Joe Orsulak] LF - Fman99
Burnitz RF
Kent 2B
[Butch Huskey] 3B (Major League Debut) - SteveJ
Hundley C
[ ]P

Hard:
How did the Mets get their only run that game?

McKnight was walked. He advanced to second and then to third on a wild pitch, which really hit Orsulak on the foot -- he jumped away from the plate limping. Bagwell retrieved the ball from the backstop and made an errant throw to third, which allowed McKnight to score. Credit to Edgy.

Extremely Hard:
Who were the three pinch-hitters (not defensive replacements) the Mets used in the game? Hint: 2 of them were the last 2 batters of the game, and they both struck out.

Ced Landrum pinch-hit for the pitcher in the 6th. - FMan99
Chico Walker struck out to end the game. DocTee

Edited February 17, 2008 by Guest

[Fman99]

Cedric "Ced" Landrum was one of the other pinch hitters. I believe he was the one who appeared in the middle of the game.

Not too many Ceds in Mets lore.

[Gwreck]

Correct.

[Guest SI Metman]

I was going to make a comment about how all 3 Astros no-hitters that they aired on ESPN Classic happened in September and if every Astros no-no happened in September. I looked it up and saw Houston has had 10 no-no's (including the combined one against the MFY).

How the hell does the Mets expansion sisters have that many in a 45 year period? That's one every 4.5 years.

Then again the Marlins have a better rate with 4 in 15 years.

[Gwreck]

It's a pure chance thing. That and they had Nolan Ryan....oh, wait...we did too.

In all seriousness, Bill James did a study about 15 years ago I think that determined that a disproportional number of no-hitters took place in September games.

---

Final stats from the trivia question:

Medium:
Fill in the blanks in the starting lineup for your New York Mets that day:
[Ryan Thompson] CF - DocTee
[Jeff McKnight] SS - Edgy
Murray 1B
[Joe Orsulak] LF - Fman99
Burnitz RF
Kent 2B
[Butch Huskey] 3B (Major League Debut) - SteveJ
Hundley C
[Frank Tanana]P

Hard:
How did the Mets get their only run that game?

McKnight was walked. He advanced to second and then to third on a wild pitch, which really hit Orsulak on the foot -- he jumped away from the plate limping. Bagwell retrieved the ball from the backstop and made an errant throw to third, which allowed McKnight to score. Credit to Edgy.

Extremely Hard:
Who were the three pinch-hitters (not defensive replacements) the Mets used in the game? Hint: 2 of them were the last 2 batters of the game, and they both struck out.

Ced Landrum pinch-hit for the pitcher in the 6th. - FMan99
Chico Walker struck out to end the game. DocTee
Tito Navarro struck out in the Mets' pennultimate at-bat.

Using the traditional 3-2-1,-1 scoring system, DocTee is our winner with 5. Nicely done.

[DocTee]

Not sure how my pair of responses bested FMan's pair, but, hey, I'll take a win.

September games feature an inflated roster of late-season callups. Could that have any impact on no-nos?

[seawolf17]

Who the hell are Ced Landrum and Tito Navarro? You made them up.

Remember Frank Tanana? Yikes. Those were lean years.

[Gwreck]

I vaguely remember Ced Landrum. But Tito Navarro? I was as surprised as you are when he pinch-hit. And yes, my apologies to FMan99 for not equally crediting him.

I'll try to dig up that James article tonight. I think it was in The Baseball Book 1991 or 1992.

[Gwreck]

Mets v. Yankees, Dave Mlicki's shutout.

This Friday at 7 on SNY.

[Guest AG/DC]

I watched some awesome 1969 World Series footage in my hotel this week.

1. Amazin' to see Gil stick with Seaver in Game Four in the ninth, with the Mets up 1-0,
   1. as Frank Robinson singled with one out and
   
   
   2. Boog Powell singled him to third, then again
   
   
   3. as Brook Robinson tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
   
   
2. Amazin' to see Gil stick with Seaver in Game Four in the tenth
as
1. Johnson led off by reaching on an error by Garrett (who had just entered,


2. Dalrymple singled him to second with one out,


3. Buford sacrifice flied him to third,


3. Amazin' to see Gil stick with Koos in Game Five in the ninth, with the Mets up 5-3, as Robinson led off with a walk, with Powell coming up.



4. Amazin' to see Earl Weaver not arguing after Robinson got called out on a very close play at second on Powell's bouncer. (Was it this game or Game Four that Weaver got tossed from?)



5. Most amazin' to see how the Mets got their insurance run the bottom of the eighth in game five in a manner that foreshadowed 1986, as Swoboda scored all the way from second on a two-out bouncer to first, as Powell mishandled it and then threw it behind reliever Eddie Watt, who was late covering anyhow, as Grote hustled nicely down the line.
   

   
   

[Frayed Knot]

]Was it this game or Game Four that Weaver got tossed from?

Game four.
Shag Crawford tossed him although it was a very un-Weaver-like performance. Earl was out there complaining about something before finally walking away with Crawford apparently getting in a last line of something along the lines of 'I better not see you out here again'. Weaver supposedly didn't hear what he said and followed Crawford back towards the plate to ask him for a repeat. When Shag turned around to see Earl coming back towards him he thumbed him before he could say a word.

[stevejrogers]

I saw Game 5 off of iTunes, was Amazed that Nelson suited up in a solid colored blazer, please tell me the plaid was on him for Game 4?

[Guest AG/DC]

The plaid more became a signature in the seventies.

How about that Grote play? Has anybody ever noted how it parallelled the Mookie play?

[Guest SI Metman]

Gwreck wrote: Mets v. Yankees, Dave Mlicki's shutout. This Friday at 7 on SNY.

looking back at my '97 yearbook, that was a WWOR game, so it was probably Kiner and McCarver announcing.

[Frayed Knot]

McCarver wasn't still around as late as '97 was he?

[Guest SI Metman]

Frayed Knot wrote: McCarver wasn't still around as late as '97 was he?

He left the Mets after the '98 season according to UMDB. I remember him joining the MFY team the same season as the Roider.

[Gwreck]

Mets at Phillies, 10/6/91.

Tuesday at 7:00, SNY.

[soupcan]

DocTee wrote: September games feature an inflated roster of late-season callups. Could that have any impact on no-nos?

I remember reading something about that. It wasn't just September that saw a higher proportion of no-hitters, they spiked in April as well.

I believe that the theory was that in the beginning of the season, pitchers are always ahead of the hitters in terms of reaching their 'mid-season form' and as DocTee said, the September call-ups combined with the fatigue of the regular season factored into the higher September numbers.

[Guest Triple Dee]

SI Metman wrote: ="Frayed Knot"]McCarver wasn't still around as late as '97 was he? He left the Mets after the '98 season according to UMDB. I remember him joining the MFY team the same season as the Roider.

Is he back on Bobby V's Xmas card list?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Pretty good rerun on SNY now...