Rainy Day in Denver Doc Trivia

[G-Fafif]

Not Viz. Not Spiers.

Hint No. 3: They all pitched.

[Fman99]

Mike Maddux? (I know this because I wrote an award winning song about this moe, G-Fafif might recall....)

[G-Fafif]

Fman99 wrote: Mike Maddux? (I know this because I wrote an award winning song about this moe, G-Fafif might recall....)

Don't have any recollection of what you're talking about, but yes, Mike Maddux is one of those fellows.

Two to go...

[Gwreck]

Blas Minor?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

If Doug Henry hasn't been guessed wrong yet I'd be happy to guess it.

[G-Fafif]

Blas Minor...no.

Doug Henry...yes!

One to go.

[G-Fafif]

Hint regarding the final former/future Met who played in Doc Gooden's only Astro appearance:

Even when he was a Met, you would watch him pitch and say "New York is not the place for him, and that is not merely per something I heard on a Better Than Ezra CD."

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

ooooh, Mista Kottah!

[G-Fafif]

ooooh, Mista Kottah!

I'll take that to mean, "Yorkis Perez," Horshack.

And you are correct.

The eight Mets who joined Doc Gooden in the Astro box score of April 8, 2000 were:

Roger Cedeno CF
Moises Alou RF
Richard Hidalgo LF
Tim Bogar SS
Mike Maddux P
Yorkis Perez P
Doug Henry P
Billy Wagner P

Former Met executive Gerry Hunsicker, then Astro GM, certainly wanted to make Doc -- who had made his MLB debut 16 years and 1 day earlier at the Astrodome -- feel comfortable (and was even prescient in bringing in several futre Mets, knowing someday Doc would return to us).

It didn't much help Gooden, who was lit up by the Phillies for 4 runs and 6 hits (and 3 walks) in just 4 innings before manager Larry Dierker pinch-hit for Gooden with future Met minor leaguer Russ Johnson. The Astros eventually came from behind to beat Rico Brogna (who had a double off Gooden; Rico's second Met game came in Doc's last Met start) and the Phillies 8-5. Maddux was the winning pitcher, Wagner got the save. It was the second regular-season game ever played at then Enron Field, and the first day game and first Astro win there.

The Astros sold Gooden's contract to the Devil Rays five days later.

On April 8, 2000, in Flushing, John Franco was called on to protect a 5-1 Mets lead in the eighth inning against the Dodgers but instead opted to give up four runs on a leadoff homer to Eric Karros and a three-run shot to Devon White. Scoring on the second home run was Kevin Elster; flying out before White homered was Jose Vizcaino. Like Franco, Elster and Vizcaino were former Met teammates of Gooden's. Eric Karros would homer off Armando Benitez in the tenth and the Mets would lose 6-5 when Tampa's own Derek Bell -- who grew up idolizing Doc and wore No. 16 as a tribute to the neighborhood hero -- struck out. (The Mets started Pat Mahomes, who pitched admirably for 5.2 innings; Glendon Rusch, that season's fifth starter, didn't settle into the rotation for another week.)