Pinch Homers

[Edgy MD]

So, one more pinchie who's hit pinch-hit0 four homers still waits. Don't be afraid of making an error, as I'm not scoring this quiz. Don't switch your attention to something else. Guess here and you may catch some luck.

[seawolf17]

Only switch-hitting catcher I know of is Todd Hundley.

[metsmarathon]

i think that 1981 was hte year the mets his the fewest of their 208 total pinch hit homers.

i also think that todd pratt must have hit the required 4 pinch hit homers in his metly career. indeed, he may have even done the deed in the postseason, in 1999. i'm totally guessing here, but somebody's gotta answer those remaining questions.

edgy's socks are today white. or at least they would be if hte man would use more bleach when he does wash.

was eric young hte most recent metly pinch homerer?

[Edgy MD]

Only switch-hitting catcher I know of is Todd Hundley.

Well, then, somebody needs to school you about Biff Pocaroba! And Alan Ashby! And in Mets circles, there's... ummm... Rick Sweet!

But yes, Todd Hundley is who we are looking for, and who we were led to by my subtle-as-an-anvil-dropped-on-a-coyote's-foot clues. And he stands out here by hitting his four pinch-hit homers in four different seasons, rather than having one thundering year like many of his fellow list memebers.

In his rookie year of 1991, his first homer (and only one on the year) was an extra-inning jobbie. The Mets fell behind 3-2 in the top of the 14th on a pinch-hit single by Lloyd McClendon, plating Gary Redus. But in the bottom of the inning, Hundley got the run back driving career homer numero-uno over the right field fence. The Mets lost the mo, as well as the game, though, in the 15th. Don Slaught plated Barry Bonds. Wally Whitehurst was the loser.

How cool, then, that his last career homer was also of the extra-inning pinch-hit variety. In 1998, facing the Astros' Sean Bergman, he stepped in for Greg McMichael and socked it out of the fading beauty that was the Houston Astrodome. This time the Mets closed out the game with the win as Turk Wendell earned the save.

i think that 1981 was hte year the mets his the fewest of their 208 total pinch hit homers.

A strike-shortened year is always a good guess, but Mike Jorgensen, Mark Bradley, and Gary F. Rajsich had other ideas.

i also think that todd pratt must have hit the required 4 pinch hit homers in his metly career. indeed, he may have even done the deed in the postseason, in 1999. i'm totally guessing here, but somebody's gotta answer those remaining questions.

Todd Pratt is where it's at, but he is handicapped by the reluctance of managers to use their backup catcher as a pinch-hitter, even if Bobby Valentine tended to eschew that thinking. Pratt pinch-hit-homered once, in 2000, but did not do so in the post-season.

edgy's socks are today white. or at least they would be if hte man would use more bleach when he does wash.

They were white on day one, with the blue heels and toes. I'll give you partial credit.

was eric young hte most recent metly pinch homerer?

Eric Young's one Metly homer was indeed a game-winning walkoff shot, but he had started and played the whole game.

Two more guys out there who hit three pinch-hit homers in a season. One was more known as a full-timer and a platooner, the other as a benchie. One was married at the time to a woman named "Betty" and the other to a "Jennifer."

Top Ten All-Time Met Pinch-Hit Homer Hitters
1) Mark Carreon, 8
T2) Rusty Staub, 6
T2) Ed Kranepool, 6
T2) Jordany Valdespin, 6
T2) Scott Hairston, 6
T6) Matt Franco, 5
T6) Ron Swoboda, 5
T6) Tim Teufel, 5
T9) Steve Henderson, 4
T10) Danny Heep, 4
T10) Lee Mazzilli, 4
T10) Todd Hundley, 4

[crossout]Danny DeVito[/crossout], [crossout]Andrew Brown[/crossout], [crossout]John Milner[/crossout], [crossout]Lenny Harris[/crossout], [crossout]Mike Jorgensen[/crossout], [crossout]Tony Clark[/crossout], [crossout]Mike "Jakemonster" Jacobs[/crossout], [crossout]Jim Beauchamp[/crossout], [crossout]Desi Relaford[/crossout], [crossout]Ramon Castro[/crossout], [crossout]Jeromy Burnitz[/crossout], [crossout]Ken Boswell[/crossout], [crossout]Dave Magadan[/crossout], [crossout]Edgardo Alfonzo[/crossout], [crossout]Kirk Nieuwenhuis[/crossout], [crossout]Angel Pagan[/crossout], [crossout]Dave Marshall[/crossout], [crossout]Dave (or Jim or Mike or Mike) Marshall[/crossout], [crossout]Dwight Gooden[/crossout], [crossout]Todd Pratt[/crossout]

Top Ten All-Time Seasons for Individual Met Pinch Homer Hitters
1) Jordany Valdespin, 5 (2012)
T2) Mark Carreon, 4 (1989)
T2) Danny Heep, 4 (1983)
T4) Mark Carreon, 3 (1991)
T4) Rusty Staub, 3 (1983)
T4) Ed Kranepool, 3 (1978)
T4) Matt Franco, 3 (1997)
T4) Scott Hairston, 3 (2011)
T4) Scott Hairston, 3 (2012)
T4) Chris Jones, 3 (1995)
T4) Steve Henderson, 3 (1978)
T4) Daryl Boston, 3 (1992)
T4)
T4)

[crossout]Danny DeVito[/crossout], [crossout]Andrew Brown[/crossout], [crossout]John Milner[/crossout], [crossout]Lenny Harris[/crossout], [crossout]Mike Jorgensen[/crossout], [crossout]Tony Clark[/crossout], [crossout]Mike "Jakemonster" Jacobs[/crossout], [crossout]Jim Beauchamp[/crossout], [crossout]Desi Relaford[/crossout], [crossout]Damion Easley (2007)[/crossout], [crossout]Ramon Castro[/crossout], [crossout]Jeromy Burnitz[/crossout], [crossout]Ken Boswell[/crossout], [crossout]Dave Magadan[/crossout], [crossout]Edgardo Alfonzo[/crossout], [crossout]Kirk Nieuwenhuis[/crossout], [crossout]Angel Pagan[/crossout], [crossout]Dave Marshall[/crossout], [crossout]Dave (or Jim or Mike or Mike) Marshall[/crossout], [crossout]Dwight Gooden[/crossout], [crossout]Todd Pratt[/crossout]

What was the pinch-hit-homeriest year for the Mets?

1983

What was the Mets worst season for pinch-hit homers?

[crossout]1965[/crossout], [crossout]1967[/crossout], [crossout]1980[/crossout], [crossout]1981[/crossout]

How many pinch-hit homers have the Mets knocked in their history?

[crossout]104[/crossout]

How many Mets have done the deed?

Who did it first?

Ed, Bouchee, [crossout]5[/crossout]4/18/1962

[crossout]Marv Throneberry[/crossout]

Who did it most recently?

[crossout]Andrew Brown[/crossout]

Has it ever been pulled off in the post-season by the Mets? If so, by whom and when?

[crossout]Yes, by Todd Pratt[/crossout]

What color are my socks?
Day one: Blue toes and heels. White base color
Day two: Beige stripes. What color were the others?
Day three:
Day four:
Day five: Beige stripes again. What color were the others?

[crossout]red and green[/crossout], [crossout]black[/crossout], [crossout]royal blue and orange with a Mets logo[/crossout], [crossout]none[/crossout], [crossout]pinkish maroon[/crossout]

[metsmarathon]

208 total ph hrs? yay or nay?

[Edgy MD]

Sorry. Two hundred and eight is... still.. too... low!

[metsmarathon]

312 then. surely not more!

if 1981 wasn't the worst metly pinch homering year, then surely the newly moved-into-shea 1964 mets were the worst!

[Edgy MD]

metsmarathon wrote: 312 then. surely not more!

Fewer than 312 Mr. I-Guess-in-Multiples.

metsmarathon wrote: if 1981 wasn't the worst metly pinch homering year, then surely the newly moved-into-shea 1964 mets were the worst!

1964 might have robbed the Mets of the reachable corners of the Polo Grounds, but it did not rob them of the pro-creative thunder of Frank Thomas (at least initially), nor the blue-eyed lightning of Larry Elliot.

[metsmarathon]

260 then. it must be a multiple of 104. it must. just... not a whole-number multiple.

i guess i could walk through the entire mets list of seasons in the hopes of finding one with very few pinch hit home runs.

and so i will.

wait... nah... that's not fun for anyone.

were the 1969 miracle mets so miraculous that they won it all without the need for pinch hit homering heroics?

[Ceetar]

white socks on day three? who knows..

Feel like I'm remember a David Wright pinch hit homer last year. most recent?

edit: suspense got me. Wright's actually never had a HR as anything other than 3B. no DH, no PH, no SS.

[G-Fafif]

Most recent: Josh Satin, I seem to recall.

[Edgy MD]

Josh Satin is indeed the last man not good enough to start a game but good enough to strike the big blow.

As late as September 26 of this year, Joshie pinch hit for Frank Francisco in the ninth inning with the Mets down 4-1. He ripped the offering from Jim Henderson down the leftifield line for four bags and an automatic homerun. Unfortunately, the Mets forgot to get some guys on base first, and the final scored was 4-2. Henderson ended up with a cheapo save, but man, he's been seeing those eyebrows in his sleep ever since.

[G-Fafif]

It wasn't the most cleanly executed of PH HRs, either, according to an area blogger:

[H]itting the ball and running to first [...] was a skill set that abandoned pinch-hitter Josh Satin in the ninth. It was a comedy of presumption that unfolded as Josh lofted a fly ball far down the left field line versus closer Jim Henderson. Was it fair? Was it foul? Josh, whose job is to immediately steam counterclockwise to the nearest available base without pausing to ask questions, appointed himself judge and deemed it foul. Except it was ruled fair and in play. The �fair� part was accurate, which became a tad embarrassing for lead-footed Satin to realize since he had already begun to wander away from the plate to clear his head and await the next pitch. When he understood that he swung better than he thought, Josh dash-trudged to first, where he had to stop since he took his sweet time getting going. But the ball shouldn�t have been �in play,� as it actually cleared the fence and bounced back into the outfield. Instant replay cleared up the umpires� muddle. They emerged from their comfortably appointed video review lounge to signal �home run�. You know the gesture � it�s where you twirl your index finger in the air as if to indicate you�re not impressed��whoop-de-doo,� in other words. Which was how it felt watching Josh Satin score the reluctant run that turned a 4-1 loss into an eventual 4-2 loss.

[G-Fafif]

I want to guess Dan Norman is one of the remaining answers. I'd prefer to be right, but I'll guess Norman anyway on the off chance it's not quite wrong.

[Edgy MD]

Good job, area blogger.

Dan Norman was the author of three Mets pinch-hit homers, though none more than two in a season. A quick web search does not reveal any wife that I was able to find, but if he had one, you can bet a pennant or two that she wasn't the gold-digger Nancy Seaver was. Whooh, boy.

[G-Fafif]

Given that he did some platooning, thus might have been available to pinch-hit quite a bit, was your man Ed Charles involved?

[Edgy MD]

Oh, shit, YESSS!!

Ed Charles, 1968 edition, hit 15 homers, three of them being of the pinch-hitting variety, bringing no small measure of shame to the likes of Joe Hoemer, Bob Freaking Gibson (these two come on consecutive days), and Ron Reed,

Each of these feats, alas, was accomplished in a losing caue.