Countdown Quiz

[seawolf17]

POINTS!

1. 1984: Must have been those eleven hits in 27 AB that made him part of that big trade. HERM WINNINGHAM
2. 1999-2001: Came in like gangbusters, hitting 25 HR in AA/AAA in 1999, but that never translated to big-league success, finishing just 7-27 with 0 HR, all with the Mets. JORGE LUIS TOCA
3. 2007: 5-27 in a short stint as a backup outfielder. Was a reasonably highly regarded prospect who never amounted to much success either.
4. 2011: Won a ROY, was part of a huge three-team deal, then finished his career quietly going 4-27 as a Met. ANGEL BERROA
5. 2015: 4-27 as a backup infielder; now in camp with the Tigers. DANNY MUNO

GFafif 20
JCL 15
Batmags 12
Edgy 9
Ben Grimm 8
FK 4
Hahn 3
Chad 2
DocTee 2
SteveJR 1
Lefty 1

[G-Fafif]

3. Ben Johnson

(Angel Berroa was a 2009 Met.)

[seawolf17]

Meh. Details.

1. 1984: Must have been those eleven hits in 27 AB that made him part of that big trade. HERM WINNINGHAM
2. 1999-2001: Came in like gangbusters, hitting 25 HR in AA/AAA in 1999, but that never translated to big-league success, finishing just 7-27 with 0 HR, all with the Mets. JORGE LUIS TOCA
3. 2007: 5-27 in a short stint as a backup outfielder. Was a reasonably highly regarded prospect who never amounted to much success either. BEN JOHNSON
4. [crossout]2011[/crossout] 2009: Won a ROY, was part of a huge three-team deal, then finished his career quietly going 4-27 as a Met. ANGEL BERROA
5. 2015: 4-27 as a backup infielder; now in camp with the Tigers. DANNY MUNO

GFafif 21
JCL 15
Batmags 12
Edgy 9
Ben Grimm 8
FK 4
Hahn 3
Chad 2
DocTee 2
SteveJR 1
Lefty 1

[Frayed Knot]

I have absolutely no memory of Ben Johnson - at least not after he got banned from the 100m dash

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I thought Omar was being shrewd by acquiring him. It wasn't impossible to imagine him as a kind of overlooked prospect who could excel if used judiciously enough but he just wasn't any good.

[Edgy MD]

Ruined a rally on the basepaths during his short stay, if I recall.

[Edgy MD]

That's an interesting bunch of guys. One fact each about each of those muggs:

• Herm Winningham: Unlikely hero of the 1990 World Series, as the Reds swept Sandy Alderson's mighty A's.
  
• Jorge Toca: Schoolboy pals with Rey Ordóñez.
  
• Ben Johnson: Got most of his Mets PT during a horrible June swoon that forbode the team's 2007 collapse. They lost, like 10 of 11 with him appearing semi-regularly in a shorthanded outffield. I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson never appeared in a Mets victory.
  
• Ángel Berroa: In the Tim Foli/Ozzie Guillen mold of shortstops who seemingly hated to walk.
  
• Danny Muno: As noted recently, lost his girlfriend to Mike Napoli.

[Frayed Knot]

[*]Ben Johnson: Got most of his Mets PT during a horrible June swoon that forbode the team's 2007 collapse. They lost, like 10 of 11 with him appearing semi-regularly in a shorthanded outffield. I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson never appeared in a Mets victory.

Appeared in nine games as a Met (May 30 - June 10) in which the team went 3-6. In his seven starts they were 2-5
He never played in the majors again. And I still have no memory of him, not pre-Met, not as a Met, and not post-Met.

[seawolf17]

I do have a memory of Angel Berroa as a major leaguer, but zero recollection of him in a Mets uniform at all.

[G-Fafif]

Ben Johnson made his Met debut the night Armando Benitez balked Jose Reyes around the bases and gave up the game-winning homer to Carlos Delgado, an oft-aired extra-inning Mets Classic. Amid all that, I remember being excited enough to say to my companion in RF, "Hey, Ben Johnson's in the game!"

Angel Berroa, 2009 New York Met, sticks out for me thanks to the monumental work of my friend and colleague Metstradamus.

http://metstradamus.blogspot.com/2009/08/justice-persistence-courage.html

[seawolf17]

1. A serviceable swingman for the 1980 Mets, he was 6-26 at the plate before being traded to Toronto.
2. Went 2-26 at the plate and had a 6.04 ERA in 1979. Perhaps using some... substances... would have helped.
3. Appeared in 67 games in 2007-08, went 5-26 at the plate, and somehow has zero real memories on UltimateMets.
4. 1-26. His one hit came in a blowout win over the Phillies in April 2016.

[stevejrogers]

Dock Ellis for #2

[seawolf17]

POINTS!

1. A serviceable swingman for the 1980 Mets, he was 6-26 at the plate before being traded to Toronto.
2. Went 2-26 at the plate and had a 6.04 ERA in 1979. Perhaps using some... substances... would have helped. DOCK ELLIS
3. Appeared in 67 games in 2007-08, went 5-26 at the plate, and somehow has zero real memories on UltimateMets.
4. 1-26. His one hit came in a blowout win over the Phillies in April 2016.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Swingin' Roy Lee Jackson.

[Edgy MD]

#4 is Logan Verrett.

[G-Fafif]

3. Jorge Sosa, whose successes always seemed too good to be true

[seawolf17]

Four players, FOUR DIFFERENT POINT SCORERS. Now we're talking.

1. A serviceable swingman for the 1980 Mets, he was 6-26 at the plate before being traded to Toronto. ROY LEE JACKSON
2. Went 2-26 at the plate and had a 6.04 ERA in 1979. Perhaps using some... substances... would have helped. DOCK ELLIS
3. Appeared in 67 games in 2007-08, went 5-26 at the plate, and somehow has zero real memories on UltimateMets. JORGE SOSA, APPARENTLY?
4. 1-26. His one hit came in a blowout win over the Phillies in April 2016. LOGAN VERRETT

GFafif 22
JCL 15
Batmags 13
Edgy 10
Ben Grimm 8
FK 4
Hahn 3
Chad 2
DocTee 2
SteveJR 2
Lefty 1

NINE points available tomorrow. NINE. If Lunch picks up his game, WE COULD HAVE A NEW LEADER BY THE END OF THE DAY.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm curious to see what you do when we get down to lower numbers, like 3. Will you still go by number of at bats, or will you switch to a different statistic? There are 32 Mets who finished with exactly 3 at bats.

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm curious to see what you do when we get down to lower numbers, like 3. Will you still go by number of at bats, or will you switch to a different statistic? There are 32 Mets who finished with exactly 3 at bats.

You know, I hadn't really thought that far in advance when I started this, but about a week ago, I looked further down the list... and we're going for it, all the way. The challenge is finding time to type out clues for all those players.

ALSO STOP CHEATING, BEN

[Benjamin Grimm]

I didn't look at any names, just did a count.

I'm enjoying these Countdown Quizzes, but here's a word to the wise that I've learned from doing Schaefer and dictated my approach for Tabloid Cover Derby: It's best to do the vast bulk of the preparation in advance. That way, when the "event" is playing out keeping it up doesn't become a burden. If you're going to post 32 questions on March 31 don't wait until March 30 to get them assembled!

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I didn't look at any names, just did a count. I'm enjoying these Countdown Quizzes, but here's a word to the wise that I've learned from doing Schaefer and dictated my approach for Tabloid Cover Derby: It's best to do the vast bulk of the preparation in advance. That way, when the "event" is playing out keeping it up doesn't become a burden. If you're going to post 32 questions on March 31 don't wait until March 30 to get them assembled!

That's sort of what I've been doing. I open up a txt file and then when I have a few minutes during the day, I run through the upcoming players and get them ready to go. Then it's just cut-and-paste into the thread.

[Edgy MD]

One of Jorge Sosa's particularly heroic games came as the 2007 Mets for one night staved off collapse in Washington, September 19, 2007. With the Nats down 5-3, but the Mets bullpen falling apart on a nightly basis, Mike Pelfrey opened the sixth by yielding a walk to Robert Fick and a single to Jesús Flores.

Despite the paucity of options, Willie came with the hook, and called on Sosa, who struck out pinch-hitter D'Angelo Jiminez and induced leadoff batter Nook Logan into a double play. He'd get through the next inning unscathed and turn the game over to Heliman and Wagner to finish. But both Willie and Manny Acta agreed in their post-game interviews—that sixth inning was the whole game, and Sosa was the hero.

I was a guest with Bubba Sponge, who go home with a game-used ball gifted to him by his hero, Guy Conti, and everything looked fine and safe as houses for the time being, and almost nothing would go right the rest of the season.

[seawolf17]

1. 1964-65: 2-12 on the mound, 1-25 at the plate. Was the "other guy" on a notable Mets rookie card.
2. 1970-71: 5-25, then part of a big trade. Was the "other guy" on a notable Mets rookie card.
3. 1973: 3-23 in between stints in Houston. Acquired when the Mets traded away a key piece of their 1969 team.
4. 1980: 1-21 for this catcher and former 1st round pick who only got 99 AB in part of four seasons between 1978-1985.
5. 1997-98: Only 3-25 with a home run despite being Joe McEwing before Joe McEwing was Joe McEwing.
6. 1999: 3-25 at the plate. Walked a guy once.
7. 2005: 5-25 at the plate in 19 games, and then at the end of the season said "fuck this shit, I'm going home."
8. 2005: Drafted by the Mets in 1990, but didn't make it up to Shea until 1995, where he went 3-25 with a home run, mostly as a pinch-hitter.
9. 2010: 4-25 ending his career with his hometown club.

[G-Fafif]

9. Frank Catalonotto

[G-Fafif]

6. Kenny Rogers

[G-Fafif]

4. Butch Benton

[G-Fafif]

3. Rich Chiles

[G-Fafif]

2. Leroy Stanton

[G-Fafif]

5. Shawn Gilbert

[G-Fafif]

1. Tom Parsons