Benjamin Grimm

Tonight's win is the 81st win of the season. The Mets have not had a losing record at all this year, and this guarantees that they will go the entire season without dipping below .500. This will be only the fifth season in Mets history in which this has happened. (There have been quite a few seasons where they avoided going above .500; the most recent time was in 1995.) http://leaptoad.com/mets/above_below_500_graph.php?year=1985> http://leaptoad.com/mets/above_below_500_graph.php?year=1998> http://leaptoad.com/mets/above_below_500_graph.php?year=2006> http://leaptoad.com/mets/above_below_500_graph.php?year=2007> http://leaptoad.com/mets/above_below_500_graph.php?year=2022>

The Magic Number heads back West to Kansas, the 34th state, which entered the Union on January 29, 1861. https://designshop-6aa0.kxcdn.com/photos/kansas-send-vintage-card-online-16540_9.jpg> Hopefully, by this time tomorrow the Magic Number will be able to quote Dorothy Gale.

(And a 100% chance of making the playoffs). The Magic Number for a playoff spot (the third Wild Card) is only 25, over the Brewers. A much easier number to hit. The Mets are 12 games ahead of Milwaukee. The Magic Number for the division title is as far East as it's been so far this year, in West Virginia. The 35th state entered the Union on June 20, 1863, splitting from Virginia during the Civil War. https://designshop-6aa0.kxcdn.com/photos/usa-west-virginia-vintage-postcards-online-16576_41.jpg>

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The graphic has Fisher going to Anaheim and Zastryzny to Syracuse.

I'm confused by the commercials for "Lemonade Renters Insurance." Why would anyone need to rent lemonade?

Yes, the Mets list of potential free agents is pretty lengthy: DeGrom, Diaz, Bassitt, May, Walker, Nimmo, Givens, Naquin, Ottavino, Lugo, Williams, Vogelbach Some of these guys will obviously get a higher priority than others, but yeah, a lot of decisions to be made.

I had a phone conversation with the author of the new Cleon Jones book last fall. I forget what we talked about! He was putting the finishing touches on his book and he wanted to talk to me (because of the UMDB) about, I think, Cleon's Mets legacy.

I remember when Dennis D'Agostino's This Date in Mets History was published in 1981, there had only been six players who had appeared in one and only one game for the Mets. The most famous examples were probably that weird one-off start by Doc Medich, and Mac Scarce*, who never retired a batter. Almost ten years would pass between Medich and (the other) Bob Gibson. Now, the list is up to 33 people, with the pace really accelerating in the last decade or so. Five new entries this month alone, although some of the five may eventually appear in a second game. I have no memory of Chan Ho Park being a Met, but I do remember Brett Hinchlife's disastrous start in 2001. * I had thought that Scarce had an infinite ERA, but he didn't give up any runs, just one base hit. Stephen Tarpley is the one Met with an infinite ERA, giving up two earned runs without getting any outs. Erik Goeddel also has an infinite ERA, but that's in Division Series play, not the regular season. Jesse HudsonSeptember 19, 1969Frank EstradaSeptember 14, 1971Don RoseSeptember 15, 1971Mac ScarceApril 11, 1975Luis AlvaradoApril 13, 1977Doc MedichSeptember 29, 1977Bob GibsonJuly 25, 1987Manny HernandezSeptember 16, 1989Dave LiddellJune 3, 1990Kenny GreerSeptember 29, 1993Kevin MorganJune 15, 1997Dan MurrayAugust 9, 1999Ryan McGuireJune 4, 2000Brett HinchliffeApril 26, 2001Gary BennettJuly 24, 2001Joe HietpasOctober 3, 2004Chan Ho ParkApril 30, 2007Jon AdkinsJuly 27, 2007Jack EgbertMay 28, 2012Garrett OlsonAugust 8, 2012Akeel MorrisJune 17, 2015Adam WilkMay 7, 2017Scott CopelandMay 31, 2018Donnie HartAugust 4, 2019Ariel JuradoSeptember 1, 2020Stephen TarpleyApril 24, 2021Nick TropeanoJuly 9, 2021Akeem BostickJuly 29, 2021R.J. AlvarezAugust 16, 2022Sam ClayAugust 20, 2022Rob ZastryznyAugust 20, 2022Nate FisherAugust 21, 2022Jose ButtoAugust 21, 2022 The UMDB has mugshots of all but six of these players: Doc Medich, Bob Gibson, Kenny Greer, Kevin Morgan, Dan Murray, Gary Bennett, and Jon Adkins.

Braves' "natural rival" is the Red Sox, probably to please the three remaining Boston Braves fans.

Mets need to fatten up here, obviously.

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No, me neither. The Wild Card magic number is a lot more promising, but it's not nearly as nice a prize.

Ellis Valentine?

I wonder when/if Escobar is going to displace Baty.

Boris Yeltsin?

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It's a fun fact! I have more potential puzzles in the pipeline, but the Acrostic Machine that I've been using has been down for the last few days. More to come... eventually.

Nice to see that Al Capp is still around. https://www.hakes.com/Image/MediumRes/70043/3/image.jpg>

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http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/PatrickMazeika1976.jpg>

Nevada, the 36th state, gained statehood on October 31, 1864. https://designshop-6aa0.kxcdn.com/photos/send-vintage-greeting-card-online-nevada-16553_43.jpg>

And Nate Fisher is number 1,179. Five new Mets in the last two days.

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