centerfield maz

Sunday September 25th 2016:   Terry Collins Mets (82-73) had a rough week losing four of six as they were fighting for a wild card spot with the Giants & Cardinals. Today they hosted Pete Mackanin's fourth place Phillies (70-85) in a matinee at Citi Field in front of 35,093 hungry Mets fans. With a tired bullpen to go along with a battered rotation the Mets sent Young Rober Gsellman (2-2) to the mound to face Jake Thompson (3-5) The Mets got what they needed from the young Robert Gsellman, as he pitched seven shutout innings where he allowed just three hits & struck out his season high eight batters. He also retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. He even got his first MLB hit when he bunted safely in the 3rd inning. Quotes- Terry Collins: We needed one of those. Our bullpen was shot. So, it was nice to be able to have comfortable innings at the end of the game." Largest Shut Out in Team History: The Mets provided Gsellman with plenty of offense, ...

Walter Wayne Backman was born September 22, 1959, in Hillsboro, Oregon. Wally Backman's dad played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization during the sixties. Wally was drafted in the first round (16th pick overall) of the 1977 draft by the New York Mets. He hit over .280 every season in the minors and his defense improved, making him a fine defensive second baseman. His scrappy style of play is what made him so desirable. He would do anything to get on a base, a slap hitter who could bunt well, draw walks & get hit by pitches. His uniform usually got dirty from sliding and being a pest on the base paths. Mets Career: In September 1980 he got his big league call up. On September 2nd, he debuted in a loss at Los Angeles, getting an RBI base hit off Dave Goltz in his first career at bat. He later hit an RBI double in a successful debut. That month he would have a hit streak hitting safely in 16 of 21 games. On October 1st he had a four-hit game in a loss at Pittsburgh. O...