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Showing posts from May, 2021

Remembering Mets History: (1977) Mets Fire Manager Joe Frazier & Hire Joe Torre

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May 31, 1977: At this point in the 1977 season the Mets were 15-30 & in last place. The front office made a move & fired Manager Joe Frazier, replacing him with Brooklyn's own Joe Torre.  Torre had been brought over in 1975, after the team had tried to acquire him in a trade for years. He was to remain on the active roster as well & be a player / manager. Joe Frazier had been a manager in the Mets organization since the late sixties. He had won four championships at various minor league levels.  After Yogi Berra was fired late in 1975, coach Roy McMillan was named interim manager, until a replacement was found. In 1976 the Mets gave Frazier the job. He was dubbed" a winner" at the press conference and Frazier stated "I'm the type of manager who stresses fundamentals. I think a man should go from first to third on a hit and second to home. I demand hustle. If I have my way, you're going to see a Mets' club next year that will hustle.&qu

Remembering Mets History: (2014) The First Team to Have Three Players With Lower Case "d"'s In the Line Up

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  May 30th 2014: On this night, the Mets became the first team in MLB history to have three players in a line up to have their last name begin with a lower case "d". The previous year with the addition of Travis d'Arnaud on the team, the Mets equipment manager had to use a capitol "P" & turn it upside down for d'Arnaud's uniform. In 2014 he requested extra lower case letters from Majestic, knowing this was going to be a problem with guys like Jacob deGrom & Matt den Dekker around. Terry Collins' New York Mets (25-29) were in Philadelphia playing Ryne Sandberg's Phillies (24-28). The game began easy enough with Travis d'Arnaud starting at catcher, being the only lower case d in the line up. He would go 2-6 with an RBI on this long night. In the 6th inning with the score tied at 5-5, Matt den Dekker made a pinch hit appearance, the second lower case "d" of the night struck out & was done for the night. In the

Dwight Bernard: Former Mets Second Round Draft Pick (1978-1979)

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Dwight Bernard was born May 31, 1952 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The six foot two right hander, attended Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee. He was the Mets second round draft pick in 1974 and went 7-4 with the AA Victoria Mets that season. He was promoted to AAA Tidewater the next season going 9-9 behind Craig Swan, Randy Sterling & Bill Laxton. He would pitch at AAA Tidewater for four seasons winning nine games again in 1977 going 9-13. Major Leagues: He cracked the depleted Met bullpen in 1978, debuting on June 29th in relief against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. On July 30th, he blew his first save in Houston & took the loss to the Astros. In September he was 1-4, blowing a win & a hold opportunity.  He went 1-4 in 1978 making 30 appearances with 26 strike outs & 27 walks in 48 innings with a 4.31 ERA. The next year (1979) got worse as he made 17 appearances, but had a 4.50 ERA in late May when he was sent down to AAA Tidewater. He returned in Augus,t goi

Remembering Mets History: (1997) Todd Hundley's Has Three Multi HR Games Where He Drives in Five Runs

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I n Todd Hundley's 1997 season he had three different games in where he hit three HRs & drove in five runs.  For 1997 Hundley hit 30 HRs (eleven less than his record setting 1996 campaign) batted .273 with 21 doubles & 86 RBIs (16 less than the previous year). Overall he played in 132 games twenty one less than 1996. For the second straight year he represented the Mets in the All Star Game. April 23rd 1997: Today Bobby Valentine's Mets (8-12) hosted Ray Knight's Cincinnati Reds (6-14) in front of 26,492 fans at Shea Stadium. With the Mets down 1-0 in the 1st inning Hundley put the Mets ahead with a two run HR off Red pitcher Mike Morgan.  In the 3rd inning, John Olerud doubled in Edgardo Alfonzo to tie the game. Hundley drove in his third run of the day, with a base hit up the middle. Bernard Gilkey & Carl Everett also added RBI hits in the Mets five run inning. In the 6th inning Hundley added to his big day, driving a two run HR off Kevin Jarvis bri

Remembering Mets History (2016): Curtis Granderson's Two Walk Off HR Games

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Friday, May 27th 2016: A large crowd of 43,462 showed up at Citi Field to see the reigning NL Champion Mets (28-19) host Dave Roberts' Los Angeles Dodgers (25-24) in a rematch of the previous years NLCS. On the mound Jacob deGrom going for his fourth win against one loss, facing off against Julio Urias. Starting Lineups Dodgers 1 Chase Utley 2B 2 Corey Seager SS 3 Justin Turner 3B 4 Adrian Gonzalez 1B 5 Howie Kendrick LF 6 Joc Pederson CF 7 Yasiel Puig RF 8 Yasmani Grandal C 9 Julio Urias P Mets 1 Curtis Granderson RF 2 Asdrubal Cabrera SS 3 David Wright 3B 4 Yoenis Cespedes