Tommie Agee
(2) Jerry Koosman – Best left-handed pitcher in Mets history, and he will be the first non-Hall of Famer to have his number retired by the Mets. A Rookie of the Year and Cy Young runner-up. Was great in the 1969 World Series. Beat the Orioles in a needed Game 2 victory, and he was the winner for the Game 5 clincher. He was the one who swiped his shoe in the infamous shoe polish incident. Was great again in the 1973 postseason winning a pivotal Game 5. Finished Mets career with a 4-0 postseason record with a 2.55 ERA. Holds nearly every left-handed starting pitcher record.
(10) Tommie Agee – First ever Mets player to win a Gold Glove and Comeback Player of the Year. In some ways, first true center fielder in team history. Hit a 480 foot homer in Shea Stadium which was immortalized by a sign where the ball hit. Led Mets in OPS during 1969 NLCS. In Game 3 of the World Series, he led off the game with a homer, and he would make one of the famed catches of that series making a diving grab robbing Paul Blair of an extra base hit. His game was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as “The most spectacular World Series game that any center fielder has ever enjoyed.” Twice finished in the top 20 in MVP voting.
To put in perspective how well thought of Gary Gentry was, when the ill-fated trade for Jim Fregosi went down, the Angels initially asked for Gentry, and they were rebuffed. That led to them “settling” for Nolan Ryan. Back in 1971, this made a lot of sense.
In 1969, Gentry was a rookie for that Miracle Mets team which shocked the world and won the World Series. Gentry would have his moments during that rookie season, but it was a mostly pedestrian season where he served as an effective third starter behind Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. However, Gentry would do something that year neither Seaver nor Koosman would do.
The first postseason ever thrown at Shea Stadium was by Gentry. It wasn’t a great start with him leaving after two innings, but he was the pitcher who started the game where the Mets clinched their first ever pennant. Gentry would repeat that history in the World Series, and things would go much better for him.
Gentry would start Game 3 of the World Series, and as such, he became the first ever pitcher to throw a pitch in the World Series in Shea Stadium. After Koosman shut down the Orioles in Game 2, the Mets were in this series, and they had a chance no one never thought they would. They took full advantage.
What made this game interesting for the Mets was this was the first time in the series there was purportedly a clear pitching advantage for the Orioles with them starting future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. However, on this day, the Mets would be the better team and Gentry the better pitcher.
That Game 3 will forever be known for Tommie Agee. He had a lead-off homer and made two great defensive plays. What has been overlooked was how good Gentry was. Over 6.2 innings, he shut out the Orioles while allowing just three hits albeit while walking five. As a result, Gentry would become the first ever pitcher to win a World Series game at Shea Stadium.
This was one of the most important starts in Mets history. With this great start, the Mets took a 2-1 lead, and they were about to hand the ball to Seaver and Koosman. The rest, as we know, is history.
That game would be the apex of Gentry’s career, but to be fair, it would be the apex of just about anyone’s career. There were some issues for Gentry including his temper. At times, he would show his frustration and show up fielders. His biggest issue would be his arm problems, which the Mets never could quite diagnose and fix.
As a result, at the time, he was seen more as a disappoint and a what could’ve been. After all, this was a pitcher the Mets thought was better than Ryan. It wasn’t just the Mets who felt that way. That was a common perception. Regardless of all of that, Gentry was still a good pitcher for the Mets with a 103 ERA+ posting the 10th most shutouts in team history. Overall, Gentry was the best Mets player to ever don the number 39.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
The first round of the Mojo Rising Bracket is complete, and so far, this bracket had the clotsest match-up this far with Benny Agbayani knocking off Todd Hundley by ONE VOTE! With that, Agbayani joins Tommie Agee as the other 10 seed to knock off a seven seed. That means through the first round of three brackets, there have been just two upsets.
This next round will have Robin Ventura and John Olerud not only on opposite ends of the greatest defensive infield of all-time, but also seeing who can advance to the Sweet 16. Agbayani and Edgardo Alfonzo can also see who was the bigger hero in 2000.
In the final bracket, we will lead off tomorrow with David Wright against Jeff McNeil.
While many expect this honor will one day go to Pete Alonso, and while you can make the case for Tommie Agee, especially with all that he meant to the 1969 Mets, the best Mets player to wear the number 20 was Howard Johnson.
HoJ0, as he was so lovingly called by Mets fans, came to the Mets via trade with the Detroit Tigers after the Tigers won the World Series. While he began his Mets career in 1985, it took him a few years to firmly establish himself. One of the reasons was his inconsistency, and another reason was Ray Knight standing in his way.
While his early Mets years may not have left much of an impression, Johnson would have some big moments. His first real big moment in a Mets uniform came in the infamous 1985 Fourth of July game against the Atlanta Braves. Johnson pinch hit for Rafael Santana in the top of the ninth, and he would come around to score the tying run setting off an epic game. Despite not starting that game, he was 3-for-5 with four runs, a walk, a homer, and an RBI.
In terms of HoJo, part of his story as a Met was his dominance over Todd Worrell. The dead red hitter just destroyed the closer hitting four homers off of him. The first of those homers came early in the 1986 season. In the opener of a four game set in St. Louis, Johnson homered off of Worrell in the ninth to tie the game. The Mets ultimately won the game and swept the series, which in some ways, all but wrapped up the NL East in 1986.
While HoJo was a utility player on that 1986 team, the Mets felt comfortable enough in his performance to allow the reigning World Series MVP Knight leave the team in free agency. It turned out to be the right decision as Johnson would make Major League history that year.
In 1987, Johnson would become the first ever switch hitter in Major League history to join the 30/30 club. To this date, he is the only switch hitter to reach this plateau twice. With Darryl Strawberry also joining the 30/30 club, Strawberry and Johnson became the only teammates in Major League history to go 30/30 in the same season.
During the 1988 season, Johnson played through some arm/shoulder issues which held him back a bit. Still, he would hit 24 homers marking a five year stretch where he would hit at least 20 homers. To date, he is the only Mets third baseman to accomplish that feat. Overall, Johnson was one of the reasons why the Mets did win the division for the second time in three years. In fact, his 25 intentional walks that year remains a Mets single season record.
That shoulder issue lingered into the 1989 season, but Johnson would soon get over it to have one of the great seasons in Mets history. In fact, according to that stats offensive WAR and OPS+, Johnson’s 1989 season was the best offensive season a Mets player ever had. In fact, it was a top 10 season any Mets player has ever had.
It was in this year Johnson became the first ever and only switch hitter and third baseman to have multiple 30/30 seasons. In that year, he would make his first All-Star team, win his first Silver Slugger, and he would finish fifth in the MVP voting. That marked the second time in three years he finished in the top 10.
By the time 1990 rolled around, we saw a pattern emerge where Johnson had a great season every other year, and in 1991, Johnson had another great season leading the National Leauge in homers and RBI. In fact, he’d become the first ever switch hitter to lead the National League in RBI.
He’d set the Mets single season record for sacrifice flies, and his 38 homers was the best mark in Mets history by anyone not named Strawberry. To this day, it remains the Mets third base record. At that time, the 38 homers were also a National League record for a switch hitter.
This would be the third time in his career where he had a 30/30 season. When he accomplished this feat, that was something only Bobby Bonds had accomplished. That made Johnson not only the first and only switch hitter to do this, but also the only infielder. It is a feat which has been since matched by Barry Bonds and Alfonso Soriano making Johnson one of only four people to ever do it.
For the second time in three years, Johnson was an All-Star, Silver Slugger, and top five in MVP voting. It was the third time in six years he was in the top 10 in MVP voting. That 1991 season was the last big year for Johnson.
After that, he would deal with injuries, and the Mets were moving him all over the diamond to try to shoehorn as much offense into the lineup as possible.
Johnson is now the eighth best position player in Mets history and the second best third baseman. He was passed by David Wright, a player he mentored in the minors. Johnson was also one of Wright’s first hitting coaches in the majors, and he would help Wright join him on the 30/30 club.
Johnson is on most of the Mets top 10 offensive lists. Notably, he is fourth in homers, RBI, and extra base hits. He is third in stolen bases. One of the last of his team records, single season extra base hits, was surpassed by Alonso this past year. However, as previously, noted Johnson still has the best single offensive season a Mets player ever had. That is why he is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 20.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
The first round of the Miracle Bracket is complete, and for the most part it went chalk. The first round winners were Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, Ed Kranepool, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, and Jerry Koosman.
If you want to call Agee over a Jon Matlack you could, but that could have also been the case of seeding issues with this part of the tournament.
The next round has some interesting match-ups. In particular, the Kranepool/Harrelson and the Grote/Jones ones should be close. With the other two, it is expected for Seaver and Koosman to continue through to their Elite Eight clash between Mets pitchers who have had their uniform retired.
Before we get to that point, our attention will shift to the Amazin bracket with Keith Hernandez facing off against Tim Teufel to kick things off.
(7) Jon Matlack – After drafting players like Les Rohr and Steve Chilcott, he was a first round draft pick the Mets got right. Won the 1972 Rookie of the Year Award. Three time All-Star and Mets only player to win the All-Star MVP award. Had a 1.40 ERA in the 1973 postseason. Led league in FIP in 1974.
(10) Tommie Agee – First ever Mets player to win a Gold Glove and Comeback Player of the Year. In some ways, first true center fielder in team history. Hit a 480 foot homer in Shea Stadium which was immortalized by a sign where the ball hit. Led Mets in OPS during 1969 NLCS. In Game 3 of the World Series, he led off the game with a homer, and he would make one of the famed catches of that series making a diving grab robbing Paul Blair of an extra base hit. His game was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as “The most spectacular World Series game that any center fielder has ever enjoyed.” Twice finished in the top 20 in MVP voting.
So far this season, Aaron Altherr is hitting .085/.141/.169 (-20 wRC+) in 47 games this season. Last year, Altherr played 105 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, and he hit .181/.295/.333 (75 wRC+). As on outfielder this year, Altherr has a -1 DRS in 127.1 innings, and he was a 1 DRS in 524.1 innings last year. That followed a -4 DRS in 837.1 innings in 2017.
Taking everything into account, Altherr is a bad baseball player, and he has been one for two years now. Despite that, the Mets have continued to keep him on the roster, and they do little to challenge his roster status.
When Jeff McNeil went down, the Mets had a need for someone who could fill-in in the outfield. Instead of a Dilson Herrera who has some outfield experience, the Mets instead went with Ruben Tejada, who was no threat to taking away his outfield reps. The team also didn’t call-up Rajai Davis, who also could have presented a threat.
On Davis, most fans remember his Uber ride and his hitting a pinch hit homer. What they don’t see is his hitting .287/.334/.410 with Triple-A Syracuse. That’s not as good as the .274/.384/.565 batting line Altherr put up in admittedly far fewer games with Syracuse. On the one hand, that makes the Mets decision to go with Altherr over Davis defensible. However, it is still curious why you would not even challenge Altherr when you needed that extra outfielder.
What’s all the more baffling is how the Mets let Billy Hamilton go to the Braves.
There are many things you can say about Hamilton and his deficiencies as a player. In 93 games with the Royals this year, Hamilton hit .211/.275/.269 (44 wRC+). That’s actually a step backwards for him as he hit .239/.299/.327 (69 wRC+) in 153 games for the Reds last year. No matter how you look at it, Hamilton is a bad hitter. Terrible actually.
That makes the fact he’s been a significantly better hitter than Altherr all the worse. Hamilton is also a much better outfielder. In fact, Hamilton is an elite defensive outfielder. In 716.1 innings this year, Hamilton has a 9 DRS. Since he was called up in 2013, his 60 DRS trails only Lorenzo Cain among qualifying center fielders.
Right there, Hamilton is a significantly better hitter and fielder than Altherr. When you factor in Hamilton’s great speed and base running, you realize Hamilton does EVERYTHING better than Altherr. Everything.
With rosters expanding in September, and the Mets depth depleted to the point where they have to not only carry Altherr on the roster but also play him, there is zero reason to not put in a claim for Hamilton. He was a significant upgrade, and he was someone the Mets were going to be able to carry on the roster into September. If the Mets were lucky enough to make the postseason, Hamilton would have been a huge weapon as a late inning pinch runner and/or defensive replacement.
Go back and ask the 1969 Mets about the Ron Swoboda and Tommie Agee catches. Go back and ask the 2004 Red Sox about Dave Roberts stealing a base. The ability or a player to make that one impact can make all the difference in the world. Instead, the Mets just let Hamilton go to the Braves, who were lower in the waiver priority, unchallenged.
The Braves will get the benefit of his base running and defense while the Mets cross their fingers on Brandon Nimmo being able to return from a bulging disc in his neck. They’re also hoping Dominic Smith, who is still in a walking boot and using a knee scooter, can return. They’re hoping J.D. Davis‘ leg won’t continue to be an issue. Same for McNeil, who has gone from being able to immediately come off the 10 day IL to needing a rehab stint. There’s also Jed Lowrie, a player who has fewer pictures of him in a Mets uniform than people have photos of Big Foot or the Lockness Monster.
Going into the season, Brodie Van Wagenen kept telling us the Mets were all-in, and the team would have no ifs. It’s August 20, and the team wouldn’t go all-in on improving their roster, and they are seeing IF one of their injured players could contribute. Mostly, they’ve decided the team is better with Altherr, who has been terrible for over a year now, than any of the better alternatives . . . like Hamilton.
The Mets had an opportunity to not just get back to .500 this weekend. They had the chance to make a statement against the Cardinals while going over .500 and making a real push towards the Wild Card and division ahead of a big road trip. As we know, it didn’t happen:
1. Perhaps everything is different if Edwin Diaz could pitch through the rain. He couldn’t. Instead, he blew the save, and the Mets would have to wait another day to lose that game, and then because this is the Mets, blow another game.
2. The criticism directed towards Mickey Callaway in sticking with Diaz for the 10th inning of that suspended game was plain dumb. It’s not like he was running him right back out there. No, he used him after a night of rest, and remember, Diaz was their best available reliever. Sticking with him was the right call.
3. The criticism of Callaway has gone way over the top. Take for example Wally Matthews hit on him when Callaway said Dominic Smith was one of their better hitters against Cardinals starter Daniel Hudson. Matthews mocked Callaway saying they never faced one another instead of pointing out how left-handed batters are hitting .311/.411/.508 off Hudson. Of course, that fact stands in the way of the narrative that Callaway is an idiot.
4. If you want to get on Callaway, get on his ever allowing Mets pitching to pitch to Paul DeJong. For some reason, he turns into a hybrid monster of Chipper Jones and Barry Bonds whenever he plays the Mets. It’s infuriating, especially when it was DeJong who mostly cost the Mets a chance to at least split the series or possibly more.
5. With respect to DeJong, one of his homers came off of Chris Flexen. That’s a tough spot for Flexen, who was JUST converted to a reliever with one relief outing in Syracuse before getting called up. He pitched well otherwise, and the Mets need to give him more of a look. That said, it’s an indictment on Brodie Van Wagenen that Flexen needed to be rushed like this.
6. Speaking of Van Wagenen indictments, who is the fifth starter now that Noah Syndergaard is injured? Corey Oswalt is hurt. Flexen is a reliever. Ervin Santana hasn’t been good in years, and Walker Lockett has never been good. Maybe he’ll just trade another asset for a pitcher another organization clearly no longer wants.
7. Like when he traded cash considerations for Brooks Pounders and his career 8.69 ERA. If history is any guide, this will go the way of Tobi Stoner in terms of relievers with fun names who have a big arm and poor results.
8. The Mets entered this season with zero depth in their rotation and their outfield. It’s already caused a huge problem in the outfield, and it is potentially doing so again with the rotation.
9. The outfield really highlights the Mets stupidity. Right now, the Mets are considering playing Jeff McNeil, who is just a second baseman, or Michael Conforto, who will only play right field this year, to play center so they can get Smith, who is only going to play first base, into the lineup as the team’s left fielder.
10. McNeil made a game and season ending play when he nailed Jack Flaherty at the plate. If the Mets lost that game, there may not have been any coming back from it. It’s bizarre to think this was one of just two season altering types of a plays in the same four game series, the other being Amed Rosario‘s inability to get the relay throw in Diaz’s blown save.
11. Say what you want about this team, but they are resilient. They came back from Diaz’s blown save and loss, and they were in position to win the next game until Jeurys Familia blew it. They then came back the next night and won it. They then battled all day Sunday trying to pull out the series split.
12. This team can hit at home. Their 117 wRC+ at home is the fourth best in the majors and second best in the National League. The trick for the team is to find a way to bring that offense on the road.
13. Speaking of offense at home, the team should just leave J.D. Davis at Citi Field because it’s apparently the only ballpark in the majors he can hit. In his career, he hits .209/.274/.341 on the road, .150/.200/.300 at Minute Maid, and yet, somehow, .347/.424/.587 at Citi Field. Maybe there’s just something to the Mets infield dirt that makes those ground balls find a way through.
14. If you are looking for the reasons for the Mets struggles, it’s not Callaway. It’s the bullpen, which is terrible, and it is the defense, which may actually be worse than the bullpen. That’s a combination which is not going to play well on the road, and as we saw in this series, it is not going to play well against good teams.
15. As bizarre and tiresome as this sounds, the Mets still could be in this race. They’re just five games out of a Wild Card and 7.5 back of the Braves, and the Mets have the games against the opponents to make it a race. They just have to go out and to their job.
16. For what it’s worth, Flexen being in the pen along with a returning Justin Wilson may address the bullpen enough that they could be good there. Move McNeil to center with Smith in left, and maybe, this is a team ready to go. After all, we see the fight this team has in it. It’s really just a matter of putting it all together at once.
17. That said, if it was that easy, the Mets wouldn’t be in this position.
18. If you want to know if there is a real chance for the division, look no further than this series against the Braves. If they take two, it’s a whole new ball game. If they get swept, they’ve already lost the division, and they’ll be lucky if there’s still a Wild Card to put their focus.
19. Pete Alonso almost pulling a Tommie Agee is what makes him such a fun player to watch. You just never know when he is going to hit the next towering homer.
20. You could buy the criticism directed at Syndergaard for not speaking reporters after his injury if the media held the General Manager and ownership to the same standards. Instead, they fight over themselves to throw jabs at the team’s designated punching bag Callaway, especially when you see how the Mets have handled Brandon Nimmo‘s STILL injured neck.
Lot to digest with this one, so just like in Spaceballs, we’ll go with the short-short version:
Pete Alonso almost pulled off a Tommie Agee in the first off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha:
Sometimes home runs go to the third deck. Sometimes home runs go three feet over the fence. pic.twitter.com/5pohau0kIL
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 16, 2019
Home Plate Umpire Brian O’Nora vomited on the field causing a 10 minute delay. Believe it or not, it was not due to having to watch this Mets team play.
Noah Syndergaard pitched well coming off strep throat, and entering the seventh, the Mets were up 8-3. Syndergaard seemed to pull a muscle or something in his leg and had to leave the game.
The Mets bullpen is terrible, and they made an 8-3 game an 8-7 one. Edwin Diaz would need Jeff McNeil to track down a ball which fell between him and Michael Conforto and nail Jack Flaherty at the plate.
Squirrel saves the day! #MetsWin pic.twitter.com/JziQqlD0rN
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 16, 2019
That was a really bad send there, but the Mets benefitted. You can call it a bad win all you want, but it’s still a win. Take it and be happy.
Game Notes: Mets have as many wins as they did all last June (5). J.D. Davis had a career day at the plate going 4-for-5 falling a triple short of the cycle.
In tonight’s game, you got to see reasons why the Mets should and should not fire Mickey Callaway.
For starters, there’s Zack Wheeler, who has been a different pitcher working with Callaway and Dave Eiland. While he’s had his struggles against the Nationals this year, he came to pitch tonight.
Over his first six innings, he allowed just two hits with one of those being a second inning Juan Soto solo homer. Entering the seventh, the score was tied 1-1 partially thanks to a Jeff McNeil fifth inning RBI single. With Wheeler at 99 pitches, you expected Callaway to pull Wheeler.
However, with Wheeler dominating and the Mets in a stretch of 14 straight games without an off day, Callaway pushed him. When Wheeler struck out Soto, you got a sense it was the right move. It probably still was even with Gerardo Parra hitting a single and Brian Dozier getting his first hit off a Mets pitcher this year. Unfortunately, that was a two run home run giving the Nationals a 3-1 lead.
While you may question sending Wheeler out for the top of the seventh, you have to give Callaway credit for utilizing his bench to take the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Wilson Ramos led off the inning with a single off Wander Suero, who was in his second inning of work. After Carlos Gomez struck out, Callaway sent up a pair of pinch hitters for Juan Lagares and Wheeler.
Dominic Smith walked putting the tying run on base. Then, J.D. Davis came up for Wheeler. Apparently, the Nationals are the only team who doesn’t have a scouting report on him because with two strikes against him, Suero didn’t throw a fastball to him. Nope, he hung a curveball, and Davis hit it off the top of the right field wall and out for a go-ahead three run homer:
See. You. Later. ???@JDDavis26 for the lead! pic.twitter.com/zrIisT8QiO
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2019
The Mets had a lead with an opportunity to win their first game when trailing in the seventh. For some reason, Callaway went to Jeurys Familia despite his pitching 1.1 innings yesterday and struggling in that second inning, and that’s nothing to say of his coming off the IL recently.
Familia didn’t have it. Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff single, and he scored on a Trea Turner RBI double. Kendrick was able to score there partially because Davis, who is not a left fielder, couldn’t handle a ball hit to the corner.
Callaway went to Daniel Zamora to get Soto and Parra out. Soto jumped all over the first pitch hitting a go-ahead RBI double. After Zamora retired Parra, Tyler Bashlor came in and got Victor Robles out. Certainly, with how good Bashlor has been of late and with Familia going more than an inning yesterday, Callaway looked bad when Bashlor got that huge out.
We’d soon forget that as Callaway’s team played hard for him. That started with Pete Alonso, a player vocal in his support of Callaway, hit a mammoth homer in the eighth, tying the game:
WOW. ? @Pete_Alonso20 pic.twitter.com/co4wTra096
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2019
Seriously, no one could quite tell if that was fair or foul. What we do know was that was Tommie Agee-esque, and it’s a new Mets rookie record for most first half homers.
With that homer and Edwin Diaz pitching a scoreless ninth, the Mets had a chance at a walk-off win.
Even with Tanner Rainey allowing that blast to Alonso, the Nationals stuck with him for the ninth. After striking out Gomez, he walked Adeiny Hechavarria and Davis back-to-back.
Kyle Barraclough came in and got deep into McNeil’s kitchen. McNeil hit a bloop toward second. Dozier got cut waiting on it. This led to getting Davis out at second easily, but Hechavarria and McNeil were easily safe. This put the game in Amed Rosario‘s hands . . . and feet.
METS WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/CQFdgKwmQM
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 22, 2019
Rosario hit a high chopper to short. Turner had to back up on it, and just as he was about to throw, McNeil jumped in his line. Maybe it made a difference, and maybe it didn’t. Whatever the case, the throw was a tad high, and with Rosario absolutely busting it down the line, he was safe by a half step, and the Mets won the game 6-5.
A week ago, the Mets lose this game. However, a team playing for a manager they apparently seem to like and respect, they pulled this one out. Even with a couple of questionable moves, maybe Callaway is the right guy for the job. He was at least for tonight.
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was a late scratch from the lineup with a neck injury.