I though about writing this post back in early August. When Wilmer Flores hit his dramatic home run against the Washington Nationals on July 31st, it made me reflect on the top home runs in Mets history. I actually wrote down a preliminary top 10 list - a list I needed to crumple up and throw away after Daniel Murphy's exploits. So, with the understanding that Murphy and the Mets might still add to this list over the next week, here is my list ( in chronological order ) of the top 10 Mets home runs of all time.
Pre-me Honorable Mention
Before moving on to the list, I should note this list only includes homers I actually saw. It doesn't include any of the homers hit by the 1969 Mets which happened when I was in my mother's womb, or any of the homers hit by the 1973 Mets which happened when I was far more interested in Cookie Monster than the Mets.
However, it would be remiss of me to not mention Al Weis' game 5 home run in the 1969 World Series. In addition to being used as a major plot device in the fine 2000 film "Frequency", this 7th-inning solo home run tied game 5 of the 1969 World Series at 3. The "Miracle Mets" would go on to win that game 5-3 to win the World Series 4 games to 1 against a powerful Baltimore Orioles team.
Of course, the Mets were already leading that series 3 games to 1, and they did score 2 more runs in game 5 after Weis' homer, so I'm not 100% sure if this homer was as important as the other homers on this list below ( all of which happened when the Mets were either tied or trailing in a playoff series or pennant race, with the exception of a homer that actually won a playoff series ). However, those Orioles ( who won 109 game in 1969, won the World Series in 1970, and lost the World Series in 1971 ) were a great team, and I'm sure all Mets fans were terrified of the prospect the Mets going back to Baltimore for game 6 and a potential game 7. Of course, I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to give a fair verdict on Weis' homer. I'll leave it to people older than me to decide if Weis' homer belongs on the top 10 list below.
Top 10 Mets Home Runs in Chronological Order
Darryl Strawberry, Game 3, 1986 NLCS
The Mets and Astros were tied 1 game apiece in the series with the nearly unbeatable Mike Scott looming as the Astros starter for game 4. The Mets had been stymied by Astros southpaw Bob Knepper for 5 innings and found themselves trailing 4-0 going into the bottom of the 6th. Two hits and and error made it 4-1 that inning before Darryl Strawberry strode to the plate. One mighty Strawberry cut later, the score was tied at 4.
Lenny Dykstra, Game 3, 1986 NLCS
Despite Strawberry's heroics earlier in the game, the Mets still found themselves trailing 5-4 going to the bottom of the 9th. After Wally Backman reached on an infield hit and advanced to 2nd on a passed ball, Lenny Dykstra came to the plate with one out and did something he had only done before "in a Strat-O-Matic game against my little brother".
Lenny Dykstra, Game 3, 1986 World Series
Mets fans were shocked when the 108-win 1986 Mets lost the first 2 game of the 1986 World Series at Shea to the Boston Red Sox, and some Red Sox fans were talking sweep as the series headed back to Fenway for game 3. Lenny Dykstra ended that talk with a lead-off home run to start game 3.
Todd Pratt, Game 4, 1999 NLDS
The Mets were winning this best of five series 2 games to 1, the game was tied at the time, and I still think the Mets would have won the series if Pratt had not homered, but a walk-off home to win a playoff series is still a walk-off home to win a playoff series.
Mike Piazza, Game 6, 1999 NLCS
This homer is nowhere near as well-remembered as another "homer" in that series, but in my mind, Piazza's game 6 homer was far more dramatic than Ventura's "Grand Slam Single" in game 5. The Mets had rallied from a 3 games to none deficit in this series to take games 4 and 5 at Shea, but found themselves in a 5-0 early hole in game 6 at Turner field. The were still trailing 7-3 in the top of the 7th when the Mets mounted a rally. They had gotten 3 hits to make it 7-5 when Piazza hit a one-out 2-run home run off future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz to tie the game at 7. I had thought all hope was lost when the Mets had trailed 5-0 after 5 innings, but now I thought the Mets were going to pull off the miracle by beating the the Braves in this game and then finishing off the shell-shocked Braves in game 7 ( I don't think the Braves would have recovered from losing via the "Grand Slam Single" in game 5 and then blowing a 5-0 6th-inning lead in game 6. As Yankees fans can attest, this 90's Braves team wasn't exactly clutch, so if the Mets had won game 6, I think the Braves would have folded in game 7 ). The Mets would have actually pulled off the miracle if they'd had clutch relievers. John Franco blew an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the 8th and Armando Benitez blew a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the 10th. However, neither Franco's or Benitez's failures were Piazza's fault. He still hit one of great clutch home runs in Mets history.
Benny Agbayani, Game 3, 2000 NLDS
This is the only homer on the list that I experienced in-person. My brother Craig and I were at Shea for this one, and there was a feeling of apprehension in the stands all game. The best-of-five series was tied at one game apiece, we were facing a powerful Giants team led by Bonds/Kent, and we had a guy with a 5.06 ERA slated to pitch for us in game 4 ( Hey, nobody could have predicted that Bobby Jones would pitch a 1-hit shutout in game 4. This guy had a 5.61 ERA in 1999 and hardly anybody was surprised when he went 8-19 with a 5.12 ERA in 2001. Believe me, most Mets fan had written off game 4 and figured we needed to win games 3 and 5 to win this series. To the 56,000+ Mets fans at Shea that day, game 3 was a must-win. ).
The Mets fell behind early 2-0. We managed to tie the game by scratching out a run in the 6th and a run in the 8th, but after we tied the game, the Giants had men on base almost every single inning after that.
Top of the 9th: Barry Bonds strikes out with a man on first.
Top of the 10th : Giants leave runners on 1st and 3rd but fail to score.
Top of the 11th: Giants go down 1-2-3 for a change.
Top of the 12th: Giants leave runners at 1st and 2nd but fail to score.
Top of the 13th: Bonds pops out with runners on 1st and 2nd to end the inning.
By the bottom of the 13th inning, all of us in the stands at Shea that day felt emotionally exhausted, and we were beginning to feel like we were living on borrowed time. Then, with one out in the bottom of the 13th, Benny Agbayani sent us all home happy.
I've witnessed a lot a great moments at Shea over the years. I've seen Ed Kranepool and Darryl Strawberry hit walk-off homers to turn 9th-inning deficits into wins. I was there when Gary Carter hit his opening day walk-off homer in front of a packed house in 1985, and I was there when Ray Knight hit a walk-off homer in front of a sold-out Shea on Fireworks Night in 1986. I was even in the stadium when the Mets won the 2000 pennant. However, I never experienced as much noise and joy at Shea Stadium as when Benny Agbayani hit that home run. I still consider it to me the greatest sports moment I've witnessed in person.
Mike Piazza, September 21, 2001
This is probably the most famous home run in Mets history. Everyone remembers that Piazza hit it in the first baseball game played after 9/11 in New York City, but few remember that it helped keep the Mets in the 2001 pennant race. On the morning of August 19th, the Mets were 13.5 behind the Braves in the standings, but they had cut the lead to 8 by the end of the day on September 10th, and 3 straight post-9/11 wins on the road had left them only 5.5 game behind the Braves on the morning of September 21st. It was still a long-shot that the Mets could catch the Braves, but winning the first game of a 3 game series with the Braves would be a good start. The Mets trailed the first game of that series 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th, but Piazza's 2-run homer secured the victory and uplifted a city. The Mets managed to win the next day, and were 3 outs away from getting within 2.5 of the Braves when Amando Benitez blew a 4-1 9th inning lead in the 3rd game of the series. Once again, Piazza was not to blame for Benitez's failure. Piazze deserved all the credit in the world for hitting a clutch home run that the city will never forget.
Wilmer Flores, July 31, 2015
I wrote about this home run in detail here. All that is left to say is that this Flores homer was the turning point in the 2015 season and just might be a turning point for the franchise.
Daniel Murphy, Game 1, 2015 NLDS
Mets fans knew it was going to be tough to beat the Dodgers duo of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in the 2015 NLCS. We had confidence that Jacob deGrom would pitch great in game 1, but we were not sure the Mets would be able to score against Kershaw. Out doubts were erased when Daniel Murphy homered off Kershaw to lead off the 4th inning. Murphy's homered reminded the Mets and their fans that Kershaw and Greinke were human.
Murphy hit that ball so hard that he branded the reverse image of his name on the ball.
Daniel Murphy, Game 5, 2015 NLDS
Mets fans wouldn't be getting ready to watch the 2015 Mets/Royals World Series if Daniel Murphy hadn't won game 5 of the NLDS all by himself. With the best of 5 series tied at 2 apiece the Mets' Jacob deGrom faced off against likely 2015 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. The Mets pitching held the Dodgers to 2 runs that night, but the Mets would not have scored any runs if not for Murphy. He drove in a run with a 1st inning double, laid the groundwork for a 2nd run with a heads-up stolen base in the 4th, and put the Mets ahead for good with a home run off Greinke in the 6th. The Mets pitchers certainly played a big role in the Mets the NLDS victory, but Murphy played the biggest role, and his game 5 home run was the biggest hit.
Honorable Mention
Darryl Strawberry, October 1, 1985
The Mets were trailing the Cardinals by 3 games with 6 games left in the 1985 season. The first of those last 3 games were against the Cardinals in St. Louis. They really needed to win all three games to have any chance of catching the Cardinals. The first game of series was scoreless going into the top of the 11th when Strawberry hit a home run that would probably still be going if it had not hit a digital clock about 440 feet from home plate. The Mets wound up losing the 3rd game of that series, and had to wait until 1986 to be champions, but I'll always remember that shot by Straw.
Darryl Strawberry, Game 5, 1986 NLCS
Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS matched Dwight Gooden verses Nolan Ryan. The Mets eventually won this game 2-1 on a Gary Carter single in the bottom of the 12th, but this game never even gets to extra innings if Darryl Strawberry doesn't hit a home run off Nolan Ryan to the tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the 5th. I couldn't find a video of this home run. but what you need to know about this day is that the infamous Shea Stadium winds were blowing in from right field. The winds were blowing so hard that it was almost impossible to hit a home run to right field day. Strawberry did though, by hitting a screaming line drive right down the right field line.
Edgardo Alfonzo, 2 homers, Game 1, 1999 NLDS
The 1999 wild card New York Mets were huge underdogs in the 1999 NLDS against the Randy Johnson-led Arizona Diamondbacks. However, much like Daniel Murphy showed the Mets meant business by homering off Clayton Kershaw in game 1 of the 2015 NLDS, Edgardo Alfonso broke Johnson's aura of invincibility by hitting a home run in the top of the 1st off Johnson.
( I wish I had video of this, but YouTube let me down on this one. It was a really impressive home run; he hit it over the center field fence which was 407 feet deep and 25 feet high. )
As great as that was, Alfonso wasn't done. With the game tied 4-4 in the 9th, Alfonso hit a Grand Slam.
It's also worth noting that Alfonso hit a 2-run homer to open the scoring in the wildcard playoff game the Mets needed to win to get to the NLDS. You could almost always count on Fonzie in the clutch.
Robin Ventura, Game 5, 1999 NLCS
Everyone remembers Ventura "Grand Slam Single" in the 1999 NLDS, and some might wonder why I included Piazza's game 6 NLCS home run and not Venturas "home run" ( technically not a home run because he was mobbed by his teammates after he rounded first base and never finished running the bases ). The thing is, Ventura didn't need to hit a home run to win the game there - he didn't even need to get a hit. Todd Pratt's ( there's that guy again ) bases loaded 15th-inning walk had already tied the game at 3, and considering there was only one out when Ventura came to the plate with the bases loaded, he only needed to hit an average outfield fly ball to win the game. As soon as Ventura hit the ball, I knew it would be deep enough to score the runner from 3rd and win the game. The fact that the ball went over the fence was just icing on the cake - but oh what delicious icing it was!
Mike Piazza, June 30, 2000
This 3-run 8th-inning homer was the exclamation point on a 10-run Mets rally which turned an 8-1 deficit into a 11-8 lead. This was a home run that I should have seen in person, but didn't. My brother Craig and I were at the game, but I had to get to work early the next day, and when the Mets fell way behind, I decided not to torture myself anymore and go home and get some sleep. I'll always regret leaving, but I actually did see Piazza hit this home run on TV. Right after "Mr. Clutch" Alfonso tied that game at 8 with a 2-out single, I turned on my TV at home. I heard the Mets announcer scream that the game was tied at 8, and as I struggled to process this, Piazza ripped a 3-run homer over the left field wall. About 10 seconds later, Craig called me to chide me for leaving the game ( I deserved it ).
The reason this home run is not on the top ten list is that the Mets wound up finishing second to the Braves that year anyway. The Mets did wind up making it to the World Series via the wildcard route when the Cardinal beat the Braves in the NLDS ( while the Mets were beating the Giants in the other NLDS ) and the Mets beat the Cardinals in the NLCS, but the Mets of the late 90's and the early 00's never did manage to beat the Braves of that era.
Daniel Murphy, Game 2, 2015 NLCS
The Mets won 1 of the NLCS against the Cubs, but the Cubs were counting on their ace Jake Arietta evening the series at one game apiece before it went back to Wrigley. Murphy's home run off Arrieta in the 1st made the score 3-0 and paved the way for the Mets' NLCS sweep
Rich
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