A walk off HR in 1970

[ewen21]

At old Parc Jarry, no less. Any of you rubes old enough to remember the Expos old PA guy announce the name: John Boc-ca-BEL-LAAAAAA.

John Boccabella - YouTube

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

At old Parc Jarry, no less. Any of you rubes old enough to remember the Expos old PA guy announce the name: John Boc-ca-BEL-LAAAAAA.

John Boccabella - YouTube

Sure! How about how he would say Coco Laboy
The amazing thing also was Duke Snider and Don Drysdale did the Expos games for a while! I guess they wanted the old Brooklyn Dodger connection from having Montreal as their top farm club back in the 1940's and 1950's!
Yeah remember the swimming pool in right center? What a dog track ball park! I never saw Sicks Stadium live in Seattle because I wasn't watching baseball yet in 1969 but there had to be a contest between Jarry Park and Sicks Stadium in 1969 to see who had the crappiest ballpark! It always seemed to be dark there also.
Remember when they would confuse Ron Fairly with Jim Fairey?
Did you see Rusty Staub number 10 with his glove on? He wasn't the fat Rusty yet!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...97009020.shtml

September 2, 1970!

[ewen21]

Can't miss Rusty!

I do remember seeing a Mets game and someone came close to or possibly hit one in the pool? Was it Rusty? Maybe it was Ken Boswell. John "The Hammer" Milner? I know someone on the Mets went out there.

[smashem]

I remember my father used tell me about Jarry-Park. He said there was a pool in right field. Seeing this was Left Field not sure if it was Jarry thou.

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

Can't miss Rusty!

I do remember seeing a Mets game and someone came close to or possibly hit one in the pool? Was it Rusty? Maybe it was Ken Boswell. John "The Hammer" Milner? I know someone on the Mets went out there.

I was thinking Singleton when he was a Met! Not sure obviously!
Remember when Dave Kingman was in a horrible slump and the Mets went up to Montreal and his first two times up he had two great bunts to the 3rd base side for easy base hits and it broke his slump!
People don't realize that Dave Kingman was a great bunter!

Hey I found that game with Kingman and getting two bunt singles his first two times up off Fred Scherman:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...97506180.shtml
Top of the 2nd, Mets Batting, Tied 0-0, Expos' Fred Scherman facing 4-5-6
t2 0-0 0 --- 1,(0-0) X NYM J. Torre F. Scherman -4% 46% Single to RF
t2 0-0 0 1-- 1,(0-0) X NYM D. Kingman F. Scherman -6% 40% Single/Bunt; Torre to 2B
Top of the 3rd, Mets Batting, Ahead 2-0, Expos' Fred Scherman facing 2-3-4
t3 2-0 0 --- 2,(1-0) BX O NYM F. Millan F. Scherman 2% 30% Flyball: LF
t3 2-0 1 --- 4,(2-1) BBSX O NYM R. Staub F. Scherman 1% 31% Groundout: 2B-1B
t3 2-0 2 --- 5,(2-2) BSSBX NYM J. Torre F. Scherman -1% 30% Single to LF
t3 2-0 2 1-- 2,(1-0) BX NYM D. Kingman F. Scherman -2% 28% Single/Bunt; Torre to 2B


Then the next day he bunted again for a single off Woody Fryman and the next time up hit a home run!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...97506190.shtml
Top of the 2nd, Mets Batting, Tied 0-0, Expos' Woodie Fryman facing 5-6-7
t2 0-0 0 --- NYM D. Kingman W. Fryman -4% 46% Single/Bunt


June 18 and June 19 of 1975.

Amazing the sh*t you remember!

[bigjack]

The New York Mets: Part 4 (1975-79) - YouTube

1975-79 Mets: I was 13 to 17 and felt alot of pain after 1976!

1975/76: 168 wins and 156 losses

Seaver:

36-20 with a 2.48 era!

71 games, 70 starts, 551 innings, 28 complete games, 10 shutouts, 428 hits allowed and 478 strikeouts!

Koosman:

35-23 with a 3.05 era!

70 games, 66 starts, 487 innings, 28 complete games, 7 shutouts, 2 saves, 439 hits allowed, and 373 strikeouts!

Matlack:

33-22 with a 3.15 era!

68 games with 67 starts, 491 innings, 24 complete games, 9 shutouts, 460 hits allowed, and 307 strikeouts!

Seaver was clearly the man but Koosman and Matlack weren't bad!
The team was average with 84-78 record over two years but:

The big 3 won 104 and lost 65 games!

The rest of the team was 64-91!
Wow!

Seaver/Koosman/Matlack

[ewen21]

Saw Woody Fryman pitch a one hitter vs. the Mets. I think John Stearns hit a double. I remember there was a big fire out in the distance. We were in the third deck.

[ewen21]

I thought it was '76 but it was actually in 1975. Big crowd that day too. I think it might have been batting glove day

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

I thought it was '76 but it was actually in 1975. Big crowd that day too. I think it might have been batting glove day

I remember a few things about Fryman. He was dealt to Detroit in I think 1972 from the Phillies and was great like 10-3. It was like when Doyle Alexander went to the Tigers for Smoltz in like 1987 and went 9-0.

Then when Fryman was an old man, he goes back to Montreal and Dick Williams made him a lefty reliever and he was nasty with a brutal slider and good fastball!
I had a 1971 Phillies yearbook from going to the VET with the old man to see the Mets and remember that the Phillies had a family section and Fryman's wife was pretty hot!
He was from Kentucky!

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

I thought it was '76 but it was actually in 1975. Big crowd that day too. I think it might have been batting glove day

Weren't you and I both at the game in 1975 when Ken Sanders was looking down and Stearns nailed him in the face with the ball during the warmup tosses?
Unreal!

I found a quote about that moment from Ken Sanders.

"Ken Sanders
March 7, 2004
I was taking my warm up pitches and lost the return throw from John Stearns and it hit me directly in my right eye. I never touched it. It actually knocked me out. There was no action on the field at the time of the accident. Go Mets!"

[ewen21]

Originally Posted by bigjack

Weren't you and I both at the game in 1975 when Ken Sanders was looking down and Stearns nailed him in the face with the ball during the warmup tosses?
Unreal!

I found a quote about that moment from Ken Sanders.

"Ken Sanders
March 7, 2004
I was taking my warm up pitches and lost the return throw from John Stearns and it hit me directly in my right eye. I never touched it. It actually knocked me out. There was no action on the field at the time of the accident. Go Mets!"

No, I was not at that game. I saw it on TV though. I was actually at my cousin's house who lived in the neighboring town. I can't recall if it was 4th of July or not. I think it was a weekend day game doubleheader and that was were I went for 4th of July in those days. Was it? Anyway, I think it was against Philly. I think the Mets were getting smoked as well. I recall being outside--probably swimming because they had a pool--and then coming in and catching the aftermath.

I seem to remember Stearns being confused because Sanders appeared to make a motion with the glove to send the last warmup down to second base. Stearns just heaved the ball down toward second and Sanders was just standing around. BAM! Down like a sack of turds.

[ewen21]

He was out, though. I remember Sanders being motionless down on the mound for a little while after that

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

No, I was not at that game. I saw it on TV though. I was actually at my cousin's house who lived in the neighboring town. I can't recall if it was 4th of July or not. I think it was a weekend day game doubleheader and that was were I went for 4th of July in those days. Was it? Anyway, I think it was against Philly. I think the Mets were getting smoked as well. I recall being outside--probably swimming because they had a pool--and then coming in and catching the aftermath.

I seem to remember Stearns being confused because Sanders appeared to make a motion with the glove to send the last warmup down to second base. Stearns just heaved the ball down toward second and Sanders was just standing around. BAM! Down like a sack of turds.

No you are thinking of a double-header in late June that I went to with the old man. That was a Sunday and Koosman was ripped to pieces in game 1 and Seaver got no runs and pitched great leaving after 9 in game 2 with a no decision. The Mets bullpen lost that game and the double-header.

Ken Sanders was hurt in August against the Dodgers on a Sunday. Every year my old man had to get a Sunday Mets/Dodgers game if they were playing and Sanders came in to pitch the 8th inning and was nailed in the eye by Stearns. Skip Lockwood then had to come in and the Mets lost that game also 2-1!

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by ewen21

He was out, though. I remember Sanders being motionless down on the mound for a little while after that

For some reason I thought you and I happen to be at the same game one time around 1975 but must be thinking of something else!
My old man being an old Brooklyn Dodger fan had to see them every year. If the Dodgers were in during the week, he'd go and I couldn't because of school.
If it was the weekend, then him and I would go. I still remember my first Mets game at Shea was against the Dodgers and Richie Allen hit a blast out by those light stands out in left center!
What a shot!
Kenny Singleton also homered for the Mets and my old man loved him and always said he was gonna be a hell of a ballplayer and was pis*ed when he was dealt for Rusty Staub!
I remember two other things:
We always got there early to watch batting practice and a Met hit a ball down the left field line that went into foul territory and I said foul ball! My old man said no that ball was fair. It went past 3rd base in fair territory before it went into foul territory therefore it was a fair ball!
I learned something new that day and I also learned about Hoyt Wilhelm and what a knuckleball was! He was wearing number 49 and warming up in the pen before the game and my old man pointed him out to me with the binoculars and told me about him being 49 years old and that he threw a knuckleball and explained it to me!
At age 9, 49 is like 125!

Good memories!

[ewen21]

Hey Jack, I got a Rusty memory.

I was probably at the end of high school or early college when this happened and Rusty had returned to the Mets. Either way, I was home watching baseball with my brother. If beer was involved I wouldn't be surprised but that would mean it was during my college years so we are talking '84 or 85.

Anyway, Rusty came in to pinch hit in a close game in the 9th. It was in Montreal I think. Whoever was umping called a pitch a strike and it was like two feet off the plate and he punched Rusty out, probably for the 2nd out. Rusty went ballistic like I'd never seen. He had the short sleeves, the black batting gloves and pretty big sized gut at this point. He got right in the umps face and started screaming at him in close range with a balled up his fist, covered by the black batting glove and shook it around his waist while he was screaming. I think he was ejected. It was definitely his last season and at that time I think he'd passed Smokey Burgess as the all time pinch hit leader.

Don't quote me on that, but I certainly remember the sequence where he got called out on strikes in the 9th in one of his last at bats. And he was PISSED