AP Photo/Chris Kasson
One of the many examples of the greatness of Rey Ordonez.This is the sixth in a series of blog posts ranking the bests in Mets history.
Though we covered the best defensive players in Mets history, we never got around to ranking the best plays. That’s what today and tomorrow are for.
If you want to see the rest of the top 10 series (topics: home runs, pitching performances, defensive players, fastest Mets, singles and trades) click here.
10 -- The forgotten plays of 1969
You know that the famous plays from the 1969 World Series -- Tommie Agee's two catches in Game 3 and Ron Swoboda's diving catch in Game 4 -- are going to be featured here. But let’s not forget some of the plays that got the Mets to that point.
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We’re talking about plays like the one in the 15th inning of the game against the Dodgers on June 4, when Al Weis preserved a scoreless tie by snaring a smash that deflected off pitcher Ron Taylor and throwing home to nail Billy Grabarkewitz at the plate.
Wrote John Wiebusch of the Los Angeles Times: "It was an impossible play, but that is the kind of baseball the Mets are playing."
Or the 7-2-3-5 double play turned on Willie McCovey’s opposite-field double in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Giants on Aug. 30.
That featured a Yoenis Cespedes-like throw home from the left-field corner by backup outfielder Rod Gaspar, and the alertness of first baseman Donn Clendenon when, after catcher Jerry Grote rolled the ball to the pitcher’s mound thinking the third out had been made, he picked up the ball and fired to third base to nail McCovey trying to advance.
It wasn’t the only time McCovey was left dumbfounded by the Mets. They’d robbed him of a potential homer Aug. 19 when Cleon Jones made what Joe Durso described as an “acrobatic catch” to save the game.
Just another in a line of reasons this team was known as the Miracle Mets.
9 -- The game-ending collisions, Sept. 26, 1975, and June 30, 1978
Mets catcher John Stearns was known for his toughness, never more so than in a 1978 game against the Pirates. The Mets were up by a run in the ninth, but had the tying run on third base with one out. Joel Youngblood caught Bill Robinson’s fly to right and fired home to Stearns.
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Stearns was giving away some bulk to 235-pound Dave Parker, but he held on for dear life as Parker collided with him.
Newspaper reports said Stearns was not just bowled over ... he’d moved 10 feet from where he started. But he held on to the baseball for the final out.
"That was like the Pennsylvania Railroad colliding with the B&O," Pirates manager Chuck Tanner told the media afterward.
Parker would suffer the worst of that collision. He’d miss 15 days, then come back outfitted like Jason from "Friday the 13th".
Stearns’ predecessor Jerry Grote made a similar play in the final days of the 1975 season. This one came in the 12th inning of a win over the Phillies. It ended with Grote colliding with incoming baserunner Tim McCarver, who was trying to score on a potential game-tying double. This is how the AP described it the next day:
"Jerry Grote held on to the throw from the outfield during the smashup and made the tag. Grote had to be helped from the field and McCarver walked off feeling like he'd been hit by an Amtrak Metroliner."
8 -- The game-ending collision, plus one more, Aug. 27, 1986
The 1986 Mets went 8-0 when rookie catcher John Gibbons played. This play, similar to the ones just mentioned, but with the bonus of an extra out, was arguably Gibbons’ career highlight.
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An 'Easy Two'
The Mets led by a run in the 10th inning in San Diego, but the Padres were threatening with a man on second and one out. Tim Flannery singled to center and Garry Templeton challenged Lenny Dykstra to throw him out at the plate.
Dykstra did, despite Templeton’s best efforts to bowl over Gibbons.
Gibbons rolled over, got up and followed the direction of pitcher Doug Sisk, who yelled to Gibbons to throw to third base. Gibbons obliged and Howard Johnson tagged Flannery out for the game’s final out.
“What a double play,” exclaimed McCarver, a Mets broadcaster that night, before adding with a laugh: “Just your routine double play.”
7 -- Wally Backman’s game-ending double play, April 26, 1986
The pivotal series in the 1986 regular season came early for the Mets, a four-gamer against the defending NL champion Cardinals in April. The Mets would take all four in the series, but they’d need some great defense to help them along the way.
The best of the best came to end the third game. The Mets were up a run in the ninth inning but the Cardinals were threatening with one out. Terry Pendleton, who would hit a key home run to deflate the Mets a year later, hit a smash up the middle. Backman made a headlong dive to snare it, threw to second for the force and shortstop Rafael Santana threw to first just in time to get Pendleton.
“Wally should get the save,” Mets closer Jesse Orosco told reporters after the game.
It was the signature play of an 11-game winning streak that would put the Mets in command of the NL East.
6 -- Rey Ordonez wows Ozzie Smith, April 1, 1996
It takes something special to get Ozzie Smith to tell reporters after a game that he thinks he’s just seen the next generation’s Ozzie Smith.
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That something was Ordonez throwing out Royce Clayton at the plate on Ray Lankford’s double to left field in the seventh inning. But it wasn’t your typical relay throw home.
Ordonez made this one from the outfield, while on his knees.
For those who believe a good defensive play can spark a team, this game (the 1996 season opener) is a great example. The Mets entered the home half of the seventh trailing 6-3. They would leave the seventh inning leading 7-6 in a game they would win by that score.
Some players save the best for last. In this case, Ordonez brought the best out first.
This game marked his major league debut.
Tomorrow: The top five, including great postseason plays by Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda and Endy Chavez.