Francisco Lindor’s playoff-clinching homer among Mets’ best-ever
You will be talking about Mets 8, Braves 7 for years: astride water coolers, inside watering holes, whenever you find yourself in the company of fellow Mets fans. And it’s likely that will lead to other adjacent subjects of great import.
Was that the greatest regular-season game in Mets history? You might choose to exhaustively comb all 9,963 Mets games on Retrosheet to figure that one out, or simply go with what’s fairly obvious: yes, it most certainly was.
Was Francisco Lindor’s one-out, two-run, ninth-inning home run Monday the biggest homer in Mets history? That’s a little more subjective. Here’s one man’s list, and one man’s order. Happy to hear what will almost certainly be entirely different lists from you:
10. Daniel Murphy, Game 5, 2015 NLDS
His solo blast off Zack Greinke, Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS at Dodger Stadium was the swing that won the Mets that series.
9. Darryl Strawberry, Game 5, 1986 NLCS
Hits a seed off Nolan Ryan that allows them to push the Astros to extra innings and a critical win.
8. Lenny Dykstra, Game 3, 1986 NLCS
Brought the Mets back with a two-run, walk-off blast off Houston’s Dave Smith that put them up 2-1 in games.
the ninth to win game 3 of the NLCS.
7. Al Weis, Game 5, 1969 World Series
Also the unlikeliest since he only hit seven other homers in a 10-year career. But it tied the game at 3 in the seventh, and allowed the miracle to become real.
6. Benny Agbayani, Game 3, 2000 NLDS
Gives the Mets a 3-2 walk-off win in the 13th inning against the Giants’ Aaron Fultz, setting up the clincher the next day.
5. Mike Piazza, Sept. 21, 2001
Less baseball meaning than all the others, but in a category by itself for the greater impact.
4. Robin Ventura, Game 5, 1999 NLCS
Technically not a homer because Todd Pratt interrupted him on his triumphant tour of the bases, but everyone saw the ball clear Shea’s right-field wall.
3. Pratt, Game 4, 1999 NLDS
Replacing an ailing Piazza, he wins the series for the Mets against Arizona with a homer off Matt Mantei to dead center at Shea.
2. Lindor, Monday
Given the stakes, given the way the team was kneecapped in the prior inning. Maybe it’s recency bias. Time will tell.
1. Ray Knight, Game 7, 1986 World Series
All Knight’s seventh-inning shot off Calvin Schiraldi did was win the Mets a World Series. Until there’s another, this one has to sit at No. 1.
(Honorable mention: Donn Clendenon, 1969, an inning before Weis and immediately after the Cleon Jones “shoe polish” incident; Strawberry off clock in St. Louis, 1985; Kirk Nieuwenhuis/Kelly Johnson against the Nats, September 2015; Wilmer Flores’ “tears of joy” against Washington, July 31, 2015; Brandon Nimmo in the eighth inning Monday. David Wright’s blast in Game 3 of the ‘15 World Series. CitiField has never been louder than when that cleared the wall.)
