Ultimate Mets Database: Game of April 12, 1987

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Previous Game:
April 11, 1987
Braves 4, Mets 3 1987 Regular Season Game 5
April 12, 1987
Braves 12, Mets 4 Next Game:
April 14, 1987
Mets 7, Phillies 5

Click to view scorecard

National League Standings, April 12, 1987

Box Score Game Memories Scorecard Mets Stats
Thru This Game

METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE APRIL 12, 1987 GAME:

Kevin Walsh
October 25, 2002
This was the game in which Dion James killed a pigeon with a fly ball. He hit it toward McReynolds in left, who lined up for the catch, but watched in disbelief as the ball struck the bird and, both bird and ball plopped in front of him. It was a bad sign for Ojeda and the Mets, who went on to get pounded with Sisk (who else) taking the brunt of it.

John L.
October 21, 2015
Rafael Santana carried the deceased bird off the field.

Hot Foot
April 21, 2022
I watched this game on TV. There was a lot of doom and gloom in my family life at the time, and I remember this particular day was gloomy grey day. I usually like overcast days, but on this day, we had to go to some party, so I couldn't watch the game at home; I had to watch it in some strange house (at least they had the game on).

I still remember the mortally wounded bird clearly, and thinking it was really awful, especially to me because I liked all animals. And they showed it on TV, the bird dangling from Rafael Santana's hand! All these years I thought Mookie carried off the fallen bird until I read the previous post.

Now get this: This game was their 5th game of the 1987 season, which means it was Kevin McReynolds first few games as the Mets' left-fielder. On that play, McReynolds, a big duck hunter, lines up to catch a baseball but the ball hits and kills a dove instead. McReynolds must have been loving that moment! I'm surprised he didn't take a knife out gut it right there on the field. He could have asked Rafael for it later in the clubhouse, who knows?

So on top of my personal family issues and the gloomy weather, the Mets lost 12-4 and as Kevin Walsh mentioned in 2002, the bird strike was truly a bad sign for the Mets. I chalk it up to Kevin McReynolds' karma with birds. I always remember this game was another gloomy wake up call that things could (and would) go the other way than they had in 1986.

Hot Foot
September 29, 2022
This game was posted on YouTube 11 days ago, and it's the TBS broadcast. The picture quality is more 1977 than 1987, but it's worth a watch, just for Skip Caray's line:

"I don't know if Dion James plays golf or not, but he already has a birdie on the day."

After his classic joke, Skip Caray mentioned that they had a Vegas bookie generate the odds of a bird getting hit by a batted ball, and it was one in six million. There were other bird-related jokes as well.

The Mets were 3-1 at the beginning of this game. I WAS going to say this game was the beginning of the downfall of the dynasty, but the Mets were still in first place at the end of this game and they stayed in first place until Jesse Orosco's meltdown against the Cardinals. Tom Herr. No need to say more. I know I watched that game on TV, but I have blocked out all memories of that game. I always hated watching Mets games at Busch Stadium because I hated every one of the Cardinals players. Especially Tom Herr.

On the other hand, my young mind thought the 1987 Braves would be a pushover just like the 1986 Braves, but not so. Thanks to a pigeon (it was not a dove of peace as I had thought all these years, just a plain New York City pigeon) and Dion James, this game is one of the few Mets games that I remember from the 1987 season.

First Dion James. Then Tom Herr. Then Tim Raines. And the cherry on top, Terry Pendleton. 1987 was a doozy for a kid who thought the Mets would win the World Series every year.

Now it's your turn! Tell us what you remember of this game:

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The Mets suck! They need to trade Smith and get somebody like Jones.
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The Mets suck! Smith made three errors in this game, and hit into a double play, and the Mets blew a 5-0 lead. They need to get rid of Smith and get somebody like Jones.
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