Ultimate Mets Database: Game of June 25, 1991

Dave VW
September 18, 2022
I suppose when Ed K wrote his post in 2010 he was technically correct about this being the last game in which the Mets hit a walk-off grand slam. Robin Ventura also famously hit one in the NLCS in 1999, but was mobbed running the bases before he could even reach second base. Since 2010 (and as of this post), there have been three others -- Jordanny Valdespin in 2013, Ike Davis in 2014, and Jose Bautista in 2018. A real ragtag group who have joined the club!

This really was an epic win that left Kiner and McCarver speechless. It was McReynolds' last of four career walk-off homers, as well as his last of six career grand slams. He was a torrid hitter at the time, having batted .335 since May 1. It was kind of surprising Montreal left in the southpaw Scott Ruskin to face him with the bases loaded and two out. Earlier in the inning, Harrelson tried to run the Mets out of the rally by executing a double steal with one out and a 3-1 count on Magadan. Dave swung and missed and the ball beat Keith Miller to third but hit him to prevent Wallach from catching it. Some might call the play gutsy, but I thought it was unnecessarily risky.

This was the third time Gooden and Dennis Martinez faced each other in 1991, each winning one of the prior games. Martinez (who I always remember for his signature windup style and his massive wad of chewing tobacco) was on the ropes early as the Mets snapped his 23 consecutive scoreless inning streak with four in the first, be he didn't allow a run the rest of the game. Then it was the Expos turn to bat around in the fifth, scoring five to take the lead. Other than that inning, Gooden went seven scoreless, allowing just three hits. Even though the Mets didn't commit any errors in the game, their poor defense still didn't help in the fifth, particular when Magadan dove and had a Dave Martinez grounder carom off his glove that no one decided to chase after, giving him an RBI and a double. Also, Sasser had Grissom out on a caught stealing but Templeton dropped the throw, and the catcher also couldn't handle a wild pitch by Gooden in the inning that scored another run. It was all pretty ugly. Thankfully, McReynolds sent everyone home happy and started a stretch in which the Mets would win 14 of their next 16 games (but somehow only gained three games on the first-place Pirates).

Please note:
We're looking for your comments about this specific game. We've had people use this space to share their thoughts on how the current season is going, or on ways that the Mets can improve the team. Such comments, unless in the context of this particular game, will be considered off-topic and will be removed.

Example One
The Mets suck! They need to trade Smith and get somebody like Jones.
This comment is off-topic and will be removed. It has nothing to do with any specific game. But here's an acceptable alternative:

Example Two
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.
See the difference? Here you're getting the same point across, but it's in the proper context. We wouldn't consider this message to be off-topic, and we would let it remain.

We do appreciate anybody who takes the time to share their thoughts on our site, and we hate to remove anybody's postings. But if we didn't take steps to ensure that only on-topic messages were retained, The Ultimate Mets Database would become a confusing jumble of unrelated comments, and would thus be less enjoyable to visitors like you.

Thank you!

Your name:
E-Mail address: OPTIONAL
Comments about the game: