Ultimate Mets Database: Game of July 21, 1991

Michael Fox
July 11, 2005
I was at this game back in 1991. I remember distinctly that I was excited that my all-time favorite player Charlie O'Brien was playing. (The 2 days before Sasser and Cerone played.) Some jackass behind me said (when they announced the starting lineup and said his name) great, we lost, this guy can't hit worth a $hit! When he hit a double off the top of the wall at the farthest part of the park I turned around and said, "Some bad hitter, frickin moron." All he could do in response was make nasty comments. I was disappointed because he didn't hit a HR and would have if it was hit ANYWHERE else!

He also hit in 3 runs that day, the most of any of the Mets team. In my book, he was the main reason they won.

Dean
July 20, 2008
Are you kidding? Charlie O'Brien? He was a horid hitter, and his defense was the reason the Mets had him. Even with his defense, he was an overall louse of a player. Terrible! So what, he had one game he did well, this one!

Michael
April 13, 2020
A nice Sunday afternoon win for the Mets, who were hot at the time. Gooden beat former Met Bobby Ojeda.

Sadly, no one knew it at the time,but this game was the highwater mark for the 1991 Mets, and the end of the Mets being a contender for years. After this game, the team would play some of the worst baseball in team history through the end of the year. Finishing 7 games below .500 after being 15 above on this summer day.

Dave VW
September 4, 2022
Looks like we found Charlie O'Brien's one fan. I, like Michael, am also dreading what follows over the remainder of this season, and the years that are to come. The Mets wouldn't be 15 games over .500 again until July 24, 1997. Ouch.

This was Ojeda's first start against the Mets since being traded over the offseason. He actually never beat the Mets in three career starts, though his final two were much better than this one. On the flipside, Gooden couldn't lose when facing LA. This win improved him to 14-1 lifetime vs. the Dodgers, his only loss coming in 1985. However, he would face them 4 more times over his career and lose each one. Eric Gregg had a terrible strike zone behind the plate here, causing Doc to yell at him in the second inning. Buddy came out to protect his pitcher, but wound up getting ejected.

With runners on second and third and one out in the third, the Dodgers chose to intentionally walk Hubie Brooks to get to Carreon and set up a force at any base. The move backfired, as Carreon doubled in two and the Mets collected four straight hits for six runs. The six-run inning tied their highest-scoring frame of the year. They achieved their highest-scoring inning against the Dodgers the year before too, with 8 runs in the third inning at LA on May 21. The Dodgers were a lot like a Queens-West team in 1991, with six of the nine players in their lineup either former or future Mets, plus Gary Carter and Dennis Cook coming in later. And as you'd figure, Strawberry received plenty of boos each time he came to bat, as well as lots of cheers when he struck out. But he seemed to take it well, flashing a big smile multiple times during the game, despite the final outcome.

Also, it was weird seeing Don Criqui call the game along with McCarver, as Kiner was up in Cooperstown for the HOF inductions. I don't remember Criqui at all and apparently his only ties to the Mets is doing sporadic fill-in work during '91. According to Wikipedia, he holds the record for longest-tenured NFL broadcaster in U.S. TV history, calling NFL football for 47 seasons. Who knew.

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