Ultimate Mets Database: Game of May 9, 1995

Dave VW
April 25, 2023
I was not aware prior to watching this game that Chipper's first career home run came against the Mets at Shea, but I should have guessed it. His first of 468 longballs during his Hall of Fame career was a no-doubt line drive to right field. As soon as he hit it, I just hung my head and knew -- as Mets2Moon so eloquently put it -- the misery was just beginning.

His home run was extra clutch too, considering Kent had tied the game with his own dinger just minutes earlier. His homer was the first Braves reliever Greg McMichael gave up to a right-hand hitter in 2 years. The Mets even had a chance to tie things up again in the 9th when Todd Hundley was grazed by a pitch on the leg to lead off and pinch-runner Tim Bogar was sacrificed to 2nd by Carl Everett. But, in what I thought was an odd decision, Dallas Green let light-hitting rookie Ricky Otero bat instead of turning to David Segui or Joe Orsulak as a pinch-hitter. Otero flew out weakly to left, and then Segui pinch-hit for Manzanillo and flew out to center to end the game. Rookie Brad Clontz worked the 9th for Atlanta to already earn his 4th save of the season ... and oddly enough, it ended up being his last save of the season.

Speaking of misery, the Braves scored their other 2 runs on a 2nd-inning 2-run shot by former Met catcher Charlie O'Brien, which was the only homer he'd ever hit against the Mets. Though it was his only hit of the game, he actually hit the ball hard in each of his 3 at-bats, seemingly playing with a little extra intensity due to facing his former mates.

The replay of the game I watched was from the TBS broadcast, and Skip Caray and Don Sutton were in peak form. Skip evidently did not enjoy visiting Shea Stadium, and wondered if the Mets were thinking about building a new stadium anytime soon -- and would even chip in $50 to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, CitiField wouldn't open until 2009 -- one year after Caray passed away. Caray and Don also saw a guy in the stands sporting a very unflattering hairdo, prompting Skip to ask, "Now, what do you call that?" To which Sutton replied, "Hopefully, free." I definitely laughed out loud to that exchange.

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