Ultimate Mets Database: Game of May 30, 1996

Dave VW
July 27, 2023
I agree with Michael. Wilson had the stuff of a true ace when he was healthy, which unfortunately wouldn't be for very much longer in 1996. Freshly shaved for the first time as a rookie, Wilson didn't allow another hit after a 4th inning double by Barry Bonds, ultimately tossing 8 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts. Wilson knew his day was done after the 8th, having thrown 99 pitches and due up in the bottom of the frame, and with the score still deadlocked at 0-0, the Mets needed to score a run to give Wilson his much deserved win. Thankfully, Jose Vizcaino came through with a 2-out single to plate Rey Ordonez, and then all that needed to happen was for John Franco to nail down the save.

But it was never that easy for these Mets. Stan Javier led off the 9th with a bunt single, which brought up Barry Bonds as the go-ahead run. Bonds smacked a deep flyball to CF that luckily got caught up in the stiff wind that was blowing in all day (and likely cost Matt Williams and Butch Huskey home runs earlier in the game, too), but Javier tagged up and moved to second base on the play. With the ever-dangerous Williams up next, I thought the Mets could have walked him with a base open and instead face Mark Carreon and attempt to get a double play. Pitching coach Greg Pavlick came to the mound to ask Franco what he wanted to do, and apparently Franco preferred going straight after Williams. It was a gutsy decision, but Franco came out looking like a genius as he struck out Williams, and then, after a 9-pitch battle, got Carreon to ground out to end the game.

Credit goes to Wilson and Giants starter Allen Watson for looking like Cy Young Award candidates, but the truth is both teams were really struggling to score runs at the time. Including this game, the Giants had scored just 12 runs in their last 7 games, and the Mets had only scored more than 4 runs once over their last 11 games. Didn't help that the Mets were missing Rico Brogna due to a bad shoulder, and gave Tim Bogar his first start of the season at 1B in this game. I'm still astonished at how little Carl Everett was being used at the time. The Mets easily could have started him in RF and Huskey at 1B. Everett was so far in Dallas Green's doghouse that nothing short of solving world hunger was getting him out.

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: