National League Standings, April 14, 1999
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE APRIL 14, 1999 GAME:
Lee
September 15, 2004
Robin Ventura homered in this game but the player who played the important role was John Franco, who became the second man to record 400 saves when he closed out the ninth against the Florida Marlins, finishing the game with a strike out (I think it was Todd Dunwoody).
Dave VW
April 21, 2024
Indeed, Franco became the second in ML history to reach 400 saves by striking out the side in the 9th (with a bloop double that Edgardo Alfonzo failed to catch off the bat of Kevin Orie mixed in). He joined Lee Smith in the club, a group that has now reached 8, with the additions of Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, and two other former Mets, Francisco Rodriguez and Billy Wagner. We're not likely to see a 9th member for quite some time, however. The closest active player is Aroldis Chapman (322 as of this writing), but he's no longer a closer. After him, you have go all the way down to our own Edwin Diaz at 209.
However, Dunwoody was Franco's first strikeout victim of the inning. It was actually former Met catcher Jorge Fabregas who made the final out.
Ventura's homer was his first at Shea. Also, Orel Hershiser, who retired the first 11 batters before allowing a hit, got his first win as a Met. It was his first win at Shea since being a member of the Dodgers in 1993. The number 11 also popped up as the number of times the Mets walked in this game, which tied a season high. But outside of a pair of doubles in the 2nd inning and Ventura's homer in the 7th, the Mets didn't have any other hits, which is why Franco was given the save chance instead of this being a Mets blowout.
Terrence Long also made his ML debut in the game, striking out on 3 pitches as a pinch hitter. I thought home plate umpire Kerwin Danley did him dirty, though, calling strikes on pitches 5 inches outside. Poor T-Long would go 0-for-3 in his career with the Mets, with 2 strikeouts and a double play, before getting traded to Oakland in July.
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