The 2019 season brought an eventful decade of Mets baseball to a close. The latter half of the decade saw the Mets make a World Series appearance, but that postseason run was far from the only amazin’ moment of the 2010s. To see how well you remember the last ten years of Mets history, try answering the following trivia questions.
Who was the last Met to record a postseason hit?
Mets fans distinctly remember certain moments from the 2016 National League Wild Card Game against the Giants. The pitcher’s duel between Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner, Curtis Granderson’s outstanding catch to rob Brandon Belt of extra bases, and Conor Gillaspie’s decisive three-run homer all stand out as pivotal plays from that postseason contest.
The Mets only managed four hits off Bumgarner that night, so you may have forgotten which players were able to solve the Giants southpaw. New York’s final hit came off the bat of Ty Kelly, who snuck a ground-ball single into left field in the eighth inning.
That’s right: the most recent Mets postseason hit belongs to none other than Ty Kelly.
Kelly played just 39 major league games in 2016, but his versatility landed him a spot on the Mets’ Wild Card roster. Thanks to his single in his lone playoff at-bat, Kelly owns a career postseason batting average of 1.000.
The reason I remind you of Ty Kelly’s postseason exploits is that I happen to be a Ty Kelly fan. He’s an active presence on Twitter (@tykelly11), and he’s absolutely hilarious. Whether he’s penning a poem about David Wright, working on his Bernie Sanders impression, or devising plans for a food truck called Sweet Potato Ty’s, Kelly’s musings are always good for a laugh.
Oh, and other fun fact about Ty Kelly: he was present during the infamous “ass in the jackpot” game (watch here)
Who was the last Met to throw multiple one-hitters in a season?
It’s true that Johan Santana’s no-hitter could not have been completed without the aid of a blown call. But what many forget is that R.A. Dickey was robbed of a no-no of his own, just twelve days after Santana’s historic start.
On June 13, 2012, Dickey dominated the Rays in a shutout at Tropicana Field. That evening, the only play that stood between Dickey and the record books was a first-inning grounder that bounced off the bare hand of David Wright.
The official scorer ruled the play a hit, though Wright easily could have been charged with an error.
The Mets filed an official request to have the scoring changed, but in the end, Dickey had to settle for a one-hitter rather than a no-no. He followed up that performance with yet another one-hit effort, striking out 13 Orioles in a shutout at Citi Field.
In doing so, Dickey joined Steve Trachsel (in 2003) as the only Mets pitchers to throw multiple one-hitters in the same season.
Dickey’s consecutive one-hit shutouts were the crowning achievement of his 2012 Cy Young campaign. Knuckleballers are a dying breed, and I doubt that anyone will ever throw the pitch as effectively as Dickey did that year.
Who was the first player to hit a grand slam in his Mets debut?
If you’re struggling to answer this question, here’s a hint: it occurred on Opening Day.
The year was 2013, and the Mets began the season at home with a series against the Padres. An otherwise unremarkable season got off to an auspicious start when a recently acquired outfielder belted a grand slam to extend the Mets’ lead to nine.
That player was Collin Cowgill, who would be demoted to the minors just over a month into his Mets tenure. Surprisingly, the grand slam was one of just two home runs that Cowgill hit as a member of the Amazin’s.
Fans who originally demanded “More Cowgill” inevitably changed their tune when they realized he was more of a Triple-A player than a big league mainstay.
Still, Cowgill’s grand slam ranks as one of the more remarkable Opening Day feats in recent franchise history. It also has a connection to the 2020 roster, as the pitcher who allowed the slam was lifelong Mets fan and current Mets reliever Brad Brach.
Who is the all-time home run leader at Citi Field?
Citi Field opened in 2009, so it’s reasonable to assume that David Wright is the ballpark’s all-time home run leader. However, the distinction actually belongs to a player that has long been polarizing among the Flushing Faithful.
When it comes to making the apple rise, the Dude abides.
Sorry, scratch that: the Duda bides.
That’s because entering the 2020 season, Lucas Duda leads all players with 71 career home runs at Citi Field. The lefty slugger was known for his streakiness at the plate, but not even the pitcher-friendly dimensions of Citi Field could contain him when he was in the midst of a hot stretch.
Unfortunately for Duda, his reign atop this particular leaderboard won’t last much longer. Michael Conforto currently sits at 56 career homers at Citi Field, meaning he needs just 16 more to unseat his former teammate.
Which Mets teammates recorded their 1,500th hits in the same game?
When you think of the 2015 Mets, you probably picture players like Matt Harvey, Curtis Granderson, Jeurys Familia, or Yoenis Céspedes. That team had an abundance of key contributors, including a veteran supporting cast.
Two of those veterans, Michael Cuddyer and Juan Uribe, each recorded their 1,500th career hit on August 12, 2015. Cuddyer reached the mark in the fourth inning when he drove in Uribe on a hit up the middle. Then in the sixth, Uribe beat out an infield single for his 1,500th hit.
This was a magical moment during the 2015 season, albeit one that has rarely been discussed over the last few years. Personally, I love this bit of trivia because two teammates rarely arrive at the same milestone in the same season, let alone the same game.
Cuddyer and Uribe were born within five days of each other in 1979, so it makes sense that they would reach the plateau at a similar time.
As Cuddyer humorously quipped after the game, “Three thousand hits. We’re in the Hall of Fame if we can go in as a tandem.”
Searle’s Final Say
As we wait for the 2020 season to arrive, we can reflect on the last ten years of Mets baseball. The 2010s did not get off to the most promising start, as the franchise underwent a rebuild under General Manager Sandy Alderson. Fortunately for us fans, the Mets were able to develop an exciting young core over that period. If Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Jacob deGrom stay healthy, the Mets could win another championship within the next decade.
