Today is Mother's Day, a day in which we honor motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in our lives. Over their 63 years in existence, the Mets have shown their appreciation by playing some meaningful games, even though it's still considered the early stages of the season.
After tonight's memorable walk-off win over the Braves, the Mets are now 33-31 all time in Mother's Day games. In case you're trying to do the math, keep in mind that some games have been rained out, while many of the Mother's Day Sundays in the team's early years were scheduled doubleheaders.
In today's THE 5, we take a look at some other big moments from Mother's Day past, including some impressive pitching performances, late-game wins, a first hit from a Mets hall of famer, and the first Mets home run from a baseball legend.
So, without further ado, here is The 5 for this week...
Best Mets Mother's Day Games
5. 5/10/1992 - El Sid and the Bullpen Give Moms Something To Cheer About
Most fans will remember 1992 as something of a lost season. Actually, most fans don't want to remember the 1992 season at all. The team that would later be called "The Worst Team Money Could Buy" had remarkably high expectations going into the season, and didn't come anywhere close to meeting them. Still, on this Mother's Day, they looked like the championship caliber team people expected. Sid Fernandez and a trio of relievers held the Los Angeles Dodgers to no runs and just 5 hits in the Mets 3-0 victory. Dave Magadan, Howard Johnson, and newly acquired Dick Schofield, provided all the offense the Mets would need to send moms, and the rest of the fans, home happy.
4. 5/11/1997 - Mets Rally to Beat Hall of Fame Closer in the 9th
By 1997, Dennis Eckersley's ticket to Cooperstown had already been stamped. Eck wasn't just one of baseball's most successful closers in baseball history, he had revolutionized the role. Even in this, the 23rd season of his career, the lanky right-hander had 36 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals. It would have been 37 had the Mets not figured him out on this particular Mother's Day.
For the first half of the game, everything the visiting Mets did, the Cardinals did twice as well. In the top of the third inning, an Edgardo Alfonzo two-out single brought home the team's first run. The lead was short-lived though, as Ray Lankford's two-out double gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame. In the fifth, the Mets leadoff hitter reached base on a single and was later driven home to tie the game. And again, in the bottom of the frame, the Cardinals led off with a single and then took a 4-2 lead on a Royce Clayton 2-run home run. And while the Mets would score again in the 7th inning to make the score 4-3, that's where things stood heading into the final inning.
In the 9th, with Eckersley on the mound, the Mets pulled off something of a Mother's Day Miracle. With one out, pinch hitter Carl Everett hit a go-ahead 2-run home run. Not to be outdone, Butch Huskey came up next, also as a pinch hitter, and launched a home run of his own, extending the Mets lead to 6-4. Mets closer, John Franco, gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning before getting three straight outs to secure a marvelous Mets Mother's Day win.
3. 5/9/1982 - Mets Pinch-Hitting Legend Comes Up Big
This game was a see-saw battle against the San Francisco Giants. The Mets took the lead in the bottom of the third on a Ron Gardenhire single. In the fourth, long-time, and light-hitting, Mets catcher Ron Hodges hit his first home run of the season, a two-runner, to expand the lead to 3-0. In the top of the 5th, however, Chili Davis hit a three-run home run to tie it, and then Johnnie LeMaster followed that up with a solo home run of this own to put the Giants on top.
In the bottom of the sixth, Dave Kingman, the eventual 1982 NL home run champion, hit his 11th round-tripper of the year. The two-run home run put the Mets back on top 5-4. The Giants then tied it up when rookie Tom O'Malley hit his first major league home run in only his second career game. O'Malley would end up playing for the Mets to wrap up his career in 1989-1990.
The score remained tied at 5 into the bottom of the ninth inning, when, with two-outs, fan favorite Rusty Staub hit a pinch-hit solo home run giving the Mets a thrilling 6-5 victory.
2. 5/8/1983 - A Game of Firsts for Darry Strawberry
It's unlikely that Darryl Strawberry purposely waited to get his first hit on Mother's Day. Still, after beginning his major league career by going 0-11, Straw's RBI single was an exciting Mother's Day gift. Strawberry would get another 1,024 hits and 732 RBIs in 8 seasons in a Mets uniform. As for the game itself...the Mets were down 5-0 before taking their first turn at bat, as starter Scott Holman only lasted 1/3 of an inning. That was all the runs the Cincinnati Reds would score that day though, while the Mets sandwiched a 6-run 7th in between two separate 2-run innings (the second and the eighth) to take the game 10-5.
1. 5/14/1972 - Mother's Day Magic in Willie Mays' first game for the Mets
On May 11, 1972, the Mets brought one of baseball's all-time greats back to New York, where he played his first 6 major league seasons. This was enough time for Willie Mays to win a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP award, and to establish himself as one of the best in the game. For more about the trade, check out Mark Rosenman's writeup celebrating the anniversary of the trade, here. So, when the Mets brought Mays back at the end of his career, it was a moment that went beyond the results on the playing field. For his first game in a Mets uniform, however, it was indeed on the field where his presence was felt.
In the first inning of a Mother's Day game against Mays' former team, the San Francisco Giants, the Mets jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a Rusty Staub grand slam. The Giants got those runs back in the top of the 5th with a 4-run rally of their own.
Willie Mays led off the bottom of the frame and provided a Mother's Day memory that we still talk about over 50 years later.
The home run put the Mets ahead 5-4, and that score remained through the final out. This was the third straight win for the then first place Mets, although the standings and statistics took back seats to watching a future hall of famer take his turn around the bases wearing his #24 in the Mets pinstripes.
While impactful games in early May are a rarity, the Mets have found ways to make some memorable moments on a special day. And, as Ralph Kiner used to say, or said once, or might have said...Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers.
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