alleydally
October 5, 2006
I had been to Mets' games before this one but this is the probably the oldest Met game I went to that I actually remember some of the game.

My most lasting memory is Tommie Agee dropping a flyball (I thought he dropped two in the game, but the box score lists him with one error). As a 9-year-old who idolized Agee, I couldn't believe it. He was my sister's favorite player. He was clearly nearing the end of his Mets' tenure and I guess they put him in right field to make room for Willie (I didn't even remember that). Fans booed him! He also struck out twice in the game, according to the box.

I also remember Jim Beauchamp going deep twice, yes twice, in that game, winning it with a homer in the bottom of the ninth. Now that was unbelievable and unforgettable. I remember walking out raving about Jim Beauchamp of all people. That was probably the high point of his career.

Hank M
March 5, 2008
This was a game I remember very well. It was an exciting victory on a night that clearly belonged to the late Jim Beauchamp.

In the 7th inning, the game was tied, 1-1, when Jim homered to put the Mets in front. The Astros retied it, but in the bottom of the 9th, Jim came up with a runner on base. He blasted a 2-run homer that landed in the Houston bullpen in left field. The Mets had won in dramatic fashion thanks to Jim's heroics.

These were Jim's first two home runs of the season - and they were huge. He, naturally, made an appearance on "Kiner's Korner" that night. Not a bad way for the man to celebrate his 33rd birthday!

Dave VW
January 12, 2025
Based on the 1st inning, you knew this game was going to be dramatic. Jon Matlack walked Roger Metzger on 4 pitches to begin the game, then uncorked a wild pitch to move him to 2nd. Cesar Cedeno, leading the league in hitting at the time, then popped one into short right field that Agee dropped for an error. His throw into the infield was then mishandled by shortstop Ted Martinez, allowing Cedeno to take 2nd, though Metzger stayed on 3rd. Next batter Jim Wynn pops another one up to the right side that rookie second baseman Lute Barnes catches in the outfield, and Metzger tries to tag up and score. But Barnes' throw is on the money for the double play! Matlack then whiffs Lee May to get out of the inning unscathed.

Beauchamp's first home run came after several Mets hit consecutive fly balls to the warning track, indicating they were getting good reads on Houston starter Jerry Reuss. Meanwhile, Cedeno, who homered himself in the game, also hit the RBI double that tied the score at 2-2 in the 8th. Lindsey Nelson made the call on the radio and said John Milner had a glove on the ball but couldn't haul it in (which is maybe the other drop alleydally was recollecting).

Beauchamp was quite the improbable hero, not only because he hadn't homered yet during the season, but also because this was the only multi-homer game of his career. He and Agee had the only walk-off homers for the Mets in 1972, while he and Jerry Grote were the only players to have multiple home runs in the same game.

NYB Buff
January 13, 2025
Dave VW, you overlooked the most interesting thing about Jim Beauchamp here. His two home runs that lifted the Mets to victory were hit (as Hank M points out) on the same day that he turned 33 years old. The Mets announcers stated that it was Jim's birthday several times during the game's radio broadcast. I'm surprised that you didn't mention this fact.

Beauchamp's homers came against Astros pitchers Jerry Reuss and Jim Ray. Warming up in the bullpen during the middle innings for Houston was someone with the same initials who would eventually record more than 300 strikeouts in two consecutive seasons. His name was James Rodney Richard, better known as J. R.