National League Standings, June 5, 1977
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE JUNE 5, 1977 GAME:
Pete Caldera
November 16, 2004
This is why this site is so amazing. I recalled going to this DH as an 11 year old, and the only thing I really remembered was that the Mets swept, despite Tim McCarver hitting a pinch-hit solo homer to tie the opener in the ninth inning.
Scott
March 11, 2012
I was at this DH as a 10-year-old, my first ever DH. The Mets had 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 10th of game 1 when Joe Torre came up to pinch-hit. Everyone booed when the Phils walked him to load the bases. Gene Garber then uncorked a wild pitch to let the winning run score. In between games they had some remote-controlled WWI planes with Snoopy and the Red Baron fighting it out over the stadium. You can see it in the '77 Mets highlight film. In Game 2 Kingman belted a 3-run HR in the first and that was it. I did not see another Mets' DH sweep until my last DH--in 2000 against Colorado! Nothing but splits or the visiting team sweeping for 23 years.
Herman
January 30, 2013
Torre had just been named manager. Sunday doubleheader was with the first place Phils. Even though the Mets won both games and the fans were hoping that this Met team could build on these wins, you could see and feel that my hero's from 1969 had grown old. Even at 17 years old, I knew that this team was heading in the wrong direction because baseball had changed. Free agency had been born in 1977 and Donald Grant was wrong. Seaver was gone 10 days later.
(Long live The little Blue and Orange Machine.)
NYB Buff
June 14, 2024
A great comeback win for the Mets in the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies. A significant moment came about in the tenth inning when Joe Torre was walked intentionally to load the bases. Torre's pinch-hitting appearance here made him the first and only player-manager in Mets history. Joe would come to bat in this unique double-duty role again twelve days later to conclude his playing career.
Scott points out in his earlier entry that Gene Garber's wild pitch brought home the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. It was actually Phils' reliever Tom Underwood who threw the wild pitch on which John Milner scored to give the Mets the victory. Garber would be plagued with a worse fate four months later in Game 3 of the NLCS. He was on the mound in the ninth inning when his team blew a two-run lead and suffered a horrifying defeat. This experience became known as "Black Friday" in Philadelphia.
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