Ultimate Mets Database: Game of September 8, 1993

Bob
July 2, 2002
They just showed this game on ESPN Classic last night because it was Darryl Kile's no-hitter. I had forgotten how horrible the Mets were back then. Joe Orsulak batting cleanup? Are you kidding me?

The Mets run should not have counted. It came with Jeff McKnight on first with a walk and Orsulak up. Kile threw a sharp breaking ball that hit Orsulak in the foot and bounded away toward the Astros dugout (Orsulak even hopped and limped around for a few seconds). But for some reason plate umpire Ed Montague missed it and said it was in play. Scott Servais didn't chase the ball and McKnight kept running around second, to third, when Jeff Bagwell ran the ball down and threw wildly to third, allowing McKnight to come all the way around.

sportsfan8690
June 30, 2009
I was in my college dorm room studying and had the ESPN weeknight game on. I think the game was Braves vs Giants in the NL West race. The game was not on Channel 9 that night, was on Sports Channel which I did not get in college. Just as ESPN always does when a no-hitter is happening in the 9th if they are not televising the game, they took the audience to the game and showed the inning and the no-hitter take place. Great pitching by Darryl Kile as the Mets line-up was not something in 1993 to write home about. Not when Joe Orsulak is batting clean up.

A lot of dubious feats happened in 1993. This was the first time since 1975 the Mets were no-hit against as well as their first last-place finish since 1983 and first 100-loss season since 1967. Only fitting they get no-hit in this real disastrous season of 1993.

Hawthorne
June 24, 2017
Darryl Kile throws a no-hitter against the Mets in their most agonizing year ever. The team was on its way to 103 losses for the season, during which a few of their players got into acts that hurt the club's reputation off the field. The constant losing and bad moral character made the Mets the butt of many one-liners by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. When mentioning this game in one of his opening monologues, Leno cracked a joke that Kile's no-hitter shouldn't really count because he was pitching against a team so terrible. Such was life for the Mets in 1993.

Dave VW
February 20, 2023
I enjoyed reading these comments, especially considering some were written over 20 years ago! Meanwhile, the 30-year anniversary of this legendary band of losers will be this year. To be fair, Orsulak was only hitting cleanup because guys like Howard Johnson and Bobby Bonilla were hurt... Bonilla was actually injured just the game prior to this one, separating his shoulder. He had played every game of the season up until this night. His injury led to Butch Huskey's first big league callup. Debuting in this game, he went 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts and committed an error at 3B. "Never forget it," he said after the game. I bet. His poor dad drove 9 hours from his home in Oklahoma to be in attendance to watch this debacle. It's also noted on baseball-reference that Huskey became just the third player in history to make his debut on the losing end of a no-hitter.

I agree with Bob that the Mets' run was bogus. Orsulak definitely got hit on the foot and so the wild pitch should not have counted. Still, give credit to McKnight for taking advantage of the call. Don't see many runners score from first on a wild pitch. Orsulak was later ejected from the game during a wild 7th inning. The Mets really didn't come close to getting a hit (save for a Hundley flyball that was caught at the warning track in the 6th) until the 7th, when Murray drilled a 1-out liner to Caminiti at third. Though Murray was called out on the fly, replays should the ball was actually trapped. Caminiti, not taking any chances, threw to first anyway and got Murray by a hair. Orsulak followed and, on the very next pitch, hit one between SS and 3B. Andujar Cedeno, who I remember as quite the Met-killer and had doubled and homered earlier in the game, flagged down the grounder and got off a desperation heave to 1B. Bagwell picked the ball out of the dirt to just barely get Orsulak out -- and replays showed the call was correct. Orsulak argued anyway and was tossed. After the game, Orsulak said, "I was safe, and you know what the umpire told me? That the play wasn't even close and how can I argue. Then he gave me a smirk. [...] I hope he didn't call me out just because he was throwing a no-hitter. That, to me, is an insult." Orsulak was definitely wrong thinking he was safe, but he has a point with the rest of what he had to say.

The Mets announcers tried to jinx the no-hitter as they were already talking about it by the third inning. But Kile was just too good. He dispatched the Mets on 85 pitches (though B-R says 83, they're definitely wrong) and would have had a perfect game if not for the walk to McKnight. His dad had died during spring training in 1993 so it was a great story for Darryl to have thrown a no-hitter during the season. As sportsfan8690 mentioned, it was the first time the Mets were no-hit since 1975 when Ed Halicki of the Giants did it during the second game of a doubleheader. It was also the final of three no-hitters thrown in 1993, and came just 4 days after Jim Abbott threw one for the Yankees vs. Cleveland.

The only other Mets batter who came close to getting a hit was Kent, who scalded a liner to third in the 8th that Caminiti caught about a foot off the ground. If he was a step to his left or right the ball was getting by him. Meanwhile, Josias Manzanillo was in the midst of a very nice outing until the Mets defense fell apart in the 8th, allowing 3 unearned runs to score. Then, on a single by Luis Gonzalez, Manzanillo said he felt a pop in his knee and had to be helped off the field. Like countless Mets players before him in 1993, he was done for the year. This also marked the last time during the season the two teams played each other. The Mets had to be happy the series was over -- they went 1-11 vs. Houston in 1993. That's the worst record they ever had against the Astros while the teams were both a part of the NL.

Please note:
We're looking for your comments about this specific game. We've had people use this space to share their thoughts on how the current season is going, or on ways that the Mets can improve the team. Such comments, unless in the context of this particular game, will be considered off-topic and will be removed.

Example One
The Mets suck! They need to trade Smith and get somebody like Jones.
This comment is off-topic and will be removed. It has nothing to do with any specific game. But here's an acceptable alternative:

Example Two
The Mets suck! Smith made three errors in this game, and hit into a double play, and the Mets blew a 5-0 lead. They need to get rid of Smith and get somebody like Jones.
See the difference? Here you're getting the same point across, but it's in the proper context. We wouldn't consider this message to be off-topic, and we would let it remain.

We do appreciate anybody who takes the time to share their thoughts on our site, and we hate to remove anybody's postings. But if we didn't take steps to ensure that only on-topic messages were retained, The Ultimate Mets Database would become a confusing jumble of unrelated comments, and would thus be less enjoyable to visitors like you.

Thank you!

Your name:
E-Mail address: OPTIONAL
Comments about the game: