National League Standings, May 1, 1999
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE MAY 1, 1999 GAME:
Shickhaus Franks
August 14, 2011
I was at this game; they had a pre-game ceremony for John Franco for his 400th save, Tug McGraw showed up and the Mets even gave John a motorcycle as I recalled and the Mets won on a warm and sunny spring afternoon.
Dave VW
April 27, 2024
You do recall correctly, Shickhaus Franks. Tug actually rode the motorcycle in from the bullpen during the ceremony before gifting it to John.
Franco wasn't needed in the game as the Mets won pretty easily. Orel Hershiser beat the team he played for the previous year by throwing 6 solid innings, while the offense really put things out of reach in the 7th when Brian McRae connected for the first of 8 grand slams the Mets would hit in 1999 (and that's not counting Edgardo Alfonzo's and Robin Ventura's in the postseason). The Giants had come in to this series with the NL's best record, and the Mets have now beaten them pretty easily twice in a row, so confidence was really at a high point.
That wasn't the case for Bobby Bonilla, though. In his first action since missing 4 games, Bobby popped out on the first pitch pinch-hitting with the bases loaded in the 8th, and the crowd really let him have it. It's a shame such a nostalgic season has to be periodically ruined by the blight of Bonilla.
Also of note, Josias Manzanillo, in one of his final appearances with the Mets, struck out the side in the 7th, then hit for himself in the bottom half of the inning and smacked an opposite field single, his only hit in 12 career ML at-bats.
Now it's your turn! Tell us what you remember of this game:
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