Mets2Moon
January 25, 2002
Damned if I was going to let the fact that this game started at 11PM cost me the chance to miss the Mets first playoff game since 88. And they made staying up until 2AM worth it by whipping Johnson and the DBacks. As I had done a few short days ago, I gasped and then cheered and danced as Alfonzo blasted a grand slam just inside the foul pole in the 9th. And the Mets miracle run continued...

Ken Akerman
April 2, 2003
As a Diamondbacks fan, I attended this game at Bank One Ballpark. I was sitting behind the left- field foul pole when Edgardo Alfonzo's grand slam in the ninth inning fell into the stands just below me. I was disappointed by this result and by the fact that Randy Johnson did not pitch a good game.

However, the Diamondbacks finally got their revenge against New York (if not against the Mets - against the bad boys from the Bronx) when they won World Series two years later, coming from behind in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the seventh game on Luis Gonzalez' bases- loaded bloop single.

Lee
September 8, 2004
A lesson is learned from every baseball game. In game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Bob McNamara pulled Roger Clemens after 7 incredible innings for the Red Sox and, as you all know and have seen highlight reels of a million times, the Mets managed to come back and win. YOU DON'T PULL A GOOD PITCHER LIKE ROGER CLEMENS IN A CLOSE, HUGE GAME! The same thing happened on this night in Arizona, Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS. Randy Johnson did not pitch a great game, this is true. But the game was tied at 4 and Buck Showalter decided to hand the game over to his bullpen instead of letting Randy Johnson, the great pitcher that he is, finish what he started. Instead, he gave Bobby Chouinard the ball and, with the bases loaded, Edgardo Alfonzo skied one into the seats in left and put a dagger in the hearts of every Diamondbacks fan (which I'm okay with because, of course, I'm a Met fan). After this game, I had a feeling the Mets had this series.

Joe Lanzisera
February 23, 2009
Obviously this was our first playoff game in a decade (if you don't count the tiebreaker vs. the Reds) and Fonzie put the team on his back. I remember how late it was on the East Coast when this one ended. One general comment about this game, which was true for a lot of 98 and 99 especially was how well Cook and Wendell kept us in it after the Diamondbacks got on a roll in the middle innings. Particularly Wendell - he got more key outs for us in those two seasons than most people seem to remember.

Dave VW
July 9, 2024
I had class early the next morning so there was no way I was going to watch this live, but I did tape it and watch it back the next day, and tried my best to avoid spoilers before I could get a chance to watch it. But it was unavoidable, as my friends couldn't help but inform me of the outcome. I still watched it back from start to finish, though. Knowing Alfonzo's grand slam was coming in the 9th was like waiting all year for presents on Christmas Day.

Fonzie also homered in the 1st for the second straight day, and then Olerud and Piazza singled, so it looked like it might have been a real short outing for Johnson. But he came back to strike out Agbayani and Ventura to get out of the inning. As of 2024, Alfonzo is 1 of 6 in Mets history to hit 2 homers in a playoff game. His 5 RBI are also tied for the Mets playoff record.

In the 3rd, Olerud slugged a 2-run homer to put the Mets up 3-0. It was the first HR Johnson had given up to a left-handed batter all year, and only the 3rd Olerud hit off a LHP. Talk about improbable! The Mets added a 4th run in the 4th when Ventura led off with a double and bunts by Dunston and Ordonez brought him home.

On the mound, Yoshii started solidly for the Mets, earning the Game 1 nod due to holding a 1.74 ERA over his final 9 starts in 1999. But 2nd time through the lineup you could tell the D'Backs were getting much better swings in against him. He gave up a triple to Tony Womack in the 3rd and had him score on a sac fly by Jay Bell, then Erubiel Durazo and Luis Gonzalez homered in the 4th and 6th, respectively, with Gonzalez's homer being a bomb that tied the score at 4-4. Yoshii struck out Matt Williams next but was then taken out for Dennis Cook as Arizona had a couple of lefties due up.

The combination of Cook, Wendell and Benitez pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, with Cook giving up the only hit -- a double by Randy Johnson in the 7th, one of only two career postseason hits by the Big Unit. In a stroke of good luck for the Mets, however, Johnson forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off second base when the following batter, Womack, flew out to LF.

Meanwhile, Johnson was on cruise control at that point, allowing just a walk to Henderson between the 5th and 8th innings. But, eclipsing 130 pitches in the 9th, you could tell he was running out of steam. He gave up singles to Ventura and Ordonez, then walked Melvin Mora on 4 pitches to load the bases with 1 out. Arizona then called on Bobby Chouinard to get out of the jam, and he seemed to be a good candidate for the job as he allowed only 21% of inherited runners to score all year. He looked well on his way to succeeding when Henderson hit a grounder to third that Williams grabbed on a dive, then threw home to nail Ventura at the plate. It was an incredibly clutch play by the third baseman, and one that left it entirely up to Alfonzo to not leave the bases loaded.

To this day, I still haven't seen a replay that clearly shows Fonzie's drive passing the foul pole on the fair side, but the umpires ruled it fair and that's all that matters. His is the only grand slam in Mets playoff history (if you don't count Ventura's grand slam single). Somehow, all the runs on base were charged to Johnson, even though Chouinard had let Henderson reach on the force out, but the 7 runs were the most Johnson would ever allow over 19 career postseason appearances. He was charged with the loss, making it his 6th straight playoff start in which he took a loss.

How much longer will the magic last??