Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Mike Birkbeck

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Mets
Statistics

Situational
Statistics

Mike Birkbeck
vs. Other Teams

Memories of
Mike Birkbeck

Mike Birkbeck
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 753 of 1252 players

Michael Lawrence Birkbeck
Born: March 10, 1961 at Orrville, O.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.02 Weight: 190

Mike Birkbeck was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on March 10, 2016.

First Mets game: August 31, 1992
Last Mets game: June 11, 1995

Share your memories of Mike Birkbeck

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Broc
I played ball against Mike Birkbeck all throughout my high school career. He had quite possibly the worst slider I have ever seen. I took him yard 7 out of the 13 times I faced him. How the hell did he make it to the majors anyway? I remember one time, he was on the mound, and he was so scared, he actually pissed his pants. What the hell is wrong with this cat?

Mr. Sparkle
December 16, 2001
The Mets drive me crazy with relief pitchers sometimes. Birkbeck was pretty decent out of the pen, albeit a small sampling, in 95 and then they gave up on him. Then of course he goes to the Braves and has a few pretty good years. They seem to give up on a lot of guys in the pen without giving them much of a chance. Birkbeck was one of those guys.

Jim
July 7, 2002
Poor guy pitched well in 97, I believe, only to get sold to Japan. What luck!

mets
May 29, 2003
I saw Birkbeck pitch a great game in San Diego against the Padres right before he was sold to Japan. He left the game winning but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.

David Mo
November 25, 2007
I believe Mr. Sparkler is confusing Birkbeck, a starter, with Mike Remlinger. If memory serves, Birkbeck was set to Japan at his own request and I guess the Mets felt they were well stocked with young arms -- Isringhausen, Pulsipher, Paul Wilson (sigh) -- that there was no need to hang on to this journeyman, even though he pitched exceptionally well in his 4 starts in 1995. Cool name.

Witz
October 9, 2008
I don't ahve much of a memory of this guy, but it appears to be quite an anomoly that he could make four starts in '95 average 7 innings per start, give up a total of 5 runs and leave the Mets 0-4 in those starts!

VIBaseball
May 1, 2009
Birkbeck is now head coach at Kent State, after having served there as pitching coach starting in the early '90s.
He was let down by the bullpen in 3 of his 4 starts in '95:
5/24: He pitched adequately for 6 but Pedro Astacio threw a shutout. 5/29: Left after 7 leading 1-0; Eric Gunderson gave up the lead and the Mets lost in 13. 6/6: Left after 7 2/3 leading 1-0; John Franco could not strand the runner on second and lost it the next inning. 6/11: Left after 7 with a sore and swollen ankle leading 3-1; Jerry DiPoto coughed up the lead.