Schwei's Mets Notes: MLB Draft, Lots Of Extra Innings And More
By John Schweibacher
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After selecting 12th (Gavin Cecchini) and 11th (Dominic Smith) the last two years, the Mets will have the 10th-overall pick this Thursday in MLB's First-Year Player Draft.
The Mets have never picked 10th in the June draft, but three one-time Mets are among the 11 position players drafted 10th overall that appeared in at least 900 major-league games (active players totals through 5/31/14):
• 1967: Stl, Ted Simmons 2,456
• 1979: Mtl, Tim Wallach 2,212
• 1988: Chx, Robin Ventura 2,079*
• 1984: Oak, Mark McGwire 1,874
• 1996: Oak, Eric Chavez 1,608
• 1998: Tex, Carlos Pena 1,475
• 1992: KC, Michael Tucker 1,417*
• 1990: NYY, Carl Everett 1,405*
• 1989: Mtl, Charles Johnson 1,188
• 1980: Clv, Kelly Gruber 939
• 1972: Cal, Dave Chalk 903
(*- played for New York Mets)
Seven pitchers who were chosen 10th overall have appeared in at least 100 career games in the majors:
• 1997: Chi. Jon Garland 365
• 2009: Was, Drew Storen 254
• 1999: Mil, Ben Sheets 250
• 1981: SF, Mark Grant 233
• 2006: SF, Tim Lincecum 232
• 1994: Clv, Jaret Wright 226
• 2007: SF, Madison Bumgarner 130
The Mets do not have a pick in the second round as a result of signing Curtis Granderson as a free agent this winter.
Five position players selected by the Mets in the second round of the June draft appeared in 500 or more major-league games:
• 1983: Dave Magadan 1,582
• 1977: Mookie Wilson 1,403
• 1987: Todd Hundley 1,225
• 1985: Scott Servais 820
• 1969: Joe Nolan 621
Six pitchers selected by the Mets in the second round of the June draft went on to appear in at least 100 games in the majors:
• 1976: Mike Scott 347
• 1987: Pete Schourek 288
• 1997: Tyler Walker 286
• 1980: Jay Tibbs 158
• 1974: Dwight Bernard 115
• 1991: Bill Pulsipher 106
While the Mets have not picked 10th, they have selected 84th, which will be their second pick in this week's draft.
Two of the players chosen 84th overall by the Mets appeared in the majors -- David West (1983) and Brook Fordyce (1989).
Shortstops Chris Gomez (Tigers -- 1992) and Ian Desmond (Expos -- 2004) are the only position players selected 84th overall to appear in more career games than Fordyce.
Former Mets reliever J.J. Putz (White Sox -- 1995) has appeared in the most career games among pitchers taken with the 84th pick in the June draft.
A long weekend road series got even longer for the Mets, who outlasted the Phillies, 4-3, in 11 innings Sunday, marking the first time since September of 1975 that the Mets played three consecutive games of 11 innings or more.
That string of marathons began with a 1-0 loss in 11 innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 24, with Bill Madlock drawing a bases-loaded walk against Skip Lockwood to force home the winning run.
Two nights later, the Mets split a doubleheader against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, dropping the opener, 4-3, in 12 innings on Garry Maddox's bases-loaded single against Bob Apodaca and hanging on for a 3-2, 12-inning victory in the nightcap with Tim McCarver being thrown out at the plate to end the game.
The Mets beat Philadelphia, 5-4, in 14 innings on Saturday, one day after the Phillies topped the Mets, 6-5, in 14 innings. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the third time since 1980 that two teams played 14-or-more innings in back-to-back games against each other. The Marlins and Giants did it on June 18 and 19 of 1996, and the Pirates and Indians did it on June 20 and 21 of 2003.
It was the first time in Phillies history that they played back-to-back games of 14-or-more innings regardless of the opponent. The Mets had one other set of back-to-back games of 14-or-more innings: September 7 and 8 of 1979 against the Pirates.
The Mets lost the first of those back-to-back marathons, 6-4, in 14 innings at Shea, allowing a pair of unearned runs on an error by Richie Hebner and an Alex Trevino passed ball to give the Pirates the win. New York beat Pittsburgh the following afternoon, 3-2, in 15 innings on John Stearns' RBI single that scored Lee Mazzilli with the game-winning run against the soon to be World Series champs.
The 14-inning Mets victory on Saturday matched the club's longest win in terms of innings played in Philadelphia. On May 1, 2011, the Mets outlasted the Phils, 2-1, as Ronnie Paulino drove home David Wright with the go-ahead run in the 14th with a double, his fifth hit of the night.
The Mets lost to the Phillies, 6-5, on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park in the second game of the five-game series. In terms of innings played, it equaled the second-longest loss by the Mets in Philadelphia in club history:
• 8/11/94: Mets 1 at Phillies 2 (15), Ricky Jordan RBI single
• 5/30/14: Mets 5 at Phillies 6 (14), Reid Brignac RBI single
• 4/12/86: Mets 8 at Phillies 9 (14), Steve Jeltz RBI single
• 8/26/08: Mets 7 at Phillies 8 (13), Chris Coste RBI single
• 9/26/75: Mets 3 at Phillies 4 (12), Garry Maddox RBI single
• 8/15/67: Mets 2 at Phillies 3 (12), Bill White solo home run
• 8/20/63: Mets 1 at Phillies 2 (12), Tony Taylor RBI single
The 15-inning loss in 1994 came in what turned out to be the final game of that season. The player's strike began following that game and ultimately cancelled the remainder of the schedule and the postseason.
Jenrry Mejia earned the save by recording the final six outs of the Mets' 4-2 win over the Pirates last Tuesday night at Citi Field. Six out-or-more saves used to be more common in baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, so Mejia is unlikely to climb this list -- the most saves of at least six outs in Mets history since the save became an official statistic in 1969:
• Roger McDowell: 48
• Jesse Orosco: 47
• Tug McGraw: 36
• Skip Lockwood: 34
• Neil Allen: 30
• Doug Sisk: 21
• Randy Myers: 16
• Bob Apodaca: 15
• Danny Frisella: 12
• Doug Henry: 11
Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:
Runs: Over-Duda -- Lucas Duda's 11th-inning home run Sunday ended his 0-for-16 extra-inning at bat streak.
Hits: Mets Extra -- Wright's RBI single in the 14th inning Saturday lifted his career batting average in extra innings to .333 (40 hits in 120 at-bats).
Errors: May Day -- After finishing April with a 15-11 record, the Mets went 11-18 in May.
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