1999 New York Mets season

1999 New York Mets
NL Wild Card
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Shea Stadium (since 1964)
New York City (since 1962)
Other information
Owner(s)	Fred Wilpon
General manager(s)	Steve Phillips
Manager(s)	Bobby Valentine
Local television	WPIX-TV/Fox Sports New York (Ralph Kiner, Tom Seaver, Fran Healy, Howie Rose, Gary Thorne)
Local radio	WFAN (Bob Murphy, Gary Cohen, Ed Coleman) WADO (Spanish) (Juan Alicea, Billy Berroa)
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The New York Mets' 1999 season was the 38th regular season for the Mets. They went 97-66 and finished 2nd in the NL East but won the NL Wild Card by beating the Cincinnati Reds in a one-game playoff. They were managed by Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

Offseason

• November 11, 1998: Bobby Bonilla was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the New York Mets for Mel Rojas.^[1]
• December 1, 1998: Todd Hundley was traded by the New York Mets with Arnold Gooch (minors) to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Roger Cedeño and Charles Johnson.^[2]
• December 1, 1998: Charles Johnson was traded by the New York Mets to the Baltimore Orioles for Armando Benítez.^[3]
• December 1, 1998: Robin Ventura was signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.^[4]
• December 16, 1998: Rickey Henderson signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.
• December 18, 1998: Josías Manzanillo was signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.^[5]

Regular season

As part of the now-infamous Turn Ahead the Clock promotion the Mets changed their name to the "Mercury Mets" while hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 27, 1999.^[6][7]

Opening Day starters

• Edgardo Alfonzo
• Bobby Bonilla
• Rickey Henderson
• Al Leiter
• Brian McRae
• John Olerud
• Rey Ordóñez
• Mike Piazza
• Robin Ventura^[8]

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	103	59	0.636	—	56–25	47–34
New York Mets	97	66	0.595	6½	49–32	48–34
Philadelphia Phillies	77	85	0.475	26	41–40	36–45
Montreal Expos	68	94	0.420	35	35–46	33–48
Florida Marlins	64	98	0.395	39	35–45	29–53

Record vs. opponents

1999 National League Records Sources:
Team	ARI	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	4–5	7–2	1–8	6–7	8–1	5–4	7–6	5–4	6–3	7–2	8–1	5–2	11–2	9–3	4–4	7–8
Atlanta	5–4	—	2–5	8–1	5–4	9–4	6–1	5–4	5–2	9–4	9–3	8–5	6–3	5–4	4–5	8–1	9–9
Chicago	2–7	5–2	—	5–8	4–5	6–3	3–9	2–7	6–6	2–5	3–6	2–7	7–6	6–3	1–7	7–5	6–9
Cincinnati	8–1	1–8	8–5	—	7–2	6–1	9–4	4–3	6–6	4–3	5–5	6–3	7–6	6–3	4–5	8–4	7-8
Colorado	7–6	4–5	5–4	2–7	—	5–4	2–6	8–5	6–3	6–3	4–5	5–4	2–7	4–9	4–9	4–5	4–8
Florida	1–8	4–9	3–6	1–6	4–5	—	2–7	7–2	5–4	8–4	3–10	2–11	3–4	3–6	4–5	3–4	11–7
Houston	4–5	1–6	9–3	4–9	6–2	7-2	—	6–3	8–5	7–2	4–5	6–1	5–7	8–1	5–4	5–7	12–3
Los Angeles	6–7	4–5	7–2	3–4	5–8	2–7	3–6	—	7–2	5–4	4–4	6–3	3–6	3–9	8–5	3–6	8–7
Milwaukee	4–5	2–5	6–6	6–6	3–6	4–5	5–8	2–7	—	5–4	2–5	5–4	8–4	3–5	4–5	7–6	8–6
Montreal	3–6	4–9	5–2	3–4	3–6	4–8	2–7	4–5	4–5	—	5–8	6–6	3–6	5–3	4–5	5–4	8–10
New York	2–7	3–9	6–3	5–5	5–4	10–3	5–4	4–4	5–2	8–5	—	6–6	7–2	7–2	7–2	5–2	12–6
Philadelphia	1-8	5–8	7–2	3–6	4–5	11–2	1–6	3–6	4–5	6–6	6–6	—	3–4	6–3	2–6	4–5	11–7
Pittsburgh	2–5	3–6	6–7	6–7	7–2	4–3	7–5	6–3	4–8	6–3	2–7	4–3	—	3–6	4–5	7–5	7–8
San Diego	2–11	4–5	3–6	3–6	9–4	6–3	1–8	9–3	5–3	3–5	2–7	3–6	6–3	—	5–7	2–7	11–4
San Francisco	3–9	5–4	7–1	5–4	9–4	5–4	4–5	5–8	5–4	5–4	2–7	6–2	5–4	7–5	—	6–3	7–8
St. Louis	4–4	1–8	5–7	4–8	5–4	4-3	7–5	6–3	6–7	4–5	2–5	5–4	5–7	7–2	3–6	—	7–8

Notable transactions

• July 31, 1999: Brian McRae was traded by the New York Mets with Thomas Johnson (minors) and Rigo Beltrán to the Colorado Rockies for Darryl Hamilton and Chuck McElroy.^[9]
• July 31, 1999: Jason Isringhausen was traded by the New York Mets with Greg McMichael to the Oakland Athletics for Billy Taylor.^[10]

Roster

1999 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers 43 Rigo Beltrán 49 Armando Benítez 27 Dennis Cook 29 Octavio Dotel 45 John Franco 55 Orel Hershiser 44 Jason Isringhausen 28 Bobby Jones 22 Al Leiter 23 Pat Mahomes 39 Josías Manzanillo 34 Chuck McElroy 36 Greg McMichael 48 Dan Murray 35 Rick Reed 73 Kenny Rogers 48 Glendon Rusch 38 Jeff Tam 26 Billy Taylor 30 Allen Watson 99 Turk Wendell 21 Masato Yoshii		Catchers 31 Mike Piazza  7 Todd Pratt  3 Vance Wilson Infielders 13 Edgardo Alfonzo 15 Matt Franco 17 Luis López  5 John Olerud 10 Rey Ordóñez 30 Jorge Toca  4 Robin Ventura		Outfielders 50 Benny Agbayani 46 Jermaine Allensworth 25 Bobby Bonilla 19 Roger Cedeño 12 Shawon Dunston 11 Shane Halter 18 Darryl Hamilton 24 Rickey Henderson 33 Mike Kinkade 56 Brian McRae  6 Melvin Mora 44 Jay Payton Other batters 26 Terrence Long		Manager  2 Bobby Valentine Coaches 34 Bob Apodaca (pitching) 52 Dave Wallace (pitching) 20 Bruce Benedict (bench) 52,55 Randy Niemann (bullpen) 57 Tom Robson (hitting) 53 Mickey Brantley (assistant) 54 Al Jackson (assistant)  8 Cookie Rojas (third base)  1 Mookie Wilson (first base)

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Mike Piazza	141	534	162	.303	40	124
1B	John Olerud	162	581	173	.298	19	96
2B	Edgardo Alfonzo	158	628	191	.304	27	108
3B	Robin Ventura	161	588	177	.301	32	120
SS	Rey Ordóñez	154	520	134	.258	1	60
LF	Rickey Henderson	121	438	138	.315	12	42
CF	Brian McRae	96	298	66	.221	8	36
RF	Roger Cedeño	155	453	142	.313	4	36

^[11]

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Benny Agbayani	101	276	79	.286	14	42
Darryl Hamilton	55	168	57	.339	5	21
Todd Pratt	71	140	41	.293	3	21
Matt Franco	122	132	31	.235	4	21
Bobby Bonilla	60	119	19	.160	4	18
Luiz Lopez	68	104	22	.212	2	13
Shawon Dunston	42	93	32	.344	0	16
Jermaine Allensworth	40	73	16	.219	3	9
Mike Kinkade	28	46	9	.196	2	6
Melvin Mora	66	31	5	.161	0	1
Jay Payton	13	8	2	.250	0	1
Terrence Long	3	3	0	.000	0	0
Jorge Toca	4	3	1	.333	0	0

^[11]

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Al Leiter	32	32	213.0	13	12	4.23	162
Orel Hershiser	32	32	179.0	13	12	4.58	89
Masato Yoshii	31	29	174.0	12	8	4.40	105
Rick Reed	26	26	149.1	11	5	4.58	104
Octavio Dotel	19	14	85.1	8	3	5.38	85
Kenny Rogers	12	12	76.0	5	1	4.03	58

^[12]

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Armando Benítez	77	78.0	4	3	22	1.85	128
Turk Wendell	80	85.2	5	4	3	3.05	77
Pat Mahomes	39	63.2	8	0	0	3.68	51
Dennis Cook	71	63.0	10	5	3	3.86	68
John Franco	46	40.2	0	2	19	2.88	41

^[12]

NLDS

New York wins series, 3-1

Game	Score	Date
1	New York 8, Arizona 4	October 5
2	Arizona 7, New York 1	October 6
3	New York 9, Arizona 2	October 8
4	New York 4, Arizona 3 (10 innings)	October 9

NLCS

Game 1

October 12: Turner Field, Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	2
Atlanta	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	X	4	8	2
WP: Greg Maddux (1-0)   LP: Masato Yoshii (0-1)   Sv: John Rocker (1) Home runs: NYM: None ATL: Eddie Pérez (1)

Game 2

October 13: Turner Field, Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	3	5	1
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	X	4	9	1
WP: Kevin Millwood (1-0)   LP: Kenny Rogers (0-1)   Sv: John Smoltz (1) Home runs: NYM: Melvin Mora (1) ATL: Brian Jordan (1);Eddie Pérez (2)

Game 3

October 15: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2
WP: Tom Glavine (1-0)   LP: Al Leiter (0-1)   Sv: John Rocker (2) Home runs: ATL: None NYM: None

Game 4

October 16: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	3	0
New York	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	X	3	5	0
WP: Turk Wendell (1-0)   LP: Mike Remlinger (0-1)   Sv: Armando Benítez (1) Home runs: ATL: Brian Jordan (2); Ryan Klesko (1) NYM: John Olerud (1)

Game 5

October 17: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

• In the bottom of the 15th inning, the Mets managed to load the bases against Braves relief pitcher Kevin McGlinchy. Mets catcher Todd Pratt drew a bases loaded walk, tying the score at 3-3.
• The next batter was Mets third baseman Robin Ventura. Ventura crushed the 2-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam, winning the game for the Mets and driving the Mets players and fans into a frenzied celebration. Ventura, however, never reached second base as Todd Pratt, the runner who was on first, picked him up in celebration. Subsequently, Ventura was mobbed by his teammates, never finishing his trot around the bases. Because he failed to touch all four bases, the hit was officially scored a single. Roger Cedeño, the runner on third at the time, was ruled the only runner to have crossed home plate before the on-field celebration began and the Mets were awarded a 4-3 victory. Thus, Ventura was only credited with a single and one RBI. This play is now referred to as the grand slam single.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	13	2
New York	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	11	1
WP: Octavio Dotel (1-0)   LP: Kevin McGlinchy (0-1) Home runs: ATL: None NYM: John Olerud (2)

Game 6

October 19: Turner Field, Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	3	4	1	0	1	0	9	15	2
Atlanta	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	1	10	10	1
WP: Russ Springer (1-0)   LP: Kenny Rogers (0-2) Home runs: NYM: Mike Piazza (1) ATL: None

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Norfolk Tides	International League	John Gibbons
AA	Binghamton Mets	Eastern League	Doug Davis
A	St. Lucie Mets	Florida State League	Howie Freiling
A	Capital City Bombers	South Atlantic League	Dave Engle
A-Short Season	Pittsfield Mets	New York–Penn League	Tony Tijerina
Rookie	Kingsport Mets	Appalachian League	Guy Conti
Rookie	GCL Mets	Gulf Coast League	John Stephenson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Mets^[13]

References

1. Bobby Bonilla Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
2. Todd Hundley Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
3. Charles Johnson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
4. http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/venturo01.shtml
5. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/manzajo01.shtml
6. Todd Fitzpatrick (August 16, 1999). "Turn Ahead? Turn around". The Sporting News. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
7. Orel Hershiser modelling the Mercury Mets jersey
8. "Apr 5, 1999, Mets at Marlins Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
9. Brian McRae Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
10. Jason Isringhausen Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
11. 1999 New York Mets Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com
12. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1999.shtml
13. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

• 1999 New York Mets
• 1999 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com