Any "most memorable" list is highly personal and there are no wrong answers. Definitely not the same as "most significant". We all remember things for our own reasons.
So... going back to the original ground rules, here are my Top Ten Most Memorable Mets At-Bats:
1) Mookie's 1986 grounder. This gets extra credit because the same at-bat included two memorable events: the "gets by Buckner", and the Stanley WP which preceded it. Plus, it's top of my list because I was there.
2) Beltran's called third strike in 2006. Memorable is not always good.
3) Bartolo's HR. Gary Cohen's intentionally over-the-top call was an integral part of this for me.
4) Benny Agbayani's walk-off HR in 2000 NDLS against the Giants. This one is higher than it might otherwise be because I was there.
5) Todd Pratt's 1999 NLDS walk-off. I was listening to Cohen's radio call for this one. "Finley jumps... (a full one-second pause)... and it's OUTTA HERE! OUTTA HERE!
6) JC Martin's 1969 sac bunt in WS Game 4 where the throw hit him and rolled away, and the runner scored to win the game. He was running in fair territory and should have been called out, but whatever.
7) Willie Mays' game winning HR in his Met debut, May 14, 1972. I had to look up the date, but I remembered the event, so it counts.
8) Daniel Murphy's HR in 2015 NLDS Game 5 to beat the favored Dodgers. The most memorable of a bunch of memorable HR's Murphy hit in that stretch.
9) The 1969 Cleon Jones shoe polish ball in the deciding Game 5 WS.
10) I will close my list with one that has been forgotten but everyone but me. It was in 1980. Those of us of a certain age may remember that as "The Magic Is Back" year. The Mets were actually getting good again, or so it seemed. On June 14, Steve Henderson capped a five run ninth inning rally with a 3 run homer to move the Mets just ONE GAME BELOW .500! A very big deal back then. Then the magic dissipated, not to return for four years.
Note I have omitted the Piazza 2001 HR. It was a significant emotional event to many, but not to me. Didn't affect my mood at all.
So... going back to the original ground rules, here are my Top Ten Most Memorable Mets At-Bats:
1) Mookie's 1986 grounder. This gets extra credit because the same at-bat included two memorable events: the "gets by Buckner", and the Stanley WP which preceded it. Plus, it's top of my list because I was there.
2) Beltran's called third strike in 2006. Memorable is not always good.
3) Bartolo's HR. Gary Cohen's intentionally over-the-top call was an integral part of this for me.
4) Benny Agbayani's walk-off HR in 2000 NDLS against the Giants. This one is higher than it might otherwise be because I was there.
5) Todd Pratt's 1999 NLDS walk-off. I was listening to Cohen's radio call for this one. "Finley jumps... (a full one-second pause)... and it's OUTTA HERE! OUTTA HERE!
6) JC Martin's 1969 sac bunt in WS Game 4 where the throw hit him and rolled away, and the runner scored to win the game. He was running in fair territory and should have been called out, but whatever.
7) Willie Mays' game winning HR in his Met debut, May 14, 1972. I had to look up the date, but I remembered the event, so it counts.
8) Daniel Murphy's HR in 2015 NLDS Game 5 to beat the favored Dodgers. The most memorable of a bunch of memorable HR's Murphy hit in that stretch.
9) The 1969 Cleon Jones shoe polish ball in the deciding Game 5 WS.
10) I will close my list with one that has been forgotten but everyone but me. It was in 1980. Those of us of a certain age may remember that as "The Magic Is Back" year. The Mets were actually getting good again, or so it seemed. On June 14, Steve Henderson capped a five run ninth inning rally with a 3 run homer to move the Mets just ONE GAME BELOW .500! A very big deal back then. Then the magic dissipated, not to return for four years.
Note I have omitted the Piazza 2001 HR. It was a significant emotional event to many, but not to me. Didn't affect my mood at all.
