OTD 2000: Benny’s Walk-Off Blast Beats Giants

Postseason baseball has a way of shining the spotlight on the unheralded—those who happen to be in the right place at the right time.

The Division Series match-up between the Mets against the 97-win San Francisco Giants assumed the usual headliners: New York’s duo of Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo pitted against San Francisco’s odd couple of Barry Bonds and former Met Jeff Kent, the likely MVP of the National League.

But the Mets’ four-game triumph over the Giants featured a cluster of unlikely stars—each with their own journey to the October stage—was the difference in New York’s ascension into the League Championship Series, including 27-year-old rookie Jay Payton and one-hit wonder Bobby Jones who twirled a masterpiece pitching performance in the clincher.

Also among those was Benny Agbayani, who was not supposed to make the Mets’ roster out of spring training and was on the verge of being sent to the minors early in the season and had asked to be traded from the organization, cementing his name in Mets postseason lore with his walk-off homer to end a five-hour, 13-inning contest in Game 3.

if Game 2 wasn’t enough drama, Game 3 at Shea Stadium offered plenty more. New York once again strode perilously close to defeat, down 2-1 with two outs in the eighth and Lenny Harris on second.

Luckily, they had a man at the plate who had a penchant for coming through in the clutch. Edgardo Alfonzo, who delivered many big hits during last year’s playoffs, did it again—a double to left field that scored Harris and helped send it into extras.

It lasted into the 13th, more than five hours old, before Agbayani faced Aaron Fultz.

The Hawaii native had become a cult hero in his brief time with the Mets.

Fans embraced his underdog story, making it to the big leagues without resembling the prototypical baseball player physique.

They had pretty much forgiven his gaffe on August 12 against these same Giants, when he momentarily thought an inning ended after making a catch with a runner at third and handing the ball off to a youngster in the stands.

Now, Benny was about to completely eradicate that memory and provide a more lasting one.

Agbayani blasted Fultz’s pitch into the crowded stands in left-center field, flipping his bat and taking a most satisfying stroll around the bases before plunging into a sea of teammates around home plate and then being lifted on their shoulders.

He was more than a cult hero. He was a postseason hero.

”Bobby Valentine told me things have a way of working out. I didn’t understand that,” Agbayani said. “Now I do.”

The post OTD 2000: Benny’s Walk-Off Blast Beats Giants first appeared on Metsmerized Online.