1999 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game

1999 Major League Baseball tie-breaker game December 2013 1999 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game October 4, 1999 Cinergy Field Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati Reds New York Mets HP: Bruce Froemming 1B: Gerry Davis 2B: Mark Hirschbeck 3B: Ed Rapuano LF: Rich Rieker RF: Jeff Nelson 54,621 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 ESPN Jon Miller and Joe Morgan ESPNWFAN (NYM)WLW (CIN) ESPN: Charley Steiner and Dave CampbellWFAN: Bob Murphy and Gary CohenWLW: Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall The 1999 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1999 regular season, played between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds to determine the winner of the National League (NL) wild card. It was played at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati, on October 4, 1999. The Mets won the game, 5–0, with starting pitcher Al Leiter pitching a two-hit shutout. As a result, the Mets qualified for the postseason and the Reds did not. The game was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 96–66. Some described the Mets as collapsing late in the season while the race between the Reds and their division rival Houston Astros was close enough to create the possibility of a three-way tie. The Reds won a coin flip late in the season which, by rule at the time, awarded them home field for the game. Upon winning, the Mets advanced to National League Division Series (NLDS) where they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3 games to 1. They then advanced to the National League Championship Series (NLCS) but were defeated by the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2. This game counted as the 163rd regular-season game by both teams, with all events in the game added to regular-season statistics. Background 1999 New York Mets season 1999 Cincinnati Reds season The Mets spent 34 days of the 1999 season leading the National League East Division, but—following a seven-game losing streak from September 21–28 along with an eight-game winning streak by their division rival Atlanta Braves from September 19–28 — the Braves took a commanding 8-game lead in the division that they did not relinquish.https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1999-schedule-scores.shtml 1999 New York Mets Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits Baseball-Reference.com April 12, 2010https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/1999-schedule-scores.shtml 1999 Atlanta Braves Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Meanwhile, the Reds and Houston Astros were in a close race for the National League Central Division. The Astros led the division for much of the season, but did not lead by more than three games after August 1 except for one day.https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1999-schedule-scores.shtml 1999 New York Mets Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits Baseball-Reference.com April 12, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100403090942/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1999-schedule-scores.shtml April 3, 2010 livehttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/1999-schedule-scores.shtml 1999 Atlanta Braves Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Ultimately, the Astros won the division with a 97–65 record, one game ahead of the 96–66 Reds. The Astros won their 97th game on the final day of the season. If Houston had not won that game, the Astros, Reds, and Mets would have instead been in a three-way tie for both the NL Central and the wild card spot. Bob Costas suggested that MLB was lucky to avoid this situation as he believed they had "no reasonable tiebreaker" to deal with it.Baseball playoffs feature worthy teams, Costas says Rudy Martzke USA Today October 5, 1999 Had this three-way tie arisen, the Mets would have won the wild card while the Astros and Reds would have played a tie-breaker for the Central Division title (as the tiebreaker counts as a regular season game, the Reds/Astros loser would have moved to 96–67, 1 2 game worse than the Mets).Reds better win today, or Cinderella hangs up the cleats Bray Dwayne Dayton Daily News October 3, 1999 The Mets' losing streak late in the season led Jayson Stark to label them a "sinking ship" in a column on September 30.Mets wallop Braves Stark Jayson Jayson Stark The Philadelphia Inquirer September 30, 1999 However, the Mets broke this streak with a win over the Braves and dominant pitcher Greg Maddux and then, following a loss, swept three games from the Pittsburgh Pirates to end the season, tying the Reds' 96–66 record.Bad pitch strikes up good memories Mike Lupica Mike Lupica New York Daily News October 4, 1999 The New York Daily News described this late-season performance as an "agonizing roller coaster ride" for Mets fans.Better Reds than Dead! Wild win gets Mets showdown in Cincy Egbert Bill Bashinsky Ruth Hutchinson, Bill New York Daily News October 4, 1999 With the Mets and Reds holding the best non-division winning records in the leaguehttps://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1999.shtml 1999 National League Season Summary Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 a tie-breaker was necessary to determine the wild-card winner. Bob Costas said at the time he did not like the wild-card system as he believed it "diminishes the drama and authenticity of a pennant race", although he approved of the playoff teams in 1999. Tim McCarver disagreed, arguing that the late-season race between the Mets, Astros, and Reds showed the excitement a wild card can add to the season. A coin flip conducted earlier that September set Cincinnati's Cinergy Field as the location for the tie-breaker game.Reds at home in tie Dayton Daily News September 30, 1999 Game summary thumb|right|alt=A man in brown pants, a brown vest, and white shirt raises his right hand. He is standing on grass in front of three chairs, one with a bouquet of flowers on it.|Rickey Henderson led off the game with a single, scored the game's first run, and hit a home run in the fifth inning. October 4, 1999 7:05pm (EDT) Cinergy Field in Cincinnati, Ohio New York NYM 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 9 0 Cincinnati CIN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Al Leiter (13–12) Steve Parris (11–4) Edgardo Alfonzo (27), Rickey Henderson (12) 54,621 46 F C, Overcast The Mets took a quick 2–0 lead with a single by Rickey Henderson to open the game followed immediately by a home run by Edgardo Alfonzo. They added to this lead in the third as Alfonzo drew a walk and then John Olerud hit a double which advanced Alfonzo to third base. Reds starter Steve Parris intentionally walked Mike Piazza to load the bases and was relieved by Denny Neagle. However, Neagle then walked Robin Ventura to score Alfonzo and extend the lead to 3–0. Neagle remained in the game and yielded a home run to Henderson to lead off the fifth inning for the fourth run. Neagle then loaded the bases with two outs with walks to Piazza and Ventura followed by a Darryl Hamilton single, but escaped the inning without further scoring. The Reds pinch hit for Neagle in the bottom of the fifth, and Danny Graves entered for them to pitch the sixth inning. Graves walked Rey Ordóñez to leadoff the inning, Mets starter Al Leiter sacrifice bunted Ordóñez to second, and following an out he scored on a double by Alfonzo. Graves remained in the game until Mark Lewis pinch hit for him in the eighth and Dennys Reyes relieved him in the ninth. Graves and Reyes held the score steady after the sixth but the Reds' offense did not score against Al Leiter and the Mets won the game, and with it the Wild Card, 5–0. Al Leiter pitched a complete game shutout, scattering two hits and four walks across the nine inning start. This was Leiter's first complete game of the season.Leiter lifts Mets into playoff party Quinn, T.J. The Record October 4, 1999 Pokey Reese was the only Reds player to reach scoring position for the entire game, doubling to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning and then advancing to third on a ground out. The Bergen Record labeled Leiter the Mets' "flag bearer", coming through in games such as this when the team needed him most. For example, Leiter had also defeated Greg Maddux in his previous start on September 29 to snap the Mets' seven-game losing streak.Leiter burns Reds, Mets lefty gets hot at perfect time Mike Ganter Toronto Sun October 5, 1999 Leiter's earned run average in the second half of the 1999 season was 1.22 runs lower than in the first.https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=leiteal01&year=1999&t=p Al Leiter 1999 Pitching Splits Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Leiter's start earned an 86 game score, which tied for the 14th best total in the National League that season.https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/topperformers/_/year/1999/type/pitching/league/nl NL Top Pitching Performances – 1999 May 6, 2010 ESPN.com Aftermath New York's win clinched the team's fifth postseason berth in franchise history, their first since losing in the 1988 National League Championship Series.https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/ New York Mets Team History & Encyclopedia Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 The playoff berth made the Mets the second team in MLB history to make the playoffs after being two games back of the leader with three games left to play in the season.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/09/28/playoff.tiebreakers/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121026135333/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/09/28/playoff.tiebreakers/index.html dead October 26, 2012 Playoff tiebreakers through the years September 28, 2005 Sports Illustrated May 6, 2010 The Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, 3 games to 1.https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1999_NLDS2.shtml 1999 League Division Series Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 This win advanced the Mets to the NLCS where they lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2.https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1999_NLCS.shtml 1999 League Championship Series Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 The Mets performance in the playoffs drew heavy television viewership, with the decisive game of the NLCS scoring the highest ratings for any League Championship Series broadcast since 1993.In defeat, Mets win for NBC Bierbaum Tom Variety October 25, 1999 Overall the NLCS averaged 10.9 million viewers, 18% higher than the NLCS had drawn the year before. Variety writer Tom Bierbaum argued this was a good sign for the future of baseball because the Mets and Boston Red Sox had drawn younger viewers during their time in the postseason. Bierbaum believed that baseball needed fresh teams, not just the often-successful Yankees and Braves, to draw new audiences and grow viewership. At 96–67, the Reds had the best record of any team that failed to make the postseason in the Wild Card Era that began in 1995.Best MLB teams to miss the postseason, Mlb.com, October 4, 2021 In baseball statistics tie-breakers counted as regular season games, with all events in them added to regular season statistics. For example, Mike Piazza grounded into his 27th double play of the season in the ninth inning, adding to his league-leading total.https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1999-batting-leaders.shtml 1999 National League Batting Leaders Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Similarly, Leiter's performance advanced his position on several 1999 statistical leaderboards including shutouts and walks issued.https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1999-pitching-leaders.shtml 1999 National League Pitching Leaders Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Reese, Ventura, and Ordóñez won Rawlings Gold Glove Awards for the season while Piazza and Alfonzo won Silver Sluggers.https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1999-other-leaders.shtml 1999 National League Awards, All-Stars, & More Leaders Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Robin Ventura also finished sixth in the National League's Most Valuable Player voting, with Chipper Jones taking the award.https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/venturo01.shtml Robin Ventura Statistics and History Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 This game marked the only time the Reds were shut out between April 1999 and May 2001, a span of 349 games. After this game, the Reds would go the entire 2000 season without getting shut out, becoming only the second team in MLB history to do so (joining the 1932 New York Yankees). They would extend their streak of scoring a run in every game into the 2001 season for a total of 208 games, the third longest such streak in MLB history at the time (now the fourth-longest).Longest Streaks Without Being Shutout in MLB History Had this game not counted as a regular season game, the Reds would have scored a run in 348 straight games, which would have been the longest streak in MLB history. The New York Yankees also made the playoffs in 1999, eventually advancing to the 1999 World Series where they swept the Braves.https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1999_WS.shtml 1999 World Series Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 The 1999 season marked the first time both of the current New York City-based MLB teams, the Mets and Yankees qualified for the playoffs together in the same season. Prior to the Mets' elimination, Mike Lupica noted the possibility of a "Subway Series", a term for a World Series played between two New York-based teams.New York is capital of baseball once more Lupica Mike Mike Lupica New York Daily News October 5, 1999 The 1956 World Series between the Yankees and then-Brooklyn Dodgers was the last such Series. Yankees pitcher David Cone told Lupica "I want a Subway Series, for selfish reasons. I want to play in one." Although the Mets failed to make the Series in 1999 the two met the following year in the 2000 World Series where the Yankees won, 4 games to 1.https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2000_WS.shtml 2000 World Series Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 After their 2000 World Series appearance, the Mets did not make the playoffs again until 2006. Meanwhile, the Reds did not place in the top two of their division until 2010.https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN Cincinnati Reds Team History & Encyclopedia Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 Jack McKeon managed the Reds from 1998 to 2000 and was fired after the 2000 season when the team finished 10 games back of the division leading Cardinals.Cincinnati Reds fire manager Jack McKeon Kay Joe ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100345&page=1 October 2, 2000 May 6, 2010 References General https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN199910040.shtml October 4, 1999 New York Mets at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play Baseball-Reference.com May 6, 2010 http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B10040CIN1999.htm Retrosheet Boxscore: New York Mets 5, Cincinnati Reds 0 May 6, 2010 Retrosheet, Inc Specific 2 Category:Major League Baseball tie-breaker games Category:History of the New York Mets Category:History of the Cincinnati Reds National League Wild-Card tie-breaker game Category:1999 in sports in Ohio Category:1990s in Cincinnati Category:October 1999 sports events in the United States Category:Baseball competitions in Cincinnati