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The Mets game last night stunk. They jumped out to an early lead, and fan-favorite R.A. Dickey coughed it up. They took the lead again, and a combination of Dickey and some poor defense coughed it up again. They could have easily won the game in the bottom of the ninth, but they failed, and the Giants won shortly thereafter.
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of see-saw lead changes and home runs by Ike Davis and Carlos Beltran was the fact that Jose Reyes reached base all six times he stepped up to the plate. With three hits - one double and two singles - and three walks, one of which was intentional, Reyes' game was only the 20th in team history in which a Met reached base six times (not including reaching base on an error). What's even more impressive is that this was only the 10th time a Met reached base six times in only six plate appearances. Here's a rundown of the previous nine times a Met has gone six-for-six in on-base awesomeness.
April 29, 2008: Jose Reyes - It's been over three years, but Reyes was the most recent Met to do what he did last night. The Mets defeated the Pirates 5-4 in eleven innings that night, and Reyes hit two singles and a triple and drew three walks, one of which was intentional.
May 27, 2000: Mike Piazza - In the Mets' 12-8 defeat of the Cardinals, Piazza singled, homered, and drew four unintentional walks. Though the Cardinals didn't make those walks deliberate, it's safe to assume they were pitching around Piazza all night, and they still got clobbered.
August 30, 1999: Edgardo Alfonzo - The Mets were in Houston and destroyed the Astros 17-1 thanks in large part to Fonzie's six-hit night. The six hits included three home runs, a double, and two singles, and of particular note is the fact that Alfonzo is the only player on this list who scored six runs in the game.
May 6, 1996: Todd Hundley - Another slugfest here, but the Mets lost this one to the Rockies 12-11. Hundley homered, singled, and drew four walks in the game.
August 8, 1995: Carl Everett - In a 12-10 victory over the Phillies, Everett singled, double, homered, and drew three walks. The Mets' starting pitcher in the game was Reid Cornelius, and if you know who he is, I applaud your comprehensive knowledge of Mets history.
June 6, 1994: Bobby Bonilla - A single, double, home run, and three walks made for a great day for Bonilla. The Mets beat up the Rockies that day, 11-3, and for an excellent overview of Bonilla's career with the Mets, check out Alex Nelson's fantastic post from the Top 50 Mets of All Time series.
May 18, 1978: Lenny Randle - We've hit our first major gap between these games as Randle's came over 16 years before Bonilla's. As for what he did that night: a single, a double, a triple, and three cycle-robbing walks. Randle scored five runs that night, second-highest on this list. And the Mets beat the Braves 8-7.
August 12, 1977: Lee Mazzilli - One of the rare losses for the Mets on this list as the Pirates edged them out 6-5 despite Mazzilli's efforts: one home run, three singles, and two walks.
May 11, 1969: Cleon Jones - The original Mr. OBP, Jones singled, tripled, and drew four walks, one of which was intentional, as the Mets beat the Astros 11-7 on the way to their first ever championship.
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Clearly, what Jose Reyes did at the plate last night was a rarity in Mets history. Any time a single player reaches base six times, it's highly likely that his team won the game, but it didn't turn out that way last night. Two final notes: Reyes is the only shortstop in team history to have done this, and he's also the only player to do so and steal a base during the game, which he did once in each game.