This Date In Mets History: July 15 — Ron Darling Traded Away, Donn Clendenon's Birthday

Jon Matlack, Tug McGraw, and Tom Seaver made a mid-season trip to Milwaukee to represent the Mets at the 46th All-Star Game, which was played on this date in 1975. Seaver entered the game in the bottom of the sixth with the score 3-0 and promptly served up a single, a walk, and a three-run bomb to Carl Yastrzemski. Matlack relieved his teammate and held the AL scoreless for the seventh and eighth, striking out four in the process. In the top of the ninth, a bases loaded single from the Cubs’ Bill Madlock gave the NL a lead they would not relinquish. The alliterative duo of Madlock and Matlack shared game MVP honors, making the lefty the first (and, to date, only) Met to win the award.

Birthdays

• James Baldwin (2004) is 41. In two starts with the Mets, Baldwin went 0-2 with a 15.00 ERA. This James Baldwin probably would have been more effective on the mound.
• Don Bosch (1967-1968) is 70. The Mets’ Opening Day center fielder in 1967, Don Bosch put up a OPS+ of 1. To put that in perspective, in 2006, Darren Oliver also managed an OPS+ of 1.
• Donn Clendenon (1969-1971) would have been 77 today. Acquired down the stretch in 1969, Clendenon added some much needed thump to the Miracle Mets lineup. He hit 12 home runs in the regular season, including a pair in the division-clinching victory over the Cardinals. Clendenon added three more in the World Series, en route to being named MVP. His .515 slugging percentage in 1970 remained the single-season club record until Darryl Strawberry broke it in 1985.
• Wilson Delgado (2004) is 40. Delgado had the game of his life as a Met, going 3-for-4 with a homer and driving in all the team’s runs in a 5-4 loss to the Marlins. The four RBI accounted for roughly 10% of Delgado’s career total.
• Bob G. Miller (1962) is 77. Bob G. Miller is one of four Bob Millers to pitch in the big leagues. He and right-hander Bob L. Miller were teammates on the 1962 Mets, forming a mostly ineffective lefty-righty bullpen combo.
• Fernando Nieve (2009-2010) is 30. The Mets lost 83 games in 2010. If memory serves correctly, Nieve’s record that season was 0-83. However, the statistics claim he went 2-4 and didn’t pitch for the team after late July.

Transactions

Ron Darling’s tenure in Queens came to an end on this date in 1991. In search of bullpen help, the Mets traded him and and minor leaguer Mike Thomas to the Montreal Expos for reliever Tim Burke. Darling’s 99 wins and 1620 innings pitched as a Met both rank fourth in franchise history.

Game of Note

On July 15, 1994, Bret Saberhagen pitched a gem against the Padres. In ten shutout innings, he allowed five hits, walked none, and fanned eleven, all of which contributed to a career-high game score of 93. Unfortunately, Andy Benes was just as good for the Friars, putting up a game score of 91 with an eight inning, two-hit, 14-strikeout performance. The two teams traded zeros until Tony Gwynn took Mike Maddux deep for a two-run shot in the the 14th. The Mets got the tying run to second base in the bottom half of the frame, but neither Jeff Kent nor Rico Brogna could bring it home. Padres 2, Mets 1.