New York Mets inside-the-park homers that Flushing fans remember

It’s an adage among baseball fans that there is no more exciting play than the inside-the-park home run, and New York Mets fans have been blessed with a few very entertaining “inside-the-parkers” in their history. There’s an obvious thrill to seeing a player known for their speed sprint around the bases without the ball ever leaving the yard. There’s also a certain charm to seeing a player NOT known for their speed somehow, against all odds, end up with an inside-the-parker.

In recent years, the Mets have certainly been on the short end of a couple inside-the-park home runs. The very first pitch of the 2015 World Series, thrown by Matt Harvey to Alcides Escobar, ended up as an inside-the-park home run thanks to some unfortunate misplays in the outfield. I’d like to think that I still had complete faith that the Mets could win the World Series after that, but it was such a deflating way for this monumental series to start that, I admit, I lost some hope.

On a much more positive note, the Mets have also hit several inside-the-parkers themselves in recent years, 28 total in their history. Stadiums constructed these days tend to have less cavernous outfields than did older stadiums, so the phenomenon is fairly uncommon.

However, even the Mets are not totally immune to the occasional “missed dive-turned-inside-the-park  homer” that goes their way.

Here are a few recent Mets inside-the-park home runs to jog your memory, though hopefully not as fast a jog as it took these players to circle the bases.

June 18, 2018: Brandon Nimmo

When the Mets, or any team for that matter, go to Coors Field, the public expectation is that the ball will be flying out of the ballpark. Leading off the game on a warm June day in 2018, Brandon Nimmo decided that he’d rather homer at Coors in a more unconventional way.

On an 0-2 count against Colorado Rockies starter Tyler Anderson, Nimmo lofted a fly ball to deep right-center field, where it landed between the outfielders and took a hard bounce off the wall away from both of them. Nimmo is known for always sprinting to first base, even on a walk. He put his speed to good use here, leaving the batter’s box at a breakneck speed and never slowing his pace until he had touched all the bases for a leadoff inside-the-park home run.

The “happiest man in baseball” had a wide grin on his face as he high-fived everyone in the Mets dugout after completing his home run trot. It was the first inside-the-parker of Nimmo’s career, the Mets’ first inside-the-parker since Ruben Tejada in 2015, and the Mets’ first leadoff inside-the-parker since Angel Pagan in 2009.

“It took a funny bounce [off the wall], so something was working my way for that first at-bat,” Nimmo said in a postgame interview. “That was pretty cool and a great way to start it off. Just kind of loosened things up after that.”

That inside-the-parker was part of a 12-run barrage of support that the Mets provided Jacob deGrom, and also was the second home run in as many at-bats for Nimmo (his power stroke provided the go-ahead home run for the Mets vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks the day before).

If there is any baseball player I trust to always run hard enough to turn any outfield misplay into a potential inside-the-parker, it is definitely Nimmo.

August 2, 2007: Damion Easley

For whatever reason, out of the several Mets inside-the-park home runs that I’ve had the pleasure of watching live on TV, this one sticks out to me the most. Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a soft spot for Mets utility players, or maybe it’s because I distinctly remember how exhausted Easley looked in the dugout after he completed his triumphant trot.

He wasn’t the fleetest of foot during his time in Flushing, and I have a feeling he used up exactly 100% of his energy while running around the bases. Easley was also 37 at the time, certainly past his prime running days. Nonetheless, on that August day vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, he achieved what few baseball players have, and here’s how it went down.

In the top of the 6th inning, with Chris Capuano on the mound for the Brewers, Moises Alou on second base for the Mets, and the game tied 3-3, Easley launched a fly ball to deep center field. Outfielder Bill Hall could not reel it in, and it took a wide carom off the wall at Miller Park. Easley continued his hustle around the bases, rounding third as Hall retrieved the ball. There would be no remarkable outfield assist that day, as Easley slid in safely at home plate.

Clearly, despite his remarkable achievement, neither Easley nor the Mets were newly convinced that he had transformed into a speed demon.

“He looked tired, oh yeah,” said José Reyes after the game. “Home plate to home plate — it’s too much.”

“I’m hoping for somebody to push me,” Easley said in a postgame interview. “My legs were done after that for the rest of the game. I was pretty much done.”

My lasting image from this game is seeing Easley practically dragging his feet toward the dugout after his 360-foot trot, with Reyes waving a towel over him to cool him off. Though Easley was never a star for the Mets, he did give them several productive years on the bench and one outstanding inside-the-park home run.

September 2, 2015: Ruben Tejada

When Mets fans hear the words “Ruben Tejada” and “2015” together, their minds usually travel to a certain slide by a certain Dodgers second baseman. That collision at second during Game 2 of the NLDS was certainly the low point for Tejada that season, but one of his high points had to be his inside-the-park home run against the Phillies that September.

Even in his best years in Queens, Tejada was never known for his power stroke. He hit only 10 home runs across his nine MLB seasons. Only nine of the 10 actually left the park.

On September 2, 2015, in the second inning against Phillies starter Aaron Nola, Tejada slashed a 3-2 breaking ball the other way towards right fielder Domonic Brown. While trying to make a play on the ball, Brown ended up tumbling over the fence into the stands. The ball rolled innocently into the right-field corner while Tejada made a frantic trip around the bases. He scored without a throw, and also drove in Kelly Johnson from second base.

“I’m thinking I got a hit first, and when I saw [Brown] in the stands I ran as hard as I can to get on third base and wait for [coach Tim] Teufel’s sign to either send me home or stop me there,” said Tejada after the game.

Manager Terry Collins also weighed in with his vantage point of Tejada’s remarkable trip around the bases, which apparently did not provide the clearest of sightlines.

“I couldn’t see a thing. I can’t see a thing from where I stand,” Collins said postgame. “I knew the ball was going to drop in and then I heard the crowd roar and I thought maybe the kid fell into the wall. I didn’t see him go out until I saw the replay.”

June 11, 2005: Marlon Anderson

In parts of four seasons with the Mets, Marlon Anderson was always a part-time player, never notching 300 at-bats in a single season with the Amazins. However, some players just have the knack for coming through as a pinch-hitter, and on one June night at Shea Stadium, Anderson’s trip around the bases was the star.

He came in, as one would expect, pinch-hitting in the 9th inning for first baseman Chris Woodward. The Mets were playing the Los Angeles Angels and were down 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the 9th. Anderson was facing star Angels closer (and future Mets closer) Francisco Rodriguez. On a 3-1 count, Anderson skied the ball to the gap in right-center. It bounced off of center fielder Steve Finley’s glove, then his leg, and rolled far away from both outfielders. Anderson hustled around second, than third, and then tried for home as the relay throw was coming in.

Though the throw beat him to home plate, Anderson managed to slide in under the tag of José Molina to score the tying run. Molina vehemently argued the call with the home plate umpire, though Anderson was clearly safe. It was his first home run as a Met, and one of seven that he hit in 2005.

For added excitement, the game went to extra innings. The Angels went ahead in the top of the 10th on an RBI single from Darin Erstad, but Cliff Floyd was the ultimate hero that night when his two-out, three-run homer won the game in the bottom of the frame.

Though Anderson was banged-up after the game thanks to the collision at home, he was all-smiles in his postgame interviews.

“When you get a win like that, nothing hurts,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s heroics marked the Mets’ first inside-the-parker at Shea Stadium since Darryl Strawberry 16 years prior, in 1989. His most recent Mets-related involvement was serving as the hitting coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2018.

September 7, 2006: José Reyes

For all of the fanfare about José Reyes’ speed, and the fact that he holds the franchise records for stolen bases and triples, it is somewhat surprising to me that he only hit one inside-the-park home run as a Met. This remarkable achievement occurred during his best overall season in Queens, one in which he hit 17 triples, scored 122 runs, and led the Major Leagues with 64 stolen bases.

On that memorable September night, the Mets were facing the Dodgers, their future Division Series foes. On the mound, Tom Glavine squared off against Brad Penny. In the bottom of the 6th inning, after a successful sacrifice bunt from Glavine that moved Jose Valentin to second base, Reyes stepped up to the dish. He drilled a 2-1 pitch from Penny into right-center field, where it bounced off the fence, eluded center fielder Matt Kemp, and scooted away into no-man’s land.

Reyes never broke stride as he rounded the bases and slid in triumphantly at home, driving in three runs (including himself) and knocking Penny out of the game with his inside-the-parker. The Mets went on to win 7-0 and solidify their stranglehold on the NL East division, which they ended up winning by 12 games.

This inside-the-park home run hit by Reyes was also the last one hit by a Met at Shea Stadium.

The Mets actually hit two inside-the-park home runs in 2006; the other was hit by Kaz Matsui on April 20 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, and you can read about here.

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Inside-the-park home runs are rare across Major League Baseball, and less than 1% of all home runs stay in the park. I certainly hope to witness a Mets inside-the-park home run in person one day, though I have a feeling that if I did, I would be as out of breath cheering for it as the player would be running the bases.