Ventura revisits iconic walk-off 'Grand Slam Single' 25 years later

NEW YORK -- No one was happier than Robin Ventura after he saw Francisco Lindor hit the second postseason grand slam in Mets history last Wednesday against the Phillies. The slam helped New York defeat Philadelphia, 4-1, in Game 4 of the National League Division Series and advance to the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers.

“First of all, I’m pulling like crazy for the Mets,” Ventura said in a recent phone interview with MLB.com. “I’m excited for Francisco and his slam. He is on some run."

So, too, is Mark Vientos, who connected for the Mets’ second grand slam of the month to help lift them to a 7-3 win over the Dodgers on Monday in Game 2 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium.

The history books will tell you this is the first time the Mets have hit multiple grand slams in a single postseason. But that’s not exactly true.

Twenty-five years ago, Edgardo Alfonzo delivered the team’s first postseason grand slam in Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS in an 8-4 win over the D-backs. Twelve days later, on Oct. 17, 1999, Ventura thought he had hit the second.

It came in the bottom of the 15th inning in Game 5 of the NLCS vs. Atlanta, when Ventura -- hitting with the bases full in a 3-3 game -- deposited a Kevin McGlinchy pitch over the right-center-field wall.

A grand slam, right? Well, not so fast.

As Ventura rounded first base, he began getting mobbed by his teammates. Todd Pratt, who had been on first base, ran toward Ventura to congratulate him. Ventura kept waving at Pratt to keep running toward home. It didn’t work. Before Ventura knew it, a bunch of teammates were running toward him. Even the umpires didn’t stick around to make sure that Ventura circled the bases.

Game over.

"The next day we were thinking, 'That sucks for Robin,'" said Bret Boone, who was the Braves' starting second baseman that day. "You get that big of a hit in the postseason -- it doesn't change the outcome of the game, it's still a walk-off -- but to actually not have credit for a walk-off grand slam officially? In our minds, it's official. But in the record books, it's not."

NBC, the network that televised the game, flashed the final score as 7-3 in favor of the Mets. But the scoring would be settled a few minutes later. The hit was ruled a single and Ventura was credited with one RBI, which is why the hit has long been affectionately known as the “Grand Slam Single.”

Final score: 4-3, Mets.

During his 16-year career in the big leagues, Ventura hit 18 grand slams, but that particular “Grand Slam Single” in the postseason was his signature moment.

“What should have happened fell apart,” Ventura said. “By the time Pratt got to me, there was nothing I could do. It wasn’t like I could clear everybody out and I was going to run the bases. It was such a relief to be over. Everybody was like, 'You need those RBIs to be a grand slam.' I’m like, 'It has more mileage not being a grand slam.' I think people remember it more because it didn’t happen.”

A marathon game

It was a game that lasted five hours and 46 minutes, a postseason record at the time. It was a rainy, dreary day at Shea Stadium. The Braves were up in the series, 3-1, and looking to win their fifth NL pennant of the decade. But New York didn’t make it easy. The Mets took a 2-0 lead on John Olerud’s two-run homer off right-hander Greg Maddux in the first.

• Longest postseason games in MLB history

Atlanta tied things up three innings later off right-hander Masato Yoshii, when Chipper Jones hit an RBI double, then scored on a single by Brian Jordan. The game remained tied at 2-2 until the top of the 15th, when Atlanta took a 3-2 lead on an RBI triple by Keith Lockhart after Walt Weiss' leadoff single.

But the Mets were not ready to let the season come to an end. In the bottom of the inning, with McGlinchy on the mound and the bases loaded, Todd Pratt drew a walk to force in Shawon Dunston for the tying run.

Up stepped Ventura. Before the inning started, Dunston told Ventura that he was going to win the game.

“Yeah, right,” Ventura thought sarcastically.

Ventura was dealing with torn cartilage in his left knee and was hoping that he wouldn't hit into a double play. He knew he had to hit the ball in the air.

“I don’t run that well to begin with, so if you add [the knee problems], it’s really not good,” Ventura recalled.

Ventura worked the count to 2-1 before hitting a ball over Jordan’s head above the 371-foot marker. Before the ball went over the fence, NBC’s play-by-play broadcaster Bob Costas could be heard saying, “A drive to right! Back to Georgia!”

All hell broke loose.

"It's very discouraging," McGlinchy told The Associated Press in 1999. "It's one of those things you have to forget. Baseball is a crazy game; this was a crazy game."

Thanks to his iconic walk-off moment, Ventura is best remembered as a member of the New York Mets despite spending 10 of his 16 seasons with the White Sox. The walk-off hit was the climax of a dream season for Ventura, who posted a career-best slash line of .301/.379/.529 and 120 RBIs during the 1999 regular season.

“That was my first year in the National League and the pitchers didn't know me as well,” Ventura said. “I was put behind Olerud and Mike Piazza [in the lineup]. It was a great spot to be in. It was a big thing for me to watch how pitchers were attacking Olerud. It was a little bit easier for me to go up there. The pitchers are probably going to do the same sequence with me. I got to cherry pick a lot [because of] Olerud. It was just helpful for me. We just had a fun team. It was exciting.”

After the exciting win in Game 5, the Mets traveled to Atlanta and lost to the Braves, 10-9, in 11 innings in Game 6 to end their season.

“We didn’t play great in Atlanta. We knew we had a tough task. It was going to take something extra to get it,” Ventura said. “We had a nice run down there, and it didn’t happen.”