Benny To The Rescue

By Jay Horwitz

What made his home run so special to me was that Benny Agbayani was every man. He wasn’t a 6’ 2”, 190-pound All-Star with a list of accomplishments a mile long. Benny is a stocky Hawaiian, who once tossed a ball to a fan in the stands because he mistakenly thought it was the third out.

Twenty-one years ago today (Oct. 7) Benny enjoyed his day in the sun. He belted a home run in the bottom of the 13th inning at Shea Stadium to give the Mets a 3–2 win over the San Francisco Giants to give Bobby Valentine’s team a 2–1 lead in the Division Series, a series we would win the next day.

“When I rounded third and saw the entire team waiting for me at home, it was the greatest feeling of my life,” Benny told me recently. He added it was a moment he will treasure for the rest of his life.