July 24, 1970: Agee Steals Home

     On July 24, 1970, with more than 53,000 in the stands at Shea Stadium in New York, Mets center fielder Tommie Agee stole home in the bottom of the 10th inning to give his club a dramatic 2-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.

     The Dodgers had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth with an RBI off the bat of Ted Sizemore, then watched the Mets knot things up in the sixth when Cleon Jones knocked in Ken Singleton. Both starters went nine innings in what was a great pitching duel, as Bill Singer scattered five hits and struck out seven for the Dodgers, while Jerry Koosman gave up six hits and struck out six.

     Tug McGraw took over on the bump for the Mets in the tenth, and picked up three quick outs, before singling off of the new Dodgers hurler Jim Brewer to lead off the bottom of the inning. Agee followed the McGraw with a sacrifice bunt, only to end up reaching after Billy Grabarkewitz misplayed the ball. Al Weis came into pinch run for the pitcher, only to get picked off. Moments later Agee stole second, reached third on a wild pitch, before watching Bud Harrelson strike out. Brewer followed the K with back-to back walks to load the bases, but with two outs all he needed to do was retire Cleon Jones to send it to the 11th. While Brewer locked in on the assignment at the plate, Agee realized that he was not paying attention to him at third, and took a healthy lead of the bag. As soon as he seen the hurler in his windup he took off for the dish, and bowled over catcher Bill Haller and the home plate umpire as well.

     The exciting ending to the hard fought contest is just one of the many memories that Agee provided for Mets fans, as he spent five seasons with the club, and was a part of the Amazin Mets of 1969 who won the World Series, with Agee making spectacular plays in center, as they took the title in five games. In his five years with the Mets, Agee carried a .262 average, hit 82 homers, knocked in 265 runs, and stole 92 bases. When it comes to those 92 stolen bases, I believe one of those stands above the rest, and it came on this day in 1970.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197007240.shtml

If you would like to know more about the life and career of Tommie Agee give this a look: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b029a7d7

Check out Agee's career numbers here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ageeto01.shtml