Benny Agbayani became a cult hero during his four seasons with the New York Mets. He was particularly instrumental in the Mets’ run to the 1999 NLCS and 2000 World Series against the New York Yankees.
Agbayani talked about being a cult hero in New York and reminisced about the Subway Series against the Yankees as a guest on the Audacy Original Podcast “Damon Amendolara’s New York Accent”.
“It was great. It was one of those things, you walk around New York, you get noticed. You feel like a big superstar but it was just great that the fans of New York embraced me the way they did. I really appreciate that. When the fans embrace you like that it’s easier to play,” Agbayani said (14:26 in player above).
“But you know I heard my boos, I heard all that other stuff. You know that they’re on me when I did bad but that’s the way the game goes. I just was trying to go out there and be a consistent player every day and help this ballclub win. That was our goal to make it to the World Series.”
One of those instances in which he heard those boos and “other stuff” came on August 12, 2000. In a crucial game against the Giants, Agbayani made a catch in left field that he thought got the Mets out of a bases-loaded jam. He handed the ball to a fan in the stands before realizing it was only the second out. He took the ball back from the fan but the damage was done.
“I appreciate the fans and I saw that little kid sigh. I made a big boo-boo. We were playing the Giants and every game was crucial for us,” Agbayani said. “It’s just one of those things where you want to give a kid a ball because they’re begging for a ball. That’s every kid’s dream to catch a ball or get a ball thrown to them. I guess he got one before three outs,” he laughed.
Although Agbayani threw the ball back into play, he was sure to give the fan an autographed baseball before the next inning.
Luckily that blunder came in August, not October.
Agbayani was rather successful in the 2000 playoffs with hits in 13 of his 14 games played. One of those hits was a walk-off home run in the 13th inning in Game 3 of the NLDS against those same Giants.
“When I went up there everyone was like ‘Let’s end this. Let’s win this game. Let’s go home.’ And I was the first one up. I was like ‘I’m just going to look for a ball where I can get on.’ I wasn’t thinking I was going to hit a home run. I just wanted to get on base so that my other teammates would drive me in,” he said. “Fortunately, I got a ball up where I wanted it and I barreled it up, I hit it good but I saw Barry running out there and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, is he going to catch it?’ Boom it went over and it was ecstatic. It just got silent when running around the bases. I just looked around at the lights, the people, the fans, everyone was jumping. It was one of those moments that you never forget.”
The Mets went on to win that series and got past the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS en route to the World Series where they faced off against their cross-town rivals in the first Subway Series since the 1950s.
Unfortunately, the Mets only won one game in the Subway Series but it was Agbayani who came up with the clutch hit in Game 3.
“That’s one of the moments you never forget, especially playing against the Yankees. El Duque’s the pitcher. He’s been dominant all season long and you just want to come up there and get the big hits every time you get the opportunity,” he said. “Doing it at Shea, doing it for the fans, doing it for the people in Hawaii, the adrenaline is pumping.”
Agbayani was a bit overwhelmed by all of the media and PR happenings that went along with being in the first Subway Series in over 40 years but he enjoyed every second of it.
“Just being there was one of those moments you never forget,” he said. “Not everyone makes it there.”
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram