October 9 has produced two of the most unforgettable playoff swings in Mets history, and the comparison is a tight one. In 1999, Todd Pratt delivered a walk-off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2024, Francisco Lindor cleared the bases with a grand slam against the Philadelphia Phillies, driving in all four Mets runs and sending New York on to the NLCS.
So which one stands taller?
The answer depends on what you value most, but the old Pratt blast still gets the edge.
At home, Pratt had the cleaner setup. A walk-off in front of your own crowd carries its own built-in electricity, and while Lindor’s homer came in Philadelphia, it was close enough that Mets fans in the building still mattered. That gives Pratt the point on location.
The opponent matters too, and here Lindor pulls ahead. Knocking out the Diamondbacks in 1999 didn’t carry the same sting as eliminating the Phillies did in 2024. There’s simply more heat in sending Philadelphia home, and that part of the debate isn’t really close.
The type of hit also matters, and this is where Pratt takes control again. A walk-off home run is a different kind of ending than a grand slam in the middle of a game.
It lands harder. It ends everything right then and there.
Lindor’s slam felt like a dagger, but the game still had more to play, and Edwin Diaz had to work through some danger in the ninth before escaping with the tying run at the plate.
On the final result, there’s no separation. Both Mets teams were eventually eliminated in the NLCS, so neither moment gets extra credit there.
As for the player attached to the swing, Pratt has the more singular memory. When a backup catcher becomes the face of a postseason moment like that, it sticks.
A star like Lindor is supposed to come through, and he has plenty of other moments to his name. Pratt’s one swing is the one people remember.
The last layer is pure drama, and that’s where the argument gets really interesting. Pratt’s homer had that long, hanging uncertainty - the kind where Steve Finley nearly made the catch and the entire thing felt suspended in the air.
That tension has lasted. Lindor’s grand slam was huge, but Pratt’s ball carried the kind of drama that keeps getting replayed and retold.
So when the dust settles, the Pratt home run still wins the comparison. Lindor’s grand slam was massive. Pratt’s was more iconic.
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