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Kodai Senga - "The Ghost Fork" Mets Pitcher (2023 - 2025)

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Kodai Senga was born January 30, 1993, in Gamagori on the island of Honshu in Japan. The six-foot two right hander has a three-quarter delivery with a fastball that averages 96mph & can top out at 100mph. He masters a tricky forkball, known as "Ghost Fork" in Japan. He also throws a cutter & slider. Senga has been a pitcher since his high school days. In 1993 at the age of 17 he was drafted as a developmental player by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.  T he Developmental Player System: allows a player to be held for the purpose of training  separately from the registered players under control of a team in the Nipon Pro League (NPL).  By 2012 he signed a $4.4 million deal to be under the team's control. He worked with Kazuki Yoshimi of the Chunichi Dragons who is known for his control. In 2013 an illness kept him out for the early part of the season. When he did arrive, he pitched as a reliever, used as a setup man to cl...
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Charlie Neal: Original 1962 Mets Infielder (1962-1963)

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Charles Leonard Neal was born on January 30, 1931, in Longview Texas. Neal began his career in the Negro Leagues with the Atlanta Black Crackers. The five foot ten, right hand hitter was signed as an infielder by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. In his minor league years, he hit over .300 three times & hit below the .270 mark just once. MLB Career:  W ith such a talented Dodger infield of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson & Jim Gilliam, it  took Neal six years to get to the big-league Dodgers squad.  In 1956 Neal debuted with Brooklyn during another Dodgers NL pennant season. He appeared in 62 games, batting .287 (136 at bats) with two HRs, five doubles & 14 RBIs.  1956 World Series: Neal got to play in one game of the World Series against the AL New York club in the last year, which as to be the of the last subway world series matchup between these two clubs. In the Game #3 loss, Neal was 0-4 with a strike out. 1957 would be the Dodgers fin...
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Rafael Santana: 1986 World Champion Mets Short Stop (1984-1987)

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  Rafael Francisco Santana was born January 31, 1958, in La Romana, Dominican Republic. The town was a thriving tourist spot with plenty of employment far removed from many small poor towns in the Dominican.  In 1976 he signed with the Al New York club as an amateur free agent, playing in their farm system until 1981. That year he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later, who turned out to be George Frazier. He hit over .280 in both the 1982 & 1983 seasons. They were both minor league bests for him, while he was playing a fine short stop. Santana began the 1983 season with the Cardinals & watched the team raise their 1982 World Series Champion flag in the home opener. There he was a team mate of future Met, Keith Hernandez, one of the Cardinals biggest stars.  He would appear in 30 games for the Cardinals, mostly as a defensive replacement & pinch hitter batting just .214. By the end of June he was sent back down to AAA...
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