Posts

Bubba Trammell: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Player (2000)

-
Image
Thomas Bubba Trammell was born on November 6, 1971, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was named after famed Tennessee football quarterback Bubba Wyche.  The young Bubba always wanted to be a baseball player. When he was 14 his father put a batting cage in the backyard & bought him an automatic ball feeder to pitch, as he would be in the cage eight hours a day & more. The six foot three, right hand hitting outfielder attended the University of Tennessee. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1992 but did not sign. He was then drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1994 and did sign. Trammell showed a lot of power in the minor leagues, hitting 27 HRs at AA Jacksonville in 1996 getting promoted to AAA Toledo where he hit six more HRs to end his year. The following year he hit 28 HRs with 75 RBIs including a big four HR game for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens.  MLB Debut: Trammell made his MLB debut with the Tigers, on the opening week of the 1997 season. He hit f...
Read more

Steve Henderson: Late 1970's Mets Outfielder Who Came Over in the Tom Seaver Trade (1977 - 1980)

-
Image
Steven Curtis Henderson was born on November 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas. He attended Prairie View A &M in Texas, getting drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round of the 1974 draft as a promising outfielder.  He batted .312 with 17 HRs & 61 RBIs at AA ball Trois Rivieres in 1976. The next year he was batting .326 after 60 games at AA Indianapolis, but wasn’t much room on the Big Red Machine in the mid-seventies for a young player in the minors. Tom Seaver Trade: On June 17th, 1977, Henderson became famous for being the key player in the Tom Seaver trade on what Mets fans call “The Midnight Massacre”. Henderson along with Pat Zachary, Doug Flynn, & Dan Norman went to the New York Mets for Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.  There was a lot of hype and big expectations put on the young Henderson by the organization trying to make the Seaver trade look somewhat justified. Henderson & not many other players could ever have lived up to those expec...
Read more

Jay Payton: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Center Fielder (1998 - 2002)

-
Image
Jason Lee Payton was born on November 22, 1972, in Zanesville, Ohio. His parents are named James Sr. & Beth Payton, he has one brother.  The five-foot right hand hitting outfielder was a star player in high school at Ohio. He attended Georgia Tech. University where he was teammates with future Red Sox players; Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. Payton was rated as an outfielder with a strong arm & good speed, In 1994 he was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round (the 29th pick overall). In 1995 he hit .345 at AA Binghamton, getting promoted to AAA Norfolk by the mid-season.  In 1996 he played with the Gulf Port Mets, St Lucie Mets, Binghamton Mets & the Norfolk Tides batting .307 overall. He missed all of the 1997 season due to injuries. Payton would have three elbow surgeries while in the minor leagues, including two Tommy John surgeries. In 1998 he went from St. Lucie to AAA Norfolk batting .261 & getting a September ca...
Read more