Posts

Dwight Gooden (Part One): "The Doctor K " & The World Championship (1984 - 1986)

-
Image
Dwight Eugene Gooden was born November 16, 1964 in Tampa, Florida. He was a star athlete at Hillsboro high school in Tampa, & the scouts came looking for him.  Dwight was drafted in the first round of the 1982 draft by the New York Mets, the fifth player taken overall. Dwight spent just two seasons in the minors, first going 5-5 in the Rookie League & A ball in 1982. In 1983 he led the Carolina League in wins (19, going 19-4) ERA (2.50) & an incredible 300 strike outs in 191 innings pitched.  He was named the Baseball Americas Minor League Player of the Year & his performance convinced manager Davey Johnson that he was ready for the majors.   1984 Rookie Season: Dwight Gooden  made his MLB debut on April 7, 1984, in Houston, in the Mets fourth game of the season.  Gooden was just nineteen years of age; in his debut he pitched five innings allowing one run on three hits, striking out five while earning his first career victory. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bobby Pfeil: 1969 World Champion Mets Utility Player (1969)

-
Image
Robert Raymond Pfeil was born on November 13, 1943 in Passaic, New Jersey. When he was two years old, his mother passed away, his father & his grandmother moved Bobby out West.  Pfeil attended high school in Reseda California, where he would get signed out of by the Chicago Cubs in 1961. The six-foot one infielder was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1965. There he won a Texas League Championship with Tulsa. He dwindled in the minors through the sixties, not getting to the big leagues for seven years. In that time, he worked for Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, storing old animation. By 1968 he was sent over to the New York Mets and hit .280 with 8 HRs & 49 RBIs at AAA Jacksonville, winning a minor League Championship. There he played on a team with Duffy Dyer, Amos Otis, Ken Singleton, Tug McGraw & Danny Frisella, who would all have success in the big leagues. Pfeil was expecting to get selected in that year's expansion draft by e...
Post a Comment
Read more