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

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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...

Xavier Nady: Short Time 2006 N.L. Eastern Champion Mets Outfielder (2006)

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Xavier Clifford Nady was born on November 14, 1978, in Salinas, California. The six foot two right-handed hitter was the Northern California, High School Player of the Year in his senior year. He was offered a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals but did not sign. He attended the University of California at Berkley, setting a school slugging record there. He got chosen by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the 2000 draft.  Trivia: He became just the 18th player in history to go directly to the major leagues in 2001, but after one game was sent to the minors anyway.  There he hit .302 with 26 HRs & 100 RBIs at A Ball Lake Elsinore, getting named the California League MVP. He went to AAA Portland in 2002 & hit 23 HRs with 80 RBIs. He suffered an injury & needed Tommy John surgery. MLB Career: He returned to the big leagues in 2004 batting .267 but was sent back down again, then hit .330 with 22 HRs at the AAA level in Portland.  In the ...

George Theodore: 1973 N.L. Champion Mets Folk Hero (1973 - 1974)

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George Basil Theodore was born November 13, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The tall lanky six-foot four right-handed outfielder, was an unusual looking ballplayer. George wore thick glasses, had long legs with a hunched over shoulder frame and a long nose.  George had the distinction of being the only Mets player in history to ever be from the state of Utah until 2013, when Brandon Lyon made 37 appearances as reliever. Theodore attended the University of Utah playing baseball with future MLB player Bill Parsons. In 1969, Theodore was selected by New York Mets way down in the 31st round of the free agent draft.  Theodore credits his minor league manager Joe Frazier for giving him the chance to play. After struggling at the AA level Frazier sent him back to A ball Visalia where he excelled. In 1971, Theodore was the California League MVP for Visalia batting .333 with 28 HRs & 113 RBIs. Strange as it seems, the Stork was a power hitter in his early ye...

Jimmy Piersall: Remembering the Animated Career of Former Met Who Once Ran Around the Bases Backwards & Had a Movie Based on His Life (1963)

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James Anthony Piersall was born on November 14, 1929, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was a fine all-around athlete leading his high school team to the New England Basketball Championship in 1947. The next year he was signed by the Boston Red Sox at age 18 making it up the big leagues by 1950 as one the youngest players in the league.  MLB Career: By 1952 he was the Sox regular centerfielder & would be one of the finest defensive outfielders in the league in the coming years. Piersall won two Gold Glove Awards (1958 &1961) led the league in fielding % for centerfielders four times & put outs twice. He also posted ten or more assists from the outfield four times.   Drama: That year he began to suffer from personal issues. In a May game against New York, he got into a fist fight with Billy Martin, then later in the clubhouse he got into another fight with teammate Mickey McDermott. He was ejected from four games that year soon af...