centerfield maz

Friday September 3rd, 1965: Jim Hickman, known as "Gentleman Jim," was the Mets first regular center fielder. Hickman has the distinction of doing many "firsts" in team history. He was the first Met to hit a walk off grand slam as well as the first Met to hit for the cycle.    On this 1965 evening, Wes Westrum's tenth place Mets (45-92) losers of 11 of their last 12 games, were at Busch Stadium in St. Louis taking on Red Schoendienst seventh place Cardinals (67-69). At the time the Cardinals were still the reigning World Champions. Earlier that week the Mets had taken three of four games over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The Mets highly touted pitching prospect:  Dick Selma (0-0) was on the mound making his big-league  debut. Selma had grown up a childhood friend & little league rival of Tom Seaver. Selma was signed first by the Mets at 20 years old. Tonight,  he went up against (future Met) Ray Sadecki (2-11). On In the top of the 2nd inning, with two o...

Saturday September 2nd, 1972:   The 1972 season had started late due to the first ever payers strike. At the end of Spring Training the Mets lost their beloved leader Gil Hodges who suddenly passed away from a fatal heart attack. The team & the organization were stunned as they began the season naming Yogi Berra as the manager.  By September,   Yogi Berra's Mets (64-59) were in third place, fourteen games behind the Pirates as time was running out on them with thirty games left to play. Tonight, they were in Houston, playing a good Astros team (73-55).   The Astros started the year with manager Harry Walker but he was fired in late August as the Astros fell to nine games back. Former Met manager Salty Parker managed for one game, then the legendary Leo Durocher took over.  "Leo the Lip" got the Astros on a six-game win streak, entering tonight's game. The previous night Houston shut out the Mets & Tom Seaver 8-0. The Astros moved to within seven games be...

Marvin Eugene Throneberry  was born on September 2, 1933, in Collierville, Tennessee, thirty miles outside of Memphis. Marv is the younger brother of MLB outfielder; Faye Throneberry. The family grew up on a farm in Fishersville, with three brothers & one sister. Marv would live in this town his entire life. The six foot one, Left-handed Marv Throneberry, turned down an offer from his brother's team, the Boston Red Sox. In 1952, he signed with the AL New York club for an amazing $50,000 bonus.  Marv played in the minor leagues at Denver where the thin air helped him lead the league in HRs & RBIs for three straight seasons. In 1956 he was named the league's MVP. The next year he was voted the third best prospect to make the majors by the Sporting News. MLB Debut: Throneberry was first brought up to the majors for one game on September 25th 1955, he went 2-2 with a two run double & a sac fly against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Throneberry spent t...

Labor Day- Monday September 1, 1975: This was an exciting game  for  the '75 Mets. Interim Manager Roy McMillan's third place Mets (72-64) were just four games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates (75-59) & had big expectations of catching them in the NL East. On August 6th,  Roy McMillan had taken over the club  after let  Yogi Berra go. Since then, the Mets went 16-9 while gaining four games in the standings. On this Labor Day matinee, the  Mets hosted Danny Murtaugh's Pirates at Shea Stadium in front of 45,991 fans.  This was the team's first home game since August 17, a long two weeks prior. New York was coming off a  long 14 game west coast road trip that included stops in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco & San Diego.  After starting out 3-4, they won five straight sweeping the Padres in San Diego then taking the first two games at Dodger Stadium.  The Mets then dropped the final two games to the Dodgers ...