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Howard Johnson "Hojo"- (Part One: The Eighties) World Champion Mets - 30/30 Club Member & Two Time All Star

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Howard Michael Johnson known as "Hojo" was born on November 29, 1960, in Clearwater, Florida. The five-foot eleven switch hitter was originally drafted as a first round, pitcher out of St. Petersburg College, by the Detroit Tigers in 1979. In the minors he was converted into a third baseman due to bat & his strong arm. In his third minor league season he hit 22 HRs at AA Birmingham in 1981. In 1982 he hit 23 HRs while batting .317 stealing 35 bases at AAA Evansville earning a call up to the big leagues. MLB Career: He came up to the Tigers in 1982 as a backup to Tom Brookens batting .316 with 4 HRs in 54 games. By 1984 he was being platooned with Brookens, starting out the year hot, driving in run in six of ten games in May.  A strong June had him hit up at the .300 mark along with four HRs. But he tailed off as the year came to an end, and he saw less playing time in September after the Tigers rolled over the American League. Soon veterans Darrel Evan...
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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. He wore thick glasses, had long legs with a hunched over shoulder frame and a long nose.  He also has the distinction of being the only Mets player in history to ever be from the state of Utah. Theodore attended the University of Utah playing baseball with future MLB player Bill Parsons. Theodore was selected by New York Mets way down in the 31st round of the 1969 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. It’s hard to imagine but the Stork was a power hitter in his early years in the small ballpark at Visalia.  In 1972 at AA...
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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...
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