Mets Officially Announce Curtis Granderson (2014)

Curtis Granderson was born on March 16th, 1981 in Blue Island Illinois. His mother was a chemistry teacher & his sister is an English Professor at Jackson State University. The six foot one outfielder, bats left handed but throws right handed. He is known as the Grandyman.

Granderson played college ball at the University of Illinois, where he had his uniform #28 retired by the school. Educationally he earned a degree in business administration & business marketing. Granderson was a third round selection of the Detroit Tigers in 2002 & by 2004 was named one of the top minor league players.

After batting .303 at AA Erie in 2004 he got a cup of coffee with Detroit as a September call up. In 2005 he batted .290 at AAA Toledo and was with the Tigers by the end of July, batting .272. On September 15th he hit an inside the park HR & on September 26th, hit a walk off HR against the Chicago White Sox.

In 2006 he beat out Nook Logan in Spring Training & Granderson became the Detroit Tigers main centerfielder. He added 19 HRs & 68 RBIs to a powerful Tiger team that featured four batters to hit 24 or more HRs. On the down side he led the AL in strike outs with 174 in 596 at bats.

In centerfield he posted the league's best fielding % at the position (.994%). The Tigers won a wild card berth that season & got all the way to the World Series but were beaten by the surprising St. Louis Cardinals in five games.

Post Season: In the ALDS win over the AL New York club, Granderson hit HRs in Game #1 as well as Game #3, while driving in runs in the first three games. In the top of the 7th inning, his triple off Mike Mussina, scored Marcus Thames which broke a 3-3 tie & led to the Tigers 4-3 win. In the ALCS, he hit a Game #2 HR off the Athletics; Huston Street, at Oakland Coliseum in the Tigers 8-5 win. In the World Series he got just two hits in 21 at bats (.095).

Over the next two seasons, Granderson would lead the AL in triples twice. In 2007 he scampered to 23 triples (the most in the AL since 1949), in the vast dimensions of Tiger Stadium. He managed to hit more triples than six major league teams had as a whole that year. That year he hit 23 HRs 38 doubles, drove in 74 runs, batted .302 & posted a .361 on base %. He stole 26 bases, but was only caught stealing once for a 96% average, the league's best.

On September 9th, 2007, Granderson became only the 3rd player in Major League history to have at least 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 20 triples and 20 doubles in one season. In center, he turned the most double plays (4) led the league in put outs (424) as well as errors (5). He was not featured on the 2007 All Star ballot, but received 376,000 write in votes, which was more than any other player got. He was tenth in the voting for the leagues MVP Award that year as well.

A durable outfielder, he was second in the league in games played in center for two straight seasons. He would do that three times & play the most games in the league at centerfield two more times while in New York with the AL team there. He has also been among the top five centerfielders in put outs in six of the last seven years. He is fourth among active players & 68th all time with 2788 put outs.

In 2008 Granderson batted .280, as 2007 was the last year he has hit over .300. He still posted a .365 on base %, led the league in triples (13) while hitting 22 HRs with 66 RBIs & 112 runs scored (second in the AL). In 2009, he responded by hitting a career high (up to that point) 30 HRs & 71 RBIs. He also added 23 doubles, 8 triples (5th in the AL) with a .327 on base % while making his first All Star appearance.

As the Tigers failed to make the post season, TBS hired him as a commentator for the second straight season. That December he was involved in a huge three team trade, that brought him to the AL New York club. In the deal; Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson & Phil Coke went to Detroit, as Edwin Jackson & Ian Kennedy went to the Arizona D-backs.

In his first year in New York, he missed 25 games, batting .246 with 27 HRs & 67 RBIs. But in 2011 he had a tremendous year; leading the league in RBIs (119) & runs scored (136). He bashed 41 HRs with 10 triples (second in the AL) 26 doubles & 25 stolen bases, while striking out 169 times (4th in the AL). He was one of the leagues top outfielders as well & made the All Star team for a second time.

Post Season: In the ALDS he hit a HR off his old Tigers team mates in Game #2 & drove in runs in three straight games. Detroit still took the Series in five games.

Granderson returned to make another All Star team, hit a career high 43 HRs in 2012, driving in 106 runs. His average fell to .232, & hit a career low 18 doubles, since becoming a regular player. He struck out 195 times (second in the AL) which is the tied for 13th most in a single season all time.

In 2013 he broke a bone in Spring Training when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch from pitcher J.A. Happ of Toronto. He made his season debut on May 13th but on May 24th went down again, not returning until August. In 61 games he hit .229 with 7 HRs & 15 RBIs (214) at bats.

On December 6th he signed a four year $60 million deal with the New York Mets. Granderson will be 33 years old in March, he will most likely play leftfield & wear the uniform #3. David Wright was one of the first to contact Granderson after he signed, reaching out to congratulate him.

The Mets officially introduced him on December 10th, 2013.

During his introductory news conference Granderson told the media: “A lot of the people I’ve met in New York have always said that true New Yorkers are Mets fans. I’m excited to get a chance to see them all out there. Come out there in droves like I know you can, be very excited and eager about this upcoming season. It’s going to be fun to watch, we’re going to play hard out there for you, we’re going to be competitive and we’re going to go out there and win as many games as possible. If you haven’t been (to Citi Field), definitely come out for the first time because you’ll definitely be back.”

Mets manager Terry Collins said Tuesday that the addition of Granderson “might be the best early Christmas present I’ve ever had.”

Trivia: He is known to do a lot of charity work for the community & serves as an ambassador for MLB abroad. In 2013 it was announced that Granderson would put up $5 million of the $7 million cost for a new stadium at his alma mater, the University of Illinois-Chicago. The stadium will be named after him.

He wears his socks high in honor of the players from the old Negro Leagues. Curtis has been known to wear the slogan "Don't Think. Have fun" under the bill of his cap.

He is not married & was recently living on East 72nd St, in a luxury high rise off the East River.

Rememebring New Hall of Famer Joe Torre (Part One- His Playing Career)

Joseph Paul Torre was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 18, 1940. He attended St. Francis Prep. School located in Brooklyn at the time, later moving to Queens.

The six foot two right hand hitting Torre was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1960. He hit .344 & won the batting championship in his only year in the minor leagues making it to the big leagues for good by 1961. He would spend nine years with the Braves, as a team mate of Hank Aaron & Eddie Mathews & Warren Spahn.

He moved with the franchise from Milwaukee to Atlanta, playing in Fulton County Stadium in 1966. He hit over .290 four times, batting over .300 twice. In his first full season, he came in second in the Rookie of the Year Award batting .278 with 10 HRs & 42 RBIs.

In 1964 he batted .321 with 109 RBIs (both 4th in the NL) & hit 20 HRs coming in fifth in the MVP voting for the 5th place Braves. In 1966, as the franchise began playing in Georgia; he hit a career high 36 HRs driving in another 101 runs, batting .315.

Torre was one of the leagues better catchers as well, leading all backstops in fielding twice & coming in the league's top five, five different times. He threw out 40% or more of would be base stealers seven times, leading the league once. His .990% lifetime as a catcher is 96th best all time. In his career he threw out 41%. He represented the Braves five times in the NL All Star Game. At the start of the 1969 season he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda.

The Cardinals had All Star Tim McCarver as their catcher, so Torre moved over to replace Cepeda as the team's first baseman. Torre hit .289 with 18 HRs 29 doubles & 101 RBIs (6th in the NL) in his first season with the Cards. The Braves won he Western Division but lost to the New York Mets in the NLCS.

In 1970 he took over back in his old position at catcher (90 games), when McCarver was traded away to the Philadelphia Phillies. Torre batted .325 (second in the NL) with 203 hits (second in the NL) 21 HRs 100 RBIs & a .398 on base %. He led the league with 161 games played, making another All Star team.

In 1971 he moved over to third base for good, as Ted Simmons was brought up as the clubs main catcher. Torre had his best year of his fine playing career, winning the NL MVP Award. Torre led the league with 230 hits, 137 RBIs & a .361 batting average.

He posted a .421 on base % with 24 HRs, 97 runs scored (5th in the NL) eight triples (5th in the NL) & 34 doubles (3rd in the NL). The Cardinals won 90 games finishing second to the World Champion to be Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1972 he played 149 games, as his average fell off to .289 with 11 HRs & 81 RBIs. That year he began to see more time as a first baseman, becoming the full time first baseman in 1973. Over next two seasons, he made his final All Star appearance & there was talk that his days were behind him.

The New York Mets had tried to land Joe Torre in the past but were never able to seal a deal. The St. Louis Cardinals usually wanted one of the Mets good young pitchers in return.

Finally by 1975 the Cards were clearing the way at first base for a young Keith Hernandez, and had veteran Ron Fairly on hand to get them by the transition. Torre’s numbers had fallen off a bit, especially since his 1971 MVP year. In 1974 he played in 147 games batting .282 with 11 HRs 28 doubles & 70 RBIs while posting a strong .371 on base %. 

In October of 1974 the Cardinals sent Torre to the Mets for veteran pitcher Ray Sadecki & youngster Tommy Moore. Torre came from St. Louis with a $150,000 salary which was second to only Tom Seaver’s $175,000 on the Mets payroll.

The Mets was still trying to solve their long time third base problem, although Wayne Garrett had done a fine job the past two seasons. Torre was already very popular in New York and arrived at Shea Stadium with a lot of fanfare. Personally he was thrilled to be back at home, close to his family in Brooklyn.

Torre was the Mets third baseman, batting in the cleanup spot, on Opening Day at Shea Stadium in 1975. In the bottom of the 9th inning the score was tied 1-1 in a classic Tom Seaver- Steve Carlton pitchers’ duel. Felix Millan led off with a single & John Milner then walked. Joe Torre then was the hero of the day, as he singled home the walk off game winning run to beat the Phillies 2-1. The rest of his month did not go as well & as he finished off April batting .158 with just five RBIs.

On May 12th, he drove in all three runs, as Jon Matlack shut out the San Francisco Giants 3-0 at Shea Stadium. With the bases loades in the 7th inning, Torre cleared the bases, with a off Gary Lavalle. He was thrown at third base trying to stretch it into a triple. He had hit just three triples over the past two seasons. In mid May he was still hitting under .200, then had a big four hit day in Cincinnati which got him fired up. On May 20th, he had a four hit, three RBI day at Riverfront Stadium, adding a two run HR off Don Gullett as the Mets beat the Reds 6-2. He went on a 16 game hitting streak in June, raising his average over .280.

One June 8th, he did hit a triple, sliding into third & being safe this time. He drove in three runs with four hits, against his old Atlanta Braves team mates. On July 17th, he broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the 8th inning, with a game winning HR off the Braves Tom House leading to a 4-3 win. On July 20th he helped fuel a Mets come from behind three run 8th inning rally at Shea Stadium. Torre's single scored Felix Millan bringing the Mets to within a run. In the next at bat Dave Kingman hit a two run HR leading to the win.

On August 16th he hit a two run HR leading the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Giants at Shea Stadium, it was his last HR of the year. Injuries nagged him as he missed a week of action in each of the next two months.

Double Play Record: Joe Torre hit into 22 double plays that season (second most in the league). On July 21st, he set an MLB record by grounding into four double plays in a single game. Felix Millan had singled in each prior at bat, as went 4-4 on the night.

After the game Torre told the press “I'd like to thank Felix Millán for making all of this possible." In his career the slow footed Torre grounded into 284 double plays (14th most all time) & led the league in that category three times.

On the 1975 season he hit.247 with six HRs, 16 doubles, three triples, 37 RBIs & a .317 on base %. At third base in 83 games he made eleven errors posting a .950 fielding %. Torre also saw action in 24 games at first base.

He rebounded in 1976, raising his average sixty points playing in 114 games. He was the only Met to bat over .300 hitting .306, with five HRs ten doubles 31 RBIs & a .358 on base %. He shared time at first base (78 games) with Ed Kranepool who also had a good year batting .292.

That season Mets Manager Joe Frazier, gave rookie; Roy Staiger the third base position. Frazier had Staiger as his main short stop in the minor leagues. He would only hit .220 with two HRs and never made it as the team's third baseman. The Mets finished the bicentennial year at 86-76, in third place & one of only five NL Teams to finish over the .500 mark.

On Tom Seavers Opening Day 1-0 shut out, Torre was the Mets first baseman, batting third. In May Torre had an eight game hit streak, highlighted by a two run HR in Cincinnati on May 16th, helping the Mets to a 7-5 win, in the first game of a double header.

On June 1st he hit a pair of solo HRs against the Pittsburgh Pirates but the Mets still lost the game 3-2. Torre ended that week batting .339 among the league's best, but fell to .299 by the All Star break.

Upon his return he got hot again; from July 27th through August 5th, he drove in runs in seven of ten games. He drove in runs in four straight games, leading to a seven game team win streak. On August 14th Torre & Staiger both singled, driving in runs helping Nino Espinosa beat future Met Pat Zachary & the Big Red Machine 2-1. He got his average up over .300 again going into September. On September 14th he hit a two run HR, off Jim Rooker helping the Mets to a 4-3 win over the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. He played just a dozen games that month due to injury.

On Opening Day 1977 at Wrigley Field, Torre had two hits including a top of the 9th inning double which scored Bruce Boisclair & Dave Kingman with the winning runs in the 8-6 Mets win over the Cubs. On April 13th, he hit what turned out to be his last career HR, it came off St. Louis veteran Clay Carroll, & his old Cardinals team mates in a 7-3 loss at Shea Stadium.

In his Mets career Torre played in 254 games batting .267 with 193 hits 12 HRs 29 doubles 6 triples & 75 RBIs posting a .327 on base %.

In his total playing career he played in 2209 games (130th all time) with a .297 batting average (244th all time) 2342 hits (130th all time) 344 doubles, 59 triples 252 HRs (201st all time) 1185 RBIs (156th all time) & a .365 on base %. His 127 intentional walks are 72nd all time & his 655 extra base hits 221st all time.

In his career Torre played on nine All Star teams, won an MVP Award & a Hutch Award. He also led the league defensively in at least one category at three different positions. He played ten seasons as catcher (903 games) leading the league in fielding twice, caught stealing & percentage of throwing out base runners one time each.

He played 14 seasons at first base (787 games) leading the league in assists in 1974 & eight seasons at third base (515 games) leading the league in games & put outs in 1971.                         

Remembering Former Mets Manager Joe Torre: Upon His Hall of Fame Election (Part Two- Manager)

At the end of May 1977, the Mets were in last place & the organization was changing for the worst. The team fired manager Joe Frazier after posting a 15-30 record. They named Joe Torre, the eighth manager in Mets history & the first player / manager the club ever saw. He was also one of the last player/ managers, the third of the seventies. Pete Rose would be a player / manager with the Reds in the eighties.

After 18 days & playing in three games with two official at bats, he chose to retire from playing as to focus 100% on managing. The fact that he wasn’t hitting helped make his decision easier, after 26 games he was only batting .176 with one HR & 9 RBIs.

Manager: Torre began his tenure as Mets manager on Tuesday May 31st, 1977 at Shea Stadium in front of 6, 500 fans. That night the Mets beat the Montreal Expos 6-2 with Craig Swan earning the win, Bob Apodaca earning the save & John Milner driving in three runs.

The Mets won the first three games of Torre’s managerial career & went 6-1 in his first week. But after that it all went downhill, as his managing career didn’t start out as well as it went later on in his life.

In his early days he actually wasn’t all that good at managerial decisions, always playing the percentages and sacrificing way too much. In all fairness to him, the Mets were falling apart at the time. Tom Seaver was unhappy & was traded in July. The team (mainly Donald Grant) chose not to go after any of the high price free agents, who were now on the open market. Any players who were actually left from their pennant season of 1973 were now aging.

Torre’s 1977 Mets finished in last place, 37 games back of the Phillies, going 49-69 under his leadership. The woeful team finished last in hits, runs, HRs, batting average, on base % & slugging. He would finish last again in 1978 with a record of 66-96 (24 games back). The once awesome Mets pitching staff just four short years ago, now led the league in losses.

In 1979 they were no better going 63-99 finishing in last place, 35 games behind the Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. That season the Mets finished 11th in a field of twelve in HRs (74) on base % (.313) & runs scored with 593. The Mets improved to fifth place in 1980 going 69-95, but still 24 games out of first place.

The Mets hit just 61 HRs, last in the league & hit .257 (8th in the NL). The 1981 season was split due to the players strike, Torre’s Mets finished fifth in the first half (17-34) and fourth in the second half of the season (24-28).

By 1982 new ownership had taken over the team, as Nelson Doubleday & Fred Wilpon bought the team. They hired General Manager Frank Cashen & he began to make changes. Torre was one of the first to go, getting fired and being replaced by George Bamberger for the 1982 season. He had been the long time pitching coach for the Orioles strong staffs, under Cashen in Baltimore.

In his five years as Mets manager; Joe Torre was 286-420 with a .405 winning %. He finished last in his first three seasons, then fifth in his next season. In the strike shortened '81 season he finished fifth & fourth. 

Up to this point in time Rube Walker was still the team’s pitching coach, in his 14th year in that position. Joe Pignatano also had been around coaching with the Mets, since the days of Gil Hodges. Torre took his two loyal coaches with him to Atlanta when he landed a job as the Braves manager in 1982.

Moving to the Atlanta Braves the following season, he started out strong going 13-0 & had everybody talking about the hot start. He finished the year 89-73 winning the Western Division, the clubs first title since divisional play began in 1969 & Atlanta lost to the Amazing Mets. The Braves lost the 1982 NLCS getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The following season the Braves finished in second place but had their first consecutive winning seasons since moving from Milwaukee in 1966. In 1984 they fell to near .500 going 82-80 & Torre was fired. From there he went on to become a popular California Angel’s broadcaster from 1985-1990.

In August 1990, Torre returned to the dug out to manage another of his former teams, the St. Louis Cardinals. He took over for interim manager Red Schoendienst, who had filled in after Whitey Herzog had resigned. Torre guided St. Louis to a respectable 84-78 finish in 1991, good enough for a second place finish behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL East.

The team was 83-79 the following year and 87-75 in 1993, finishing third both times. In 1994 the league was divided into new divisions & the Cards tied for third place with a 53-61 record. In 1995 after a 20-27 start to the season he was let go as former Met; Mike Jorgensen took over the helm.

The AL New York club had finished second under Buck Showalter in 1995, but he was forced out by a the owner. Torre was hired to lead the club & was happy to get a chance to return home to the New York area. At first people raised their eyebrows & called him clueless Joe. But soon he proved them wrong, winning four World Series, six pennants & two Manger of the Year Awards in his twelve year run in the Bronx.

At the end of his run he was being criticized by management & the media who weren’t happy watching the rival Red Sox winning World Series. Torre was quickly hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as their manager for the 2008 season.

He finished first that year, in first place beating the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. The Dodgers lost the NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies. Torre's Dodgers finished first again in 2009 beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS in a sweep. But once again, they fell short to Philadelphia in the NLCS four games to one. After a 2010 season, not making the post season Torre retired. 

Beginning in 2011 he served as MLB Vice President of Baseball Operations. He left the position in 2012 to join a group who were bidding to buy out the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers. After the group bowed out, Torre returned to his MLB position. In his career he has managed 29 years, for five teams going 4329-2326 with a .538 winning %.

Family: Torre has been married three times & has four children. His brother Frank played first base for the Milwaukee Braves from 1956-1960 winning two pennants & one World Series title. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1962-1963, batting .273 lifetime with 404 hits 13 HRs 78 doubles & 179 RBIs.

Another Torre brother was a New York police officer & their sister was a Catholic Nun & principal of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Ozone Park, Queens NY. Torre also has an interest in horse racing, and owns shares of several horses, some who have competed in the Kentucky Derby.

On December 9th 2013 it was announced that he along with Tony LaRussa & Bobby Cox were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the expansion era committee.

1973 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Player: Teddy Martinez (1971-1974)

Teodoro Noel Martinez was born on December 10, 1947 in Barahona, Dominican Republic. The slim six foot infielder was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Mets in 1966 at the age of 19. At A ball in 1968, he hit over .300 and played a solid defensive infield. By 1970 he was hitting .306 with 13 stolen bases at AAA Tidewater, and posting a .966 fielding %.

Martinez made his MLB debut on July 18th 1971 playing second base & batting 8th in a game against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. He stayed up for a brief four games that week, getting one hit in 16 at bats. He hit .297 at AAA Tidewater in 1971, as the clubs main second baseman. That July he got another call up filling in mostly at shortstop that month. He hit safely in his first four games, with another four game streak at the end of the month.

He hit his first career HR on September 7th against Nelson Briles of that seasons world champion Pittsburgh Pirates. He managed to get into over 90 games in each of the next three seasons as a utility middle infielder, also playing some outfield. In 38 games he hit .288 with 10 RBIs six stolen bases & 16 runs scored.

In 1972 he made the Mets Opening Day roster, and would see action in 102 games as a utility infielder. On May 5th his 14th inning single drove home the winning run against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving the Mets a walk off win keeping them in first place at that time. On May 18th his 1st inning triple scored Willie Mays & then after an error at home plate , Martinez himself scampered home. The Mets would win the game 2-0.

In late September he had one of his biggest offensive days of the year, gathering up three hits with two RBIs in a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. On October 1st he ended his season by hitting a surprise three run HR off the Pirates Bob Miller in a 7-3 Mets win at Three River Stadium.

The speedy Martinez, led the Mets in triples (5) & was third in stole bases (7). Martinez batted .228 hitting a HR five doubles and driving in 19 runs. Martinez posted a .994 fielding percentage at second base in 47 games, making one error turning nine double plays. He played 42 games at short posting a .983 %, making just three errors in 175 chances. The versatile Martinez even played 15 games in the outfield as well.

In 1973 the Mets acquired the steady second baseman; Felix Millan who never missed any time, so Teddy only played behind Bud Harrelson at short. He filled in when Harrelson went down with an injury, that season missing some time. He would play in 44 games at short posting .941 fielding % making 11 errors in 187 chances, while turning 12 double plays. He also played in 21 games in the outfield when needed. 

He was in the middle of all the excitement on the second game of the season, even though he did not start the game. Martinez came in to run for Ed Kranepool, in the 9th inning of a 2-2 tie, after Eddie had singled against the Phillies Dick Selma (former Met). He advanced on a fielder's choice, then scored the game winning run on Willie Mays' base hit.

On June 27th in the first game of a double header, he doubled driving in a run in the Mets seven run third inning against the Phillies. The Mets barley held on winning 7-6. In the night cap his RBI sac fly was the only run the Mets scored in the 7-1 loss.

He saw a lot of action in August hitting safely in 13 of 22 games. He only saw action in seven games of the Mets incredible September stretch, but contributed on September 3rd with his biggest game of the year. With the Mets still 5 1/2 games out of first place in a tight race, Martinez led the team to victory with a four hit day. He drove in four runs in a Jerry Koosman 5-0 shutout over Steve Carlton & the Phillies at Shea Stadium. In that game Martinez hit his only HR of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning. He had come up twice with the bases loaded, (2nd inning & 5th inning) delivering both times with hits, including a double.

As all the Mets regulars got healthy in the final month, Martinez didn't see much playing time as the Mets went on a tear & won the Eastern Division. He did score two key runs in the final weeks of the season.

On September 9th in Pittsburgh, the Mets were down 4-1 to the first place Pirates, two & half games back. They came back with a big inning scoring five runs, led by a Wayne Garrett triple & RBI singles from Ron Hodges & Don Hahn. Martinez had come in to run for Hodges & scored what turned out to be the winning run.

On September 20th at Shea Stadium, in the game now known as "the ball off the wall game", he came in as a pinch runner after pinch hitter Jim Beachump singled off the first place Pirates, Jim Rooker. With the Mets down by a run, Wayne Garrett sacrificed Martinez over to second. He then scored on a Felix Millan base hit, tying the game.

The Pirates went ahead in the 9th but the Mets tied it up. In the 13th inning the Pirates Dave Augustine hit a ball that hit the top of the wall, came back in to Cleon Jones, who threw to Wayne Garrett who threw home to catcher Ron Hodges & nailed Richie Zisk trying to score. Hodges won it with a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the 13th.

He played in 92 games overall, batting .255 with 67 hits, 11 doubles, 14 RBIs & five stolen bases. In the World Series he made two appearances as a pinch runner against the Oakland A's.

In 1974 he appeared in a career high 116 games, 75 of them at shortstop for an injured Bud Harrelson. He posted a .952 fielding % making 17 errors with a career high 32 double plays turned. He also played at second (11 games) third (12 games) & in the outfield (10 games) also filling in as a pinch hitter. Early in the season in May, he had a stretch where he drove in two runs in a game four times in nine games.

On July 7th, he led the offense in Tom Seaver's three hit shutout in San Francisco. Martinez had three hits & drove in four of the Mets runs.

On July 28th he had a three RBI day, including a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 8th inning, scoring two runs in the Mets 4-1 win over the Montreal Expos. He helped an August 26th come comeback with a pinch hit RBI double against the Houston Astros in the 9th inning. He then scored the tying run on Felix Millan's base hit & Rusty Staub won it walk off style with another single scoring Bud Harrelson.

Teddy again led the team in triples with seven, batting .219 with a career high two HRs, 15 doubles 14 walks and 43 RBIs. That winter the Mets traded him to the St. Louis Cards in order to get two players, outfielder Mike Vail & infielder Jack Heidemann.

After batting only .190 in 19 games he was traded to the Oakland A's batting .172 for the AL Western Champions. Martinez saw action in 45 games behind Bert Campaneris & 31 games behind Phil Garner & 14 games behind Sal Bando playing a superb defense. He made three appearances in the ALCS losing to the Boston Red Sox as the A’s Dynasty reign ended.

He spent 1976 in the minors then got picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers for 1977 as a utility infielder winning two straight NL pennants. On August 21st, 1977 he tied a NL second baseman record, turning five double plays in a game. He hit a career high .299 in 67 games that season and batted .255 the next year in 1978 in 54 games. He did not appear in any of the post season games either year. Martinez played one more year in Los Angeles, finishing up his nine season career in 1979.

Overall he played in 657 games, batting .240, with 355 Hits, 50 Doubles, 16 Triples, 7 HRs, 108 RBI, 29 Stolen Bases, scoring 165 Runs and a .270 on base %. At short he posted a .956 fielding % in 282 games turning 102 double plays, making 46 errors in 1038 chances. At second he posted a .994% in 168 games. In his Mets career he played in 353 games.

Retirement: After his playing days he has been a long time hitting coach for the Sinon Bulls, now in the Dodgers organization.

Today In Mets History: Ted Martinez's Big Night - Four Hits & Four RBIs

September 3, 1973: The 1973 Mets were on the verge on an incredible historic September run. At this point they were still in fifth place, but only 5 1/2 games out of first place. But their was still four other teams to jump over in that run, which was not an easy task. For the remainder of September 1973 the Mets would go 18-6 winning 18 of 24 games.

On September 3, 1973 The Met went up against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium. The Met bats were asleep on this night of except for utility infielder Teddy Martinez, inserted in the line up as the nights third baseman.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Martinez came to bat with the bases loaded against Steve Carlton. He stepped in & singled driving in Rusty Staub with his first RBI of the night.

In the bottom of the 4th, Martinez hit his only HR of the season (he only hit seven HRs in 1480 career at bats) it was a solo shot also coming off Carlton.

In the 5th inning; the bases were loaded again for Martinez, coming up against Carlton. He then doubled to right field scoring Cleon Jones & Rusty Staub.

Staub had two hits and scored two runs on the night. Martinez topped off his night with a single in the 8th inning, finishing up with four hits, a HR & four RBIs. On the 1973 season Martinez hit .255 with 1 HR, 11 doubles & 14 RBIs in 263 at bats.

Jerry Koosman pitched the complete game shutout allowing seven hits, with three walks & four strikeouts.

Mid 2000's Mets Outfielder: Victor Diaz (2004-2006)

Victor Israel Diaz was born on December 10th, 1981 in Santo Domingo Dominican Republic. The six foot right hand hitting outfielder was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000 in the 37th round.

In the minor leagues he stole bases & hit for some power which had people calling him the five tooled player. Early on, he stole over twenty bases in 2002 & then 15 more the next year. In July of 2003 he came over to the New York Mets organization in exchange for Jeromy Burnitz.

At AA Binghamton he .354 with six HR in 45 games making a big impression. In 2004 he was promoted to AAA Norfolk where he hit .292 leading the Tides with 24 HRs 94 RBIs stealing just six bases. It was all people needed to see, as he was already getting anoited the outfielder of the Mets future.

He was brought up on September 11th 2004 in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium. Diaz walked in his first at bat & then later doubled driving in two runs in the Mets, although the Mets lost 11-9. On September 23rd he hit his first career HR, it came in Montreal in a 4-2 Met win over the Expos .

A later in the week hit his second HR in a game at Atlanta. Overall in his debut, he batted.294 with three HRs & eight RBIs in 15 games.

In 2005 he began the season with the Mets, getting three hits in the second game of the season in Cincinnati. On April 19th he hit a pair of HRs driving in four runs in the Mets 16-4 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies. He stayed over .300 until the end of April. On May 4th he hit another HR against Randy Wolf & the Phillies leading to a Mets 3-2 win.

His average fell to .242 by the end of June & he was sent back to Norfolk AAA Norfolk. There he batted an even .300, hitting ten HRs in 42 games , getting the fans excited once again.

He returned in heroic fashion on August 12th, hitting two HRs in a 7-6 loss at Dodger Stadium. On August 25th he hit a two run HR in the top of the 9th inning off Brandon Medders in Arizona, breaking a 1-1 tie leading to a 3-1 Mets win. Through September he hit well enough to show promise for his future. The media was even dubbing him "Baby Manny" with expectations of him being a Manny Ramirez type player, unfortunately that did not work out.

The Mets had a good team in 2006 & Diaz found himself in the back ground only making it to six games with the NL East Champions. Meanwhile in the minors he batted just .20 with only six HRs in 106 games. At the end of August he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Mike Nickeas. Victor Diaz & all the hype were gone.

He played 37 games with the '07 Rangers batting .240 with 9 HRs & 25 RBIs. He was released that November. He signed with the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners & Baltimore Orioles in the next few years but never got back to the big leagues.

In a four year career he batted .256 with 114 hits 24 HRs 25 doubles six stolen bases 73 RBIs & a .309 on base % in 37 games. In 2012 he played in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons

Late Nineties Mets Reliever: Mel Rojas (1997-1998)

Melquiades Rojas was born on December 10, 1966 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He is a cousin of former Met Moises Alou and nephew to the famous Alou brothers, Felipe, Matty & Jesus.

The five foot eleven right hander was signed by his uncle one time Met; Jesus Alou, then a scout, in 1985 for the Montreal Expos. He began as a starting pitcher getting converted to a reliver on the minor leagues. In 1989 he was ranked as the 35th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

His bebut came  with the Montreal Expos in 1990, where he would spend seven seasons though 1996. He would play under manager Felipe Alou, his uncle & as a team mate to his cousin Moises. In 1992 he was used him in 62 games, with 100 innings pitched, as he went 7-1 with ten saves and posted a spectacular 1.43 ERA for the second place Expos.

In the strike shortened 1994 season, the Expos were in first place but no post season games were played. That yeat he recorded 16 saves (8th in the NL) with a 3.32 ERA. Over the next two seasons he recorded thirty plus saves, coming in the league's top ten in that department both seasons. 

He was as high as 5th in saves in the NL in 1996. The Expos were not going to able to sign him for money reasons going into 1997 and he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.

Things did not go well there as he found himself at 0-4 with a 4.42 ERA after 54 games. On August 8th 1997 he was traded with Brian McRae and Turk Wendell to the New York Mets for players to be named later and Lance Johnson. The Mets later sent Mark Clark and Manny Alexander to the Cubs to complete the trade.

Rojas did not do too well in New York either; in 1997 he went 0-2 with just two saves, allowing 15 earned runs in 26 innings. The next season-1998, although he went 5-2 with two saves in 50 appearances, but had an ERA of 6.02, allowing 39 runs in 58 innings.

As the Mets were improving under Bobby Valentine, so was their bull pen especially with Turk Wendell who also came over in the deal. Plus with the acquisition of Armando Benitez that winter, Rojas wasn't in the teams plans.

In November of 1998 the Mets traded him to the Dodgers for Bobby Bonilla. He bounced around to the L.A. Dodgers, Detroit Tigers & Montreal Expos in 1999 finishing his MLB career by the end of the season.

Lifetime in his ten year career he was 34-31 with a 3.82 ERA 562 strike outs, 254 walks and 126 saves (98th all time) in 525 appearances.

Retirement: In 2002 he was pitching in the Independent Atlantic League with the Nashua Pride making the Al Star team.

In 2004 he was with the Bridgeport Blue Fish . He is now a pitching coach in the San Diego Padre organization. His son Mel Rojas Jr. was a top pick for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010.

Mid to Late Seventies Mets Outfielder: Bruce Boisclair (1974-1979)

Bruce Armand Boisclair was born December 9, 1952 in Putnam, Connecticut. The tall slender six foot two, outfielder was drafted in the 20th round of the 1970 draft by the New York Mets. In 1972 he hit .348 at A ball Visalia, by far the best he average he ever hit for in his pro career. That season he also hit a minor league career high four HRs.

He was known for his base stealing as he stole 20 base at A ball Pompano Beach in 1971, followed by 16 more in 1972 with Visalia .In 1974 he played at AAA Tidewater, where he stole ten bases & batted .239 good enough to earn a September call up.

Boisclair made his MLB debut as a pinch runner, on September 11th, 1974 in a classic extra inning game. He entered the game as a pinch runner, in the 23rd inning of the Mets/ Cardinals marathon. He actually reached third base with two outs, but Cleon Jones flied out to end the inning. He went 3-12 that month and spent the next full season at AAA Tidewater where he hit .278 & stole 20 bases.

He returned to the Mets squad in the bicentennial year, making the club as a fourth outfielder. He took over Rusty Staub’s old uniform number 4, after Staub had been traded to the Detroit Tigers that off season. Boisclair had ten hits in an April stretch where he hit safely in seven of nine games.

On April 27th, the Mets came back from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the 9th inning in a game against the Atlanta Braves. After John Milner tied the game up, Boisclair won it with a walk off double off Pablo Torrealba. He didn't drive in another run for two months, but he hit well enough playing as a reserve to remain over .300 into late July. On July 15th he had a 7th inning pinch hit, RBI single off the Houston Astros J.R. Richard helping the Mets to a 3-1 win.

On August 15th he helped Jerry Koosman in his five hit shut out win against the World Champion Big Red Machine, by driving in the only run of the game. On August 28th he hit his first career HR coming off the Los Angeles Dodgers Rick Rhoden at Shea Stadium. He had another hot streak hitting safely in 16 of 20 games toward the end of the season.

On the season he hit a solid .287, with two HRs 13 doubles 13 RBIs 28 walks & a .350 on base % playing in 110 games with 286 at bats. The tall Boisclair still had his speed, and led the slow footed Met team with nine stolen bases.

Showing some promise for a good future, he returned next year starting out April hitting safely in 9 of 11 games. He drove in three runs against the Chicago Cubs on April 17th, in one of Tom Seaver's last wins in a Mets uniform, a 6-0 shutout. Boisclair went on a hot streak, driving in a total of ten runs in his next eight games. He was batting .364 at the end of April but in May fell off to .286 driving in just one run all month.

He had two more three hit games the week of May 21st & was consistent throughout the year when he played. On June 15th, the night Tom Seaver was traded away in "The Midnight Massacre" Boisclair hit a two run HR, at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in the Mets 6-5 win.

On August 22nd he drove in both runs of a Mets 2-1 win over J.R. Richard & the Houston Astros. In September he drove in 14 runs and kept his season average up near .300 & had six multi hit games. In the last week of the season he drove in runs in five of seven games. On the season he hit a career best .293 in 307 at bats. He also had career highs in on base (.359 %) doubles (21) RBIs (44) & hits (90) while leading the team in sacrifice hits as well.

In 1978 he began the year in hitting a two run HR in the third game of the season, in a tight 6-5 win over the Montreal Expos. On April 19th, he drove in both runs of a 2-0 Pat Zachary shut out against the Cardinals in St. Louis. ON May 8th he drove in the winning run off Pedro Borbon in the top of the 10th inning at Cincinnati, scoring Lenny Randle. At the end of May he drove in runs in three straight games, including hitting a three run HR in the first game if a May 29th double header.

Bruce’s career soon took a nose dive, he only drove in four runs in the last four months of the season & his batting average plummeted to. 224 on the season.

In 1978 he played in 107 games (214 at bats) with 4 HRs 7 doubles 15 RBIs & a .293 on base %. By 1979 he only played in 59 games partly due to July injuries & partly due to his .184 batting average.

In 98 at bats he had six extra base hits with four RBIs & a poor .210 on base %. He was released at the start of the 1980 season, and then went to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers.

He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays but never resurfaced in the majors again. He finished his brief five season career with a .263 lifetime average, 241 hits 10 HRs 47 doubles 6 triples 18 stolen bases a .324 on base % & 77 RBIs in 410 games played.