The 2015 Mets pitching led the way most of the early part of the year, as the team had problems scoring runs. But Mets kept hanging in there. Then came July, the Mets brought up Michael Conforto who was tearing up the minor leagues, he solidified the left field position almost immediately.
Early in the season they had brought up Noah Syndergaard & later in the year Steven Matz. It was like the Mets were pulling rabbits out of a hat!
The trade deadline first brought veterans Kelly Johnson & Juan Uribe who helped the infield troubles & gave the bench more depth. Then they added Tyler Clippard to the bullpen & was quickly the 8th inning guy. They later added Addison Reed as well.
And of course there was the best trade they never made, not acquiring Carlos Gomez. That night Wilmer Flores shed tears on the field thinking he was getting traded. It didn't happen & Wilmer showed everyone how much he wanted to be a part of what was happening with the Mets.
Then GM Sandy Alderson landed the big one, he added one the games best all around players as in Yoenis Cespedes, who had one of the best August any Mets ever had. The Mets then put it all together, they were confident, they played as a team, everyone, everyone, pitched in.
The Mets won 33 of 50 games after August 1st, they swept their one time NL East rival Washington Nationals twice, showing they were for real. The Mets were the 2015 NL Eastern Champions. It was the sixth NL Eastern Title for the Mets in the clubs history.
September 26th 2015: Terry Collins first place New York Mets (87-67) had the Champagne ready in the visiting clubhouse of the Great American Ballpark, as the Mets took on the Reds needing just one more win to clinch the NL East title.
Matt Harvey (12-7) took the mound for the Mets, with 176 innings for the season under his belt, just shy of the controversial 180 inning limit upon him. It was Harvey's first start since tossing five shut out innings against the AL New York team last week. An unhappy Manager had to remove him due to the decision & controversy surrounding that innings limit.
But today Harvey exceeded the short inning expectations by throwing 6.2 innings of baseball, he allowed two runs on nine hits, struck out six & walked no one. He easily earned his 13th win of the season on a day he later called "the best day of his career".
The Mets offense made it easy right off the bat, literally. In the top of the 1st, walks to David Wright & Travis d'Arnaud plus a base hit by Daniel Murphy loaded the bases for the Mets latest hot hitter; Lucas Duda.
Duda hit his third HR in less than 24 HRs as he blasted his first career grand slam to right field, putting the NL East Champs up 4-0. It was Duda's 25th HR of the year & he now has 70 RBIs, both team leading numbers, with the exception of Yoenis Cespedes. (Cespedes did not arrive in New York until August 1st so most of his stats were from when he was in the AL).
In the 2nd, Curtis Granderson who put together a fine season in the lead off spot, added a solo HR matching Duda with 25 on the season. In the 3rd, a Michael Cuddyer two run double scored Daniel Murphy & Lucas Duda to make it 7-0 Mets.
In the visiting 9th, Kelly Johnson & Granderson both singled. Captain David Wright topped off the afternoon with a three run HR sealing the 10-2 Mets win & sealing the NL Eastern Championship.
The Mets celebrated in the clubhouse & later poured onto the field then acknowledged the Mets fans in the stands in Cincinnati. It was quite a day, with a Happy recap!!
Quotes: David Wright- "I can't be more excited or more proud to wear the orange and blue, I bleed orange and blue. To be able to celebrate with these fans, this city, this team, is a privilege. You just can't help but smile. For the last few months, I've tried to enjoy this as much as possible, soak this in. This is a surreal feeling."
For Mets Manager Terry Collins, he's headed to the post season for the first time: "It's worth all the time, all the effort, all the things you do — this is the culmination of it all. We're going to have a little fun tonight and relax tomorrow. Right now we have to go get home field advantage, that's next."
"Certainly when we went out and got Juan and Kelly, the attitude in here changed. All of a sudden guys said: 'You know what? The organization went out and did something because they think we're going to win this.' And I think it changed the entire outlook in the clubhouse."
GM Sandy Alderson: "It's gratifying to see it come together. You never quite know when it's going to happen. But you have to have faith in your approach and what you're trying to do, and confidence that it will eventually work out. And all you can do is sort of enhance the probabilities."
Matt Harvey: "For all the stuff that people have said, the last thing I ever want to do is put the ball down. We're on our way to October. I'm going to be out there and I'm going to be fighting every time I get the ball."
Even the Nationals Bryce Harper had something classy to say: "They did a great job this year and they're doing it. Coming from the East, I hope they win it all."
This one is for us the life long fans, the broadcasters especially Gary, Howie, Keith & Ronnie, the players who have been here a while Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Neise & Captain David Wright!! Way to go guys & Thanks!
Sunday September 26th 1971: Gil Hodges third place Mets (82-77) were not making the post season after another good season, but they were still going to give the fans some thrills. Their pitching star; "The Franchise" Tom Seaver, was having another outstanding season.
Seaver (18-10) was taking on Steve Blass (15-7) of Danny Murtaugh's first place & eventual World Champion, Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 30,519 at Shea Stadium.
By now the Mets offense had provided Seaver with three runs. In the 1st, Ken Singleton & Cleon Jones both singled. Don Clendenon singled as well bringing in the 1st Mets run. In the home 5th, Seaver walked & advanced on a sacrifice. Cleon Jones brought him in with a base hit & Tommie Agee followed with another RBI hit making it 3-0.
As Seaver took the mound in the 7th, he received a big ovation. The perfect game was ruined when he walked Dave Cash. Then Vic Davalillo spoiled the no hit bid with a single to right field.
The crowd gave Seaver a standing ovation & he went back to work. Al Oliver hit an RBI sac fly to centerfield making it 3-1.
That would be it, Seaver would finish out the game with a one hitter, his third career one hit game for the Mets & the eighth one hitter in Mets history. Seaver struck out ten & walked one inthe 3-1 win, earning his 19th win of the year.
Thursday September 30th 1971: On the last day of the season, Tom Seaver went out & got his 20th win of the season, in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals (90-72).
The Mets (83-79) hosted the Cards in front of 42,344 at Shea Stadium in an 8:05 evening start.
With the Mets eliminated from the post season, the fans came out not only to show appreciation for the club but for their love of Tom Seaver. Every time Seaver took the mound something special could happen & tonight they wanted to witness him win #20.
Seaver's fastball was blazing once again tonight, he struck out two Cards in the 1st & three in the 2nd inning. In the 4th he struck out two more & had a strike out in every inning except the 6th & 9th innings.
He would finish with 13 Ks on the night, going into double figures in strike outs for the 13th time on the season.
He would finsih the year with a career high 289 strike outs, leading the NL for the second straight year. He would also lead the league in ERA with a 1.76 average, his second straight ERA title as well.
The 20th win was the second time he reached that mark in his young career as well.
The Mets offense was powered by Ken Singleton who hit two HRs, a 5th inning solo shot & a 6th inning three run blast, his 13th of the year. Young Tim Foli also had two RBIs with a bases loaded single in the 6th.
Douglas Randall Sisk was born September 26, 1957 at Renton Washington. Sisk grew up a Mets fan, saying he could tell everyone in Washington State the rosters of the 1969 & 1973 Mets as a teenager.
The six foot two right hander attended Washington State University & was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1980. After one season as a started he was converted to a full time reliever at A ball Lynchburg in 1981.
In 1982 at AA Jackson, Sisk went 11-7 with five saves, posting a 2.67 ERA getting a call up to the Mets staff in September of that year.
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He made his debut on September 6th 1982, closing out a game against the Pirates at Pittsburgh in a 6-1 Mets loss.
On September 15th after pitching three scoreless innings in relief, he served up a walk off HR to Andre Dawson in Montreal, earning his first career loss. In eight appearances he went 0-1 with a save, allowing just the one run, posting a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched.
On Opening Day 1983, Tom Seaver, returned to Shea Stadium with the Mets pitching six scoreless innings against the Phillies & Steve Carlton. It was just like the old days with the two future Hall of Famers going at it.
For Sisk it was a dream come true, relieving the great Tom Seaver. Sisk came in relief & was the winning pitcher of record as Mike Howard (who only played that one game for the 1983 Mets) drove in a run along with Brian Giles, as the Mets won it 2-0.
In July he earned another win, it came against the Houston Astros at Shea, benefiting from a Daryl Strawberry 8th inning HR. That month he also blew two games, one against the Phillies, one against the Braves. He had the chance of winning both games.
On the season, Sisk appeared in 67 games, which was a Mets single season record at the time. He pitched a career high 104 innings, going 5-4 with 11 saves (second on the club to Jesse Orosco’s 17 saves) posting a 2.24 ERA. His good sinkerball had him only allow one HR all season.
In fact in his career he only allowed 15 HRs in 523 innings pitched. Sisk’s problem were always walks, in 1983 he walked 59 batters while only striking out 33.
In 1984 Sisk started out the year saving the second & fifth games of the season. In June he was spectacular, saving six games & getting credit for one hold. In the month he allowed just one earned run in 21 innings of work. Overall he had a good first half, at the All Star break he was 1-1 with 13 saves and a 0.62 ERA.
At the end of July, he had a two rough outings against the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium during the pennant race. A week later in Chicago he allowed two runs over three innings earning no decision in the loss. He was then sidelined on the DL for the rest of the month & only made five more appearances all year.
On the season he was second to Jesse Orosco in saves with 15, going 1-3 with 6 holds & a 2.09 ERA. Sisk walked 54 batters in 77 innings with only 32 strike outs.
His walks began to irk the Mets fans & manager Davey Johnson. Soon with the emergence of Roger McDowell, Sisk became the long man eating up innings in games where the Mets were either ahead by a lot or behind by a lot.
Shea Boo Birds: He became the target of the Shea boo birds, especially after George Foster was dismissed in 1986. The fans needed someone to pick on, even though the team was winning.
In September 1985, the Mets played a crucial series at Shea Stadium against the first place Chicago Cubs. On the first night of the series, Dwight Gooden pitched a 10-0 one hit shut out.
The next night the Mets were down 2-0 when Sisk came in & gave up two more runs. He exited to boos & from that day on it was nothing but a bad relationship with the fans. He received death threats & even had a fan pull a fake gun on him.
He once received a prescription in the mail for cyanide, telling him to take it often in big doses. One night he was being followed home & instead of going home, went to a Long Island bar where he knew the people. There the followers got a surprise & took a beating themselves.
In Erik Sherman's book "Kings of Queens'' Sisk said he resented the fact that he was booed so badly in 1985 & Keith Hernandez came out of the Pittsburgh drug trials with immunity getting a standing ovation from the crown upon his return.
In 1985 Sisk was 4-5 with just two saves, posting a 5.30 ERA, walking 40 batters, striking out 26 in 72 innings in 42 appearances. It was eventually found out that he had bone chips in his elbow which affected his pitching.
Trivia: Sisk, Jesse Orosco & Danny Heep were some heavy drinking party guys during the mid eighties Mets years. Their antics earned them the name- "the scum bunch".
In 1986 he went unnoticed but actually rebounded to
Overall in the Mets Championship season, he made 41 appearances with 70 innings pitched.. He walked 31 batters & struck out 31, which was certainly an improvement from the past year.
1986 Post Season: He got to appear in one game of the NLCS & one game of the World Series, pitching an inning of mop up work each time, both in Met losses. He allowed a walk in each appearance earning no decisions.
In the 1987 season he made 55 appearances going 3-1 while lowering his walks to just 22 in 78 innings pitched.
That December, after requesting a trade to GM Frank Cashen his wishes were granted as he was sent to the Baltimore Orioles for Blaine Beatty. Beatty would pitch in just seven games over two seasons for the Mets.
Sisk went 3-3 in Baltimore then moved to the Atlanta Braves pitching in only 17 games over two seasons, retiring in 1991.
In his nine year career, he was 22-20 with 33 saves, 267 walks, 195 strikeouts & a 3.27 ERA in 523 inning appearing in 332 games.
Retirement: After baseball he became a coach at the Lakewood Washington Boys & Girls club.
He then began to sell fine wines working for a wine distributor.
Family: Doug & his wife have been married over thirty years & have three grown children together.
September 25th 2015: In the Nations Capitol, the cast of Bryce Harper, Jason Werth & the rest of the Washington Nationals continued to help the Mets playoff run as they lost their fourth straight.
The Nats were just one game from being eliminated in the 2015 season & were now fighting to stay above .500 as they look up at the Mets 8 1/2 first place lead.
In Cincinnati Terry Collins first place Mets, Noah Syndergaard rolled along showing top form for seven innings, as he shut out the Reds allowing just three hits while striking out 11. It was the third time this season Syndergaard had double figures in strike outs. In the 8th he served up a two run HR, leaving the game with a 12-2 lead. He also drove in the games first run.
Lucas Duda had the biggest night of Mets batters & one of the biggest nights of his career. Duda had a pair of three run HRs with six RBIs (giving him 66 on the year).
In the 3rd inning, Daniel Murphy doubles & Yoenis Cespedes singled putting two men aboard for Duda. He hit the first of his two run HRs #23 on the year for him. In the 7th with the Mets up 4-0, Duda came up with David Wright on board & Murphy who had just singled in Curtis Granderson. Duda hit his second three run HR of the night putting New York up 9-0.
Curtis Granderson, the team leader in hits, was right behind him with a four RBI night (68) including his 24th HR & 31st double.
Daniel Murphy added his team leading 37th double & 70th RBI as well. (Yoenis Cespedes total numbers are higher but he joined the club on August 1st.)
After Syndergaard left, a rag tag Mets bullpen of Eric O'Flaherty (0 innings 1 hit 1 run) Bobby Parnell (0.1 innings 1 run 3 hits) & Tim Stauffer (0.2 innings 1 run 2 hits) got it to Hansel Robles who finally got the final out.
Sunday September 25th 2016: With a tired bullpen to go along with a battered rotation the Mets got what they needed from the young Robert Gsellman, seven shut out innings where he allowed just three hits & struck out his season high eight batters.
He also retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. He even got his first MLB hit when he bunted safely in the 3rd inning.
Quotes: Terry Collins- We needed one of those. Our bullpen was shot. So it was nice to be able to have comfortable innings at the end of the game."
This was the day after a tough 10-8 loss on Saturday night, where they just fell short coming from ten runs down & on the day after the tragic death of Miami Marlin's young pitcher Jose Fernandez. Both teams lined up before the game to honor the pitcher & Yoenis Cespedes taped a Mets jersey with Fernandez name & number on the back in the team's dug out.
In the 2nd inning, James Loney drove in Jay Bruce with the Mets first run. In the 4th Curtis Granderson hit his 30th HR of the season, a solo shot giving him 56 RBI's. The all time season low for least RBI's with 30 or more HRs is 64.
Hopefully he will not set the record as the Mets need a hot week from him to close out the season. Since August 30th he has hit 10 HRs with 20 RBIS.
Later that inning the Phillies helped out when Jake Thompson walked Jose Reyes with the bases loaded.
In the wacky 5th inning, the Phils helped out again, walking Yoenis Cespedes & Curtis Granderson. Jay Bruce just missed a HR but it ended up being a long single, loading up the bases. Next T.J. Riveria singled bringing in Cespedes. Next the Phillies, Phil Klein hit Rene Riveria on the wrist with a pitch scoring Granderson.
Then Colton Murray threw a wild pitch to score Bruce. The batter was Jose Reyes, in the 7th he again walked with the bases loaded to make it 7-0 Mets.
The big blow came when Asdrubal Cabrera hit his third career grand slam, way over the right field fence to give the Mets an 11-0 lead. It was Cabrera's 23rd HR of the season, two shy of his career high.
The Mets weren't done yet, they plated six more runs in the 8th inning closing out the last regular season game of the season with a season high 17 runs.
Gavin Cecchini led off getting hit by a pitch. With two outs, Rene Riveria singled & Brandon Mimmo walked to load the bases. Jose Reyes who was in the middle of lost of scoring today, then doubled to left field bringing in two more runs. 13-0 Mets.
Eric Campbell came through with a pinch hit single bringing in Nimmo & Reyes making it 15-0. After Ty Kelly walked, Michael Conforto came in to pinch hit & delivered a double bringing in the final two runs.
As the Giants & Cards both loss the Mets once again took lead of the top wild card spot in the NL.
Quotes: Noah Syndergaard- "It really kind of sunk in today that it was the last regular-season homestand. I think you could tell the energy out there. But we don't want it to be the last game played here this season."
Hubert Brooks Jr. was born on September 24, 1956 in Los Angeles California. Brooks began his college days at Whittier College then moved on to be a star baseball player at the great baseball school of Arizona State University, in the late seventies. He played infield there on the 1977 NCAAA Championship team with future Atlanta Braves slugger Bob Horner, the 1978 number one draft pick overall.
The six foot right hand hitting Brooks, was the New York Mets first round draft choice (third pick overall) in that same 1978 draft. The infielder was a great curve ball hitter with good speed on the base paths.
He hit .305 in 1979 at AA with Jackson earning a late season promotion to the AAA level. He hit .297 with 14 stolen bases at AAA Tidewater in 1980 before getting a late season promotion to Shea Stadium. The Mets were desperate for some talent & Brooks became quick fan favorite.
Brooks made his debut at San Diego on September 3rd, batting in the 5th spot while playing at third base. At first he wore the uniform number 39 before taking over Ed Kranepool’s old uniform #7 which he became more familiar with. In his third career game he got two hits scoring his first run in a 8-7 loss to the Padres.
On October 4th he hit his first career HR in a 5-2 win at St. Louis, in the final four games of the year he dove in five runs. In 1980, Brooks had 25 hits in 81 at bats, batting .309 showing a lot of promise for the future.
On Opening Day 1981 Brooks got his first hit of the year & then had a three hit game on the second day of the season. In May he hit safely in 20 of 24 games bringing his average up to .340. He fell into a short slump and then the Players went on strike for the next two months.
When play resumed on August 10th, he had a fantastic week gathering 12 hits, with three HRs & seven RBIs. On August 11th he tied up a game in Chicago with an 8th inning sac fly. Later in the top of the 9th his double scored Ellis Valentine in what would be the game winning run. He drove in two more runs the next day at Wrigley Field as well.
On August 28th he doubled off Brooklyn Born Joe Sambito with the game winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning, to beat the Houston Astros. In September he had a ten game hit streak, including a four hit day on September 20th in a Shea game against the Cardinals. He closed out the year hitting safely in 13 of 15 games in mid September finishing the month of September with 14 RBIs.
In the 1981 strike shortened he did not disappoint batting .307 (8th in the league) with 21 doubles, posting the team’s best on base percentage (.345) and earning a spot on the Topps All Star Rookie team. He hit 4 HRs with 9 stolen bases 34 runs scored 2 triples & 38 RBIs in 98 games played. Brooks came in third behind Fernando Valenzuela & Tim Raines in the Rookie of the Year voting.
He was the Mets regular third baseman that season but led the NL in errors (21) at that position posting a .924 fielding %. He would make over 20 errors in each of the next four seasons, coming in the league's top three in errors three separate times.
In mid April 1982 he drove in five runs in a three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. On May 13th Brooks had a big three hit day against the reigning World Champion Dodgers in a game at Shea Stadium. He drove in all four runs of Pete Falcone & the Mets 4-2 win over Burt Hooton.
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Two days later he helped the Mets to a 6-5 over the Dodgers with a 5th inning bases loaded base hit off Dave Stewart, that scored all three runners. He closed out May with a four hit day at Shea in a game against the Astros. On June 9th he grounded out in the bottom of the 9th inning, but scored the game winning run off the Pirates Kent Tekulve in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Brooks missed over two weeks of action in June, with injury & then after a brief return missed three weeks in July.
He returned in August but never got back to top form the rest of the season. On October 1st Terry Leach & John Denny pitched nine scoreless innings against each other in a game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. In the top of the 10th Porfi Altamirano came in to relieve Denny allowing a walk to Dave Kingman & a single to Gary Rajsich. Brooks follwed with a base hit scoring the only run of the game in the 1-0 squeaker.
For the 1982 season his hitting fell off, dropping to a .249 average with two HRs 20 doubles a .315 on base % & 40 RBIs playing in 126 games.
By 1983 he would stay healthy & play in over 150 games for the Mets becoming a steady everyday player for the next two seasons. On May 6th in a game against the Reds at Shea Stadium, Brooks came in as a defensive replacement in the 10th inning. After the Reds went ahead, Brooks homered to tie the game leading the Mets to a 13th inning victory on George Fosters three run walk off HR.
On May 16th he drove in three runs at Pittsburgh in a big 11-4 Mets victory. He hit safely in 14 of 20 games that month & finished May with a game winning single against the Padres John Montefusco in San Diego.
On June 23rd Brooks hit a three run HR off Dave Von Ohlen & the St. Louis Cards, while driving in another run with a base hit, leading the Mets to a 7-5 win. On June 28th in St. Louis in the first game of a double header against the Cardinals, Brooks had a five hit day, including a double & RBI. in a 10-1 Met win.
On July 25th he helped the Mets rally from three runs down in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Atlanta Braves. Brooks drove in the first run of the inning, with a single off Steve Bedrosian & then scored the tying run on George Fosters double. Keith Hernandez also crossed the plate with the game winning run on that Foster double.
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On August 7th he had another four RBI day, it came in a three hit performance at Wrigley Field. In September he drove in runs in five straight games from the 15th through the 19th. On the last night of that stretch, he had a walk off game winning RBI single off the Pittsburgh Pirates closing ace Kent Tekulve.
On the season he hit .251 with 18 doubles 4 triples 5 HRs & 58 RBIs. Brooks stole just six bases, drew just 24 walks & posted a .284 on base. At third base he posted a .950 fielding percentage turning 25 double plays & making 21 errors. That season the Mets finished 6th (68-94) under managers George Bamberger & Frank Howard.
In 1984 the Mets were a much improved team as Davey Johnson took over as manager. The Mets would go on to win 90 games (90-72) finishing in second place, as young players like rookie sensation Dwight Gooden brought the Mets back into the spotlight.
Brooks had his best season with the Mets that year as well. He started out slow batting just .203 in the first month of the season, although he did hit three HRs & drove in eight runs.
Then in May he went on fire, he had a hit in every game he played in in that month. Brooks set a Mets record at the time with a 24 game hitting streak, passing Mike Vails’ old mark of 23 set in 1975. He was batting .306 when the streak ended in June & then he continued to hit safely in the next 8 of 11 games, having him hit safely in 32 of 35 games. He helped the Mets driving in key runs as well; on May 4th he & Keith Hernandez drove in the only two runs of Ron Darlings shut out against the Astros.
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On May 11th he drove in one of the two runs off Fernando Valenzuela, in Dwight Gooden's eleven strike out, four hit shutout in Los Angeles.
In June he remained hot keeping his average well above the .300 mark. In the middle of the month he drove in runs in eight of nine games & hit four HRs with five multi hit games.
On July 6th he hit a HR off the Reds Jeff Russel scoring the only run of the game helping Ron Darling to a 1-0 win. On July 20th he singled off the Reds Jay Tibbs breaking a 2-2 tie & giving Dwight Gooden a 3-2 win. Brooks would contribute with RBIs in three straight Mets one runs that week.
On a twelve game August home stand he had 19 hits, including seven games with two or more hits. In that stretch he hit three HRs & drove in 13 runs right in the heat of the summer's pennant race. That month he drove in 23 runs overall & scored 15 runs.
On August 8th he had a big four hit day scoring four runs , although the Mets lost to the Cubs at Wrigley Field 7-6. On August 13th he had a big three hit day, with a walk & four RBIs in the first game of a double header in San Francisco. Over the next 16 games Brooks would drive in at least one run in thirteen of those games. He began September with five hits in a double header sweep at Shea against the San Diego Padres. In that night cap he drove in three runs in the 10-6 Mets win. On September 9th he hit a three run HR leading the Mets to a 5-1 win over the Cubs at Shea Stadium.
On September 12th as rookie phenom Dwight Gooden broke the NL Rookie strikeout record, while striking out 16 Pittsburgh Pirates on a five hit shutout, it was Brooks who supplied the offense driving in both Mets runs. (ceterfieldmaz was in attendance that night).
Hubbie finished the year hitting 16 HRs, with 23 doubles, 73 RBIs, 61 runs scored and a .283 average. He had 45 games where he had more than one hit throughout the season. He almost doubled his base on balls as he drew a career high 48 walks raising his on base % to .341 %. He also played 26 games at short stop and was used as a pinch hitter by manager Davey Johnson.
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In the off season Brooks was the main chip in a blockbuster trade, going to Montreal along with along with catcher Mike Fitzgerald & Herm Winningham in exchange for Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.
In 1985 the Expos converted him to a full time short stop, & he became the first short stop since Ernie Banks to drive in 100 runs.
He was so valuable to his third place Expo team he came in 14th in the league's MVP voting. Brooks hit .269 with 13 HRs 34 doubles, 7 triples (9th in the NL) & 100 RBIs (6th in the NL) posting a .310 on base %.
In 1986 he had a great first half, batting .333 making his first of two straight All Star games. After the break he played in only five more games as an injury ended his fine season. He played in only 80 games batting .340 with 14 HRs 18 doubles & 58 RBIs.
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In 1988 he hit 20 HRs & drove in 90 runs (9th in the league), converting from a short stop to play the outfield. In his first year playing outfield he posted a .968 fielding % making nine errors.
He remained in Montreal through the 1989 season when he signed as a free agent in his home town of Los Angeles with the Dodgers.
In 1990 he won the Dodger fans over early on by hitting a game winning three HR on Opening Day. For the season Hubbie hit 20 HRs 28 doubles 90 RBIs & a .266 batting average. After just one season in L.A. he made a triumphant return to New York with the Mets in 1991 getting traded in exchange for Bobby Ojeda.
He only hit .238 and ended up being a huge disappointment like the rest of the’91 team that finished in fifth place. He hit 16 HRs & drove in 50 runs, with 11 doubles & a .238 batting average.
It was a brief stay, after that season he was sent to the California Angels for Dave Gallagher. In California he only hit .216 and went to the Kansas City Royals in 1993. There he improved to a .286 average playing in 75 games (168 at bats). Brooks retired after the 1994 baseball strike.
Trivia: At the time of his retirement, Brooks was the active player leader in games played (1645) without having been to the post season.
Brooks played 15 seasons batting .269 lifetime with 1608 hits 149 HRs, 290 doubles 31 triples 387 walks & 824 RBIs with a .315 on base %. With the glove he committed 90 errors playing at 516 games at third base, turning 80 double plays with a .936 on base %.
In the outfield he played 582 games making 35 errors with 32 assists & a .966 fielding %. Brooks also played 371 games at short stop, 13 games at first base & 7 games at second base.
Then GM Sandy Alderson landed the big one, he added one the games best all around players as in Yoenis Cespedes, who had one of the best August any Mets ever had. The Mets then put it all together, they were confident, they played as a team, everyone, everyone, pitched in.
September 26th 2015: Terry Collins first place New York Mets (87-67) had the Champagne ready in the visiting clubhouse of the Great American Ballpark, as the Mets took on the Reds needing just one more win to clinch the NL East title.
But today Harvey exceeded the short inning expectations by throwing 6.2 innings of baseball, he allowed two runs on nine hits, struck out six & walked no one. He easily earned his 13th win of the season on a day he later called "the best day of his career".
Duda hit his third HR in less than 24 HRs as he blasted his first career grand slam to right field, putting the NL East Champs up 4-0. It was Duda's 25th HR of the year & he now has 70 RBIs, both team leading numbers, with the exception of Yoenis Cespedes. (Cespedes did not arrive in New York until August 1st so most of his stats were from when he was in the AL).
In the visiting 9th, Kelly Johnson & Granderson both singled. Captain David Wright topped off the afternoon with a three run HR sealing the 10-2 Mets win & sealing the NL Eastern Championship.
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