Remembering Mets History: (1986) Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, Tim Teufel & Rick Aguilera Arrested In A Houston Nightclub

Saturday July 19th 1986: In the mid eighties one of the hottest nightclubs in Houston & famous throughout the country was Cooters. Cooters was a famous hangout for pro athletes because the owners let the celebrity jocks drink for free. 

This brought them in all from all sports, home & visiting teams. Of course this brought more girls in & that brought more guys in, the place was a goldmine.

Tim Tuefel, a rather quieter guy from the 1986 Mets team, was a new father & wanted to go out to celebrate. Pitcher Bob Ojeda said he heard of this place called Cooters. Mets relief pitcher; Doug Sisk, had been there before, he claimed he came out of the bathroom one night & returned to his table, only to find the cops waiting for him. He was roughed up a bit & insists he did nothing to get himself into trouble. Sisk warned Ojeda not to go to Cooters this night in July 1986.  

But after dropping their second game in a row to the Houston Astros in the Astrodome, Mets; Bob Ojeda, Tim Teufel, Rick Aguilera, Ron Darling & Darryl Strawberry all hopped in a cab & went to Cooters Bar. Strawberry didn't stay too long & left the four other Mets players drinking at a table. Tuefel who was not usually a drinker celebrated a bit too much & had way more than he was use too.

After a night of drinking, partying, being noticed by Texas women & sports fans a like it was closing time. The Mets players had made some noise, attracted some attention & it wasn't appreciated by everyone. Not everyone was a fan of the Mets or anyone from New York carrying on in their bar.

At 2:00 AM the Mets were asked to leave as the place was closing down. They refused to go & stayed on drinking for another half hour or so. Eventually Ron Darling & Rick Aguilera went to use the men's room before leaving, as Teufel & Ojeda went outside.

As Ojeda went to hail a taxi, two Houston Police officers, hired for that night's security duty stopped them. Teufel was carrying an open beer bottle which was against the law. When questioned about it Tefuel told the cop to f' off. When the officer went to grab the beer, the intoxicated Teufel went to punch the officer. Two bouncers pulled Teufel away & the officer punched him twice in the stomach. 

Tefuel was hand cuffed, laying on the ground with the Police officer's knee in his back. Reports say someone was yelling to break Teufels arm, Darling came out to witness this all taking place. He went to go help his team mate throwing punches as well, he too was hand cuffed.

Aguilera & Ojeda were eventually hand cuffed as well, even though they were doing nothing except trying to make the peace, especially Bobby O, the oldest of the bunch at 28. The four Mets were taken to a Houston Jail where they were booked & put in a holding cell for ten hours.

Bobby Ojeda called Arthur Richman the Mets travel secretary who was asleep in his hotel room. Luckily, he knew the Houston vice Mayor; Frank Mancuso. Mancuso, a former St. Louis Browns baseball player was the brother of former New York Giants catcher Gus Mancuso. He had known Richman from his playing days, he got the call, made some arrangements & got the four Mets players out of jail before the next morning.

Manager Davey Johnson said: ''My main rule is, 'Don't embarrass me or the ball club.' This is embarrassing to the club, to their families and to me, so I'm forced to fine them.''  

Their lawyer spoke through Mets P.R. man Jay Horwitz: ''The players involved have stated, on advice of their counsel, that because the case is presently in adjudication that it would be improper for them to issue any individual statement. 

''However, the four players involved in the incident would it like made public that they feel they were unduly assaulted by police personnel on the scene and that one of the players, Tim Teufel, was in fact severely beaten by the police.''

Mets PR Man: Jay Horowitz

There was no press waiting for them when they got out, but later the day the story was all over the New York media. Even David Letterman made a joke during his monologue. The legend of the fighting 1986 Mets was growing bigger by the day.

Roger McDowell the main team prankster, put adhesive tape vertically along the four players involved lockers to resemble a jail cell. A bar of soap, a razor & one cigarette was put on each players stool as well. 
The Mets hired a good lawyer, in January of 1987, Ron Darling & Tim Teufel paid a $200 fine & were to serve a year probation. The charges against Ojeda & Aguilera were dropped completely.


The Police Officers tried to sue the Mets for a million dollars but settled for $5000. Cooters Bar became a bigger tourist attraction for the next few years but closed down in the mid nineties. The incident involving the Mets became known as Cotters Gate.

The Mets would lose all four games in that weekend series in Houston. They would get their revenge in a much heated up NLCS later that year. Rick Aguilera broke the four game losing streak with a win in Cincinnati three days later.



Teufel, Howard Johnson, Ojeda & Darling

The First Official Mets Batting Instructor: Italian / American Phil Cavarretta (1973-1979)

Phil Joseph Cavarretta was born July 19, 1916 on the North side of Chicago Illinois. In high school his team won four straight championships & in his senior year his coach took him to a tryout at Wrigley Field.

He was so young & small everyone thought he was the bat boy. While facing a veteran Cubs pitcher, Cavarretta hit the ball all over the field & the pitcher yelled to get that kid out of there. The Cubs signed him & he made their club by the end of the same season at age 18, the youngest player in the league.

He was a fiery ball player that never stopped hustling even if his team was down by a lot of runs. In his rookie season of 1935, he was the Cubs main first baseman, driving in 82 runs, with 28 doubles & 12 triples (fourth in the NL) as the Cubs won the NL Pennant. 

Post Season: In the 1935 World Series loss to the Detroit Tigers he struggled, batting .125 (3-24). Two of those hits came in Game #4 against General Crowder at Wrigley Field. In 1938 the Cubs won another pennant with Cavarretta in a utility role. In the World Series he batted .462 (6-13) hitting safely in all four games of the Cubs losing effort.

He would bat over .280 four times up until 1944 when he led the league with 197 hits (tied with Stan Musial) & 142 singles. That year he bat .321 (5th in the NL) with 35 doubles (7th in the league) a career high 15 triples (3rd in the league), 106 runs scored (4th in the NL) & 82 RBIs with a .390 on base % (10th in the NL).

In 1945 he would be his best year, winning the N.L. MVP Award batting .355. It is still one of the best averages for a Cubs player in team history. He also led the league with a .455 on base percentage hitting 34 doubles (5th in the league) with 10 triples (5th in the league) 6 HRs, 97 RBIs (8th in the NL) & 94 runs scored (10th in the league).

Post Season: That year the Cubs went to their third World Series since Cavarretta's arrival with the club. In Game #1 at Tiger Stadium, Cavarretta hit a solo HR in the Cubs 9-0 win. He hit safely in six of the seven games going 11-26 with one HR & 5 RBIs.

In his career, he was amongst the top five batting leaders three times, on base percentage & hits leaders five times. He was also among the tops in triples, doubles & RBIs three times. He played for twenty years with Chicago, the most of any Cub player except Cap Anson.

He made four All Star teams and batted .293 lifetime with 1977 hits, 990 runs scored, 347 doubles, 99 triples (163rd all time) 820 walks (230th all time) 95 HRs, 920 RBIs & a .372 on base % (234th all time).

He became the Cubs manager in June 1951 succeeding "The Fordham Flash" former NY Giants, Frankie Frisch. In 1952 he finished .500 in fourth place but fell to seventh the next year. Over two and a half seasons he compiled a 169-213 record, but was fired in 1954 he publicly stated that the team wouldn’t finish above fifth place.

In a 1992 interview with the Chicago Tribune he said “What I said was, we needed help at first base, at third base and in center field. Mr. Wrigley interpreted that as a defeatist complex.” Later in the fifties he managed at the minor league level & then served as a scout before the New York Mets came calling.

Up until the early seventies batting coaches didn’t really exist in major league baseball and the Mets were no exceptions. In 1973 Mets General Manager Bob Scheffing hired Cavarretta as a special batting instructor to the team.

Cavaretta was to work with hitters during Spring Training only, and when the season started he was to instruct in the minor league levels. In his first season as batting instructor he helped John Milner make the adjustment from outfielder to first baseman.

Eventually, he was helping the hitters  during batting practice at Shea Stadium. He only instructed the hitters at home games & did not travel with the ball club on the road. 

Cavarretta was a great help to many hitters on both the major & minor league levels.

During his first season, the 1973 Mets did get to the World Series. He remained with the team until the late seventies as a coach / instructor before moving on again as a scout.

Passing: Cavarretta suffered a stroke in December of 2010 & passed way two weeks later at the age of 94 in Lilburn, Georgia.

At the time of his death he was the oldest living former MLB player. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, seven grandchildren & ten great grand children.

1954 World Champion New York Giants Pitcher: Windy McCall (1954-1957)

John William McCall was born July 18, 1925 in San Francisco, California The six foot left hander earned the name Windy which he became known as throughout his career. He attended the University of San Francisco getting signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1947.

He made his MLB debut on April 25th 1948, getting hit by the AL New York club for three runs in just 1.1 innings of work. He was sent down where he was 9-12 as AA Louisville the rest of the year. He made just five more appearances for Boston the next year, before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He ended up in the Pacific Coast League with the San Francisco Seals from 1951-1953 where he won double figures barley over .500 each season. In October 1953 he was sent to the New York Giants for $60,000 & three minor leaguers.

What a break for McCall as he ended up on a Giants team that would go on to win the World Series that season. He was used out of the bull pen in 33 games, pitching in 61 innings as he struck out 38 batters while allowing 50 hits. He posted a 2-4 record with two saves and a 3.25 ERA. He didn’t see any action in the World Series.

The next season he saw some more action even getting six starts. He went 6-5 with three saves and a 3.69 ERA. That year he was sixth in the league hitting six batters with pitches, in 95 innings he also allowed 37 walks. In 1956 he was tied for second on the Giants staff with seven saves, going 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA.

In the Giants last season in New York in 1957, he only pitched three April innings allowing five earned runs. He was gone by May 3rd pitching back in the Pacific Coast League. He then pitched at AAA Miami the rest of 1957 through 1959.

In his seven year MLB career McCall was 11-15 with 12 saves a 4.22 ERA 144 strike outs 103 walks in 253 innings over 134 appearances. In the minors he was 80-70 with a 4.36 ERA in 283 games over ten years.

2016 Mets Right Handed Pitcher: Robert Gsellman (2016-2018)

Robert John Gsellman was born July 18th 1993 in Santa Monica, California. The six foot four right handed pitcher, was a star baseball player & basket player at Westchester high school in California. He batted .649 in his junior year & was noticed as a star athlete getting named to ESPN's Rise underclassman All California team.

In 2011 he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round. He remained at the A ball level playing with the Kingsport Mets, Brooklyn Cyclones, St. Lucie Mets & Savannah Sand Gnats through 2014. In that time he developed his two seamed fastball.

After posting an impressive 6-0 record with a 1.76 ERA, at St. Lucie in 2015, he was promoted to AA Binghamton where he went 7-7 with a 3.51 ERA. His wild ride on 2016 began at AA Binghamton where he went 3-4 with a good 2.71 ERA.

He was brought up to AAA Las Vegas, a hitters paradise, where he was just 1-5 with a 5.73 ERA.

In late August he was brought up to the Mets staff to replace the latest Mets pithing casualty; Steven Matz. The Mets had already lost Matt Harvey & Jacob deGrom. On August 23rd he made his MLB debut, coming in relief for Jonathan Neisse who had pain in his knee. Niese would also go down for the season. 

The young man who resembled Jacob deGrom due to his long hair found himself in the big leagues, filling some big shoes in a pennant race in the worlds largest stage.


In that first game Gsellman would pitch from the 1st thru the 4th inning shutting out the Cardinals in St. Louis, earning his first win. The Mets swept the series & turned their season around on their way to capturing the NL wild card top spot. His next game wasn't so good, as he lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

On September 3rd, he found himself in a big spot at Citi Field, taking on the first place Washington Nationals. Gsellman pitched six innings, allowing just a run, walking three with six hits & four strike outs as the Mets went on to a 3-1 win. The Mets offense was led by a two run Curtis Granderson single. On September 9th he got no decision allowing four runs in a 6-4 Mets win at Atlanta.

After another no decision in Washington where he pitched five shut out innings, but the Mets lost 1-0 to Tanner Roark, he took another loss to the Braves.

On September 25th, he had an outstanding performance, pitching seven shut put innings & striking out eight Phillies in the Mets 17-0 rout over the Phils. 

Impressively he also retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. Gsellman even got his first MLB hit when he bunted safely off pitcher; Jake Thompson in the 3rd inning. That win once again put the Mets atop the NL's top wild card spot.

On Friday September 30th, the Mets guaranteed themselves of at least playing for a wild card tie breaker, as the beat the Phillies in Philadelphia 5-1. Gsellman allowed seven hits but pitched out of trouble as he would allow just one run. He struck out seven & earned the victory.

Gsellman came out of no where in 2016 & gave the Mets a chance every time he took the mound in September. He was 4-2 pitching in eight games, striking out 42 batters while walking 15 in 44 innings posting a 2.42 ERA.

After the Mets season ended, Gsellman under went arthroscopic surgery on his non throwing shoulder to repair a torn labrum.

In 2017 he began the year with two losses in April & closing the month with a 6.23 ERA. He began May with two straight wins although he still gave up eight runs in those two starts over ten innings. He saw some time in the bullpen then returned for a decent start on May 24th against the San Diego Padres. 

On May 29th he had one of his best games of the year. He threw seven innings allowing two runs (one earned) on just three hits striking out five Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field, for his third win.

He would win three straight, beating the Pittsburg Pirates with six strikeouts in his next start & then a six & two thirds of an inning shut out, against the Braves in Atlanta on June 10th. 

From there he collected three straight losing decisions, with three no decisions as well. Three wins in September highlighted by a six inning one run win over Atlanta in his final start of the year got him to 8-7 with 5.19 ERA. Gsellman had 82 strike outs with 42 walks in 33 games over 119 innings of work.

He fought for a spot in Spring Training 2018 under new manager Mickey Callaway. Callaway & new pitching coach Dave Eiland placed him in the bullpen where he has done well. 

On April 4th he earned  his first win, with a two inning shut out relief appearance to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

On April 20th another two inning shut out relief outing got him win #2 in Atlanta. Then four days later he was credited for a win in St. Louis. He then lowered his ERA under two heading into May.

On May 2nd, he suffered a four run pounding by the Braves in just one inning of work, raising his ERA again. He allowed run in his next two outings as well before settling down.

 He then went six games without allowing a run & picked up another win as well as his first save, which came on May 20th against Arizona. Thru May he was 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA.

In June he had two holds, then was credited with a save on June 17th in Arizona. On June 20th he blew a save in Colorado & the Rockies went on to a 10-8 win. Three days later he had a disaster of an outing, allowing five runs to the LA Dodgers at Citi Field.

On July 3rd he blew his sixth save of the year seeing his ERA top out at 4.44. The next day he received a hold a on the Fourth of July. On July 9th while pitching a scoreless 8th inning against the Phillies, he earned a win when Bandon Nimmo hit a walk off HR. 

On July 13th he earned his 4th save. He went to the half way point at 6-2 with 4 saves & a 4.31 ERA, leading the club with 43 appearances. He struck out 50 & walked 21 in 54 innings of work.

The Mets All Time Pinch Hit HR Leader: Mark Carreon (1987-1991)

Mark Steven Carreon was born July 19, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois. The six foot outfielder/ first baseman was a rare right handed batter that threw left handed.

His father was Camilo Carreon; a catcher for the Chicago White sox from 1959-1964. (see below) 

Mark Carreon was drafted by the New York Mets in the 8th round of the 1981 draft. As the Mets were winning the World Series in 1986 Carreon was batting .289 at AAA Tidewater.

In 1987 he followed by batting .312 earning him the promotion to the big league club. He debuted with the Mets as a pinch hitter on September 8thgoing hitless. He appeared nine games that September, getting a hit as pinch hitter in his second career at bat off the Cardinals; Greg Mathews.

On the next to last day of the season he drove in his first run, it came in St. Louis in a 7-1 Mets win. That year New York finished second to the Cards going 92-70. In 1988 it was back to AAA Tidewater for Carreon, where he hit 14 HRs & batted .263 in 102 games for the Tides. He did make his first appearance in May with the Mets, going 0-2 as a pinch hitter & returned in September going 5-7.

In 1989 he got to the club on May 18th & remained there for good playing as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. On May 12th he hit a 10th inning game winning single, off San Diego’s Mark Davis in a 3-0 win.

He tied a Mets single season mark with four pinch hit HRs, that year, matching Danny Heeps record set back in 1983. On May 12th he hit a pinch hit HR off the Padres Bruce Hurst in San Diego, helping Ron Darling & Rick Aguilera in a 3-0 shut out.

On June 4th he hit a 7th inning pinch hit HR against the Pirates Bob Kipper, breaking a 3-3 tie. The Mets went on to beat Pittsburgh 4-3,as Carreon delivered the game winning hit. On July 26th he hit a third pinch hit HR, this time in a 3-2 loss in Pittsburgh. On September 22nd, in Montreal he helped Ron Darling to a victory, as he delivered his team record fourth pinch hit HR of the season, off native New Yorker John Candelaria.

Overall he enjoyed one of his best Mets seasons hitting .308 with six HRs six doubles 16 RBIs & a .370 on base % in 68 games.

In 1990 he had a big three hit day at Wrigley Field on April 16th, with a HR & three RBIs in a 10-1 Mets win. The next day he hit a solo HR there in a Mets loss. On April 27th he provided the only run of the game, with a solo HR off Mark Portugal, helping Frank Viola to the shut out.

In mid June he helped the Mets in their 9-6 win at Wrigley Field adding a two run HR. The next game he played in was in Pittsburgh on June 17th, he hit two HRs & drove in two runs in the 4-3 win. In August he suffered an injury that shut him down for the rest of the year. He finished with a .250 average, 10 HRs 12 doubles26 RBIs in 188 at bats. That year the Mets won 91 games but finished second to the Pirates.

In 1991 he saw action in 106 games, the most in his Mets career, batting .260 but his power dropped off, hitting just four HRs, with six doubles & 21 RBIs. doubles. On April 16th, he hit a pinch hit HR during a losing effort in Pittsburgh. On April 28th, he entered a game against the Pirates at Shea & hit yet another pinch hit HR, although the Mets lost the game 7-3.

On May 4th, Carreon hit his third pinch hit HR in the young season, this one off the Giants Jeff Brantley at Shea Stadium in the 9th inning, tying up the game. The Mets won it when Howard Johnson hit a walk off HR in the 12th.

Carreons HR drought then lasted three months & when he did hit another, it came during a start. He would not hit anymore HRs that season, unable to tie his own record.

In January 1992 Carreon was traded to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Paul Gibson. After one season in Detroit batting .232, he signed with the San Francisco Giants and hit a career best .327 in 78 games played. He followed that up batting .301 in 1995 having career highs in HRs (17) RBIs (65) games (115), winning the Willie Mac Award for his leadership to the club.

The next season he started out great as he belted 7 HRs in April, but soon fell off and was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Poole on July 9th. That year he hit a career high 34 doubles, overall while finishing his playing days in Cleveland.
 

In a ten year career he batted .279 with 557 hits 69 HRs 108 doubles 289 RBIs & a .327 on base % playing in 738 games. As a pinch hitter he hit .280 lifetime, and holds the Mets record with eight pinch hit HRs. Jordany Valdespin is now second with six.

Drama: When his MLB career ended he played in Japan for a year then returned back to the U.S. In 1999 he was arrested for stalking, burglarizing, & kidnapping his ex-wife in Mississippi.

In December 2007 he was named as steroid user in the Mitchell Report.

Former Met Mark Carreon's Dad: Camillo Carreon (1959-1966)

Camilo & Mark Carreon

Camilo Carreon known as "Cam" was born August 6, 1937 in Colton, California. The six foot one right handed catcher was signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1956.

Camilo Carreon debuted on September 27th getting one at bat in just this one game, for the 1959 AL Champion "Go Go" Sox. He did not make the post season roster. The next season he spent some time in the United States Army & got to Spring Training camp late. After batting .270 at AAA San Diego in the Pacific Coast League he was brought up in June.

In 1961 he had a game winning hit off Whitey Ford, a two run pinch hit single. This broke up Ford's personal 14 game win streak.

After backing up Sherm Lollar, he became the White Sox' main catcher in 1962 & 1963, losing his job to future 1969 Mets World Series hero; J.C. Martin the following season. He spent six seasons with the White Sox, playing for Hall of Fame Manager; Al Lopez during some good years in club history.

He then moved on to the Cleveland Indians (1965) & Baltimore Orioles (1966) where he ended his career. That year he appeared in just three games for the World Champion Orioles.

In an eight year career he batted .264 lifetime with 260 hits 43 doubles 11 HRs 114 RBIs & a .331 on base %. In 320 games at catcher, he threw out 31% of would be base stealers.

Retirement: After his playing days, he worked for the Tucson Arizona Parks Department & for a golf course. He passed away at the young age of 50 in 1987.

50th Anniversary of the 1969 Mets: Mets Players Defend Thier Manager In Wake of Hawk's Book

50th Anniversary of the 1969 World Champion "Amazing Mets"

All Star Break- Summer of 1969: Today Ken "the Hawk" Harrelson (no relation to Bud Harrelson) is known as the long time (33 years) broadcaster of the Chicago White Sox. The controversial broadcaster in known for his "Hawkisms" & a homer, outwardly rooting for the White Sox team. 

Back in his playing days he was controversial & outspoken as well. He wore hip flashy colorful clothing of the late sixties, something ball players were not doing yet. Although he was not the first player to use one, he is credited with bringing the batting clove back to the game in his era. He wore a golf glove while batting.

He began his career with the Kansas City A's as one of the teams first star players, he left in 1966 but was brought back by popular demand the next year. His time in Kansas City ended when he allegedly called owner Charley Finley " a menace to baseball". Finley moved the A's to Oakland & would win three straight World Series in the early seventies.

Harrelson would go on to he Boston Red Sox in their 1967 Impossible Dream season & win the A.L. pennant with them, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. In 1968 he led the AL in RBIs (109) & had his best season. Shockingly he was traded to Cleveland the next year, at first he retired to veto the trade but did come back to play with the Indians. An injury led him to retire in 1971 at age 30.

But back in 1966 he was sent to the Washington Senators in mid season & would spend part of the 1967 season there as well. At that time, Gil Hodges was manager of the Senators. Hodges was a stern disciplinarian, a strict rule enforcer, a conservative man who took the game very seriously. Ken Hawk Harrelson did not get along with his manger Gil Hodges.

By  1969, Gil Hodges was in New York trying to win the NL East in Miracle fashion, that summer, Harrelson released his autobiography, while he was playing on a poor Indians team that would lose 97 games. In his book he was one of the only people to ever say anything negative about Hodges. Hawk, trashed Hodges, calling him " a Jekyll & Hyde"-"unfair, unreasonable, unfeeling, incapable of handling men, stubborn, Hoilier than thou, & ice cold".

During one losing game in Washington, Harrelson suggested to the manager that he start a fight to get the team to pull together. Hodges refused telling him " that shows something about the kind of person you are". Another time, Hodges benched Harrelson because his hair was too long, telling him he'll play when he gets it cut. Harrelson got it cut in the locker room by a teammate & was inserted in the line up.

Quotes- Gil Hodges: In reference to love beads, which Harrelson did wear, "maybe the players would be better off with Rosary beads instead of love beads".

When the book came out, Hodges Mets team stuck up for him immediately. Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Ron Swoboda & Ed Charles were the most indignant.

Quotes- Tom Seaver told the Daily News: " That doesn't seem like the manager I know. Mr. Hodges treats his players with an attitude of professionalism. Maybe Mr. Harrelson in his immaturity couldn't tell   the difference between professionalism treatment & someone picking on him."

Jerry Koosman who said he was shocked to read that article, noted it was probably a publicity stunt to sell more books, adding he just lost one sale on him.

The Manager who was upset at the distraction surrounding his club, said he did not wish to comment at this time. He was chasing a pennant in the second half of the season.

Former Mets Short Stop (1964-1966) Coach (1973-1976) & Manager (1975): Roy McMillan

Roy David McMillan was born on July 17, 1929 in Bonham, Texas. The five foot eleven right handed hitting short stop, was originally signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1947. After four years in the minors he made his MLB debut briefly in 1951.

McMillan played every game from the 1952 season through the 1954 season, leading the league in games played twice. 

He became one of the best shorts stops in the league, winning the first gold glove given out at short stop in 1957. He won two more the next two seasons.

In 1954 he set a record at the time, turning 129 double plays at short stop. He would go on to lead the league in games played at short as well as in fielding percentage six times each. He led in assists four times, put outs three times and played in two All Star games.

McMillan was so good at short he was considered in the MVP voting five times. He was typical for shortstops of his era, great glove without much hitting.

From 1955 through 1957 he posted on base percentages over .360 % each year., while drawing over 66 walks each year. In 1957 he hit a career high 25 doubles posting a .317 on base percentage. After spending ten years in Cincinnati he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for Juan Pizzaro in 1961.

In Milwaukee he hit a career high 12 HRs in 1962 and continued playing some of the best short stop in the league. In May 1964, he was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Jay Hook and a player to be named later. That player turned out to be Wayne Garrett's brother; Adrian Garrett.

McMillan played in 113 games at short stop the rest of the way for the '64 Mets. He turned 64 double plays posting a .976 fielding % (second best in the NL). McMillan debuted as a Met on May 9th in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at home. In his second game he tripled & doubled off former Met Roger Craig, scoring a run as well in the Mets 4-1 win.

On September 7th in the first game of a double header at Shea Stadium, McMillan hit a rare two run HR off Houston's Claude Raymond. He later added another RBI leading the Mets to a 7-5 victory. On the season for New York he hit .211 with 8 doubles two triples one HR 25 RBIs & a .246 on base %.

In 1965 he led the team in games played (157), at bats (528) & sacrifice hits with 16 (third in the NL) while batting .242. At short stop he was second in assists (477) third in put outs (248) & second in errors (27) posting a .964 fielding % while turning 80 double plays. 

On April 20th his sac bunt scored a run in a scoreless game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets went on to win the game 3-2. On May 4th McMillan singled to score Ron Swoboda with the tying run in the 7th inning of game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets went on to win it 2-1.

On May 16th he hit a HR in the first game of a double header against his old Reds team mates. On June 20th he singled driving in the first two runs of a 3-2 Mets win in the second game of a double header at Dodger Stadium. He closed out June driving in runs in three of the last four games of the month.

From August 16th through August 28th the weak hitting short stop drove in eight runs, while enjoying a hit streak of 15 of 18 games. McMillan played in 157 games batting .242 with 19 doubles two triples, one HR 42 RBIs & a .280 on base %.

On May 29th 1966 McMillan who always seemed to do well against the Dodgers, had a game winning hit in the top of the 9th inning. His single off star reliever Ron Perranoski scored Hawk Taylor in what was the games winning run. He hit his last career HR on July 20th, 1966 off Giant's Hall of Famer, Juan Marichal in San Francisco. It came in the top of the 8th inning breaking a 1-1 tie. The Mets went on to win it with Ron Swoboda's 10th inning HR.

He finished his playing career with the Mets in early August 1966 playing 76 games batting .214 with one HR nine doubles one triple & 12 RBIs.

McMillan served a huge role in developing the career of Bud Harrelson, serving as his mentor at shortstop. Harrelson learned a lot from McMillan on his way to becoming one of the best shortstops of his generation.

McMillan finished his career with over 2000 games at shortstop, and at the time of his retirement was only one of four shortstops to do so.

In a 16 year career he played 2028 games at short stop (18th all time) with 6191 assists (16th all time) 3705 put outs (19th all time). In over 6191 attempts he made only 290 errors (74th all time), turning 1304 double plays as a short stop (8th all time) while posting a .972 fielding percentage (68th all time).

He was a lifetime .243 hitter with 1639 hits 253 doubles 35 triples 68 HRs a .314 on base % 140 sac hits & 665 walks.

Honors: Roy McMillan was inducted to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1971.  

After his playing days, McMillan managed the Visalia Mets in 1968 & 1969. He then went on to coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972, and filled in as manager for two games when Dave Bristol was fired.

He came back to the Mets organization and joined Yogi Berra’s coaching staff for the 1973 Pennant season. He stayed on board through 1975, and served as interim manager when Berra was fired in August 1975.

McMillan became the sixth manager in Mets history and enjoyed a six game winning streak as soon as he took over as manager. The players seem to respond to him quickly. But an 11-16 September ruined any playoff hopes the team had. McMillan went 26-27 in the last 53 games of the season, finishing up in third place.

In 1976 he was replaced by former Mets minor league manager Joe Frazier, but stayed on board with the Mets coaching staff for one more season.

He later became a scout for the Montreal Expos. McMillan was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1971. He passed away from a heart attack in 1997 at his home in Bonham, Texas, he was 68.