Former Met of the Day: Rick Baldwin (1975-1977)

Rickey Allen Baldwin was born June 1, 1953 in Fresno, California, the home town of Tom Seaver. Baldwin was drafted by the Mets in 1971 but did not turn out to be another Tom Seaver. He made his debut in the 2nd game of the 1975 season pitching a scoreless 8th inning at Shea. For the season he was used strictly as a reliever, and led all Met pitchers in appearances with 54. In 97 innings he went 3-5 with 6 saves and a 3.33 ERA. The next year he only pitched in 22 innings posting a 2.26 ERA, but wasn’t in manager Yogi Berra’s plans. 1977 was his last year with the Mets, there was more room for him as the pitching got weaker; he appeared in 40 games going 1-2 with a save and a 4.45 ERA. He pitched the last game of the 1977 season earning the save at Busch Stadium; it would be his last MLB appearance. He was drafted by the expansion Seattle Mariners in 1977 but never cracked the big league squad. Life time he appeared in 105 games, with a respectable 3.60 ERA 4-7 and 7 saves.