Former Met of the Day: Jose Oquendo (1983-1984)

Jose Oquendo was born July 4, 1963 in Puerto Rico. He was signed by the Mets in 1979, and made his debut in 1983 at the age of 19. The versatile Oquendo found himself as the Mets regular short stop, but only batted .213 with 8 steals in 120 games. The following year he lost his job to Rafael Santana & Ron Gardenhire. Oquendo never had much power and only hit one HR in 507 Mets at bats. He was traded to the enemy Cardinlas for a minor leaguer in 1985.
After a year in the minors, he started walking more and getting higher on base percentages. He became Whitey Herzog’s “secret weapon”, and at one point played every position on the field. In the 1987 World Series he hit a HR and drove in 2 runs. He played with the Cards until 1995, a lifetime .256 hitter. In 2004 ESPNs TV show “The Cheap Seats” went on a quest to get him inducted to the Hall of Fame as the ultimate utility player. Eventually a plaque was placed in his honor in the utility closet at the Hall. He has been a Cardinals coach for the past nine seasons.