Former Met of the Day: Mark Carreon (1987-1992)

Mark Steven Carreon was born July 19, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois. His father Camilo Carreon was a catcher for the White sox from 1959-1964 batting .264 lifetime. Mark was drafted by the Mets in the 8th round of the 1981 draft, making his debut with the 1987 Mets. He batted right handed & threw left handed.

In 1989 He batted .308, as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. He tied a Mets single season mark with four pinch hit HRs, tying Danny Heeps record set in 1983. On May 12th he hit a 10th inning game winning single off San Diego’s Mark Davis. Two weeks later he hit a pinch hit HR off Bruce Hurst at San Diego. On June 4th he hit another game winning HR in the 7th inning against Pittsburgh, and yet another vs. Montreal that September.

In 1990 he hit for more power with 10 HRs & 12 doubles in 188 at bats but only batted .250. In 1991 he saw action in 106 games, the most in his Mets career, batting .260. He hit a pinch hit HR in April, but his power numbers dropped to 4 HRs, 21 RBIs & 6 doubles. In January 1992 he was traded to Detroit for Paul Gibson.

After one season batting .232 in Detroit he signed with San Francisco and hit a career best .327 in 78 games. He followed that up with another .300 season in 1995 playing a career high 115 games, and winning the Willie McCovey Award for his leadership. After a ten year career he batted .279 with 69 HRs 289 RBIs & 108 doubles, he was a lifetime .280 pinch hitter.

When his MLB career ended he played in Japan for a year then had his share of drama. In 1999 he was arrested for stalking, burglarizing, & kidnapping his wife in Mississippi. In 2006 he was named as steroid user in the Mitchell Report.