The Man Traded For Tom Seavers Return to Shea- New Jersey's Charlie Puleo (1981-1982)

Charles Michael Puleo was born on February 7, 1955 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The local boy from Jersey, went to Bloomfield High School
and then Seton Hall University. The six foot right hander was signed by the expansion Blue Jays as an amateur free agent in 1978. In 1981 he was happy to come back near home, as the player to be named later in the Mark Bomback deal. He was a September 1981 call up pitching in four games. In his last outing he got the start and went 8 innings allowing only one earned run against the Cubs. The Mets won it in the 9th inning, with Neil Allen getting the win.

In May he allowed only two runs in eight innings at Shea against the Giants. In his next outing, on the same home stand, he pitched a four hit, complete game shutout against the Padres. By the end of May he was 5-2. In 24 starts that year he went beyond the 7th inning ten times, going 9-9 with a 4.47 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. He found himself pitching in the bullpen by the end of the season. That winter he became part of Mets history, and the answer to a huge trivia question. On December 16th 1982, he was traded to the Reds with Lloyd McClendon for the second coming of Tom Seaver.

He struggled in the Reds 1983 rotation going 6-12 with a 4.89 ERA. He had his contract bought by Atlanta in 1985, and went 6-8 in 1987 & 5-5 in 1988. He was released in 1989 finishing up with a 29-39 record and a 4.25 ERA.

Retirement: After playing baseball he coached college ball in Tennessee for almost a decade. His daughter Angela is a current college basketball star, Charlie resigned from coaching to help follow her career.