He had a successful minor league career right away going 10-5 with a 2.98 ERA at A ball Wausau in the Mid Western League. In 1981 he was 14-6 with a 2.82 ERA between AA Jackson & AAA Tidewater. After going 9-8 in 1982 with the Tides he got a call up to the Mets in July.
He debuted on July 7th, in a game against the San Francisco Giants tat Shea Stadium. He pitched into the 8th inning allowing three runs, including a two run HR to Reggie Smith, taking a 3-2 loss. He made five starts, pitching in seven games overall going 0-3, getting sent back down to AAA Tidewater by early August.
In 1983 he converted to being a reliever and became the Tidewater Tides best pitcher out of the bullpen. He recorded five saves with a 6-7 record, impressing the big league club. Manager Frank Howard brought him up in September when the big league club needed a reliever. On October 1st, 1983 he earned his first MLB victory, pitching five innings to beat the Montreal Expos. It certainly wasn’t pretty, as he gave up four runs on ten hits, but a win is a win.

In three seasons Gaff pitched in 58 games going 4-5 with a save & a 4.06 ERA while striking out 60 batters & walking 47 batters in 126 innings pitched.
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