Don Florence: Former Mets Pitcher with a Perfect Winning Percentage (1994)

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Donald Emery Florence was born on March 16, 1967 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The six-foot Italian / American lefthander was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1987. 

 He pitched in the Sox minor leagues for seven years going 28-39 before being granted free agency in 1994. He was signed by New York Mets and pitched in 41 games at AAA Norfolk posting a strong 0.46 ERA going 0-1.

Mets Debut: Florence was called up that August. On August 12th he debuted in a 12-10 win at Philadelphia. Florence got credit for a hold pitching 1.1 innings allowing a run.

 Although he is forgotten by most fans, Don Florence posted a 3-0 record, with a perfect .1000 winning %. His three victories most amongst no losses is the best in Mets history.

On August 10th, in his second career outing; he pitched one perfect inning to earn his first career
win. He relieved Bill Pulsipher before giving a save opportunity to John Franco in Philadelphia. 

On August 28th he pitched a scoreless 8th inning at Dodger Stadium, getting credit for his second victory, as the Mets scored three runs in the top of the 9th inning, with a Jeff Kent HR & Butch Hiskey RBI single off Todd Worrell. 

Florence then notched his third & final win in San Francisco in September pitching two scoreless innings in an 11-6 win.

On the season Florence appeared in 14 games going 3-0 posting a 1.50 ERA with five strikeouts & six walks in 12 innings pitched. But arm troubles would ruin his promising rookie year.

Trivia: Florence was the first Mets player to hail from the State of New Hampshire.

Family: Don married Tonia Kennedy from New Boston New Hampshire. Together they had one son.

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