Tommie Reynolds: Mid Sixties Mets Reserve Outfielder (1967) & Long Time Coach Under Tony LaRussa

Tommie D. Reynolds was born on August 15th, 1941in Arizona, Louisiana. The six-foot two, right hand hitting outfielder was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1963.

In 1963 while playing at Burlington, he led the Midwest League in batting (.332) & tied for the league lead in RBIs (88).

Reynolds played parts of three seasons with Kansas City (1963-1966) seeing the most action in 1965 (90 games) batting .237. That year he had two four hit games.

 In 1966 he played in the Pacific Coast League at Vancouver batting .248. That November he was drafted- Rule V, by the New York Mets.

Mets Career: Reynolds would be the fourth outfielder for the 1967 Mets team, that finished up in tenth place at 61-101 under Wes Westrum (151 games) & Salty Parker (11 games).

Reynolds debuted for the Mets on Opening Day 1967 entering the game in the 8th inning & playing left field in a 6-3 loss to the Pirates. In the third game of the year, Renolds, homered for the only Mets run in a 5-1 loss to the Phillies at Connie Mack stadium. Reynolds struggled to bat near the .200 mark most of the year.

Walk Off HR: On June 18th, in the first game of a double header at Shea Stadium against the Chicago Cubs, Reynolds came in the 8th inning as a defensive replacement for Ron Swoboda in right field. In the bottom of the 10th inning, he led off with a walk off HR off future 1969 Met pitcher Cal Koonce. 

Three days later his 1st inning sac fly was one of two Mets runs, that helped Jack Fisher beat the Phillies Jim Bunning 2-0 in a tight game in Philadelphia. 

In an August 17th double header, Reynolds collected five hits with a pair of RBIs, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, helping the Mets to a 6-5 win in the first game.

On September 2nd, Reynolds added an RBI base hit in a Mets four run 4th inning, leading them to a 5-4 win at Wrigley Field.

Reynolds finished the year batting .206 with 2 HRs one double a .278 on base % & nine RBIs. He played in 72 outfield games with New York. In his time in New York, he said he disliked that he didn't play more, being used mostly as a defensive replacement.

In 1968 he spent the season at AAA Jacksonville hitting .319, best batting average amongst the regular starting players. He was second to Amos Otis with 18 stolen bases. Reynolds hit 9 HRs 16 doubles with 50 RBIs. That off season he was drafted away, Rule V by the Athletics who now relocated to Oakland.

In a full season with the 1969 A's, he played in 107 games batting .257 playing outfield alongside Reggie Jackson & Rick Monday. On May 30th, he hit a pinch-hit HR off the Indians, Luis Tiant.

His contract was then purchased by the California Angels playing there for two seasons (1970-1971). He then ended his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972. 

Career Stats: Reynolds played parts of eight MLB seasons, batting .226 with 265 hits 12 HRs 35
doubles5 triples 12 stolen bases 141 runs scored 87 RBIs & a .306 on base %.

Retirement: After his playing days Reynolds, would coach & manage in the A's minor leagues. 

In his days with the Athletics, he formed a friendly relationship with Tony LaRussa. He then coached under LaRussa with the Oakland A's (1989-1995) winning a World Series during the 1989 Earthquake in the Bay Area. 

Reynolds then followed LaRussa to St. Louis, along with Dave Duncan & Dave McKay coaching there in 1996.

Family:  Tommie Reynolds is the cousin of former MLB player Floyd Robinson who played nine years in the major leagues as an outfielder. 

Robinson seven seasons with Chicago White Sox (1960-1966) hitting over .300 there, three times. Robinson was third in the 1961 Rookie of the Year voting& made the Topps All Star Rookie Team. He also would receive votes for the MVP Award four times in his career. 

In 1962 he led the AL in doubles with 45. He batted .312 (third in the NL) with 109 RBIs (4th in the NL). He had 187 hits with ten triples & 89 runs scored with 11 HRs. 

After his time with the White Sox, he played with the Cincinnati Reds (1967) Oakland A's (1968) & Boston Red Sox (1969). Floyd Robinson was a lifetime .283 hitter with 929 hits 67 HRs 140 doubles 36 triples 426 RBIs & a .365 on base %.

Floyd & his wife were partners in real estate & a grocery store. They established the Floyd Robinson Foundation & own a low-income senior citizen apartment complex in San Diego.