He was Nicknamed "The Stork," because team mate Jim Gosger said he looked like a stork & the name stuck.
The tall lanky six foot four right handed outfielder, was an unusual looking ballplayer. He wore thick glasses, had long legs with a hunched over shoulder frame and a long nose. He also has the distinction of being the only Mets player in history to ever be from the state of Utah.
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In 1972 at AAA Tidewater he hit .296 leading all starting players in batting, he also had 9 HRs with 15 doubles & 76 RBIs. That year as a first baseman he led all International League first baseman in put outs & chances. He made the 1973 Mets team out of Spring Training as a reserve outfielder.
The Stork made his big league debut on April 14th at Shea Stadium, replacing Willie Mays in the 6th inning & struck out in his first at bat. A week after his debut, he got his first hit, a double coming against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a double header at Shea Stadium.
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In May he had a hot series in Los Angeles getting seven hits in fifteen at bats, while driving in two runs. At the end of May he was batting .290 with seven RBIs, playing mostly in the utility role.
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Trivia: To add to his flaky legacy the back of his 1974 Topps baseball card said: “George likes marshmallow milkshakes”.
He once filled out a Mets publicity questionnaire by recording his interests as “astrology, marbles, people watching & psychoanalysis”.
He asked Mets management for a $1000 bonus if he was voted “Most Popular Met”, saying he couldn’t hit much but was very likeable.
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He was seeing more playing time in the summer of
'73, due to injuries to most of the Mets regulars. The Stork was playing
left field to replace the injured Cleon Jones, until he went down himself.
On June, 3rd Theodore was hit in the eye by a pitch from Gary Ross in the 9th inning at San Diego. It was feared he would lose his sight, but the ever durable Theodore was back in the line up five days later.
On June, 3rd Theodore was hit in the eye by a pitch from Gary Ross in the 9th inning at San Diego. It was feared he would lose his sight, but the ever durable Theodore was back in the line up five days later.
On a ball hit to the gap Theodore rushed over to help out the old timer, Mays. To his surprise Mays had already gotten to the ball, but because he was having arm trouble he tossed it for The Stork to throw in. But Theodore dropped it, and was charged with an error. Years later Theodore would say it was an honor taking an error from the great Willie Mays.
On June 30 his fieldiers choice scoring play, ended up being the winning run in Jon Matlack's 2-1 victory.
On the 4th of July in Montreal, he had one of the biggest games of
his career, going 2-3 with three RBIs. That night he also hit his first career
HR, a three run shot off the Expos pitcher- Balor Moore.
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In the next inning Ralph Garr smashed a liner to left center field, Theodore came charging over from left field & crashed into centerfielder Don Hahn who was rushing over from center.
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Theodore fractured his hip, and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. In a NY hospital he told reporters he had a dream two weeks earlier that he was being removed from the field on a stretcher carried by Jerry Koosman & Tug McGraw.
In May of 2011 he told the Daily News: "I did play two more years, but I was never the same. It changed my life, put me in a new direction, but it's all been good. That's the way it is."
Theodore returned on September 20th. On the season he hit .259 (going 30-116) with one HR four doubles, ten RBIs, 14 runs scored & a stolen base.
1973 World Series: He saw action in two games of the 1973 World Series, going 0 for 2 as a pinch hitter.
In 1974 he appeared as a pinch hitter through mid May going hitless in eight at bats. On May 17th he got his first start against the Montreal Expos, getting his first hit of the year & scoring a run in the 5-0 Met win.
He hit his second and last career HR on July 20th in the first game of a double header at San Diego. In the inning Theodore hit the first of three consecutive HRs off the Padres Lowell Palmer.
After Stork's blast, Rusty Staub & Cleon Jones followed with round trippers in the Mets 10-2 win. It was his only RBI of the year, as he struggled most of 1974, finishing up batting .158 (going 12 -76). He played his last career game on the last day of the 1974 season.
In his brief but memorable two year career The Stork was a .219 hitter with 42 hits two HRs, five doubles, 18 walks, 16 RBIs, 21 runs scored & one stolen base in 105 games played. Theodore can say he was in the big leagues and batted in a World Series.
Retirement: After his playing days in 1975 he got his masters degree in social work. Theodore serves as a youth baseball coach and gives counsel to elementary school students. He made a triumphant return to Shea Stadium for the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium in 2008.
Quotes: Theodore recently said "Fans, they don't seem to forget, I always appreciated them and the attention they gave me. It never was a business to me. Maybe they realized that. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for New York and the Mets.
My wife Sabrina is from Jackson Heights and we met at the end of my career, had a long-distance courtship and we've been married for 33 years. The Mets have always treated me like family and I appreciate that family."
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Theodore with Jerry Koosman in 2012 |
2 comments:
For some reason, I've never forgotten Theodore, and I'm not even a Mets fan. He seemed so gawky and out of place in the outfield... guess he reminded me of myself on the softball field....
I remember George. As a 12 yo. kid trying to get autographs at 2 different games I passed my paper into a group and both times they came back George Theodore😀. I had to laugh but it showed how much he gave to the fans. I treasure them along with my Joe Pignatano. Never seemed to score the superstar's autograph but I got he ones of people who realized the fans were important.
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