Joe Christopher: Mid Sixties Mets Outfielder (1963-1965)

Joseph O’ Neil Christopher was born on December 13, 1935, technically being the first MLB player born in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His father Patrick was a sharecropper & his mother Sarah was a home maker.

The speedy five foot ten, outfielder was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955. He would hit over .300 three straight years in the minor leagues at the AAA level with Salt Lake & Columbus. 

MLB Debut: Christopher made his MLB debut in 1959 in a game where Pittsburgh's Harvey Haddix pitched a 12-inning perfect game. In 15 games that year he went hitless in twelve at bats.

He became a reserve outfielder behind Roberto Clemente, Bill Virdon & Bob Skinner on the 1960 World Champion Pirates team. 

Five Hit Game: On September 27th he had a big five hit day, in a 16-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds. 

Christopher only hit .232 in 50 games on the year & scored two runs in the World Series as a pinch runner. He hit .263 the next season before getting picked up by the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft as the tenth pick overall.

Mets Career: Joe began the Mets inaugural season at AAA Syracuse playing in 12 games batting .301 with 6 HRs, the Mets in need of offense brought him up right away. 

On May 21st in his Mets debut he doubled off the Astros Jim Golden at the Houston Astrodome. On May 30th, he batted leadoff for the first time & got three hits off the Dodgers Dandy Koufax in a 13-6 Met loss at the Polo Grounds.

On June 19th, Christopher homered in a 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Braves at the Polo Grounds. 

He had a good September hitting safely in 17 of 21 games, with seven multi-hit games, driving in 15 runs in the month. On September 2nd, he singled with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th inning, breaking a 2-2 tie leading the Mets to a 4-3 win in St. Louis. It was just the team's 35th win up to that point. 

He drove in two more runs the next day, although the team lost to the Pirates 5-4. From September 15th through the 20th, he had three multi-RBI games, with six runs driven in. On September 21st he homered off the Cubs Don Cardwell at Shea, helping in a 4-1 Mets win.

In the Mets inaugural season, Christopher played in 119 games in the outfield, batting .244 hitting 6 HRs with 10 doubles and 32 RBI. The quick footed Christopher stole 11 bases in 14 attempts & recorded two triples. 

Trivia: One of the famous 1962 Mets stories, had short stop Elio Chacon running into centerfielder Richie Ashburn, when both went for fly balls in shallow center. When Ashburn called "I got it" it meant nothing to Chacon who didn't understand English. 

It was Christopher who taught Ashburn to say "Yo La Tengo" so Chacon could understand he was calling for the ball. Instead, outfielder Frank Thomas collided with Ashburn, because he had no idea what "Yo La Tengo" meant.

1963: Christopher began the 1963 season at AAA Buffalo, hitting .288 with 12 stolen bases 19 HRs 59 RBIs & a .403 on base % in 85 games played. 

He arrived with the Mets in mid-July. He would play in 45 games in the outfield, also appearing as a pinch hitter / pinch runner in an overall 64 games for them.

On July 17th he hit an exciting 6th inning, two run HR, off the Giants Gaylord Perry at the Polo Grounds putting the Mets ahead. It would be Christopher's only HR all season. 

The Giants tied it up, but New York won it with a Joe Hicks walk off HR off Don Larsen. The games between the Mets & Giants were big in those days, as the Giants had just left New York for San Francisco six years earlier.

On September 8th he had a big four hit day, in Cincinnati including an RBI triple off Joe Nuxhall in the Mets 3-2 win over the Reds.

On the year Christopher batted .221 with five doubles, a triple, one HR & eight RBIs in 149 at bats.

1964: In the opening year of the new Shea Stadium in 1964 Christopher led the Mets in almost all offensive categories except HRs. 

 He enjoyed 13 games were had three or more hits during the season, including two 11 game hit streaks.

He began with an Opening Day HR in Philadelphia against the Phillies & batted .375 in the month of April. On May 8th his 9th inning single off St. Louis' Bobby Shantz resulted in a walk off win for New York, the first ever such win at Shea Stadium for the Mets. 

In May at the end of the month, he had two different three RBI games against the San Francisco Giants. 

On May 31st he hit a two run double in the 1st inning & then added an RBI sac fly in the 8th to finalize the 6-3 Mets win. In the four-game series which the Mets split, Christopher drove in seven runs with seven hits.

In June he drove in 19 runs and remained at .300 midway through the month. On June 20th in New York, he hit two HRs in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies the Mets won 7-3, beating pitcher Dallas Green. 

Grand Slam: On June 26th, Christopher hit his only career grand slam HR, it came off the Milwaukee Braves Bill Sadowski, in an 8-4 Mets win.

That week he drove in runs five straight games, seven of nine. On July 12th he had another walk off hit, this time a double off Joey Jay of the Cincinnati Reds. It was the only run scored in Galen Cisco's six hit shut out win. On July 19th in the first of two in St. Louis, he & Frank Thomas drove in the only runs of a 2-1 Jack Fisher win. 

On August 7th & 8th he hit HRs in back-to-back games in losses to the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. On August 16th he had a three hit, three RBI game in a big 12-4 Mets win over the Phillies.

Five RBI Game: On August 18th, Christopher collected four hits & drove in five runs with a HR off the Pirates Roy Face, as he had the biggest day of his career. He also hit a pair of triples & had a double in the 8-6 Mets win over his old teammates.

On August 23rd, his sac fly was one of two runs in a 2-1 win over the Cubs, highlighted by Ed Kranepool's walk off RBI single.

On September 25th, in the first game of a double header with the Reds at Shea Stadium, Joe had the only Mets hit in Jim Maloney 's one hitter. Christopher singled in the 2nd inning & drew a walk in the 5th inning as well.

In the final game of the season, he dropped a bunt down third base in front of Ken Boyer for a base hit securing him a .300 average.

Christopher was one of the few bright spots on a dismal 1964 team that lost 109 games. He became the fourth Mets player to hit .300 & was the first Met to have done it with more than 500 at bats (543). Christopher was tops on the club in hits (163) doubles (26) RBIs (76) walks (48) runs (78) & tied for the lead in stolen bases with six. His eight triples which were also eighth most in the league. 

Christopher also was a good pinch hitter off the Mets bench, as his six pinch hits were 10th in the NL. He also contributed with six sacrifice hits which were 7th most in the league.

Quotes- Joe Christopher: "I always knew I could hit but nobody up here believed me. I always hit well in the minors but when I got to the majors nobody had any confidence in me."

1965:  Christopher began the year as the teams left fielder & fifth place hitter. He hit a HR in the second game of the year but then didn't hit another for a month and a half. He struggled most of the season having his best stretch when he hit safely in 16 of 17 games at the end of August into September.

Christopher always seemed to thrive against the Giants, on April 23rd he helped a four run Mets come back rally in the 9th inning with an RBI hit. The Mets won it 9-8 in the 11th inning. After driving in five runs in the first two days of June, he only drove in four more runs in the next two months.

On September 1st in the first game of a double header at the Astrodome, he tripled home two runs, in the top of the 8th inning off future Mets relief ace Ron Taylor. The Mets went on to a 4-1 victory. 

On the year his numbers fell off dropping to a .249 batting average, with 109 hits, 5 HRs & 40 RBIs while playing in 148 games. He tied for the team lead with six pinch hits and four stolen bases.

In November of 1965 he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Eddie Bressoud. 

Mets Career: Christopher batted .265 with 371 hits 28 HRs 59 doubles 22 stolen bases 171 runs scored & 156 RBIs in his four-year Mets career spanning 485 games. He posted a .334 on base 5 7 a .721 OPS.

Post Mets Career: He only played in 12 games in Boston, batting .077 before finishing his playing career with two more seasons in the minors.

Career Stats: In his eight-year MLB career batted .260 with 434 hits, 68 doubles, 17 triples, 29 HRs 173 RBIs 29 stolen bases & a .329 on base % in 638 games. 

Trivia: Joe has always been interested in numerology & Egyptology.

Retirement: After his playing days Christopher ran a baseball school in the Virgin Islands. He was inspired from watching the Spencer Tracy movie- "Boys Town" back in his playing days.

Christopher also became a free-lance artist in the Baltimore area.

Family: Joe was married twice, to his wife Ana Solares & then his second wife Karen Mathews. He has seven children, four daughters& three sons. He also has 14 grandchildren.

Passing: Joe passed away in October 2023 at an assisted living facility after complications from a stroke.