Bob Apodaca: Mid Seventies Mets Relief Pitcher (1973 - 1978) & Long Time Pitching Coach (1996 -1999)
At A ball Visalia in 1971 he was 7-1 with a 3.60 ERA making a quick impression.
By 1972 he was up at AA Memphis going 11-7 (second to only Randy Sterling in wins) with a 2.80 ERA becoming a highly touted prospect.
The next year he was 6-3 posting a 1.80 ERA at AAA Tidewater the third best pitcher on the staff behind Sterling & John Glass.
1973 Mets Pennant Season: Apodaca made his debut in late September 1973, in a crucial game against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. He allowed one run & two walks in less than one inning of work giving him an infinity ERA. He did not appear in any other games that regular season nor the post season.
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1974: The next season he had a good spring training & made the 1974 Mets staff. How could Met fans ever forget the way his name would roll off the tongues of Mets broadcasters Bob Murphy & Lindsey Nelson.In the 1974 Mets home opener, the day the ’73 NL Pennant flag was raised, Apodaca came on in the top of the 9th inning in relief of Jerry Koosman. With the Mets top fireman, Tug McGraw out sick unable to pitch that day, Bob got the call, with two St. Louis Cardinal runners on base & one out in clinging to a 3-2 lead. Apodaca got Tim McCarver to ground into a game ending double play to earn the save.
The next day he relieved George Stone to start the top of the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead over the Cardinals. He gave up three straight singles then an RBI sac fly to Tim McCarver blowing a save opportunity while taking the 4-3 loss.
On May 13th in St. Louis, he earned his first victory beating Bob Gibson & the Cardinals, pitching five innings of relief.
The next day he relieved George Stone to start the top of the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead over the Cardinals. He gave up three straight singles then an RBI sac fly to Tim McCarver blowing a save opportunity while taking the 4-3 loss.
On May 13th in St. Louis, he earned his first victory beating Bob Gibson & the Cardinals, pitching five innings of relief.
Apodaca would remain in the bullpen over the next two months until mid July. On May 22nd, he took a loss to the Cubs at Shea serving up a three run HR to Jerry Morales. On June 11th in Atlanta, native New Yorker Frank Tepedino reached on an 11th inning error Apodaca made while trying to field a bunt allowing Johnny Oates to score with the walk off run.
On July 7th at Shea, Bob pitched four innings of relief combining with Tom Seaver for a three hit shutout over the Giants. Seaver had back issues & had to exit the game early.
Apodaca was next put into the starting rotation of a hurting pitching staff.
On July 12th, Bob made his first start, pitching six shutout innings in Los Angeles beating Tommy John & the Dodgers 5-2. His next outing wasn't as good, as he was hit hard for five runs by the Giants in Candlestick Park, exiting in the 4th inning, in a 6-2 loss as his record fell to 2-5.On July 27th at Shea, Apodaca gave up a double in the 1st inning & then a Teddy Martinez error led to an Expos run. He then settled down to retire 19 Expos in a row, before getting relieved in the 8th inning. The Mets won the game 8-5 with Apodaca allowing just two earned runs.
On August 9th, Apodaca pitched a brilliant two hit, seven inning shutout against the Cincinnati Reds at Shea Stadium. He walked three & struck out four while earning hid fourth win (4-5).
On August 20th, he took a no decision in Houston & then made a July 31st, relief appearance in relief of Jerry Koosman vs. Atlanta. He came in with the bases loaded & allowed two runs to score that were charged to Koosman. Rusty Staub's RBI single in the 8th inning was the difference giving "Dac" the victory to get to .500 (5-5).
In the disappointing Mets season he went 6-6 with three saves, posting a 3.50 ERA, In 35 appearances he made eight starts, he struck out 54 batters & walked 42 in 103 innings of work while finishing off 15 games.
Apodaca had taken over in that role as Tug McGraw had been traded away to Philadelphia.
In the off season, the Mets added Dave Kingman, Joe Torre & Del Unser to their line up for some offensive support.
Apodaca missed the first two weeks of the season on the DL, returning on April 20th. In his first game, he earned a save in relief of Jon Matlack, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-6 at Shea Stadium.
From April 20th thru June 17th, Apodaca saved seven games with a win, while posting a 1.15 ERA in 17 appearances. In that stretch he only allowed four earned runs in 31.1 innings. His ERA was over two just once all season & remained under two from May 9th thru the end of the season.
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On June 18th, he had his first blown save & took his first loss of the season, coming in Montreal allowing a 9th inning game tying RBI single to Gary Carter. He then in the 10th inning, he gave up game winning walk off hit to Pete Mackanin.
On July 29th in a loss to the Phillies, Johnny Oates hit a bouncer that Apodaca took to his face, suffering a fractured nose that required 14 stitches. He missed most of July but did return at the end of the month collecting a save in St. Louis upon his return.
On August 16th, in a 4-2 win over the Giants at Shea Bob reached the double figure mark in saves reaching ten. His ERA was 1.66 making him one of the best relievers in the NL at that point.
That month the Mets had much drama, as they parted ways with Cleon Jones after an ugly sex scandal, which was handled wrongly by the team. Two weeks later they fired manager Yogi Berra as well. But the team was still in contention, six games back of Pittsburgh at the start of September.
From September 20th to the 23rd, Apodaca collected two relief victories, pitching five scoreless innings over the two games against the Phillies & Cubs.
Apodaca had his best overall season in 1975, posting a 1.48 ERA, with a team leading 13 saves (8th best in the league) and a 3-4 record. He allowed just 66 hits, 4 HRs & 14 earned runs in 85.0 innings pitched, striking out 45 batters & walking 28.
Apodaca had his best overall season in 1975, posting a 1.48 ERA, with a team leading 13 saves (8th best in the league) and a 3-4 record. He allowed just 66 hits, 4 HRs & 14 earned runs in 85.0 innings pitched, striking out 45 batters & walking 28.
Bicentennial Year: In 1976 he lost his closer job to the newly acquired veteran Skip Lockwood who was brought over from the Angels.
In May he took two losses in relief but was still holding a 2.08 ERA. On May 31st at Shea, he made a spot start in the night cap of a double header split with the Pirates, taking a 2-1 heartbreaking loss to Doc Medich.
On July 5th in Houston, Apodaca made another start getting tagged for a season worst, six runs in just three innings to earn his fourth loss. On July 11th at Fulton County Stadium, he gave up three runs to the Braves in the 8th inning in relief earning his fifth loss, falling to 1-5.
Apodaca made 43 appearances & was second on the staff with five saves, going 3-7 posting another strong ERA(2.81). He struck out 45 batters & walked 29 in 89 innings of work. He was also credited with two holds & he finished off thirty games.
1977: In a bad year for the organization, that saw the Mets trade away Tom Seaver & fall into last place, Apodaca would appear in a career high 59 games, mostly in middle relief for a franchise that was hitting rock bottom.
On May 15th he gave up a run to the Dodgers in the 11th inning to take his first loss. A week later he gave up three runs in Cincinnati to take his second loss. On May 31st, he earned his first save in a win over the Expos at Shea.In June, although he blew two leads pitching in relief he was bailed out by the Mets offense resulting in wins. On June 30th, he pitched three scoreless innings in Montreal & benefited from Mike Vail's 9th inning grounder that resulted in a run scoring, as he bested his record to 3-3.
Apodaca earned four more saves thru the summer taking three losses along the way.
On September 17th at Shea, although no one knew it at the time, Dac got the last victory of his career as he pitched a scoreless 9th inning over the Cubs in a 5-4 win. The Mets won the game on Ed Kranepool's pinch hit walk off double.
Once again Apodaca was second on the staff, to Skip Lockwood in saves (5) going 4-8, with three holds & a respectable 3.43 ERA. He struck out 53 walked 30 in 84 innings in 59 appearances, finishing off 27 games.Career Ending Injury: In Spring Training of 1978 hard luck fell on Apodaca, he tore a ligament in his right elbow which ended up finishing off his career. He did not pitch again for three seasons, until 1981 when he attempted a comeback with AA Jackson.
He pitched in just six games, before being forced to retire, ending a once promising career that never took off.
Career Stats: In five seasons Apodaca appeared in 184 games (11 starts) going 16-25 with a 2.86 ERA and 26 saves. He struck out 197 batters walked 131 in 361 innings pitched. Apodaca has one complete game to his credit.
Career Stats: In five seasons Apodaca appeared in 184 games (11 starts) going 16-25 with a 2.86 ERA and 26 saves. He struck out 197 batters walked 131 in 361 innings pitched. Apodaca has one complete game to his credit.
Coaching Career: After his playing days Bob spent over a decade as a coach in the Mets farm system. In 1983 he began at A ball Little Falls & AA Jackson. That season he helped coach two young relievers named Roger McDowell & Calvin Schiraldi. From 1984-1987 Apodaca went to the A ball Columbia Mets coaching pitchers there. In 1985 he worked there under former teammate Bud Harrelson. In 1986 the Columbia Mets also finished up as league champs like the big league team.
By 1989 Apodaca went to the St. Lucie Mets & back to Jackson (1990). From 1991- 1996 he was at the Mets AAA level with Tidewater then with them in their move to Norfolk.
By 1989 Apodaca went to the St. Lucie Mets & back to Jackson (1990). From 1991- 1996 he was at the Mets AAA level with Tidewater then with them in their move to Norfolk.
Over the years Apodaca had tutored future Mets pitchers, Anthony Young, Pete Shcourek, Bobby Jones, Paul Byrd, Rick Reed & the Generation K trio of Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher, & Paul Gibson. Mets Pitching Coach: In 1996 he was promoted to pitching coach of the New York Mets on Bobby Valentine’s staff. He remained there for parts of four seasons into 1999..
In 1997 & 1998, Apodaca's staff won 88 games both seasons while posting the leagues fourth best ERA in 1998. In 1997 the bullpen had the most saves in the NL (41).
Manager Bobby Valentine arrived at Shea Stadium‚ to learn that GM Steve Phillips had fired his three closest coaches Bob Apodaca‚ Tom Robinson and Randy Niemann.
Mets Trivia: After spending 27 years in the Mets organization at various levels & job positions, Apodaca was moving on.
Trivia: As pitching coach, he is remembered for wearing a counter stopwatch around his neck to keep pitch counts & time his staff.
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Post Mets Career: Apodaca moved on to the Milwaukee Brewers as pitching coach (2000-2001) then returned to the Mets organization as pitching coach for St. Lucie (2002). Rockies Pitching Coach career: In 2003 he got the job as pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies under manager Clint Hurdle whom he had met while coaching in the Mets minor league system.
In 2007 their Rockies staff went all the way to the World Series, leading the NL in wins & the staff was second in innings pitched.
The Rockies fell below .500 the next year but returned to the post season in 2009. That year Apodaca's bullpen was first in the league in saves & third in wins.
Bob then became a Rockies minor league instructor through 2016. More recently Apodaca coached with the A ball Boise Hawks in 2018 & 2019. After fifty years in baseball, he retired in 2020.
Family: Bob & his first wife Rita have three children & grandchildren. In 2017 he married his second wife Rene & is stepfather to her children as well.