Remembering Mets History (1998) The Mets Catching Problem Before the Arrival Of Mike Piazza

When the Bobby Valentine era began in late 1996, there were signs of good things to come. In Valentine's first full year at the helm, the Mets won 88 games, the most wins they had had in seven years. It was also the first time they went over .500 since 1990.

In 1998 they won 88 games again, this time finishing second but still missing out on the wild card spot. There were a couple of more pieces Valentine & the Mets needed to complete their team to make a deep post season run.

On May 22nd, 1998 Mike Piazza arrived & the Mets had their superstar player, a future Hall of Famer. In Piazza's first full season the Mets won 97 games & made the post season. Piazza hit 40 HRs & drove in 124 runs. 

In 2000 he led the Mets to the NL Pennant.  But before the greatest hitting catcher of All Time arrived, the Mets were in turmoil at the catchers position.

Todd Hundley was the Mets All Star catcher having the position locked up since 1992. By 1996, he had set the franchise record & the MLB single season HR mark for a catcher, with 41. Playing in New York made Hundley a celebrity around the Big Apple. 

Todd even got to appear on Saturday Night Live. Hundley enjoyed the New York night life, very much. But his partying didn't sit well with his managers, first Jeff Torborg, then the old school, very stern Dallas Green. By 1998 Bobby Valentine was in charge & he was building a winner, his way, Hundley was not to be in the plans.

Toward the end of the 1997 season, Hundley got injured, having to have reconstructive elbow surgery. The rehab took time & he wasn't ready to start the 1998 season. Piazza arrival was still a little over a month away, so the Mets had to be creative.

In the first 44 games of the 98 season, the Mets used five different catchers at the position. In 1998 six different players would play in the catchers role:

Jim Tatum was a journeyman utility player who had spent time with the Milwaukee Brewers (1992) Colorado Rockies (1993-1995) Boston Red Sox (1996) & San Diego Padres (1996). 

Tatum would play 35 games for the 1998 Mets, four games at catcher, getting one start. With his strong arm, he threw out three of the four base runners who tried to steal on him. He hit just .180 but hit two HRs & drove in 13 runs.

In June he was sent down to AAA Norfolk & in October was granted free agency. Jim never played in the majors again. In a short five-year career, he batted .194 with three HRs & 29 RBIs.

Rick Wilkins was a veteran catcher who had played seven years in
the majors, mostly with the Chicago Cubs (1991-1995). Houston Astros (1995) San Francisco Giants (1996-1997) & Seattle Mariners (1998-1998). 

He came to the Mets from Seattle on May 8th, for minor leaguer Lindsay Gulin, to help out the catching situation. Wilkins would play in just five games for the Mets, getting two hits & RBI in 15 at bats. He was sent down & granted free agency in October. He signed with the LA Dodgers.

Alberto Castillo had been with the Mets since 1995, seeing limited action through the years. In 1997 he played in 35 games batting .203 with seven RBIs. On Opening Day 1998, he drove in the game winning run, with a walk off single in a 14 inning 1-0 Mets victory over the Phillies.

Castillo saw the majority of the time at the start of that season, with action in 26 of the first 44 games. But he clearly he wasn't the answer. 

In 38 total games with New York that year he hit .205 with his first two career HRs & seven RBIs. Defensively, he threw out 54% of would-be base stealers (15 out of 28). In July he was sent down, then at the end of the season he was granted free agency & signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. There he played in 93 games behind Eli Marrero. Castillo would play in the majors thru the 2007 season having played with eight teams.

Jorge Fabregas had spent time with the California Angles (1994-1997) the Chicago White Sox (1997) & Arizona Diamondbacks (1998). He would come over on the July 31st trade deadline in exchange for Nelson Figueroa & Bernard Gilkey. Fabregas played in twenty Mets games batting .188 with a HR & five RBIs. In November Jorge was traded to Marlins. 

In August 1999 he was was released then picked up by Braves, getting one at bat in the NLCS vs the Mets. He played thru the 2002 season with the Royals, Angels & Brewers.

Tim Spehr was another traveling catcher, who had been in the big leagues since 1991. He played with briefly the Kansas City Royals (1991) then spending the majority of his time with the Montreal Expos (1993-1996). In 1997 Spehr then went to Atlanta & Kansas City.  He signed with the Mets that January & was the Opening Day catcher. 

Due to Hundley's injury Tim would also see lots of playing time before Piazza's arrival. Defensively he threw out 7 of 12 base runners trying to steal, 37%  a bit better than the league average. But in 28 games he batted just .137 with three RBIs. In early May he broke a bone in his wrist & was devastated. By the end of August he was picked up again by the Royals.

Todd Pratt  had come up with the Phillies in 1992 & played there for three seasons then went to the Cubs for 1995. In 1996 Todd missed the whole season as he was not signed by anyone. He was delivering pizza & working at Bucky Dents baseball school, before signing getting a chance with the Mets in 1997. 

In 1998 he was brought up in early May, getting two starts that month. In his first game of the year he hit a three run HR then hit a three-run triple the next day. Pratt would eventually emerge as the best of the catching bunch. 

Pratt became Mike Piazza's backup catcher over the next three & half years, becoming a solid as well as a popular player. In 1998 Todd batted .275 with 2 HRs 9 doubles & 18 RBIs in 41 games. In 16 games at catcher he threw out 44% of would be base stealers.

He would forever be remembered for his walk off HR, in the 1999 NLDS clincher against the Arizona Diamondbacks, advancing the Mets to the NLCS.

In the 2000 pennant season he threw out 39% of base runners playing in 71 games. Pratt was a good hitter thru the years, he hit .293 (1999 ) then .275 with 8 HRs & 25 RBIs (2000).

In July of 2001 he was traded to the Phillies, where he would spend the next five years. In 2006 he closed out his 14 year career in Atlanta.

The Hundley Experiment: After Piazza arrived, it was clear he was the number one catcher. The Mets down played the idea of Todd Hundley being traded but the writing was on the wall. Hundley returned from his injury in July & only saw two games behind the plate. 

The Mets experimented with him in the outfield but that didn't work out. In left field he made five errors in 34 games.

 After the season, Hundley was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Roger Cedeno & Charles Johnson.

The Mets would make two consecutive post season appearances in Piazza's first two full seasons, It was the first time in franchise history the Mets had done that. In his eight year Mets career, Piazza hit .296 with 1928 hits 220 HRs 193 doubles & 655 RBIs with a .373 on base %. He became the face of the franchise & went into Cooperstown donning a Mets cap. The Mets would retire his #31 as well