Pat Mahomes Sr: 2000 NL Champion Mets Pitcher (1999-2000)

Patrick Lavon Mahomes was born on August 9th, 1970 in Byran, Texas. The six foot one right handed pitcher was drafted in the 6th round of the 1988 amateur draft, by the Minnesota Twins.

Mahomes got to the big leagues in 1992, pitching 14 games for the Twins going 3-4 with a 5.04 ERA. He spent five seasons with the Twins being used as both a starter & reliver.

In 1994 he had his best season there, getting used only as a starting pitcher, he went  9-5 with a 4.73 ERA making 21 starts. He fell to 4-10 the next year & in 1996 was sent to the Boston Red Sox as a player to be named later. He spent two seasons there between the minors & the Red Sox going a combined 3-0 with two saves in those seasons for Boston.

In 1998, Mahomes pitched in Japan for the Yokohama Bay Stars. The next year he was given a contract by the New York Mets. 

Once again Mets manager Bobby Valentine was hand picking some fine players out of Japan to play roles on his Mets team.

Mets Career: Mahomes had an outstanding year for the '99 Mets. 

He debuted on May 15th, coming in relief in the 4th inning of a game at Philadelphia. Mahomes held the Phils down for 2.1 innings to earn the win in a 6-5 Mets victory. 

He pitched another scoreless inning in a loss to the Brewers on the 17th. On May 29th, he was roughed up for three runs in three hits in an 8-7 loss to Arizona. The next day he pitched four innings in a 10-1 Mets loss, giving up three runs & five hits.

But Mahomes settled in after that. He would be an asset to Bobby Valentine, being used in long relief salutations. He was also a good hitter, so he could hold his own in the batting order as well. He batted .313 (5-16) with three doubles & three RBIs, while scoring two runs.

On June 9th, he pitched three scoreless innings against Toronto, picking up his second win. He then allowed a run in each of his next outings.

In July he picked up two more wins. The first pitching three scoreless innings, striking out three in Florida in a 12-8 win over the Marlins. On July 30th, Mahomes got the victory, in a 4.1 inning relief effort at Wrigley Field. In ten appearances (17 innings) that month, he allowed just four runs, with three if them coming in one game.

In August he made just five appearances, but earned wins in three of them. On August 1st, with a depleted Mets bench, he came to bat in the 13th inning of a tied game at Wrigley Field. With two men on, he singled up the middle off Cubs pitcher, Scott Sanders & drove in Roger Cedeno with what turned out to be the winning run. 

He finished off the Cubs in the bottom of the inning to earn the win, his fifth straight.  On August 11th he earned a win against the Padres & on August 21st, pitched 3.1 innings to beat the Cardinals. By the end of the month, he was 7-0 with a 3.28 ERA.

In September, he was used often, making 13 appearances that month, allowing runs in just three of those games. He had one bad outing that month, on September 28th against the Braves, he allowed four runs & three hits in just one inning of work. That month he also blew a save & earned credit for a hold.

On October 1st, he came on in the 10th inning of a 2-2 game at Shea Stadium. He held down the Pittsburgh Pirates & earned a much needed win keeping the Mets alive in the wild card race. Robin Ventura won the game with a walk off RBI single.

Mahomes went 8-0 with a 3,68 ERA in 39 games for the 1999 Wild Card winning Mets. He struck out 51 & walked 37 in 64 innings of work. He was an important piece of the Mets bullpen as he made Bobby Valentine look like a genius, once again.

1999 Post Season-NLDS: In the 1999 NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he made an appearance & gave up a run in the Mets Game #2 loss.

1999 NLCS: In the NLCS he appeared in Game #1 at Atlanta, giving up a HR to the Braves Eddie Perez, putting the Mets down 3-1 in the 4-2 loss.

In Game #5 at Shea Stadium, he pitched crucial 7th & 8th innings holding the Braves down with the Mets down 3-1 in the series.

In that Game he relieved Orel Hershiser & held the score at 2-2 as he was relieved by Johnny Franco. The Mets won the classic game on Robin Ventura's grand slam walk off single in the 15th inning. Mahomes pitched another scoreless inning the final Game #6 as well.

2000 Mets NL Pennant Season: In the Mets 2000 NL Pennant season, Mahomes played another important role in the fine bullpen for Bobby Valentine. 

He had a fine April, earning a win and posting a 1.59 ERA in seven games. On April 8th, he pitched 5.2 innings, allowing a run in a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers. 

On April 16th, even though he gave up five runs (just two earned) in four innings pitched, he earned the win a wild Mets 12-9 win at Pittsburgh.

On May 5th, he earned a hold in Florida, in a 4-1 win over the Marlins. On May 5th, he didnt record an out, allowing three runs on five hits in a loss at Pittsburgh. He earned a blown save in a rough stretch where he gave up runs in six straight appearances. 12 runs in 10 innings. He blew two saves & took a loss in that stretch.

But he straightened things out & won his next three decisions with two holds, pitching solid middle relief over the next two months.

On August 22nd, he had the worst day of his life, being the sacrificial lamb, getting shelled for ten runs & seven hits in a 16-1 Mets loss in San Diego. A week later he gave up another five runs over three innings in an 11-1 loss to the Astros.

On October 1st, he pitched three innings of relief to beat the Expos 3-2 in extra innings, to earn the win. 

He ended the Mets pennant season at 5-3 pitching in 53 games, striking out 76 batters, walking 66 in 94 innings, while posting a 5.46 ERA. 

2000 Post Season: He did not see any post season action that year. 

Mahomes, was granted free agency and signed on with the Texas Rangers, where he went 7-6 with a 5.70 ERA. Over the next two years, he would pitch for the Chicago Cubs (2002) & Pittsburgh Pirates (2003) at the big-league level.

Mahomes would pitch in the minor leagues through the 2009 season, spending a total of 17 years in minor league ball. In the minors he was 139-96 in 449 games.

Career Stats: In eleven years at the major league level, he was 42-39 with five saves posting a 5.47 ERA in 308 games (63 starts). He struck out 452 batters & walked 392 in 709 innings of work.

Retirement: In the late 2000's he would pitch in the Independent League, also making a stop with the Long Island Ducks.

Honors: Pat Mahomes Sr. was on hand for the 2022 Mets Old Timers Day game at Citi Field & pitched in the game. He said he was most looking forward to meeting up with old friends & old teammates.

Family: Pat Sr. was married to Randi Mahomes & together they had two children, before divorcing in 2006.  

Their son Patrick Mahomes II, is an NFL Quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college at Texas Tech, getting drafted tenth overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 draft.

In 2019 he Pat Mahomes was the NFL's Most Valuable Player & his Kansas City Chief's won their first Super Bowl in 50 years. 

In 2022 he led the Chiefs to another Super Bowl victory. In both games he was voted the Super Bowl MVP.

Mahomes has won two NFL-MVP Awards as well & has been elected to five Pro Bowls.

Quotes- Pat Mahomes Jr: "My favorite memories were just shagging BP & taking BP with some of the guys that dad played with, especially when he was on the Mets".