Eric Campbell: 2015 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Player (2014-2016)
Eric Singleton Campbell was born April 9th, 1987, in Norwich, Connecticut. Norwich is located just under three hours from New York City.Eric was twice an All-State player at Norwich High School then moved on to Boston College. He was a fine hitter there hitting over .300 getting signed by the New York Mets in the 8th round of the 2008 draft.
Campbell began his career with the A Ball Brooklyn Cyclones playing third base while batting .260 in 2008. The next year he spilt time with the Savannah Sand Gnats & St. Lucie Mets playing mostly first base.
By 2012 he was at AA Binghamton playing first base & outfield batting .297. He made the All-Star team & drove in the games winning run with a base hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, earning him the game's MVP Award. That year he finished in the top ten in batting & top five in on base %.
In 2013 he was at AAA Las Vegas with the 51s, with 8 HRs 25 doubles & 66 RBIs while batting .314 in 66 games. He was 7th in the Pacific Coast League in batting average (between Wilmer Flores & Abraham Almonte) he led in on base % & was 9th in walks (66).
MLB Career: On May 10th, Campbell was brought up to the Mets replacing the demoted Josh Satin. Campbell got one at bat in a 5-4 Mets loss to the Philadelphia Phillies that same day.
The next day he got his first start & collected his first career hit a single off Cole Hamels in a 5-4 Mets win.
On May 12th he came in a pinch hitter in the subway series at the Bronx, he doubled off Matt Thorton and came in to score the tying run on Lucas Duda's base hit The Mets went on to a 9-7 win.
Over the next week he would get two starts in the home series against the L.A. Dodgers, he would get two hits a HR & two RBIs in the series.
By early July he had a personal even game hit streak, where he hit safely in 11 of 15 games, raising his average to a season high .340. He kept his average up over the .300 mark into mid-August, seeing decent playing time.
On August 15th, he hit a three run HR off Travis Wood, scoring all three runs in the Mets 3-2 earning Zack Wheeler a victory. Later that week he hit another HR, a solo shot at Oakland in an 8-5 Met win.
Over the next week he would get two starts in the home series against the L.A. Dodgers, he would get two hits a HR & two RBIs in the series.
By early July he had a personal even game hit streak, where he hit safely in 11 of 15 games, raising his average to a season high .340. He kept his average up over the .300 mark into mid-August, seeing decent playing time.On August 15th, he hit a three run HR off Travis Wood, scoring all three runs in the Mets 3-2 earning Zack Wheeler a victory. Later that week he hit another HR, a solo shot at Oakland in an 8-5 Met win.
He cooled off in September and finished off the year with a .263 average. He hit 3 HRs with nine doubles 50 hits 16 runs scored & 16 RBIs.
In 23 outfield games he posted a 1.000 fielding % with two assists.
In 23 outfield games he posted a 1.000 fielding % with two assists.
2015 Mets Pennant Season: When David Wright went down with injury in early April, Campbell started seeing playing time at third base.
Campbell collected three hits & drove in three runs in his first five games. He also drew three walks & put up a good on base % (.350%) into early May.On April 25th, Campbell hit a solo HR off CC Sabathia in Matt Harvey's 8-2 win over the AL New York club in the early edition of that year's subway series.
Campbell struggled at the plate & saw his average fall below .200 through the end of July, where he was at .176.
As the Mets offense struggled up to that point, it was apparent that Campbell was not ready to be an everyday major league player & was certainly not David Wright's replacement.
By the trade deadline, the Mets acquired Kelly Johnson & Juan Uribe to help solidify the Mets infield. Campbell's days were numbered he sent back in the minors.He returned as a September call up as the Mets were heading to the NL Eastern Division title.
Three Hit Game: On September 27th he collected three hits with a walk, while scoring three runs in an 8-2 Mets win at Cincinnati.
He finished the year batting .197 with 3 HRs 8 doubles & 19 RBIs. Campbell played 48 games at third base, five games at first base & four games in the outfield.
2016 Mets Wild Card Season: Campbell was on board for Mets Spring Training 2016. In his first 14 games he was batting .296 with ten walks & a pair of doubles. When the Mets waived Ruben Tejada, it seemed likely Campbell would make the roster.
2016 Mets Wild Card Season: Campbell was on board for Mets Spring Training 2016. In his first 14 games he was batting .296 with ten walks & a pair of doubles. When the Mets waived Ruben Tejada, it seemed likely Campbell would make the roster.
In April he got just one hit in nine at bats finishing the month at .111. In May he had three multi-hit games but was still batting just .159 by the end of the month.
When the Mets acquired James Loney & got Jose Reyes back, there was no room for Campbell. He spent three months down at AAA Las Vegas returning to the big-league club for the Wild Card run in September.
In ten games that month he got three hits with four RBIs.
Overall, the versatile Campbell played at first base (21 games) third base (7 games) in the outfield (2 games) & one game at second base.
Overall, the versatile Campbell played at first base (21 games) third base (7 games) in the outfield (2 games) & one game at second base.
In 40 games he batted .173 with one HR & nine RBIs.
In the off season he was out righted off the Mets 40-man roster & assigned to AAA Las Vegas. Nippon Pro Baseball: In 2017 Campbell then signed a deal to play in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers. He had difficulties in Japan, first battling gastroenteritis & then injuring his wrist. He wasn't familiar with Japanese pitching, saying that there are more spin rates than with American pitchers.
In 2018 he signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins then became a free agent at the end of the year. In 2019 he signed on with Oakland for a minor league deal.
In 2021 he signed on with Seattle & saw action in four games at the major league level.
Family: In 2014, Eric married his childhood sweetheart Kristin in their hometown of Norwich, Connecticut.
Retirement: Campbell is owner of the Lumber2Leather training Facility.