Ed Hearn: The Amazing Story of the 1986 World Championship Mets Back Up Catcher (1986)

Edward John Hearn was born August 23, 1960, in Stuart, Florida. The Hearn family, Ed his two brothers & sister grew up in nearby Fort Pierce Florida. Ed's parents worked in the printing field owing a print shop in the area.

From the ages of eight to ten years old, Ed competed in the NFL's Punt Pass & Kick competitions. At ten years old he won the regional contest at Miami's Orange Bowl & then represented Florida at the AFC Championship Game. Overall he finished in fourth place.

In high school Hearn was a football, quarterback, baseball & basketball player. That year he began to wear glasses which helped him hit the ball better. In his senior year, he suffered a shoulder injury that haunted him later in his life.

Baseball Career: In 1978 the six-foot three catcher was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. Over the next two years he needed two surgeries  which set back the start of his career. When he returned he saw less playnig time & became unhappy in the Phillies organization.

In 1983 he was released & then signed with the New York Mets. That year he began at A-ball Lynchburg. In 1984, at AA Jackson,  Hearn won the Texas League Championship, hitting .312  with 11 HRs & 51 RBIs while sharing time behind the plate with Greg Olsen.

In 1985 he attended the Mets Spring Training, almost making the team as one of the last players to get cut.

He spent the year at AAA Tidewater playing behind the Tides main catcher John Gibbons. A knee injury shut him down at the end of the season as the Tides won the International League Championship.

Trivia: Ed became known as the team jokester who loved to pull pranks on his teammates, especially Kevin Mitchell.

Ward Nickname: Hearn shared at apartment with teammates Calvin Shiraldi & Billy Beane. It was Billy Beane, the future Oakland A's GM who became famous for his "moneyball" style of recruiting players that gave Hearn the nickname "Ward" after the clean cut, Ward Cleaver from the classic “Leave it To Beaver” television show.

Ed would certainly stand out among the wild, rowdy 1986 Mets. He wore glasses & was clean cut, resembling Clark Kent in Metropolis.

1986 Mets: In 1986 the Mets went with Barry Lyons as their back up to Gary Carter, Hearn began the year once again at AAA Tidewater. Buy after 22 games he called up to the Mets squad in May. 

Mets Debut: On May 17th, as Gary Carter got a day off, Hearn made his MLB debut at Dodger Stadium with his parents in attendance. In his first career at bat he singled off the Dodgers Bob Welch, then & hit a stand up double in his next at bat. 

A week later in his second game he collected a base hit in an eleven inning  4-2 win at San Diego.

On June 1st, his first game at Shea Stadium, he had problems behind the plate, he made two of the Mets five errors & allowed four stolen bases in a 7-3 loss to the Giants.

Quotes- Ed Hearn: "I've been through a lot to get to this point in my career, a lot of adversary. I know that if I face difficult times & get something out of it, I'm going to be a lot better for it".

From June 15th thru July 3rd, in a five game span, Hearn enjoyed some success as he hit .364 with
three HRs & five RBIs in that time.

Multi -three RBI Game: On Fathers Day, June 15th at Shea, in the second game of a double header sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates, he came to bat in the bottom of the 6th, after George Foster doubles & Ray Knight had singled. Hearn hit a three run HR off Cecilio Guante, for his first MLB HR. When he got back to the dugout, with the fans cheering, his teammates pushed him out for a curtain call. After the game he gave the ball to his father as a Fathers Day gift.

Later in the 8th inning, he also collected a base hit in the Mets 8-5 win.

On June 20th at Shea, after replacing Gary Carter behind the plate in the 8th inning of a 10-3 win over the Cubs Ed hit his second HR coming off Jay Baller. In the previous inning, Gary Carter had hit a three HR as well. 

On July 3rd at Shea Stadium, Hearn hit an 2nd inning, solo HR off the Astros Jim Deshaies. The Mets would go to the bottom of the 10th down 5-3 but came back to win it on a two run HR from Darryl Strawberry & a walk off HR by Ray Knight. 

Ed collected hits in his next two games as well. From July 20th thru July 26th he hit safely in three more games to raise his average to .319.

Brawl with the Reds: In the classic July 22nd Mets - Reds brawl in Cincinnati where Ray Knight punched out Eric Davis, Hearn came into the game to catch. as Gary Carter went to play third base to fill the spots of the players that had been ejected. In the top of the 14th inning, Hearn doubled & scored on Howard John's game winning HR.

In August, Hearn saw the most action as Gary Carter went down with an injury. He collected five multi-hit games in the 17 games he played that month.

On August 20th in a 7-5 win at Dodger Stadium Ed had a multi- three hit game including an RBI single 

On August 31st at Shea Stadium, he homered off the Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela in a 7-4 loss. It was to be his last MLB HR.

On September 7th, in the second game of a double header, Hearn came to bat against the Padres' Bob Stoddard in a game tied up at three.  He drew a bases loaded walk, putting the Mets ahead in what was the games winning run as they went on to a 6-5 victory.

In 49 games for the 1986 Mets, Hearn batted .265 with four HRs five doubles ten RBIs & a .322 on base %. 

Defensively he played in 45 games throwing out 21% of would-be base stealers, making three errors with a .987 fielding %.

Music Video: Hearn got to appear in the Mets 1986 “Let’s Go Mets Go” music video as well as get on the post season roster. 

Fishing Boat Breakdown: That summer while fishing in the Long Island sound, his boat broke down & he radioed in for help. At first no one believed he was Ed Hearn of the New York Mets & got questioned on who his third base coach was, as well as what his stats were. After he was finally rescued, Ed signed autographs as everyone got a laugh out of the incident.

1986 Post Season: Hearn was the only roster player not to get into any post season games. Hearn did get to join in on the field & in the club house with the victory celebrations.

In the off season he was traded to the Kansas City Royals along with Mauro Gozzo & Rick Anderson for rookie pitcher David Cone & Chris Jelic. The deal beacme such a one sided trade favoring the Mets that the Kansas City Star even went as far as calling it the worst deal in team history.

The Hot Foot: In KC he got to teach the "hot foot" which he learned in New York from Howard Johnson & Roger McDowell, to Royals pitcher star Bret Saberhagen who used it on a Royals coach.

Post Mets Career: On April 13th, in a game in New York he was presented with his World Series ring. Later in the game he got into a home plate collision with Dave Winfield. Although he finished the game he suffered a rotator cuff tear  that kept him out the rest of the season & most of the next year.

On September 9th 1988 he returned to the line up & doubled off the Angels Chuck Finley in his first at bat.

Walk Off Hit: On September 29th, he came to bat as a pinch hitter with two men on & the Royals down 8-7. Ed delivered the walk off RBI base hit off Don Pall to win the game.

Hearn would spend parts of the next four seasons in the minor leagues. Overall he only played in 13 games at the major league level in two seasons at Kansas City. 

Career Stats: Hearn ended his career with a .263 lifetime batting average, 45 hits 9 doubles 4 HRs 14 RBIs and a .324 on base %. He also earned a World Series ring that he still wears proudly.

Retirement: Hearn then became an insurance salesman in Overland Park, Kansas. 

Ed Hearn has become a remarkable story, not on the field but in life itself. After being a successful healthy athlete, he was stricken with many health problems since the early nineties.

Battling Illness: Hearn was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Thru the years he has bee treated for cancer many times & underwent four kidney transplants.

At one point at night he needed mechanical assistance to breathe & at one point was taking over forty pills a day. The pills eventually led at one time prescription drug addiction as well as depression. At one point he held a revolver to his head & thought about suicide. 

Quotes- Ed Hearn: "One day I'm sitting on top of the world & then before I really know what is happening, it's all over. It seemed so fast & it seemed like such a long fall, like a sad movie."

His faith in God & his love for his family had him think clearer. He decided to move on & fight through his problems. After speaking at a Rotary Club meeting he was encouraged to speak at corporate events to tell his story.

Book: Hearn is the author of the bestselling book "Conquering Life’s Curves- Baseball Battles & Beyond". He has appeared on numerous television programs talking about it & his life.

Soon he was a highly sought after motivational speaker with a message that has helped many people. Ed has survived to become more successful than he could ever have been on a ball field & human hero.

Honors: He was awarded the Certified Speaking Profession Designation from the National Speakers Association. He is the only athlete to ever receive this designation & only eight % of speakers receive this award.

Charities: Hearn also operates two charities, the Neph Cure Foundation, (researching kidney diseases) & the Bottom of the Ninth Foundation.

Family: In 1986 Ed was dating former Met Calvin Schiraldi now with the red Sox, sister. Ed's teammate, pitcher Randy Nieman wanted to fix Ed up with a nurse he & his wife had met in the hospital after the birth of their child. Later that year at a charity event, he was asked by a woman to sign a ticket stub for nurse friend of  hers. The nurse ended up being the same girl the Nieman's were trying to set him up with.

During the 1986 World Series, classic Game #6, Hearn had tickets left tickets for Tricia as well as his own family. Schiraldi's sister was also sitting with Hearns parents on the other side of the row from Ed Hearns new girlfriend. Even clean-cut Ed Hearn had his own excitements on the '86 Mets.

The next year, Ed & Tricia were married & settled in Shawnee Kansas. Together they have a son whose middle name is Carter in honor of Gary Carter.

Hobbies: Besides his charity work & motivational speaking,  Ed has enjoyed golf, hunting & fishing.

Honors: In 2016, Hearn was on hand for the 30th Anniversary of the Mets 1986 Championship team at Citi Field in 2016. He is also featured in the book- "Kings of Queens, Life Beyond Baseball With the '86 Mets."

In recent years he has battled cancer once again & needed a fourth kidney transplant. Jay Horowitz reported that Ed has been rehabbing & doing well to return for the 40th Anniversary celebration on the 1986 Championship team.