Posts

Showing posts from February, 2021

Gary DiSarcina: Italian / American Mets Third Base Coach (2018-2021)

Image
Gary Thomas DiSarcina was born November 19th 1967 in Malden, Massachusetts. The six foot one short stop attended the University of Massachusetts getting drafted in the 6th round of the 1988 draft by the California Angels.  He left UMass as the school leader in career hits, at bats & total bases getting into their Hall of Fame. MLB Debut: Disarcina would debut the next season, on September 23rd, he entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning of a 6-2 loss to Cleveland.  He played in just two brief games. He had short stints on the 1990-1991 Angels teams before becoming the teams main short stop in 1992.  DiSarcina would play 12 years with the California / Anaheim Angels, playing in over 150 games in four different seasons. He hoit twenty or more doubles in five different seasons.  On July 28th, 1994 he made the final out of Texas Rangers pitcher, Kenny Rogers no hitter.  All Star Selection: In 1995 he batted a career best .307 & .344 on base %. He hit six t

Mets Bench Coach: Dave Jauss (2010)

Image
David Patrick Jauss was born on January 16, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois.  Family: His father was a longtime sports writer for the Chicago Tribune, Bill Jauss. He also served as panelist on the TV program, "The Sportswriters on TV". Dave Jauss was the captain of his baseball & basketball team at Amherst College as a teammate of future Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. He never played ball in the majors or minor leagues after college, instead earning degrees in psychology & Sports Management at the University of Massachusetts. He then became a college baseball coach throughout the 1980’s until 1988 when his former teammate Duquette became Director of Player Development with the Montreal Expos.  Jauss landed a job as manager in the Expo minor leagues, working for Jerry Manuel who was working as the Minor League field coordinator. He managed in the Rookie League, A & AA levels winning the 1994 Eastern League Manager of the Year. He got to the big leagues in 1997 as first b

Chili Davis: Mets Hitting Coach (2019-2021)

Image
Charles Theodore Davis was born January 17th 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica. He became the first MLB player to be born in that country. Davis along with three brothers & a sister moved to Los Angeles as kids.  The six foot-three, switch hitting outfielder was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 11th round of the 1977 draft, while still in high school.  Moniker Trivia: He got the nickname Chili as a kid, when his father gave him a bad haircut. His friends said it looked like  they put a bowl of chili on his head & cut around it, the name stuck. Davis spent seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants, playing his first full season in 1982. That year he came in fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, with 19 HRs 27 doubles 24 stolen bases & 76 RBIs while batting .261.  He would make two All Star teams representing the Giants (1984 & 1986) & also won two Player of week Awards.  In 1984 he batted .314, coming in third in the NL batting, hitting 21 HRs

Remembering Mets History (1992): Eddie Murray Becomes All Time RBI Leader Amongst Switch Hitters

Image
Saturday, June 6th 1992: On this day Hall of Famer; Eddie Murray became the All Time RBI leader amongst switch hitters, doing it while playing in a Mets uniform. Murray spent two years with the Mets in the twilight of his career. The Mets & Manager Jeff Torborg, came to Three Rivers Stadium to play Jim Leyland's, first place Pittsburgh Pirates. At the time, the Mets were just two games behind the Pirates in second place. By the end of the season the Mets would drop to fifth place (72-90) & get labled the"the worst team money could buy" as all the high priced veterans were aging or underachieving. The Pirates would win the NL East but lose to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS in seven games. On the mound today, for New York, Sid Fernandez (5-5) took on the Pirates' Denny Nagle (2-4).  Starting Lineups Mets 1 Vince Coleman LF 2 Willie Randolph 2B 3 H

Remembering Mets History: (1966) Mets Second Baseman Ron Hunt Helps NL Win the All Star Game

Image
1966 MLB All Star Game: Busch Stadium- St. Louis Missouri: Back in the day, many All Star Games were actually played in the day. This was the case for the 1966 Mid Summer Classic, played on a hot humid, 105 degree St. Louis day. The managers were Walter Alston from the World Champion, Los Angeles Dodgers & Italian American, Sam Mele  from the A.L. Champion Minnesota Twins. Curt Gowdy & Pee Wee Reese called the game for NBC Sports. The game consisted of twenty Hall of Famers who were either playing or coaching in the game, with the NL boasting 14 of those HOF members. The starting pitchers were the Detroit Tigers; Denny McLain, who would be the last pitcher to win 30 games, a feat he would accomplish in 1968. And for the NL, the greatest pitcher of that era; the Dodgers Sandy Koufax. Starting lineups American League National League Player Team Position           Player Team Position Dick McAuliffe Tigers SS Willie Mays Giants CF Al Kaline Tigers CF Roberto Cle