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Showing posts from October, 2022

Tom Paciorek: Mid 1980's Mets Utility Player (1985)

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Thomas Marian Paciorek was born on November 2, 1946 in Detroit, Michigan. Paciorek was raised in a poor family of eight children. He claims his family was the last in the poverty-stricken neighborhood to own a television set. In 2002 he revealed that during their childhood, he & his four brothers were subjected to sexual abuse by a local priest. The brothers overcame their dramas & eventually made their story public in 2002.  Tom stated that in the sixties it would have been impossible to have anyone believe the truth & as a result he suffered emotional trauma for years. Two other Paciorek brothers also played pro baseball; John Paciorek played one game for the Houston Colt 45’s in 1963. Jim Paciorek batted .228 in 48 games for the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers.   The six foot four, Tom Paciorek attended the University of Houston where he played baseball but was also a football star. In 1966 he was an All-American defensive back with six interceptions, getting selected as

Bob Myrick: Former 1970's Mets Relief Pitcher (1976-1978)

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Robert Howard Myrick was born October 1, 1952, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In high school Myrick was a star athlete in baseball, basketball & football. He received pro attention & turned down offers as well as one from the 1970 Baltimore Orioles. The six-foot left-hander chose to attend Mississippi State University on a baseball scholarship. He was eventually drafted by the New York Mets in the 24th round of the 1974 draft.  In his second year in the minors, he went a combined 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA between AA & AAA Tidewater. Myrick started to become a full-time relief pitcher at the AAA level. That year the Tides finished first under manager Joe Frazier who would become the Mets manager the next year. He would bring up many of his players from Tidewater, Myrick included. In the bicentennial year, Myrick started out the year 2-0 at Tidewater before getting the bog league promotion. MLB Career: Myrick made his big-league debut at Shea Stadium, pitching to one batter on

Bob Coluccio (The Macaroni Pony): Former 1970's Italian / American Outfielder & Short Time Met: (1973-1978)

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Robert Pasquali Coluccio was born to Italian immigrants on October 2, 1951, in Centralia Washington.  The five-foot eleven right hand hitting outfielder starred in two sports getting offered both college football & baseball contracts. In 1969 he chose baseball signing with his home state baseball team the Seattle Pilots in their only year of existence. Coluccio hit .277 at A ball Clinton in 1970. In 1971 he went between A & AA ball but only hit .214. In 1972 at AA Evansville, he batted .300 with 9 HRs 58 RBIs getting him an invite to Spring Training in 1973.  By 1973 the Seattle Pilots had moved to Milwaukee after just one year in the Northwest city. That spring, Coluccio beat out a young Gorman Thomas for the regular outfielder position. Coluccio was a fine defensive outfielder with a strong throwing arm. Trivia: Coluccio was labeled “The Macaroni Pony” by Brewer's famous broadcaster Bob Ucker. Milwaukee had a large Italian population & Coluccio soon became one of th

Remembering Mets History (2015): Thor Puts the Hammer Down In The World Series

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Friday October 30th 2015- World Series Game #3 -Citi Field, Queens New York. The Mets came back to New York down two games to none as they'd like to forget those first two games in Kansas City. Tonight,  would be the first World Series game ever played at Citi Field. A full house of 44,471 came out to on clear brisk night to cheer on their Mets. In classic New York Mets style, Billy Joel sang the National Anthem & former Mets star Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Mets Manager Terry Collins sent Noah Syndergaard (9-7 / 3.24 ERA / 166 Ks) known in New York as Thor, to the mound against Ned Yost's Royals hurler; Yordano Ventura (13-8 / 4.08 ERA / 156 Ks). The Mets needed a bog night from Thor to get back into the series & the 23-year-old   superhero  delivered. Syndergaard started out the game by throwing a high tight one, sending Royals leadoff  hitter Alcides Escobar to the dirt. It was his way of sending a message, you guys ain't in