centerfield maz

All Time Mets Winningest Left Hander & 1969 World Series Hero: Jerry Koosman (1967-1978)

2012-02-01T23:35:00.014-05:00

Jerome Martin Koosman was born December 23, 1942 on a farm in Appleton, Minnesota. As a child he left hander went ice fishing and played baseball in their family’s hay loft with his brother. He was drafted into the army in 1962, but there was no baseball team where he was stationed. Thank goodness for his dentist, who was a general in the same unit and helped Koosman get to El Paso Texas where they did have a baseball team. After a few warm up pitches at the try out, he was told he was a starter.

Koosman was serving at Ft. Bliss, Texas and made a friend who was from Queens & was the son of an usher at Shea Stadium. John Luchese wrote to his dad telling him the Mets team should check this Koosman guy out, he could sure throw. The scouts came and offered him a contract right away after seeing him pitch. Koosman said “It seemed every time we spoke they lowered the offer by a hundred dollars. I figured I better sign before I owed them money.” He was almost traded away, because he was struggling in the farm system.

On a road trip with two other guys named Jerry, their car was damaged in an accident in Georgia. They called for money to get a new car. Jerry sent word out to future Mets GM Joe McDonald who was working at the minor league level at the time, for an additional $500. The organization gave him the loan, and Club president George Weiss figured he’d trade the Koosman kid away once his loan was paid back. But soon, Koos began pitching well and his future with the Mets was secured.

In 1966 he was 12-7 at A ball Auburn in the New York/ Penn. League posting a 1.38 ERA. In 1967 the Mets staff in 1967 as one of it first pitching stars. He made his MLB debut in relief at Philadelphia on April 14, 1967, striking out two Phillies & walking two in 2.2 innings of work. He would make five appearances through the end of May, before going back down to AAA Jacksonville. There he was 11-10 leading International League in strikeouts & (183) while posting a 2.43 ERA. He came back to New York in September & went 0-2 in five games, making his first starts in Houston & at San Francisco.

In 1968 he pitched the second game of the season & was spectacular as he shut out the Dodgers on a four hitter in Los Angeles. He would go on to have an incredible rookie season, staring the year off with back to back shut outs and a 4-0 April. In his secind game he struck out ten Giants at Shea Stadium & in his third game he struck out eleven Astros. Right away, people took notice.

Koosman then went on a six game winning streak in May & June, keeping his ERA under 1.50 through June 24th. He was 12-4 by mid July with one of the league's best ERA’s at 1.82. He made his first All Star team, and earned the All Star game save in 1968, pitching a scoreless 9th inning, striking out Carl Yastremski for the final out in the 1-0 National League win.

He returned from the break in July to pitch back to back four hit shut outs, first against the Cardinals in St. Louis where struck out 12 & then against the Reds at Shea. On September 13th he threw a three hit shut out at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he also closed out the season with a three hit one run performance against the Philadelphia Phillies. He just missed out being a 20 game winner due to a 3-3 September, he finished up his rookie year going 19-10 leading the team in wins, (4th best in the NL).

He posted an incredible 2.08 ERA (4th in the NL) still the third best Mets single season mark in their history. He struck out 178 batters pitching in 262 innings, throwing 7 shut outs (3rd most in the NL) & 17 complete games, which is the second best mark in Mets history. He pitched seven shutouts which was third best in the NL. He set franchise records that year in wins, shutouts, ERA and those totals are still Mets rookie bests. Koosman was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team and finished runner-up to Johnny Bench for the Rookie of the Year honors by just one vote.

During a game that season, Jerry Grote fired a ball back at Koosman from behind the plate, tying him up around the belt area. Koos called him to the mound & said “if you ever throw a ball back at me like that, I’ll break your freaking’ neck”. Grote never did again, and Koos earned his catchers respect, that would last another decade.

He was generally the #2 starter for the Mets in the coming years behind Tom Seaver over the next decade. Seaver and Koosman became one of the league's top righty/lefty starting combos, sometimes known as “The Tom & Jerry Show”. Koosman as was the est of the Mets staffs, a victim of low run support many times in his career, but the good-natured Koosman never complained, and always went out & pitched his best.

In 1969 Koosman started out slowly taking losses in his first two starts before beating the Pittsburgh Pirates with a five hit shut out on April 23rd. He only made two starts in May but went 7-1 through June & July, including three straight complete games where he never allowed more than one run. He won eight of his last nine decisions down the stretch, including a five hitter & two hitter, both against the San Diego Padres.

He threw five straight complete games in September, none bigger than on the night of September 8th at Shea Stadium. The Mets went up against the first place Cubs at crazy sold out Shea Stadium, the Chicago lead had dwindled down to just 2 1/2 games. Koosman went up against the Cubs ace, Hackensack New Jersey's own Bill Hands. Cubs manager Leo Durocher ordered Hands to knock down the Mets lad off hitter Tommie Agee, he did. Koosman was never one who let hit players get hit without retaliating back, the next inning the Cubs slugger Ron Santo came up & Koosman drilled him in the hand sending the message back. Later when Koos came up Hands threw at him as well & Koos shouted back at him.

In any event the Mets & Koos won the game 3-2 as he struck out 13 batters. The hitting hero was Tommie Agee who homered & drove in two runs in the 3-2 Met win. In the series the Mets got within a half game, it was the series that included the famous black cat running onto the field & in front of the Cub dug out as well as the Shea crown waving handkerchiefs singing "Goodnight Leo".

In his next start at Pittsburgh Koos pitched a three hit 1-0 shutout in the first game of a double header. He drove in the only run with a base hit off Pittsburgh's Bob Moose. In the second game Don Cardwell pitched a one run shut out & dove in the only run of that game.

Kooman then came out & threw a six hit shutout in Montreal & on the next to last outing of his season he pitched a four hit shut out in Philadelphia. In that stretch he only allowed five earned runs in 45 innings of work. He finished the year 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA (5TH in the NL), 180 strikeouts, 241 innings pitched, 16 complete games (9th in the NL) and six shutouts (4th in the league).

Post Season: In Game #2 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Koosman was shelled from the mound, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings of work, three of those runs coming on Hank Aaron’s fifth-inning home run. The Mets were already ahead 9-6; they added two more runs to win the game giving Ron Taylor the victory.

Koosman was the pitching star of the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles and certainly could have won the MVP award himself. In Game #2 he had a no hitter going until the 7th inning against the mighty O's line up at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Paul Blair led off the inning with a single, he stole second & would score the tying run 1-1. But the Amazing Mets went ahead in the 9th inning with two out singles from Ed Charles Jerry Groter & pinch hitter Al Weis who drove in the game winning run.

In the bottom of the 9th after getting the first two outs, Koosman walked Frank Robinson & Boog Powell. Gil Hodges removed him, and the Oriole fans gave him a huge ovation for his performance that afternoon. Ron Taylor came in getting Brooks Robinson to ground out to save the game.

Koosman got the win pitching 8.1 innings, allowing one run, on only two hits, with four strikeouts and two walks. The Mets won the next two games, and Koosman took the mound at Shea Stadium, for Game Five which could wrap up the whole series. He fell behind 3-0 giving up two HRs in the third inning one to the opposing pitcher Dave McNally & the other to Frank Robinson. He got back into the dugout angry and told his team, “I’ll hold them here, get me some runs”.

In the 6th inning Cleon Jones took a pitch that may have hit his foot, no call was made at first. The ball rolled into the dug out, next Gil Hodges comes out of the dug out with a ball with shoe polish on it as proff it hit Jones. Umpire Lou Dimuro agreed & gave him first base. The Orioles manager Earl Weaver went nuts, years later Koosman admitted Hodges had told him on the bench to rub the ball on his shoes so the polish would be visible.

Next Donn Clendenon & of all people Al Weis, both homered to give the Mets the lead. Koos went on to pitch a complete game five hit victory, walking only one while striking out five Orioles. One of the most memorable pictures in Mets history is Koosman leaping into catcher Jerry Grotes arms the Amazing Mets won the 1969 World Series against all the odds in the world.

In 1970 pitched the second game of the season taking a tough 2-1 loss to Doc Eliis & the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also in April he had a another tough loss against the Philadelphia Phillies when he pitched against Rick Wise to 1-1 tie through nin innings. Koos allowed two runs inthe tenth taking the loss. In his next start he pitched another nine innings, this time allowing no runs but the Me bats also didn't score & he earned no decision. The Mets would lose the game to the Dodgers in the 15th inning.

Finally on May 9th he earned his first win, although he allowed five runs on ten hits in the game. In his next start at Philadelphia he struck out ten and four hit the Phillies, throwing his first shutout of the year. On June 5th he was hit in the mouth with a line drive off the bat of Gary Gentry during batting practice. He was knocked out & had to have his jaw wired shut for six weeks. Mananger Gil Hodges had Koosman drink milk shakes & as well as a beer every game he was on the bech in order to keep his weight up. Koosman struggled to remain at .500 through the end of July although his ERA was just at 2.82.

From August 8th through September 5th he went 5-0 as the Mets helped him with better run support. On that date he beat Ken Holtzman & the rival Chicago Cubs putting the Mets just two games back of the first place Pirates & a half game behind the second place Cubs. On September 20th Koosman beat the first place Pirates in the first game of a double header, throwing a complete game two hit one run victory. The win placed New York just 3 1/2 back of the Pirates but they would fade away during the next two weeks as the Pirates won the Eastern Division.

On the year Koosman posted the second most wins on the Mets staff to Tom Seaver, with a 12-7 record with a 3.14 ERA (5th best in the league), striking out 118 batters with 71 walks in 212 innings pitched. He pitched one shut out with five complete games.

In 1971 he began the year at 3-1 but then lost two straight decisons including a ten inning performance in San Francisco. That day he pulled a muscle in his back pitching in the cold weather at Candelstick Park & it affected the rest of his season. In July he went down until mid August with another injury and went 2-4 upon his return. He finished the year at 6-11 with a 3,04 ERA 96 strike outs & 51 walks, in 165 innings pitched.

In Spring Training 1972 the Mets team flew North ready to start the season. Koosman stayed behind wondering if the season would start on time due to a possible players strike. He found Minnesota Viking's center Mick Tingelhoff at the hotel pool & became friends. Tinglhoff had been a catcher in high school & offered to catch as Koosman pitched to him.

Afterward as he went to his room he heard sirens 7 rushed to the lobby of the hotel. He had found out Gil Hodges was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. When he got to the hospital he found out from his pitching coach Rube Walker that Hodges had passed away. Koosman as well as the rest of the team was devastated. When the season got under way, Koosman had trouble with his wind up. He was soon 0-3 and new manager Yogi Berra put him in the bullpen to work out his issues. Things got better & on May 25th he earned his first career save against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

He got back into the rotation & won four straight decisions including a four hit shutout in Montreal. He was 6-3 at that point but would then lose eight of his next ten decisions. A rough August had him go 1-4 with two complete games losses as well as three outings where he didn't get past the fourth inning.

He did better in September but the Mets finsihed third (83-73) never quite recovering from the shock of Gil Hodges death. On the year Koosman went 11-12, tied for third on the staff in wins with Jim McAndrew. 1972 saw the emerence of Rookie of the Year Pitcher Jon Matlack who went 15-10 with 1 2.32 ERA. Koos struck out 147 batters in 163 innings pitched.

In 1973 Koosman started out the year better tahn anyone on the staff or in the National League for that matter. He started out 5-0 in his first six starts, with an ERA under two while throwing four complete games. He won Player of the week & Player of the month awards that April.

Then things went sour for him as he suffered two different five game losing streaks through the end of July by which time his record was 8-14. In that stretch though, the Mets were shut out three times, and Koos allowed two runs or less seven times. The Mets team suffered from offense & run support all year.

In August he was back to being himself and would win eight of his last nine decisions helping the Mets capture the NL Eastern title. It began on August 19th when he allowed just one run and six hits at Shea Stadium against the Mets eventual NLCS opponent the Cincinnati Reds. In his next start he shut out Juan Marichal & the San Francisco Giants for ten innings, before Felix Millan singled home Kenny Boswell with the walk off game winning run. On September 3rd he shut out the Phillies at Shea scattering seven hits in the Mets 5-0 win.

On the next to last game of the season he beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field pitching a complete game allowing only two runs, both unearned. The win guaranteed the Mets at least a tie for first place. He finished the season 14-15, with a 2.84 ERA (9th best in the NL) 156 strikeouts, 263 innings pitched and three shutouts (both 7th best in the NL). At the plate he had 15 sacrifice hits (4th in the NL) batted .103 & drove in three runs.

Post Season: He got the start in Game #3 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium against the Cincinnati Reds. The series was tied at one game each & it was the second NLCS held at Shea Stadium in the past four years.

This was the classic game in which Bud Harrelson & Pete had their famous bench clearing brawl in the fourth inning. Earlier in the game Koosman claims Rose was cursing him from the dugout after he had thrown nothing but off speed pitches to get him to pop up.

In his next at bat he tried to hit Rose but he singles, by that time the Mets had taken a 7-2 lead and Koosman had got Joe Morgan to ground into an inning ending double play. Rose slid hard into second with a cheap shot pop up slide into second base, Harrelson told him that he didn't like it & a fight broke out. Rose was trying to get his team fired up, but instead it fired up the Mets & the Shea Crowd.

The game had to be stopped and the Reds were removed from the field after the fans pelted Rose & the field with anything they could find. Koosman rolled along after order had been restored, he pitched a complete game, 9-2 victory, allowing eight hits, while striking out nine Reds. The victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the Series.

In the World Series vs. the defending champion Oakland A’s Koosman started Game #2 at the Oakland Coliseum against Vida Blue. He had a rough outing only lasting into the 3rd inning, giving up three runs on six hits. He got a no decision as the Mets went on to an extra inning 10-7 win.

He came back to pitch a gem in Game #5 at Shea Stadium. He held Oakland scoreless for 6 1/3 innings only allowing only three hits along the way, striking out four A's. The Mets won the game on RBI hits from John Milner & Don Hahn, as Koos & Tug McGraw combined for the 2-0 shutout. This victory gave the Mets a 3-2 lead in the Series heading back to sunny Oakland California.

Yogi Berra will forever be questioned as to why he did not pitch George Stone who had gone 12-3 on the season in any of the two final games of the Series. Yes, he did choose to go with Seaver (the Cy Young winner that year) & Matlack but they were both on three days rest. Koosman was ready to go in Game #7 telling pitching coach Rube Walker to let Yogi know.

He was never called upon & the Mets lost the Series three games to two. Overall in his Post season career, Koosman never lost a decision, in six starts he was 4-0 striking out 31 batters in 40 innings, posting a 3.79 ERA with two complete game wins. He may very well be the best All Time Mets Post season pitcher.

In 1974 he started out the year pitching into the 9th inning in the third game of the season beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. He was 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA & two complete games by mid May. In two of those outings he struck out 11 batters, allowing only two runs in each game.

In June he had a three game win streak, and they were all complete games. His best outing may have been a four hit one run, performance at Wrigley Field during that stretch besting his record to 8-4. The Mets struggled on the year not able to defend their NL Champion title, falling to 71-91 in fifth place.

Koosman finished the year at 15-11, leading the Mets staff in wins mostly due to Tom Seaver struggling with mechanics & back issues. Koosman posted a 3.36 ERA, with 35 starts, 13 complete games (7th in the NL), 265 innings pitched (8th in the NL) and 188 strikeouts (7th in the NL). His strikeout totals over the next five seasons would put him in the top eight in the league each season.

In the third game of the 1975 season Koosmans first start went eight innings allowing three runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he earned no decision in the Mets 4-2 loss. His next start was horrible as he was removed in the second inning after. After the two no decisions, it took two straight complete games to get him his first two victories. The second of those was a four hit 2-0 shutout against the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium on May 2nd.

He would toss three five hit victories at home from mid May through June, including a shut out against the Houston Astros. On July 3rd Koosman had a another four hit shutout at Shea Stadium coming against the Chicago Cubs. At the All Star break he was 8-7 with an ERA of 3.60. The Mets were hanging at .500 and no one had any more respect or faith in manager Yogi Berra.

In the days of Hodges there were one set of rules, his. With Berra if a mental error was made he'd say "next time it will cost ya", usually it was forgotten about, the inmates were running the asylum. After a publicized battle with Cleon Jones leading to his release, tw weeks later Berra was fired. Coach Roy McMillan became the interim manager as the team finished third at 82-80.

After three straight losses Koosman made two relief appearances, earning two saves. The first was against the Giants at Shea in relief of Tom Seaver & the next two days later in Houston. He finished the year with a 14-13 record behind Tom Seaver who won his third Cy Young that season, a 3.42 ERA, 173 strike outs (7th in the NL) with four shut outs (7th in the NL), eleven complete games in 239 innings pitched.

Just before the start of the 1976 season, Koosman's father passed away. He felt the sprit of his dad was with him all year & he said he never felt that level of concentration again. He want on to have arguably his best season. It began in May where he won all five starts he made and was 6-1 at the end of the month. In June he had a rough time going 1-5 with five straight losses.

But from July on he was 14-4, doing everything right. His new manager Joe Frazier just gave him the ball & told him to take care of things. On July 2nd, Koos pitched a three hitter against the Cubs where he struck out 12 batters. In the middle of the month after the break he threw two straight five hitters allowing a run each time. He closed out July with a four hitter at Shea against the Phillies.

He then threw four straight complete games with a four hit shutout in Montreal striking out eight Expos. In September he won four straight beginning with a three hit shut out against the Giants. Then on September 16th at Shea Stadium with his wife & mother in attendance Koosman beat the St. Louis Cardinals pitching another complete game, for his twentieth win of the year.

Although he had won 19 games in 1968 it was the only time in his long Mets career he ever had a twenty win season. The joyous event got him the front cover of the 1977 Mets yearbook.

Koosman finished runner up to San Diego's Randy Jones for the Cy Young Award, although many feel it should have gone to Koosman. He went 21-10 (2nd in the league in wins) striking out 200 batters (3rd in the league). His strikeout per nine inning ratio was second best in the league at 7.2. He posted a 2.69 ERA (4th best in the league) with 17 complete games (2nd in the league) & three shutouts. Randy Jones was 22-14 with a 2.70 ERA pitching a league leading 315 innings & 25 complete games.

In 1977 there were many changes in the organization, the Mets traded Tom Seaver and the whole team fell apart. Koosman struggled with the bad ball club, falling to 8-20, tied with Phil Niekro for most losses in the league. His ERA was a still respectable at 3.42 and he still threw four shut outs and completed eleven games. He never pitched well through the year, allowing earned runs in all but two of his 32 starts, while allowing just one earned run only four times. He entered August 8-11 but then lost all nine of his final decisions including eight straight games.

In 1978 Koosman beat the Expos on Opening Day at Shea, striking out seven batters in the Mets 3-1 win. He then won his next game at the start of June in Atlanta, another complete game win putting him at 2-3. But from there he would win just one more games all year going, 1-12 from that point. In 38 starts n the year he allowed two earned runs or less 16 times giving him a 3.75 ERA. In September he mostly pitched out of the bullpen, and Koosman was now very happy in New York too. Koosman was 3-15 in 1978 with 160 strikeouts, 84 walks in 235 innings pitched.

The Mets finished last that year 66-96 under manager Joe Torre. He was one of the final players left since the miracle of 1969 & the pennant of 1973. Koosman, saw no signs of improvement for the team, and demanded to be traded. His wishes came through and he was dealt to his home state of Minnesota to pitch for the Twins in 1979. Interestingly the Mets received another pitcher who would get a final out in a World Series (1986), a youngster named Jesse Orosco.

In his first year back in his home state of Minnesota, Koosman regained form, once again winning twenty games going 20-13 (3rd most wins in the AL) . He posted a 3.38 ERA (8th in the AL) with 157 strikeouts (5th in the league) and two shutouts.

He was sixth in the Cy Young voting. Jerry came back to win 16 more games in 1980 (10th best in the league) going 16-13 with 149 strikeouts. He signed with the Chicago White sox as free agent in 1981 winning eleven games two seasons in a row, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1984.

He made his return to Shea Stadium on April 29, 1984 pitching against the New York Mets who were now contenders once again in a new era. That night Koos allowed RBI singles to George Foster (1st inning), Mookie Wilson & his old team mate Rusty Staub. He also was called for a balk allowing a run to score, as he took the loss to Walt Terrell allowing four runs on seven hits pitching into the 6th inning. He came back in June, this time beating the Mets & Ed Lynch 6-4, pitching seven innings. He then took another loss against the Mets at the end of the season. In 1984 with the Phillies he went 14-15 (5th most losses in the NL) with a 3.25 ERA. He retired after going 6-4 in 1985 at the age of 42.

Honors: Koosman still ranks high on the Mets all time pitching list; second in wins (140) second in starts (346) innings pitched (2544) and complete games, (108). He is tied for second in shutouts (26) third in strike outs (1799) and fourth in ERA (3.09). Koosman was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1989.

He was at the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium in 2008 and on hand for the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Championship team. Jerry’s number 36 should be retired by the Mets and hopefully the many voices that agree will one day be heard.

Overall in his nineteen year career he is at #73 on the all-time win list with a 222-209 record (37th all time in losses). He had 2556 strikeouts (28th All time) with 33 shut outs (87th all time) with a 3.36 ERA pitching in 3839 innings (48th all time) in 612 games (179th all time).

Koos made 527 starts (36th all time) with 1198 walks (53rd all time) 71 hit batsmen (192 all time) 290 HRs allowed (56th all time) & a 2.134 strike out / walk ratio (210th all time).

He served as a minor league pitching coach for the Mets in the late 1980’s before retiring from baseball. He had the ball from the final out of the 1969 World Series locked away in a safe at his home until the 1990's when he sold it. In 2009 he was sentenced to six months time for tax evasion.

Former Italian / American New Jersey Born Met: Joe Vitko (1992)

2012-02-01T23:30:00.012-05:00

Joseph John Vitko III was born on February 1, 1970 in Somerville, New Jersey. He was born 19 years before the Bridgewater Commons Mall was built, in an area that boomed with pharmaceutical company growth in the 1990s.
He played high school baseball in nearby Pennsylvania, then attended St. Francis University at Loreto, PA. The New York Mets actually drafted the tall six foot eight inch right hander twice. The first time in 1988 but he did not sign, then again the following year, in the 24th round. He put up good ERAs in A ball, going 8-1 with a 2.49 ERA in the South Atlantic League at Columbia in 1990 . In 1991 he won 11 games for the A ball St. Lucie Mets & the following year he won 12 games at AA Binghamton.

Vitko has two interesting trivia statistics to his credit; the first being in 1992 he was the first Binghamton Met to make the big league team. Second is that he is officially listed as the first Mets player to be born in the 1970’s after the Miracle of the 1969 World Series.

In 1992 he got his cup of coffee, making his debut at Shea Stadium on September 18th, closing out a Dwight Gooden loss against the Montreal Expos. He got shellacked on his next outing, giving up five runs on four hits in an inning and a half of work against the Chicago Cubs. Vitko got his only career start & only decision on September 28th, against the Phillies at Shea Stadium. He allowed six runs on seven hits taking the loss, ballooning his ERA to 13.50.

He then suffered arm problems, pitching only seven innings in two games at St. Lucie in 1993. In 1994 his last attempt at a comeback had him going 2-5 at AA Binghamton, but his career was finished at the end of the season.

Nolan Ryan: The Mets Years (1966-1971)

2012-01-30T23:35:00.061-05:00

Lynn Nolan Ryan was born on January 31st, 1947 in Refugio, Texas, a son to Robert Ryan & Martha Lee Hancock a descendant of John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Ryan family moved to Alvin, Texas when Nolan was just six weeks old. He began to pitch in Little League & tossed his first no hitter at nine years old.

From the ages of 8-18 he learned a strong work ethic, working with his dad who besides working for a local oil company was also a Houston Post distributor. Young Nolan rolled up & tossed the news papers, strengthening that gifted arm.

With the arrival of major league baseball in Houston, Ryan was able to go watch games & it was there he was first mesmerized by the pitching of Sandy Koufax. In high school the Ryan stories are legendery, one tells of a game in the first inning where he cracked the lead off mans batting helmet, hit the number two man & broke his arm & had the third hitter refuse to enter the batters box. When he did give in he struck out on three pitches.

After graduating a star pitcher from Alvin High School, the six foot two right hander was signed in the 12th round of the 1965 amateur draft by the New York Mets. Mets scout Red Murff said Ryan had the best arm he had ever seen in his life. The night before he watched the two hardest throwers in the NL at that time, Jim Maloney & Turk Farrell, Ryan was already faster than both of them.

At first, his fast ball was just over 90 miles an hour, but over the next two years he gained more velocity and threw even harder. He was assigned to the Marion Mets in Virginia in the Rookie League. In 1967 he was 17-4 striking out over 300 batters first in A ball Greenville, then AA Williamsport & finally in New York. At Greenville he went 17-2 with 272 strikeouts in 183 innings of work.

He made his MLB debut at Shea Stadium on September 11th, 1966 coming in relief of Dick Selma in the 6th inning. The catcher behind the plate was John Stephenson who had come in to replace Jerry Grote. The first batter he face was Braves pitcher Pat Jarvis who was also his first career strikeout victim. Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews stepped in and watched a Ryan fast ball whiz by him; he looked at Stephenson saying “what the hell was that?” Mathews was strike out number two. The Mets lost to the Braves 8-2, with Ryan getting no decision. Ryan also gave up his first career HR that day to non other than Joe Torre.

Ryan would make his first start a week later in Houston. He only pitched in two innings allowing four runs, four hits & three walks although he struck out three, taking the loss. His control was to be a problem early on in his career. In 1967 he only pitched in four games at the minor league level. He served time doing his military duty & was sidelined with an illness.

He returned to the Mets staff in 1968 & got to start the fourth game of the season against the Houston Astros. On that day he held the Astros hitless through five innings. He pitched into the 7th inning, leaving due to a blister, allowing no runs on just three hits, while striking out eight. He pitched well in his next outing, two runs in 7 1/3 innings but took a loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In May he won three straight starts; he beat the Phillies striking out ten in a 3-0 win. Next he tossed a complete game three hitter in St. Louis against the reigning World Champion Cardinals then he struckout 14 Reds pitching a four hit 3-2 win at Shea Stadium.

At this point he was 4-2 with one of the league's best ERA's at 1.22 & among the top in strike outs as well. But the rest of the year didn't go so well, as he went 2-7 the rest of the way. In the first game of a June 18th doubleheader he lost a tough 3-2 nine inning outing to Houston's Denny Lemaster.

Ryan struck out twelve Astros in the game but walked seven. He missed all of August with a blister problem & became famous for a solution that involved soaking his fingers in pickle brine. He returned in September to pitch just three games in relief. He ended up 6-9 with a 3.09 ERA, 134 strike outs in 134 innings averaging a strike out an inning, in 21 games. Control was still an issue; as he walked 75 batters, threw seven wild pitches, hit four batters and allowed 12 HRs.

On a personal level in 1968 Ryan married his childhood sweetheart Ruth, she eventually moved to New York City to help Nolan with his home sickness & loneliness. The two kept very much to themselves & never quite adapted to the East Coast climate or environment. They never got accustomed to the Big Apple & NY City’s fast pace life style. Ruth always feared for her safety & the thought of raising children in New York was not an option.

The Ryan’s were friends with the Koosman's, Jerry & Lavonne. Koosman was also a farm boy from a small town so the two couples sould relate. Ruth Ryan & Nancy Seaver also became good friends just like their Hall of Fame husbands. The Seaver's certainly were not wild party goers either, but they did enjoy the museums, restaurants & arts New York has to offer. Nolan was featured in the May 31st 1968 addition of Life magazine as America was taking notice of what Nation League hitters were calling an arm that threw harder than Sandy Koufax.

As 1969 began Gil Hodges used Ryan in relief the month of April. In the second game of the young season, he earned a save against the expansion Montreal Expos, pitching an inning and a half of relief, giving the Mets their first win of the season.

At the end of April he earned two victories in relief pitching 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball each time. In the second of those wins in Montreal he struck out seven Expos. He got his first start of the year on May 3rd, earning no decision at Wrigley Field, allowing just a run in six innings of work against the Cubs. He would miss a month of action returning to a relief role in mid June. On the next home stand he was back as a starter, beating the St. Louis Cardinals to go to 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA.

Ryan then earned no decision against the Philadelphia Phillies while striking out 10 batters in just six innings. He took his first loss on July 1st, at St. Louis where he walked seven batters in 5.2 innings of work.
He got a start on August 5th in Cincinnati beating the Reds, with a complete game one run, seven strikeout performance. At the beginning of September he won two games in a four day stretch at Shea Stadium, helping the Mets catch the Chicago Cubs in the pennant race.

On Sunday September 7th, he pitched three innings of scoreless relief to earn his 5th win of the year. Three days later he pitched a 7-1 three hit complete game victory in the second game of a double header, striking out 11 Expos. At that point he was 6-1 with a 2.95 ERA, but then he lost his next two decisions & earned a hold in relief.

Ryan finished the 1969 season at 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA, two complete games & one save. He had 92 strikeouts, and it would be the last time until his last season in 1993 that he would not pass the 100 strike out mark. His control was better in 89 innings he still walked 53 batters only hit one batter & threw just one wild pitch.

Post Season: His biggest day as a Met came on October 6th, 1969 in Game #3 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium. Ryan came in to relieve Gary Gentry in the 3rd inning with the Mets down 2-0. The Met bats responded with HRs by Tommie Agee & Ken Boswell putting New York ahead 3-2.

Ryan then gave up a two run HR to Orlando Cepeda giving the Braves the lead. But it didn't last long, Nolan Ryan led off the 5th with a base hit & then Wayne Garrett hit a two run HR off future 1973 Met, George Stone.

The Mets never looked back they would score a total of seven runs & Ryan was spectacular from there on the mound. He allowed the two runs on three hits with two walks & struck out seven Braves. In the top of the 9th inning, future Mets Bob Aspromonte flew out & Felix Millan grounded to short.

Next, Tony Gonzales hit a ground ball to Wayne Garrett for the last out & the Amazing Mets were going to the World Series. Jerry Grote ran to the mound & congratulated Ryan, then he ran for his life as the wild Shea fans stormed the field. Ryan earned his first post season win, at the plate he even got two base hits, going 2-4 and scoring a run.

In the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Ryan once again came in to relieve Gary Gentry, this time in Game #3 at Shea Stadium. He walked into a bases loaded jam in the 7th inning with the Mets still ahead 4-0. Baltimore's Paul Blair ripped a screaming liner to right center field. Met fans held their breath, but once again they saw Tommie Agee come up with one of the greatest catches in World Series history. It was the second spectacular catch Agee made on the day, making it all look easy. Ryan took a sigh of relief & walked off the mound.

He returned in the 8th to retire the side in order, striking out both Boog Powell & Brooks Robinson. In the bottom of the 8th Ed Kranepool hit a HR to make it 5-0 Mets. In the top of the 9th Ryan got into a bases loaded jam with two outs, Gil Hodges paced the dugout but stuck with Ryan& he got Paul Blair to go down looking. The Mets now had a two games to one lead & were estatic.

The Amazing Mets went on to win the World Series, it would be the only time Ryan would ever play in the Fall Classic. He enjoyed some of the success that came with it, like appearing shyly on the Ed Sullivan show to sing " You Gotta Have Heat" with the entire '69 team. But the simple Ryan wanted to just go back to Texas & have a quiet off season with his wife.

In 1970 Ryan's first start came on Saturday April 18th at Shea Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was one of his best regular season performances in a Met uniform. After allowing a lead off single to infielder Denny Doyle, Ryan never gave up another hit. He did walk six but threw a one hit shutout, striking out 15 batters. In his next start he allowed one run over eight innings but took a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers Claude Osteen. On April 30th in San Francisco he pitched a three hitter, allowing one run beating the Giants & Mike McCormick 2-1.

In his first three games of 1970 he only allowed two earned runs in 26 innings. On May 24th after two losses where he was hit hard, he pitched another gem this time a two hit eight strikeout performance against the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. But Ryan's inconsistency haunted him again as walks & allot of earned runs had him at 6-6 by August. He had a terrible August going 1-4 with a blown save, allowing twelve earned runs in 29 innings. He went 1-4 with a blown save that month pitching in both relief & as a starter. He made eight appearances in September, going 1-1 with a save.

He ended the season 7-11 striking out 125 batters in 132 innings pitched. He walked 97, allowed 10 HRs, threw eight wild pitches and hit four batters. He made 19 starts, threw five complete games and earned one save in eight relief appearances.

In 1971 Ryan begn the year with two appearances out of the Mets bullpen. In his first start he shut out the Cardinals for six innings in St. Louis earning the victory as the Mets scored seven runs. On May 11th he got his fourth win of the season tossing a three hitter against the Astros. On May 29th in the second game of a twin bill at San Diego, Ryan struck out a career high up to that point 16 batters, as he threw a one run four hitter.

He then lost three straight in June but only gave up two runs in three of those starts as the Mets were shut out both times. His ERA was still under two at 1.78 on June 15th, & then he won two more games to close out the month at 8-4. Ryan had a terrible summer going 1-7 through July & August with a five game losing streak. In three of those starts he never got past the second inning, but by the same respect in four starts over the two months he allowed two runs or less never earning a win.

On September 23rd, 1971 Ryan won his last game as a Met, it came at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Then on September 28th, 1971 Nolan Ryan pitched his final game as a New York Met. He never got out of the first inning, allowing three runs, a hit & four walks to the St. Louis Cardinals, taking the loss.

He ended the season 10-14 with a 3.97 ERA 137 strikeouts & 116 walks in 152 innings. He pitched in his Mets career highs of 30 games & 26 starts, tossing three complete games one shut out, allowing 125 hits & a career high 15 hit batters.

By the end of 1971 Ryan was becoming very frustrated. Between having limited success on the mound and with his unhappiness in New York City, he told his wife he was considering retirement. Although Ryan was the hardest thrower in the league he was not as effective as Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman or even Gary Gentry on his own staff, therefore Manager Gil Hodges did not give him any extra time. Neither did his pitching coach Rube Walker, they basically gave him the ball & told him to throw it as hard as he could.

Also his military obligations were interfering with his pitching turns, part of the reason he was used in the bull pen as Hodges refused to alter his rotation. On top of all this, the injuries & personal issues were all reasons why Nolan Ryan wasn't happy in New York & wasn't going to be a Met for long. He went to the Mets management & demanded a trade.

By September the Mets had been out of the race and the team was changing since the 1969 Amazing's won the World Series. The Mets finished third at 83-79 15 games back of the World Champion Pirates. By the next season Donn Clendenon, Ron Swoboda, Art Shamsky, Ron Taylor & of course Nolan Ryan would all be gone. Tommie Agee & Gary Gentry would be in their last seasons as Mets. Maybe the biggest change of all would be the shocking death of manager Gil Hodges at the end of Spring Training.

During that off season, on December 10th, 1971 the Mets made the worst trade in their history & one of the worst in baseball history; Nolan Ryan was traded along with Leory Stanton, Don Rose & Frank Estrada to the California Angels for former All Star Jim Fregosi. In 1972 Fregosi would bat .232 with 5 HRs 32 RBIs in 101 games played, by mid July 1973 he would be gone after batting .234. In his Mets career from 1966-1971 Ryan pitched in 105 games going 29-38 with 74 starts, 493 strike outs & 344 walks in 510 innings pitched. He also recorded two saves had 13 complete games & two shut outs.

The Mets gave up on Ryan, partly due to his control issues and thought Fregosi was the answer to their third base problems, To give the Mets some slack, Ryan was very unhappy and wanted out so he would probably have never been the Hall of Famer he was here. But in retrospect they should have gotten alot more in return for him, especially since they badly needed offense in those days.

Ryan credits Tom Seaver as helping him develop into a pitcher instead of just a flame thrower. He helped by changing his high leg kick and developing an over the top delivery, using more power from the legs. Nolan Ryan went on to become one of baseball greatest pitchers of all time.

Ryan went to the California Angels and suffered on a team with no offensive support. He pitched in California for eight years (1972-1979), leading the league in strike outs seven times, all but one year. He won twenty games twice, led the league in innings pitched once & walks six times. He made one post season appearance with the Angels in 1979. In 1980 he signed with his hometown Houston Astros and pitched there for another nine years.

In Houston he won two strike out titles, two ERA titles and won 16 games twice getting to two more post seasons. In 1989 he went across Texas & signed with the Rangers pitching there for five seasons until he was 46 years old. In Texas he won two more strike out titles & was a 16 game winner in 1989.

He is the all time strikeout leader (5741) and has thrown seven no hitters, more than any other pitcher in history. He is 14th all time in wins (324) going 324-292 (3rd in losses) with a 3.19 ERA. He is 5th all time in innings pitched (5386) second in starts (773) & first in walks (2795). He has 222 complete games (113th all time) with 61 shut outs. (7th most all time) He has thrown 277 wild pitches (2nd all time) & hit 158 batters (15th all time).

He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1999 recieving 89% of the vote. In his career he made eight All Star teams, won the 1977 TSN Pitcher of the Year Award but never won a Cy Young Award. Nolan Ryan will always be part of New York Mets history.

In 2009 he made his triumphant return to New York as a Met to participate in the 40th anniversary celebrations of the 1969 Amazing Mets Championship team. He appeared at Citi Field, on television interviews, memorabilia shows & was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with his old pal Tom Seaver.

Former New Jersey Born Mets Outfielder: Tom O'Malley (1989-1990)

2012-01-30T23:30:00.012-05:00

Thomas Patrick O’Malley was born Christmas day 1960 in West Orange, New Jersey. The Irish American family moved to Montoursville, Pennsylvania where Thomas would grow up. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 16th round of the 1979 draft, becoming a Texas League All Star at age 20 leading all third baseman in fielding. By 1982 after 26 games he was batting .446 at AAA when the Giants made room for his bat, by moving veteran Darrel Evans over to first base.
The Giants had high hopes for Tom; he hit .275 with 12 doubles, 2 HRs & 27 RBIs in 92 games. But 1983 would prove to be his only full season, batting .259 with just 5 HRs, 16 doubles & 45 RBIs. Over the next two seasons he hit around .120 and spent most of his time in the minors. He went to Baltimore & hit .254 in 56 games for the ‘86 O’s, then hit .274 from August through the end of 1987 in Texas. He got traded to the New York Mets for Steve Frey at the end of Spring Training 1989. Frey had come over from the AL New York club in a trade after the 1987 season.

At Tidewater in the Mets organization O’Malley hit .295, leading the International League in on base percentage & RBIs (84). His 15 HRs were 5th in the league, and he won the International League MVP Award. He also got the role as starting third baseman in the AAA All Star game.

He got a September call up to the Mets 1989 squad & in his second game as a Met, drove in two runs with a pinch hit at Philadelphia. O’Malley had a good month, batting .545 (6-11) while driving in eight runs, and hitting two doubles. By 1990 his averaged fell to .223, but he hit 3 HRs, 7 doubles & drove in 14 runs in just 121 at bats. He was often used as a pinch hitter against lefties but only hit .175 in 44 tries in that role.

In 1991 his contact was purchased by the Yashin Tigers in Japan. There he became an All Star & Best Nine MVP winner. He also won a Championship title, while leading the league in walks three times, intentional walks twice & on base percentage once. He was among the league leaders in many categories for five seasons in Japan.

Retirement: After his playing days he coached the Newark Bears in his home state of New Jersey in the Independent league. He then coached & scouted in Japan.

The Winningest Manager In Mets History: Davey Johnson (1984-1990)

2012-01-28T23:35:00.002-05:00

David Allen Johnson was born January 30, 1943 in Orlando, Florida. He went to high school in San Antonio Texas & then attended college at Texas A & M for one year. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1962, hitting over .300 three times at various minor league levels getting promoted to the Orioles in 1965. Davey was in the opening day lineup that year but spent most of the season in the minors once again batting over .300. In 1966 the Orioles traded their second baseman Jerry Adair to make room for Johnson, he would be the Orioles regular second baseman for the next seven seasons.
He came in third in the 1966 Rookie of the Year voting, mostly for his defense. That season the Orioles swept the Dodgers in the World Series & Johnson was the last batter to ever get a hit off Sandy Koufax. By the late sixties he became a good hitter as well as a good glove man. He would win three straight Gold Gloves (1969-1971), make four All Star teams, play in four World Series and win two Worlds Championships.

Johnson was part of one of the greatest defensive infields ever assembled with him at second, Brooks Robinson at third, & Mark Belanger at shortstop. In 1969 & 1971 Johnson, Belanger & Robinson (who won 16 straight Gold Gloves) anchored by Boog Powell at first base. Johnson led the league once in fielding %, & came in the top five, five times.

Johnson hit well for a second baseman of his generation, hitting over 20 doubles eight times, including two seasons with 30 plus. He drove in over 50 runs seven times, and hitting over 10 HRs five times. He hit over .280 three straight seasons, with Baltimore getting to the World Series each time. His best offensive numbers in Baltimore came in 1971, when he hit .282 with 18 HRs 26 doubles 72 RBIs & a .350 on base%.

Post Season: In the 1966 World Series, Davey hit .286 (4-14). In Game #2 Johnson had two hits, driving in a run in the Orioles 6-0 win. In the 6th inning Johnsons single became the last a hit Sandy Koufax would ever give up, since he retired due to arm troubles after the season.

In the 1969 World Series Johnson was stopped dead by Mets pitching batting .063 going 1-16. He made the last out of the Series batting against Jerry Koosman, and flying out to left fielder, Cleon Jones. After being shocked by the Mets in 1969, the O’s were back in 1970 and no one stopped them. Davey hit .364 in the ALCS with 2 HRs 4 RBIs & a .364 on base % against the Minnesota Twins.

In the World Series vs. the Reds he hit .313 with 5 walks posting a .476 on base %. He had a big Game #5 with three hits, a walk and two RBIs as Baltimore went on to win 9-3, taking the Series four games to one. In the 1971 ALCS against Oakland, Johnson hit .300, 3-10 with two doubles, three walks & a .462 on base %. In the World Series he batted just .148 as the Pirates beat the Orioles in seven games. He would make one more post season appearance with the 1977 Phillies losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS.

After he dropped off to a .221 average with just five HRs in 1972, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves with pitcher Pat Dobson, Roric Harrison, and Johnny Oates for the 1971 Rookie of the Year, Earl Williams. The Orioles had traded him because manager Earl Weaver felt that Johnson had lost too much range on the field by bulking up and hitting for more power. The O’s went with Bobby Grich to replace him at second base.

In Atlanta he had an incredible 1973 season, hitting 43 HRs (second in the NL) with 25 doubles 99 RBIs (7th in the NL) & a .270 batting average. That season, he and team mates Hank Aaron & Darrel Evans became the first trio to each hit over 40 HRs on the same team. Johnson also broke Rogers Hornsby HR mark for a second baseman in a single season.

Defensively he led the NL in double plays, was second in assists & fourth in put outs. The year before he had the A.L.’s best fielding percentage but in 1973 he would lead all second baseman in errors. In 1974 he split time at second & first base hitting .251 with only 15 HRs. He was in the lineup, the night Hank Aaron broke the all time HR mark with 715 that April.

Four games into the 1975 season, the Braves released him & he went to play in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants for two seasons. There he was a teammate of Sadaharu Oh, who also broke Babe Ruth & Hank Aarons HR mark on an international level.

He had a disappointing season in first year overseas batting .197 with 13 HRs, improving to a.275 batting average with 26 HRs the next year. Johnson made it back to the majors in 1977 with the Phillies as a utility man and pinch hitter (9-for-26) He hit .321 with 8 HRs in 156 at-bats and in 1978 he tied an MLB record with two pinch grand slams. In his 13-year career, Johnson batted .261 with 1252 hits 136 HRs, 609 RBIs 242 doubles 18 triples 33 stolen bases & a .340 on base % in 1435 games.

Johnson began managing in 1979 with an Independent team in Florida. The next season he joined the Mets minor league staff and became manager of the Tidewater Tides in 1981. He led the Tides to three straight pennants, developing many young players he would later manage in the major leagues with the Mets.

He moved up through the organization quickly, over what first appeared to be more experienced managerial candidates. Johnson had earned a math degree and was one of the first people to use computers to compile baseball data. He learned the art of batter-pitcher matchups for platooning and in-game switches from his old Orioles skipper, Earl Weaver. Johnson dislikes the bunt and believed in solid pitching, three-run HRs & "play for one run, lose by one run."

In 1984 his old friend Frank Cashen now the Mets GM, gave Johnson the job as the Mets manager. In his first season he took the club from last place to a second place 90 win season. In 1985 he improved the team to a 98 win season but finished second to Whitey Herzog & the St. Louis Cardinals. He was familiar with the young talent the Mets had because he had managed many of them at Tidewater and knew what they could do. He had faith in them and gave them a chance. His easy going style was also a good mix for the veterans on the team.

In 1986 he brought the Mets to their best season ever, winning 108 games & winning the World Series. It was the Mets first post season appearance since 1973. He went on to become the first NL manager to win at least 90 games in each of his first five seasons, winning the World Championship in 1986 and the NL East in 1988. His clubs would finish second in all other five seasons he was at the helm.

Johnson is by far the most successful manager in Mets history, with only Gil Hodges even coming close. He has a Mets record of 595-417 and a .588 winning percentage. He is fourth all time behind Joe, McCarthy Miller Huggins, John Mcgraw & Billy Martin (tied) in winning percentage for New York baseball managers.

The Mets were expected to win more than one World Series in the late eighties. Second place finishes were not enough for the fans or Mets management. Looking back, injuries, the aging of veterans Keith Hernandez & Gary Carter, the drama issues of Gooden & Strawberry were all reasons for the Met decline. But, the manager was held responsible, and during a 1990 Cincinnati road trip, Frank Cashen came to his hotel room and fired him. Johnson was let go after 42 games with a 20-22 record.

Mets management told the press his laid back style wasn’t cutting it anymore. After Johnson was let go, Bud Harrelson was named manager & took the team to a 71-49 record, to another second place finish. The next season they finished fifth & had five more terrible seasons.

After two seasons out of baseball, the Cincinnati Reds hired Johnson 40 games into the 1993 season. He revived the Reds immediately, leading them to the NL Central lead up to the 1994 players' strike. In 1995 Ray Knight was named bench coach with the intention he would replace Johnson after the season regardless of how the team did. The Reds went on to win the first NL Central title but Johnson was still fired at the end of the season. He had never gotten along with Reds owner Marge Schott & the final straw supposedly was that she didn't approve of Johnson living with his –fiancée Susan, whom he later married.

Johnson returned to Baltimore as the Orioles' manager, under owner Peter Angelos. He & Johnson didn’t get along either and the two almost never spoke a word. But in Baltimore, Johnson once again was successful, as he led the Orioles to a wild-card playoff berth in 1996 and the AL East title in 1997. Both seasons he got his team as far as the ALCS but lost both times.

After the 1997 season he won the A.L. Manager of the Year award but drama followed. After Roberto Alomar missed a charity banquet, Johnson fined him. He told him to write a check to his wifes charity but Alomar didn’t as advised by the Players Union. Angelos was furious that Johnson did not ask for his opinion. The result was Johnson resigning. He was soon hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers to manage for the 1999 season. Johnson suffered his first full losing season as the Dodgers finished in third place. The team rebounded to second place the next year, but Davey was still fired anyway.

Johnson briefly managed the Netherlands national team in 2003, then served as a their bench coach at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2005 he was manager of Team USA and in the 2006 World Baseball Classic was Team USA’s bench coach. In 2008 he served as Team USA’s Manager in the Olympics. He served as a coach in Florida & in 2009 was named the Washington nationals senior advisor.

He began working within the Washington Nationals organization in 2006. He was named senior advisor to current GM Mike Rizzo in 2009 but took over as field manager on June 26th 2011 after the sudden resignation of Jim Riggelman. In his first meeting agaisnt the Mets he lost 8-5 in D.C. but took the series three games to two.

In September he made a triumphant return to New York getting a huge ovation at Citi Field, then went out and swept the Mets in a four game series. For the season his team was 40-43 under his leadership, finishing 80-81 in third place. He will be the Nationals manger in 2012 as well. In his managerial career as a whole Johnson is 1188 - 931 in 2121 games with a .561 %. He has won one pennnat & one World Series finishing first five times, second seven times in 15 seasons.

Johnson did not attend the 20th Anniversary of the 1986 Championship team, nor the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium in 2008. He said there was a personal falling out between him & the organization. In 2010 he finally returned to New York being elected into the Mets Hall of Fame along with Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry & Frank Cashen.

Family: Johnson's daughter, Andrea, was a nationally-ranked surfer in the 1980's. She suffered from schizophrenia & medications led to complications of her passing away. Johnson was devastated. The year before, he suffered from a serious stomach issue, which almost took his own life. Eventually his appendix was drained & removed & he recovered.

Former Mets Utility Player: Nick Evans (2008-2011)

2012-01-28T23:30:00.012-05:00

Nicholas Reginald Evans was born January 30, 1986 in Glendale, Arizona. The six foot two, right handed hitter was drafted out of high school in Phoenix, by the New York Mets in the 5th round of the 2004 draft. Evans was primarily a first baseman in the Mets organization, in 2007 he batted .286 with 15 HRs at A ball St. Lucie. In 2008 he was at AA Binghamton when he was brought up to the Mets in May to replace an injured Marlon Anderson.

In his first MLB at bat he doubled off Colorado’s Jeff Francis, & then hit two more doubles in the same game. He was the first Met since Kaz Matsui in 2004 to have three extra base hits in his MLB debut. He got to play regularly for a week but after his hot start was batting .174 when he was sent back down in June. At Binghamton overall he would bat .311 with 14 HRs & 53 RBIs on the year, finding his way back up to the majors in the summer when Ryan Church got injured. On August 31st he hit his first career HR coming against the Florida Marlins. In 50 games at the big league level he hit .257 with two HRs ten doubles & nine RBIs.

By now Evans had become a highly touted prospect, although a first baseman by trade his future would soon be in jeopardy with the emergence of Ike Davis. Evans also did not hit for power, but the team was hoping he could be more of a doubles hitter, especially in Citi Field where he had little chance to hit HRs in the big ball park.

In 2009 he began the year at AAA Buffalo but got sent down to AA Binghamton when he struggled. At the end of June he was back with the Mets for a month. He hit a HR in his second game back, gathering two hits & two RBIs at Citi Field in the Mets 11-0 win over the Cardinals.

The bouncing around of Evans continued as he was back at the end of August through September. On the year he hit .231 with one HR five doubles & seven RBIs in 30 games (15-65).

In 2010 he hit well at both AAA Buffalo & AA Binghamton batting .300 with 20 HRs 44 doubles & 80 RBIs getting a brief two game call up to fill a roster spot in July, but then returned as a September call up. On September 19th his RBI single off Chan Ho Park beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the 9th inning at Citi Field for an exciting walk off win. In 20 games he hit .306, with one HR 3 doubles & 5 RBIs in 36 at bats.

In 2011 he continued to hit at the minor league level batting .313 with 13 doubles 8 HRs & 32 RBIs at AAA Buffalo. When he was brought up to the Mets in May after David Wright went on the DL, it took him ten games to get his first hit. He was sent down to make room for Lucas Duda, but returned to the club in July and over a month got his average to peak at .300. He saw alot of playing time in August & September since Ike Davis was gone for the season with injury.

In early September he hit HRs in back to back games then two days later had a three RBI day in Florida against the Marlins. He drove in 14 runs in the month and finished the year batting .256 with 4 HRs 10 doubles 26 runs scored 25 RBIs & a .214 on base % in 59 games. At first he posted a .993 fielding % making just three errors. The Mets decided to part ways with Evans as he was let go to free agency in November. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates two weeks later.

In 159 career games over four seasons he batted .256 with 28 doubles 3 triples 8 HRs 54 runs scored & 46 RBIs posting a .305 on base %.

Former Queens Born Italian / American Player / Manager: Sam Mele (1947-1967)

2012-01-28T23:26:00.001-05:00

Sabath Anthony Mele was on born January 21, 1922 in Astoria, New York. He eventually earned the nickname SAM due to his initials. Mele attended Bryant High School off 31st Street in Long Island City, moving on to New York University in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Mele was a star basketball player at NYU, and then served the United States in World War II.

He was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1946 & went on to lead the Southern League in hitting (.342) & triples (18) that same year. The next year he was in the majors, batting .302 with 8 triples posting the AL’s second best fielding % in the outfield (.992). He played in an outfield next to Ted Williams & Dom Dimaggio before losing his starting job to Sam Spence in 1948. That year his average fell to .233 & he was traded to the Washington Senators in 1949.

In 1951 he led the league in doubles (36) driving in a career high 94 runs batting .274. He would have one of the league’s best fielding percentages for four straight years in the outfielder during the early fifties. Mele would play next for the White Sox, Orioles, Red Sox again & Reds before finishing his ten year playing career in 1956. He ended with a .267 batting average 406 hits 80 HRs 168 doubles & 39 triples in 1046 games played.

In 1959 he began to coach under former Brooklyn Dodger & future Mets coach Cookie Lavagetto with the Washington Senators. In 1961 the Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis & became the Minnesota Twins. In June Lavagetto took a leave & eventually left the position for good. Sam Mele took over as the Twins new manager, finishing in seventh place.

The Twins surprised people finishing second the next year & after two poor seasons became one of the AL’s most powerful teams.

In 1965 Mele’s Twins won the pennant & fell one game short of winning the World Series when Sandy Koufax defeated Jim Katt in Game #7. Mele’s team won 102 games, still a Twins record & won the Manager of the year Award.

Members of that great team include Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew, batting champion Tony Oliva, 1965 AL AVP Zoilo Versalles, Don Mincher & pitchers Jim Katt, Mudcat Grant & Al Worthington.

The next seasons the Twins finished second to Baltimore & expectations were high for 1967. In mid May the Twins were just at .500 even though they had acquired pitcher Dean Chance & added rookie Rod Carew. Mele was fired & replaced by Cal Ermer.

The Twins finished second to Boston losing out on the last day of the 1967 season. Mele went on to scout for the Red Sox until the new milleneum.

1986 Mets Short Stop: Rafael Santana (1984-1987)

2012-01-27T23:35:00.000-05:00

Rafael Francisco Santana was born January 31, 1958, in the Dominican Republic. In 1976 he signed with the Al New York club as an amateur free agent playing in their system until 1981. That year he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later (George Frazier). He hit over .280 in 1982 & 1983 in the minors, both minor league bests for him, while playing a fine short stop. He was called up in 1983 & played in 30 games for the Cardinals batting just .214. In January of 1984 he was released by St. Louis & a few hours later signed with the New York Mets.

In 1984 Santana batted .276 at AAA Tidewater in 77 games & was called up to the Mets in July to fill a roster spot. He started his Mets career as Jose Oquendo’s back short stop eventually taking over the position in August. The scouting reports on Santana were; limited range with good speed and a strong arm. He would drive first baseman Keith Hernandez crazy with his high arched throws that would just beat the base runners. It also seemed Santana would only fire the ball when absolutely necessary, otherwise it appeared he lobbed the ball over the infield. In 1984 at the plate he hit .271 with 12 RBIs hitting the first of his 13 career HRs during the last week of the season in a game against the Phillies.

By 1985 the Mets traded off Oquendo & Santana became the Mets regular shortstop, a job he would hold for three seasons. He was a weak hitter and mostly batting in the eighth spot within a strong Mets line up. He hit .257 in 1985, which was his career best as a regular player, with one HR, 19 doubles & 29 RBIs. He led all short stops in put outs (301) turned 81 double plays, making 25 errors (5th in the league).

In the 1986 Championship season he hit under .200 most of the season, but had a good August to raise him over the .200 mark. He began the month with a six game hit streak & on the 15th he had his biggest day. Gathering three hits with a pair of doubles & two runs scored against the Cardinals at Shea.

By late August he hit well enough the rest of the way to finish at .218, with one HR 11 doubles & 28 RBIs. His .973 fielding % was fourth best among NL shortstops. As a member of a wild bunch on the 1986 team, Santana was low key. He never got in any trouble & always conducted himself like a gentleman. He told the news in 2009 from his home in Cape Coral, Florida; "I never got in trouble. I was never arrested. My job was too important for me to do something stupid."

Post Season: In the NLCS against Houston, he played in all six games, setting an NLCS record for shortstops in putouts (13), assists (18) and chances (31) in a six-game series. At the plate he was 3-17 batting .176. In the World Series he hit .250 (5-20) scoring three runs & driving in two. In Game #7 he singled home Lenny Dykstra after Ray Knight had homered in the bottom of the 7th inning, & later scored on Keith Hernandez’s sacrifice fly.

The next season, Santana had the league’s second best fielding% at short (.973) turned over 82 doubles plays & was third in put outs & assists. At the plate he had career best in HRs (5) doubles (21) and RBIs (44), but it was his last season as a Met. Kevin Elster was on the scene, as the organizations choice for shortstop of the future & on December 11, 1987 Santana was Traded (with minor leaguer Victor Garcia) to the AL New York club for Steve Frey, Phil Lombardi and Darren Reed.

There he played a full season as their regular short stop, 143 games, batting .240 with 4 HRs and 38 RBIs. He made 22 errors (third among AL short stops) & grounded into 17 double plays. An elbow injury forced him to miss the entire 1989 season, and that November he was released. In 1990, he signed with the Cleveland Indians joining former 1986 Mets team mates Kieth Hernandez & Jesse Orosco.

He would only play in seven games getting released on April 25th. After a short seven season career he retired at the age of 32, with 497 hits a lifetime .246 average with 13 HRs 74 doubles, and 156 RBI in 668 games. On the field he posted a lifetime .969 fielding percentage (87th all time).

Retirement: Since his playing career, Santana has been a long time coach in the Dominican Winter League, with the Royals, Red Sox & White Sox farm systems. He is currently in charge of the White Sox player development in the Dominican Republic. He is also a member of the Mets Alumni Association along with past Mets players, and still makes personal appearances.

He attended the 20th Anniversary of the 1986 Championship Team & attended the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium.

Former Mets Pitcher & Pitching Coach: Bob Apodaca (1973-1977) (1996-1999)

2012-01-27T23:33:00.017-05:00

Robert John Apodaca was born on January 31, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. The five foot eleven Mexican / American right hander was drafted by the New York Mets during their pitching rich days in 1971. At A ball Visalia in 1971 he was 7-1 with a 3.60 ERA making a quick impression. In 1972 he was up at AA Memphis going 11-7 (second to only Randy Sterling in wins) with a 2.80 ERA becoming a highly touted prospect.

The next year he was 6-3 posting a 1.80 ERA at AAA Tidewater the third best pitcher on the staff behind Sterling & John Glass. Apodaca made his debut in late September 1973, in a crucial game against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. He allowed one run & two walks in less than one inning of work giving him an infinity ERA. He did not appear in any other games nor the post season.

In 1974 he had a good spring and made the 1974 Mets roster. How could Met fans ever forget the way his name would roll out of the mouths of announcers Bob Murphy & Lindsey Nelson. In the 1974 Mets home opener, after the ’73 NL Pennant flag was raised, Apodaca got the call in relief, in the 9th inning. The Mets top fireman, Tug McGraw was out sick & not able to pitch that day. With two Cardinal runners on base, Apodaca retired Tim McCarver to earn the save in relief of Jerry Koosman.

The next day he relieved George Stone in the 9th inning & gave up three straight singles blowing a save opportunity & took the loss. At the beginning of May, he earned his first victory in St. Louis beating Bob Gibson and the Cardinals, pitching five innings of relief.

In July he was put into the starting rotation of a struggling staff, in his first start at Los Angeles he pitched six shutout innings beating the Dodgers 5-2. His next outing wasn't as good as he was hit hard for five runs exiting in the 4th inning. He won his next two decisions including a brilliant two hit seven inning shutout performance against the Reds at Shea Stadium. In September he was back in the bullpen, earning one save, a win & a loss. For the season he went 6-6 with three saves the rest of the way, posting a 3.50 ERA in 105 innings.

In 1975 Apodaca was the Mets main relief specialist, taking over as the teams closer when Tug McGraw got traded to Philadelphia. Apodaca missed the first two weeks of the 1975 season on the DL, returning on April 20th. He returned to save seven games and earned one win through mid June before blowing an opportunity. In that stretch he only allowed four earned runs in 28 innings, pitched good for a 1.15 ERA. He took his first loss in Montreal on June 18th allowing a 9th inning RBI single to Gary Carter & then a 10th inning game winning hit to Pete Mackanin.

In a game against the Phillies, he took a bouncer to his face & suffered a fractured nose, requiring 14 stitches. He missed most of July returning at the end of the month for one appearance. In August he saved four more games, as the Mets fired manager Yogi Berra and remained in contention, six games back at the start of September. Apodaca finished the year with his best overall season, posting a 1.48 ERA, with a team leading 13 saves (8th best in the league) and a 3-4 record. He allowed just 66 hits, 4 HRs & 14 earned runs in 85.0 innings pitched, striking out 45 batters.

In 1976 he lost his closer job to Skip Lockwood, but made 43 appearances & was second on the staff with five saves. He struggled with a 3-7 record although he posted another strong ERA (2.81), striking out 45 batters in 89 innings. In 1977 he appeared in a career high 59 games, mostly in middle relief for the last place Mets for a franchise that hit rock bottom. Once again Apodaca was second on the staff to Skip Lockwood with five saves going 4-8, with three holds & a respectable 3.43 ERA.

In Spring Training of 1978 hard luck fell on Apodaca, he tore a ligament in his right elbow which ended up finishing his career. He did not pitch for three seasons, until 1981 when he attempted a comeback with AA Jackson.

He pitched in just six games, before being forced to retire, ending a once promising career that never took off. In just five brief seasons he appeared in 184 games, going 16-25 with a 2.86 ERA and 26 saves. He struck out 197 batters walked 131 in 361 innings pitched. Apodaca made just 11 starts with one complete game as well.

Retirement: After his playing days he spent over a decade as a coach in the Mets farm system, starting at Little Falls & Jackson in 1983. That season he helped coach a young Roger McDowell & Calvin Schiraldi. He went to the Columbia Mets from 1984-1987 working under Bud Harrelson in 1985 & finishing as league champs in 1986. He went to the St. Lucie Mets then back to Jackson in 1989-1990.

From 1991- 1996 he was at the Mets AAA level first with Tidewater then at Norfolk when the team moved. Over the years he tutored Anthony Young, Pete Shourek, Bobby Jones, Paul Byrd, Rick Reed & the Generation K trio of Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher, & Paul Gibson.

He was promoted to pitching coach of the New York Mets on Bobby Valentine’s staff from 1996 to 1999. Apodacas staff won 88 games in both 1997 & 1998 posting the leagues 4th best ERA in 1998 & most saves in 1997 (41). On June 5th 1999, the Mets were one game under .500 & the front office wanted to shake things up a bit. Valentine arrived at Shea‚ to learn that GM Steve Phillips had fired his three closest coaches Apodaca‚ Tom Robinson and Randy Niemann.

Apodaca moved on to the Milwaukee Brewers as pitching coach in 2000-2001, then returned to the Mets organization as pitching coach for St. Lucie in 2002.

In 2003 he got the job as pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies under Clint Hurdle whom he had met while coaching in the Mets minor league system. Their staff went to the World Series in 2007, and got to another post season in 2009. Apodaca still holds the position through 2011 & has been the Rockies coach for nine seasons.

centerfieldmaz Remembers actor Robert Hegyes (Welcome Back Kotter's -Juan Epstein)

2012-01-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

Today, centerfieldmaz remembers Robert Hegyes who portrayed the character Juan Epstein, in one my favorite classic sitcoms Welcome Back Kotter.

Robert Hegyes was born May 7th, 1951 in Perth Amboy,New Jersey. He grew up in nearby Metuchen, NJ, attending high school there, then going to Rowan University at Glassboro, NJ. He began acting in a Greewich Village Theater group as a teen & got the part for Welcome Back Kotter at age 23 in 1974. In reality Hegyes was of Italian / Hungarian decent although he portrayed the Puerto Rican / Jewish "Sweat Hog" Juan Epstein.

On "Welcome Back Kotter"- Juan was one of many Epstein brothers & sisters. He usually wore cut off denim vests & sported a high afro. He was the tough guy of the sweat hogs, walking around with a bad ass strut & a red bandanna hangin out of his pocket. He was voted "most likley to take a life" at Brooklyn's Buchanan high school by his classmates. The actor Hedgyes was a fan of the Marx Brothers & his resembelence to Harpo Marx made his impersonation of him on the show even stronger.

The funniest of all Epstein's antics was that he that he always had an excuse note for every occasion. "Hey Mr. Kotter I got a note". The note would be lip synched by Juan as Mr. Kotter read it aloud. The notes were always forged "Juan's mother" as it was obvious he had written them.

Welcome Back Kotter aired on TV from 1975-1979 reaching #18 in the ratings in its first season & #13 in its second season, before falling off. The show became a huge hit with a large cult following, spawning off comic books, lunch boxes, action figures & trading cards. The show has since remained popular in reruns & in 2011 all living cast members (except Horseshack) were on hand to recieve a TV Land Award for its 35th anniversary. John Travolta is also godfather to Hegyes children.

The actor Robert Hegyes also had a recurring part in the show Cagney & Lacy. He made appearances on The Streets of San Francisco, Chico & the Man, CHIPS, Diagnosis Murder, the Drew Carey Show, News Radio, the $20, 0000 Pyramid & Saturday Night Live. He also was a star in the award winning Volkswagon commercial "The Chase" as well as making appearances in movies; Honeymoon Hotel, The Purpose & Bob Roberts.

Hegyes later taught acting, writing & public speaking at his alma mater Rowan University in New Jersey, as well as at Brooks College in Long Beach, California. Sadly, Hedgyes passed away from a heart attack yesterday, January 26th in Edison New Jersey, he was 60 years old.

Original 1962 Mets Second Baseman: Charlie Neal (1962-1963)

2012-01-26T23:35:00.025-05:00

Charles Leonard Neal was born on January 30, 1931 in Longview Texas. Neal began in the Negro Leagues with the Atlanta Black Crackers. He was signed as an infielder by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. It took him six years to crack the big league Dodgers squad with such a talented infield of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson & Jim Gilliam. In his minor league years he hit over .300 three times & over .270 all but once.
He debuted in Brooklyn in 1956, batting .287 in 136 at bats with two HRs five doubles eleven stolen bases (9th in the NL) & 14 RBIs. He got to play in his first World Series going 0-4 as a pinch hitter. In 1957 he took over as the Dodger short stop when Pee Wee Reese moved over to third base. Neal batted .270 with 12 HRs 13 doubles 11 stolen bases & 62 RBIs.

In 1958 at the Dodgers moved west, Neal moved over to play second base. Long time second baseman Jim Gilliam moved to play outfield & Don Zimmer took over at short. Neal posted a .976 fielding % (5th in the NL) making 343 assists (5th in the NL) &with 334 out outs (3rd in the NL) making 17 errors (3rd most in the NL). At bat he had his most productive year in HRs with a career high 22, nine doubles six triples 61 walks 65 RBIs a .341 on base % & a .254 average.

In the 1959 Dodgers Championship season, he led the league in triples (11) & sacrifice hits (21). That season he hit 19 HRs, scored 103 runs (6th in the league) and had career highs with 83 RBIs, 30 doubles (9th in the NL) 60 extra base hits & 17 stolen bases (7th in the NL) , earning him 20% of the MVP voting. Neal led the NL second baseman in fielding (.989) double plays (110) & put outs (386) which won him a gold glove.

Post Season: In Game #2 of the 1959 World Series against the Chicago White Sox, he hit a pair of HRs off Bob Shaw driving in three runs at Comiskey Park, leading the Dodgers to a 4-3 win. In Game #2 he drove in Maury Wills in the bottom of the 8th inning with an insurance run in the Dodger 3-1 win. Overall he had a big series, hitting .370 (10-27) second only to Gil Hodges with players who had more than four at bats. He hit two HRs driving in six runs, with two doubles and four runs scored in the Series.

After hitting only .235 with 10 HRs 6 doubles 48 RBIs& a .297 on base % in 1961 he was traded to the expansion New York Mets for $100,000 & a veteran named Lee Walls. Neal was an original Met, playing second base and batting third in the first game in Mets history on April 11, 1962 in St. Louis. St. Louis. In the 3rd inning he singled and drove in the first run in Mets history, scoring Ritchie Ashburn. In the top of the 5th he hit the second HR in Mets history, it came off pitcher Larry Jackson. He had a great day going 3-4, driving in two runs & scoring a run.

On April 28th at the Polo Grounds he hit two HRs against the Philadelphia Phillies helping the Mets to their second win an 8-6 victory against ten losses. In the month of April Neal hit three HRs drove in nine runs & batted .310 leading the team as one of their top hitters.

On May 20th he hit the first of three Mets HRs in the top of the 7th inning against the Milwaukee Braves. In mid June he drove in runs in five of seven games. In the first week of August had six RBIs& in the month drove in 17 runs with nine multi hit games.

In September he would hit safely in ten of eleven games he played in. Neal would play in 136 games in 1962, batting .260 with 11 HRs, 58 RBIs and a team leading 9 triples & 9 sacrifice hits. He primarily played second for the Mets, but also had time at third & short. By far he was their best defensive infielder posting a .970 fielding %. In 1963 he struggled at the start not getting to the .200 mark until May.

He hit his first HR that month then two more in June, but after 72 games he was batting .225 with just 18 RBIs. The Mets traded him to the Cincinnati Reds along with Sammy Taylor for catcher Jesse Gonder. Neal finished out his career that year, posting the leagues fourth best fielding % as a third baseman (.955) batting just .211.

In his eight season career he hit .259 with 858 hits 87 HRs 113 doubles 461 runs scored 38 triples 48 stolen bases a .329 on base % & 391 RBIs

Passing: In 1996 Neal passed away from heart failure in Dallas, Texas at age 65.

Late Seventies Mets Reserve Infielder: Sergio Ferrer (1978-1979)

2012-01-26T23:32:00.006-05:00

Sergio (Marrero) Ferrer was born on January 29, 1951 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. The five foot seven middle infielder was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970. He was then drafted away Rule V, by the Minnesota Twins in December 1973. He debut in Minnesota at the start of the 1974 season behind regular short stop Danny Thompson. That year he hit a career best .281 in 24 games before being sent back to AAA in May. He would make the team out of Spring Training again in 1975 & play 32 more games. He hit.247 & drove in his first two career runs but was back in the minors by June.

Ferrer would spend the next two seasons in the minors getting traded first to the Philadelphia Phillies & then the AL New York club. He played in their organizations before coming over to the New York Mets for Roy Staiger in December 1977. He drove in 22 runs batting .241 at AAA Tidewater when he was brought up in late April of 1978. The quick footed Ferrer was used as a pinch runner or late inning defensive replacement in 37 games, batting just .212 in 33 at bats with one stolen base.

In 1979 he began the year back at Tidewater, but rejoined the Mets that June through the rest of the season. He had seven at bats going hitless with three strikeouts, seeing action in 32 games. He never got back to the major leagues after that, batting just .242 with 43 hits & three RBIs lifetime in a four year career. Ferrer played in the minors through the 1981 season, and later appeared in the short lived Senior Professional League in 1989.

Former New York Giants Player & Manager: Bill Rigney

2012-01-26T23:28:00.001-05:00

William Joseph Rigney was born on January 29, 1918 in Oakland, California. He was signed by the New York Giants making the ball club in 1946 playing third base that year.

He would be the team’s second baseman from 1947-1949, with career highs in HRs (17) doubles (24) RBIs (59) in 1947.

In 1948 he led the NL in errors, the next year he batted a career high .278 which would be his last season as a Giants regular. In 1950 the Giants had Eddie Stanky to play second base & Hank Thompson for third base, Rigney became a reserve player through the 1953 season.

In the 1951 World Series he had four at bats (1-4) as a pinch hitter, driving in the Giants only run in Game #2. In his eight seasons, Rigney batted .259 with 510 hits 41 HRs 212 RBIs & 78 doubles in 654 games played.

After his playing days he replaced Leo Durocher in New York finishing sixth in both 1956 & 1957 the Giants last season in New York.

When the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, it was Rigney at the helm, returning home to the Bay area. That season he brought the team to a 3rd place finish, over .500 at 80-74.

The following season the Giants won three more game but the team still finished in third place, as the rival Dodgers won the World Series, their first championship in Los Angeles. In 1960 after 58 games Rigney was let go after posting a 33-25 record being replaced by Tom Sheehan.

In 1961 he was hired as manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels, winning the manager of the Year Award in 1962 when he led them to a third place finish going 86-76. The Angels would finish ninth the following year, losing 91 games. Rigney would remain as their manager into the 1969 season only finishing a best third one more time. He was replaced by Lefty Phillips in early 1969, then moved on to the Giants radio booth.

In 1970 he was hired by the Minnesota Twins, as their manager leading them to an AL Western title, losing to the eventual World Champion Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS.

He remained with the Twins into the 1972 season before being replaced by Frank Quilici. In 1976 Rigney had one more run as manager of the San Francisco Giants finishing in fourth place. In an 18-season managerial career, Rigney posted a 1239-1321 record (.484) in 2561 games.

In the 1980’s he was a broadcaster for the Oakland A’s as well as a front office consultant. Rigney passed away in 2001 at age 83 in Walnut Creek, California.

Former Mets Outfielder & Japanese Celebrity: Tsuyoshi Shinjo (2001/2003)

2012-01-25T23:35:00.032-05:00

Tsuyoshi Shinjo was born January 28, 1972 in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. He was one of the best defensive center fielders of the 1990's in his native Japan. Although he didn't hit for power he was a very popular player due to his antics & good natured personality. He dyed his hair, leaped with a hop when he caught a ball, wore flashy clothes & colorful wrist bands.

He left Japan and signed with the New York Mets for $200,000 in 2001, turning down a $2 million deal in Japan. His signing in MLB with New York was influenced by manager Bobby Valentine & surprised a lot of people. Shinjo played hard for the Mets, winning over the fans as well as his manager Bobby Valentine. He hustled & always had an positive, upbeat attitude.

He debuted getting an at bat on Opening Day in Atlanta & got his first MLB hit. In the third game of the year he got his first start & that day he drove in his first RBI. On April 9th he hit his first career HR it came off Jason Marquis & the Braves at Shea Stadium. On May 13th he had three hit day at Shea Stadium in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. A week later he singled in the bottom of the 9th inning scoring the Mets winning run against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On July 18th he had another game winning hit, this time scoring Joe McEwing to beat the Florida Marlins. From June 1st through June 7th on an East Coast road trip, he had four games where he drove in two each time. In the first game after the September 11th attacks, it was Shinjo who drew a bases loaded walk to drive in the first run on the return, it came off the Pirates Todd Ritchie in Pittsburgh in the 3rd inning.

He had a good rookie debut, as he made the Topps All Star Rookie team, batting .268 with 10 HRs 23 doubles & 56 RBIs playing in 123 games. He also made MLB ethnic history becoming the first Japanese born player to bat clean up in an MLB line up. In the outfield he played in center field (53) games where he posted a perfect .1000 fielding % & in left (46 games) where he was fourth in the league with a eight assists. He also played right field (39 games ) posting a .985 fielding %.

Some people criticized his hot dog style of play & his flashy look. He wore big bright orange wrist bands & had fancy wraparound sun glasses. After the season, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants with Desi Relaford for pitcher Sean Estes. He struggled a bit in the Bay Area batting only .238 with 9 HRs 15 doubles & 37 RBIs in 118 games. But Shinjo made history again, that season becoming the first Japanese native to play in a World Series. He went 1-6, in three Series games for the Giants, as they lost to the Anaheim Angels in seven games.

He was released after the Series and got signed by the New York Mets once again for 2003. He saw some action in the outfield (54 games) and was used as a pinch hitter as well. He faded quickly and was done at the end of June. He was sent to AAA Norfolk where he hit .324 the rest of the season.After only 62 games he hit .193 with one HR & 7 RBIs. He ended his big league career with 202 hits, 41 doubles, 20 HRs, 100 RBIs & a .245 batting average in 303 games.

He went back to play in Japan & had some solid seasons before retiring in 2006. He played on many losing teams in Japan, but in his final season, his Nippon Ham Fighters won the Championship.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation as he took the field in the last inning, and the team carried him off the field in victory when it was over.

Overall in Japan, he won 9 gold gloves & made three Best Nine teams. Currently he is a TV celebrity in Japan, has a coffee drink named for him, runs a line of clothing & won 10 million Yen on the Japan version of "Millionaire".

Former A.L. Rookie of the Year & One Time Met: Angel Berroa (2009)

2012-01-25T23:32:00.013-05:00

Angel Maria Berroa was born January 27, 1978 in Santa Domingo. The shortstop was originally signed by the Oaklnad A’s and got traded to the Kansas City Royals in a three team deal that included Johnny Damon & Roberto Hernandez. He had two September cups of coffee in his first two seasons, getting a hit in his first MLB game in 2001.

In 2002 he played in the Futures Game & Pacific Coast All Star Games. By 2003 he was given the job as the Kansas City Royals everyday shortstop replacing Neifi Perez, starting out by making 19 errors in the first two months and was batting under .200 in the ninth spot. Manager Tony Pena moved him to the leadoff spot and Berroa turned his season around.

He won the Rookie of the Year Award in one of the closest races for the Award in years. He ended up with a .287 batting average, hitting 17 HRs with 28 doubles 21 stolen bases 13 sac hits (2nd in the AL) & 73 RBIs. He led the league in errors at short (24) put outs (264) & was second in assists (473).

He became the fourth Royal to win the ROY Award joining the likes of Lou Pinella (1969) Bob Hamelin (1994) & Carlos Beltran (1999). In 2003 Berroa helped the Royals to one of their best seasons in years as they went 83-79 finishing third, after making a good summer playoff run.

In 2004 he hit a HR with two hits & drove in three runs helping the Royals beat the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, in an interleague game. Berroa dropped to .264 that year & never matched his rookie numbers again. In four more seasons in Kansas City he hit a best .270 with 11 HRs 55 RBIs in 2005. He struck out often, over 100 times twice, didn’t hit much and hardly ever drew a walk. His walk ratio was the worst in baseball. By 2007 he lost his job and was shipped to the minors where he spent most of the year.

He started 2008 at AAA then got traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Juan Rivera. He hit .230 there and was released at the end of the season. He was signed by the AL New York club in 2009 but was released after 21 games batting just .136.

The New York Mets signed him as a free agent when Jose Reyes, Alex Cora and anyone else who could play short stop got hurt in 2009. Berroa played in 14 games for the ’09 Mets going only 4-27 (.148 batting average) with two RBIs. Both runs came at Citi Field at the end of July against the Colorado Rockies in two Met wins. He made two errors & turned four double plays in eight games at the short stop position. He was designated for assignment by August 7th.

The Dodgers signed him to a minor league contract for 2010 but was released in March & then he was signed by the Giants. That season he batted .205 in just 26 games at AAA Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. In July 2011 he signed with Arizona.

In his career he posted a .965 fielding % at shortstop playing 706 games there as well as 17 games at second base. In a nine year career he hit .258 with 665 hits 118 doubles 21 trriples 46 HRs 254 RBIs 50 steals & a .303 on base % with 329 runs scored. He is the son in law of former Kansas City Royal player (1978) Luis Silverio, who played in just eight games at the MLB level but has spent over 30 years in their organization.

Old Time New York Giants Pitcher: Cliff Melton (1937-19440

2012-01-25T23:29:00.001-05:00

Clifford George Melton was born January 3, 1912 in Brevard, North Carolina. The tall 6' 3" lefty, was called "Mountain Music" because of his love of playing guitar. He would strum to the Appalachian music of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

He would also be taunted to the name of Mickey Mous due to his large ears. During an exhibition game, Melton blew a chance of getting to the majors when he couldn't ignore the Cubs' Gabby Harrnett's needling during an exhibition game. Melton went after him. even though he was still a minor leaguer. After Melton returned back to the Baltimore minor league club, his GM Jack Ogden, would give him a bonus every time he went after some one who harassed him.

He made his MLB debut on April 15, 1937 at the Polo Grounds against the Boston Bees. He pitched eight shutout innings while striking out a then record 13 batters for a rookie pitcher. The record held until 1954. Melton took a rough 3-1 loss on that day.

Melton went on to have his best season that year, winning twenty games (20-9) second most wins in the league to teamate Carl Hubbell. He posted a 2.61 ERA (second in the league), appearing in 46 games for the Giants (27 starts) & out of the bull pen his seven saves were best in the league. He pitched 248 innings tossing two shutouts striking out 141 batters. At the time there were no Rookie of the Year Awards given out, which would have surley been given to Melton. Instead he came in 11th place in the MVP voting.

Post Season: In the 1937 World Series he started Game #2 at New York, pitching only four innings and taking the 2-1 loss against Red Ruffing.

He then pitched two hitless innings of relief in Game #3. He got the start in Game #5 at the Polo Grounds and lost the final game of the Series to Lefty Gomez. He gave up four runs on six hits, struck out five and walked three, allowing HRs to Joe DiMaggio & Meril Hoag. Overall he was 0-2 in the Series with a 4.91 ERA.

2000 N.L. Champion Mets Hitting Coach: Tom Robson (1997-1999/ 2000/ 2002)

2012-01-24T23:35:00.000-05:00

Thomas James Robson was born on January 15, 1946 in Rochester, New York.

He attended Utah State University getting drafted by the New York Mets way down in the 50th round of the 1967 draft. He would play three seasons at first base with the Mets minor league teams, having a huge 1968 year at AA Visalia hitting 35 HRs with 102 RBIs & a .283 average.

That season he was a teammate of future Mets Teddy Martinez, Ken Singleton & Jesse Hudson. His numbers fell way off the next year at AAA & he eventually went to the Expos, Reds &Rangers organizations.

He set a Rangers minor league record which still stands with 14 HRs in 1974, getting him a call up to the big leagues. He played briefly in the majors with Texas in 1974 & 1975 appearing in 23 games overall, batting .208 with 4 RBIs.

Coching: After his playing days Robson went into a coaching career & began working with Bobby Valentine back in 1986. He was the batting coach on Bobby V’s staff until his departure from Texas in 1992. Robson arrived on Bobby Valentine’s New York Mets staff in Bobby’s first full year at the helm in 1997.

Looking back it must be noted at how the team improved under his tenure as batting coach, getting to two straight post seasons, with the likes of Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura & John Olerud. Olerud himself, called Robson the best coach he ever had, as he improved from a .274 season in Toronto to a .294 (1997) season in New York, followed by a .354 season (1998).

But it wasn’t an easy ride for Robson. After an eight game losing streak in 1999 capped off by a subway series loss, GM Steve Phillips fired Robson, along with Bob Apodaca & Randy Nieman. Bobby Valentine was furious & had known nothing about the firing of his two closest coaches until he arrived at the ballpark. Robson was replaced by minor league hitting instructor Mickey Brantley.

The powerful 1999 team were the second best hitting team in the NL with a .279 average & the league’s best team on base %. After the season Valentine fought to get Robson back & Steve Phillips gave in, admitting he was wrong to fire him. Robson was rehired for the 2000 season & his Mets hitters went all the way to the World Series with the leagues 5th best on base %, although they fell to 10th in batting average (.263). He was fired a second time after the World Series & was replaced with Dave Engle.

In May of 2001, as the Mets bats were struggling, Robson was asked by GM Steve Phillips to stop by & give the hitters some help. Phillips downplayed the idea that new hitting coach Dave Engle wasn’t doing a good job.

The Mets hitters finished 15th in the league in hitting after the departure of Robson. At the end of that season, Robson was once again added to the staff as the bench coach replacing Bobby Floyd. He stayed with the Mets for one more season, and left when Valentine & his staff were dismissed. In 2003 Robson wrote a book called the Hitting Edge with a forward by John Olerud.

Short Time Met Jose Offerman & All His Troubles (2005)

2012-01-24T23:33:00.000-05:00

Jose Antonio (Dono) Offerman was born on November 8, 1968 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican, Republic. The six foot infielder was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986 as an amateur free agent. He made it to the big leagues by 1990, hitting a HR in his first MLB at bat on August 19th against the Montreal Expos.

He began by playing behind Alfredo Griffin, taking over as the Dodgers main short stop from 1992-1995. He led the NL in errors three seasons at short (1992-1993-1995) but did steal 30 bases in 1993. That season on Opening Day he became the first batter to ever face the new Florida Marlins. He made his first All Star game in 1995, hitting .287 on the year posting a .389 on base %. At the end of the season he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Billy Brewer when the Dodgers acquired Greg Gagne via free agency to play short.

Offerman spent three years in Kansas City having his best years. He hit .303 in his first season, and then followed up with his career year. He batted .315 in 1998 with 191 hits (7th in the AL) 28 doubles & 89 walks (5th in the AL). He led the league in triples (13) for the first of two straight seasons posted a .414 on base %, with 45 stolen bases (5th in the AL) &.

In 1999 he signed on with the Boston Red Sox & made another All Star team, led the league in triples again (13) and hit .294. He had a good post season batting .389 against the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS driving in six runs, with a HR & five RBIs in the Red Sox 23-7 win in Game #4 at Fenway Park. In the ALCS he hit .458 going 11-24 with two RBIs & four runs scored. He spent three and one half seasons in Boston but his numbers fell off drastically never hitting above .267 in that time.

Offerman was sent to the Seattle Mariners to finish the year. He was signed by the Montreal Expos but was cut from the team & played 2003 in the Independent League with the Bridgeport Blue Fish. He returned with the Minnesota Twins in 2004 batting .256, then signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005. He was released at the end of May after 33 games batting just .182.

In early June he was signed by the New York Mets. Offerman was used mostly as a pinch hitter getting nine hits & five walks in that role with 32 at bats. In his Mets debut he got a hit & drove in a run against the Phillies who had cut him a month earlier. In his last career game he had a pinch hit single & then lined out for the final out of the Mets 2005 season in Colorado. In his Mets career he played in 53 games batting .250 with two doubles, six walks & ten RBIs.

In his 15 season career he batted .256 with 1551 hits, 252 doubles, 72 triples, 57 HRs 172 stolen bases, 772 walks & a .360 on base %. At short he 149 errors posting a .943 fielding % in 607 games. In his career he also played first & second base as well as outfield.

Retirement & Drama: In 2007 he was back with the Bridgeport Blue Fish and in a game on August 14th he was thrown out of a game after going after Long Island Ducks pitcher Matt Beech after he hit Offerman with a pitch. He broke the pitchers finger as well as injuring catcher John Nathans, both were taken to Bridgeport Hospital.

Offerman was arrested by Police & suspended indefinitely by the Independent League. He was sentenced to two years special probation but Nathans filed a $4 million law suit against Offerman, claiming he ended his playing career because of the incident.

In 2008 Offerman won a championship as manager of the Lacey Tigers in the Dominican League. In 2010 in game against the Cibao Giants being umpired by an American umpiring crew, Offerman hit one of the umpires. He was detained by Police & eventually banned for life from Dominican Baseball. The umpires had to leave the country due to safety issues the next day.

Early Seventies Mets Yearbook Prospect: Brock Pemberton (1974-1975)

2012-01-24T23:32:00.008-05:00

Brock Pemberton was born on November 5th, 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended high school in Huntington Beach California, becoming a star baseball player there. The six foot three switch hitting first baseman was drafted by the New York Mets in the 6th round of the 1972 draft at age 18. He began his career in the rookie year in 1972, spending 1973 at A ball Pompano Beach batting .266. He did well in the Texas League in 1974 with the Victoria Toros making the All Star team hitting 37 doubles while batting .322. He got promoted to the Mets big league squad as a September call up in 1974.

He made his Mets debut as a pinch hitter going 0-1 on September 10th 1974, against the Montreal Expos. He appeared as a pinch hitter in first three games, getting a hit in the 25 inning epic against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 11th. He made his first start on September 14th going 0-5 against the Chicago Cubs inserted in the third in the lineup as a first baseman. Pemberton got one more start and then had two more hits as a pinch hitter that September.

It was back to AAA Tidewater in 1975, where he hit .297 second on the club to Mike Vail getting another September call up. Pemberton got two more pinch hit chances going 0-2 as a in September 1975. He will forever be remembered as one of those early 1970’s Mets yearbooks prospects of the future.

In 1976 he hit .290 at Tidewater second to John Stearns, but was traded away to the St. Louis Cardinals for a minor leaguer Ed Kurpiel. His playing career ended the next year at AA New Orleans. He went on to coach & manage at the minor league level into the 1980’s.

The Pitcher the Mets Traded to Get Keith Hernandez: Neil Allen ( 1979-1983)

2012-01-23T23:35:00.017-05:00

Neil Patrick Allen was born January 24, 1958 in Kansas City, Kansas. The six foot three right hander was selected by the New York Mets out of Bishop Ward high school in Kansas City, Kansas in the 11th round of the 1976 draft. In 1977 at A ball, with the Lynchburg Mets, Allen was 10-2 with 126 strikeouts & a 2.79 ERA. The next year he was brought up through the ranks going 7-16 but posted a strong 2.79 ERA, getting a promotion to the Mets staff for 1979.

He made his debut on April 15th, 1979 against former Met Nino Espinoza & the Phillies, 1979 and took the loss while giving up four runs. Allen struggled as a starter losing his first five decisions, two to both the Phillies & Dodgers as well as one to the San Diego Padres. By July he was put into to the bull pen and found a new home. From there on in he had four straight winning decisions & five saves before taking another loss in mid August. He would finish up 6-10 with eight saves, second on the team to Skip Lockwood & a 3.55 ERA.

In 1980 he got the save against the Chicago Cubs to start the season on Opening Day in relief of Craig Swan in front of just 12,000 at Shea Stadium. He finished April with four saves a loss & two blown saves, with an inflated 8.22 ERA. He then had a good May saving five games with two victories. In that month he he only allowed three earned runs in 17 innings. On June 4th he pitched three innings of relief but the one hit he allowed was the game winning HR to St. Louis Ken Reitz.

Three days later he pitched three innings again, this time a Ron Hodges walk off RBI single got him a win. He also had a strong August with five saves and a 1-1 record. He would save a career high 22 games on the season (4th in the NL) going 7-10 with a 3.70 ERA striking out 79 batters in 97 innings pitched.

In the 1981 strike shortened season, he saved 18 games (3rd best in the NL) going 7-6 posting a 2.97 ERA, while becoming one the league’s best closers. At the same time Jeff Reardon was also developing into a fine relief pitcher on the same Mets club. The Mets were trying to improve their team by shopping for a good hitting outfielder. The Expos were willing to trade star outfielder Ellis Valentine but wanted one of the Mets young reliever’s In return. The Mets chose to give up Reardon, at the end of May he & Dan Norman were sent to Montreal for Valentine.

Allen remained with the Mets & started out 1982 with a good April posting five saves not blowing an opportunity until the end of the month. He finished out May with 13 saves & 2.03 ERA. At the All Star break he had 17 saves but the rest of the season didn’t go as well, he finished with a 3-7 record 19 games (6th in the league) while posting a .306 ERA.

In 1983 after a 2-4 start with a two saves & a blown save the Mets converted him back to a starter. Allen made his first start since 1979 against the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium on May 25th allowing five runs in 4 innings of work. His next start in San Francisco wasn’t much better as he allowed another four runs over 4.2 innings of work. He went 2-7 with an ERA over four into June, but was still considered a good young pitcher with a great future. Meanwhile the new Mets ownership were hard at work trying to make a big deal behind the scenes.

As the St. Louis Cardinals, Whitey Herzog & Keith Hernandez were having their issues, a deal was worked out with New York. On the trade deadline of 1983, Allen was sent to the 1982 World Champion Cardinals (along with Rick Ownbey) for All Star Keith Hernandez. What a deal for the Mets, one of their best ever.

At the time of the trade the Mets were playing the Cardinals & Neil Allen had a two strike count on a hitter when a rain delat came. The next time the two teams faced off, the rain delay was picked up, Allen was now pitching for the Cards & struck out the Mets batter who was filling in his old spot in the batting order with two previous strikes on him. You can say Neil Allen is the only player in history to strike himself out.

Allen made his first start for the Cardinals against the Mets at Busch Stadium a few days later. He was spectacular pitching eight innings of shutout ball allowing just four hits while striking out six. He pitched well for the Cards, including back to back shut outs in July against the Dodgers & Padres. He finished the year at 10-6 in St. Louis going 12-13 overall (8th most losses in the NL) with a 3.94 ERA. His three shutouts were 5th best in the NL, & his eight wild pitches within the top ten most.

In 1984 he was 9-6 & was put back in the bullpen for the 1985 season. Allen struggled & wasn’t as effective as he was in the past. The Cardinal fans let him have it and he was traded to the AL New York team mid season. Over the next three seasons he would bounce from the Bronx to the South Side of Chicago & pitch for the White Sox.

In 1986 the White Sox put him back in a starting role & in May against his old AL New York team mates he pitching a four hit victory against Ron Guidry. Next month he tossed a two hit shutout against them in New York as well. He went 7-2 that year with a 3.82 ERA. He finished his playing career in 1989 with Cleveland going 0-1. In his 11 year career he saved 75 games with a 58-70 record and a 3.83 ERA in 434 games.

Retirement: Since his playing days Allen has been a pitching coach in the minor leagues. He was with Toronto organization the Staten Island A ball team & currently in the Tampa Rays organization.

The Very First Mets Relief Pitcher: Bob Moorhead (1962/1965)

2012-01-23T23:32:00.015-05:00

Charles Robert Moorhead was born on January 23, 1938 at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He would squeeze a rubber ball during his school days in order to make his hands stronger. He pitched in high school getting drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1958. Then the right handed pitcher became an original New York Met when he was picked up in the 1961 expansion draft (Rule 5).

Moorhead has the honor of being the Mets very first relief pitcher to ever come into a game. It happened on the first game in Mets history at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis on April 11th, 1962. He relieved Roger Craig in the 4th inning and allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits in three innings pitched in the Mets first ever loss.

He was on the ’62 club all season, mostly as a middle reliever, usually walking in to some kind of disaster. At the end of July he was put in the starting rotation, earning his first loss against the Reds allowing four runs in six innings at the Polo Grounds. He was back in the bull pen, taking another loss & a blown save as well. He finished the year at 0-2 with a 4.53 ERA pitching 105 innings im 38 appearances with 63 strike outs & 42 walks.

He went back down to the minors in 1963 going 13-5 at Raleigh in the Carolina League. At AA Austin he went 6-2 with a 2.51 in 1964. After going 5-0 at AA Williamsport in 1965 he resurfaced with the Mets in mid August. In his first game back the San Francisco Giants tagged him for two runs at Candlestick Park, giving him the loss. He made just nine appearances, finishing three games on the season. Moorhead would never win a game in the majors, posting a lifetime 0-3 record, with a 4.51 ERA, pitching in 119 innings allowing 134 hits & 60 earned runs.

Retirement: After baseball he worked at a trucking company in Lemoyne Pennsylvania. Moorhead passed away on December 3, 1986 at the young age of 48.

Former Mets Pitching Coach: Vern Ruhle (2003)

2012-01-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

Vernon Gerald Ruhle was born January 25, 1951 in Coleman Michigan. The right hander was drafted out of Olivet College in Michigan, where he had a pitcher’s mound built outside his fraternity house. In 1972 he was drafted by his home state team, the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round.

By 1975 he was in the Tiger rotation having his best season in Detroit going 11-12 with a 4.03 ERA. After going 24-29 in four seasons in Detroit he signed as a free agent with Houston in 1978. After seeing 14 starts or less in three years at the Astrodome he had a big season in 1980. He went 12-4 with a .750 winning percentage, posting a 2.37 ERA with two shut outs & six complete games. He allowed three runs, pitching seven innings in the 1980 NLCS getting no decision against the Phillies.

In the strike shortened 1981 season, he was 4-6 with one save (15 starts in 20 games) but still posted an ERA under three (2.91). In the 1981 NLDS he lost a 2-1 pitchers duel to the Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela in Game #4. Ruhle pitched 8 innings allowing just two runs on four hits, but one was a HR to Pedro Guerrero.

He began pitching more as a reliever posting three saves with an 8-5 record in 1983 then fell to 1-9 in 1984 completing a seven year career in Houston. He went to the Cleveland Indians & California Angels, pitching his last career game in the 1986 ALCS vs. Boston. In his13 year career Ruhle finished at 67-88 with 11 saves and a 3.73 ERA.

After his playing days he became a coach for his old Astros team (1997-2000) then the Phillies (2000-2002). In 2003 he became the New York Mets pitching coach under manager Art Howe. The Mets lost 95 games finishing in fifth place with the leagues 10th best ERA (4.46) that season. On a good note, Ruhle’s staff did have two 15 game winners in Al Leiter & Steve Trachsel.

Tom Glavine didn’t seem to understand Vern’s coaching style since he went 9-14 in his first season in New York. Ruhle only served one season as the Mets pitching coach & was replaced by Rick Peterson the following season. He was originally assigned with another position in the organization.

Ruhle went on to coach the Reds until 2006, when he was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in Houston, Texas in January 2007, he was only 55 years old.

Giants Are Going to their Fifth Super Bowl

2012-01-23T00:55:00.000-05:00

The Party continues, this week it took place at San Francisco, the same place where they did it twenty years ago when they knocked Joe Montana unconscious & won that NFC Championship game on a Field Goal.

All through these playoffs everyone whispered how it looked like 2007 all over again. No one gave them a chance, they got hot at the end of the season, then a hot playoff run. Beating Green Bay at Lambeau Field, winning the NFC Championship game on the road, in overtime, with a field goal. Now it's on to the Super Bowl in a rematch with the Patriots, yea it's deja vu' all over again!

Go Giants, thanks for the great season so far, one more win to go- Eli shall lead us, he is the greatest! Our defense has stepped up & kept the Giant Defensive Legacy Alive! And oh the special teams, Tom Coughlin always stated how important they are & once again it proves it. Hats off to the coaches as well, especially Mr. Coughlin.

The Catcher Who Drove In the First Mets Run At Shea Stadium: Jesse Gonder (1963-1965)

2012-01-22T23:35:00.001-05:00

Jesse Lamar Gonder was born on January 20, 1936 at Monticello, Arkansas. Gonder’ s family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in Oakland during his teen years. There he played high school ball with the likes of Frank Robinson, Curt Flood & Vada Pinson. Robinson was the first to get signed by a Cincinnati Reds scout Bob Madic , who later became a GM in Toronto. He ended up signing all three players for the Reds including the more out spoken Gonder in 1955.

Gonder hit over .320 in his first two years at the AA Level, but fell off to .238 when he reached AAA IN 1959. He was traded over to the A.L. New York club in 1960 but didn’t have a chance to beat out Elston Howard, who had just secured the catcher’s job from Yogi Berra. Gonder batted .326 that year at AAA & got a September 1960 call up debuting for seven brief games going 1-7 mostly as a pinch hitter. The next year he went 4-12 gathering his first three career RBIs in another September call up.

That December he was traded back to the Reds for Marshall Bridges.
He spent most of 1962 at AAA in the Pacific Coast League, leading the league in batting (.342) & RBIs (116). The scouting reports said; he was a good left handed hitter, but lacked power and solid defense with his glove. On July 1st, 1963 he was traded to the New York Mets for Charlie Neal & Sammy Taylor.

Jesse debuted with the Mets on July 6th 1963 getting two hits with a walk, while catching for pitcher Al Jackson behind the plate. He had a pair of hits in three of his first four career Mets games, hitting two HRs against the Dodgers on July 11th at the Polo Grounds driving in all three Met runs. Later that week, he had a four hit day against the Houston Colt 45's making a quick impact on a poor hitting team. He had a 14 game hitting streak in August before cooling off by early September.

Overall Gonder hit .302 becoming the second Met in history (Ritchie Ashburn was first in 1962) to bat over .300. He was the only player on the 1963 team to do so. He hit 3 HRs 4 doubles & 12 RBIs in 42 games for the ’63 Mets as a backup catcher to Choo Choo Coleman & Norm Sherry. He made the Topps All Star Rookie team batting .304 with 6 HRs & 20 RBIs in 73 games overall on the season.

In 1964 Gonder was the Mets primary catcher behind the plate catching 97 games. He was second in the NL, nailing 33 base runners attempting to steal, throwing out 43% of would be base stealers overall. In the first game ever played at Shea Stadium, he was the starting catcher batting in the clean up position. In the bottom of the 4th inning he drove in the Mets first run at Shea Stadium, with a base hit off the Pirates Bob Friend scoring Ron Hunt. He was then the second Met to cross the plate in Shea Stadium history as he scored on Amado Samuel's double.

On June 9th he had a bottom of the 9th game winning base hit off Lindy McDaniel, to beat the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. In mid July he had a big home stand, gathering nine hits with three multiple hit games & a pair of HRs. He kept his average up over .290 in July, in a month where he had eight multi hit games. He blasted a three run HR in Philadelphia on Augsut 8th & brought his average right up to .300.

Gonder then slumped through September finishing the year at a solid .270 which was third best among the regular starting players. He hit seven HRs with 11 doubles 29 walks a .329 on base % & 35 RBIs. He posted the teams fourth best on base % at .329%. Gonder closed out the season with a six game hitting streak, hitting safely in his last 10 of 14 games.

In 1965 Chris Cannizzaro had taken over as the clubs main catcher, & Gonder only was used behind the plate in 13 games into July. He hit well in a pinch hitting role but as a regular his overall average fell to .238 with 4 HRs & 9 RBIs. On July 21st, 1965 he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for Gary Kolb. Gonder hit just .151 & spent the next two years of his career in Pittsburgh as third string catcher.

He played out two more seasons in the Pacific Coast League not reaching the major leagues again. He finished up his eight year playing career in 395 games with a .251 average 220 hits 28 doubles 26 HRs 94 RBIs throwing out 39% of would be base stealers from behind the plate.

Retirement: After baseball Gonder worked for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Company driving a bus in San Francisco Bay for twenty years 20 years.

He passed away in Oakland on November 14, 2004 at the age of 68.

The Mew York Mets 2002 Number One Draft Pick: Scott Kazmir

2012-01-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

Scott Edward Kazmir was born January 24, 1984 in Houston, Texas. He was a star quarterback & pitcher in high school, who once tossed four straight no hitters. He verbally committed to his home state Texas Longhorns college football team, but instead went with baseball. He was chosen by the New York Mets in 2002 as a first round draft pick (#15 overall).

The left handed Kazmir began with the Brooklyn Cyclones at A ball in 2002, pitching in five games (0-1) with a 0.50 ERA in 18 innings pitched. In 2003 he struck out 145 batters in 109 innings pitched at A ball St. Lucie & Capital City. He was highly touted by the time he got to AA ball rated as the #7 prospect in the country by Baseball America in 2004. That year he struck out 104 batters in 101 innings pitched.

On July 30th 2004 the New York Mets made a terrible trade when they sent Kazmir to the Tampa Rays for Victor Zambrano & Bartlome Fortunato. The trade was highly criticized then & still is by the Met fans, New York media & everyone else for that matter. The trade led to GM Jim Duquett's demotion within the organization since he had taken over at GM for Steve Phillips. Kazmir went on to success & Zambrano went on to fail miserably in New York.

Kazmir made his debut in August of 2004 in Seattle pitching five scoreless innings against the Mariners earning his first career victory. He went 2-3 the rest of the way coming back in 2005 to go 10-9 leading the league in walks (100) posting a 3.77 ERA.

In 2006 he was the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher (22 years old) since Dwight Gooden took the mound for the 1986 Mets. That season Kazmir made his first All Star team, throwing a perfect sixth inning, retiring Freddy Sanchez, Carlos Beltran, and Albert Pujols at the All Star game in Pittsburgh. At that point he was 10-6 with a 3.27 ERA. After the break he limited to just five starts due to injuries, finishing the year at 10-8 & a 3.24 ERA.

In 2007 Kazmir had his best season going 13-9 while leading the AL in strikeouts (239) & starts (34) posting a 3.48 ERA (9th in the league).

The following season Tampa went all the way to the World Series, in the regular season he was 12-8 fourth best on the staff. In the ALDS he got the win in Game #2 at Tampa beating the Chicago White Sox 6-2. In the ALCS he allowed five runs in ten innings pitching in two games against the Boston Red Sox earning no decision each time. Tampa won his first outing in Game #2 in extra innings but lost Game #5. In the World Series he lost the opener 3-2 at Tropicana Field, allowing two runs in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In Spring Training 2008 he strained his elbow delaying the start of his season; he eventually made another All Star team & earned the victory for the AL. The next season he continued to have arm issues & was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for two minor leaguers. He is known to throw a lot of pitches, & has had problems with his mechanics as well as his velocity due to all the arm issues.

In 2010 he was 9-15 (second in the AL in losses) walking 79 batters (6th in the AL) posting one of the worst ERA’s among starters at 5.94. In 2011 he only appeared in one game at the major league level. He was 0-5 with a 17.02 ERA in just 15 innings in five games at AAA Salt Lake. It seems as though the once promising career is now in jeopardy of being over before age 30.

Former Mets Short Time Pitcher: Bill Graham (1967)

2012-01-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

William Albert Bill Graham was born on January 21, 1937 in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. The right handed Florida Gator was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1957. He had a long minor league career going 64-69 with a 4.02 ERA in 183 games between A & AAA ball. Almost a full decade later he broke into the big leagues at age 29, pitching in two scoreless innings for the Detroit Tigers. His contract was purchased by the New York Mets in August of 1967 getting a place on the staff right away.

He debuted on September 3rd against the Chicago Cubs pitching well until the 5th inning when Billy Williams & Ron Santo hit back to back HRs off him. He took his first loss, as the Mets got shut out by Hackensack, New Jersey's own Bill Hands. Hands would win 16 games or more for the Cubs from 1968-1970.

In Grahams next start he only gave up one earned run over seven innings, but took another loss, as the Reds Gary Nolan shut out New York 2-0. After two no decisions Graham finally got his first & only career win. It came on September 29th, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a complete game 5-1 victory. He finished the season 1-2 with a 2.63 ERA, 14 strike outs in 27 innings pitched. Graham finished his playing career after the season at age 30 going back to Kentucky passing away in 2006 at age 69.

Original 1962 New York Met: Don Zimmer (1962)

2012-01-21T23:33:00.020-05:00

Donald William Zimmer was born on January 17, 1931 in Western Hills, Ohio and went to the same high school Pete Rose would go to in Cincinnati. Zimmer was an infielder earning the nickname Popeye, getting signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. In the minors while playing at Elmira, he got married at home plate before a game to his wife Jean Soot. In 1953 he was leading the American Association with 23 HRs & 63 Rbis in July when he was beaned with a pitch in the temple and was seriously injured.

He was in & out of consciousness for a week, lost vision, had to have holes drilled in his skull to relieve the swelling. He was told he was done in baseball, but wouldn’t accept that & made a remarkable comeback.

He was brought up to the Brooklyn club in July of 1954 as a utility infielder, behind the talents of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson & Jim Gilliam. In his first game he hit a triple to start out his career, batting .182 in 33 at bats on the year. Zimmer was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers 1955 Boys of Summer World Championship team. He played well enough to see action in 84 games, batting .239 showing some good power with 15 HRs 10 doubles & 50 RBIs in just 280 at bats. In the 1955 World Series he drove in two runs off Whitey Ford in the opening game, & played in four games overall, going 2-9.

In 1956 he was hitting .300 during the summer but in a game against the Reds he was hit in the face with a fast ball by pitcher Hal Jeffcoat and was done for the year. He was hospitalized again & once again looked like his career may be over. But Popeye recuperated, and played in 84 games in 1957 batting .219 with 6 HRs & 19 doubles. He was at short stop for the Dodgers in the last game ever played at Ebbetts Field on September 24, 1957. In that game he got two hits as the Dodgers won 2-0 over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, Zimmer was there played in 127 games batting .262 with career highs HRs (17) RBIs (60) & stolen bases (14). The 14 steals were 8th most in the league, and he was only thrown out twice. He also struck out 92 times which was third most in the NL. In the Dodgers 1959 Championship season, he only hit .165 in 97 games, getting one at bat in the World Series against the White Sox, going 0-1. In April of 1960 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Ron Peranoski & $25,000 cash. That season he made his only All Star team batting 252 with 13 HRs & 40 RBIs.

In October of 1961 he was drafted away from the Chicago Cubs by the newly formed New York Mets as the fifth pick in the premium phase of the expansion draft. He became an original Met playing as the team’s first ever third baseman, in the first Mets game ever, batting in the seventh position at Sportsman Park in St. Louis. He got the second hit in Met history when he singled in the second inning. He hit safely in his first three games, but his Mets career was to be short lived.

After just 14 games he was traded to his hometown Cincinnati Reds for Bob Miller & Cliff Cook. In 14 games as a New York Met Zimmer went 4-52 for a .077 average driving in his only Mets run in his last game. He finished the season in Cincinnati batting .250 in 63 games. Overall he hit just .213 & then was sent back to the Los Angeles Dodgers in January for a minor leaguer.

In June of 1963 after 22 games as a Dodger his contract was purchased by the Washington Senators, playing there for three seasons. In 1964 he played in 121 games over, 87 as the team's third baseman batting .246 with 12 HRs & 38 RBIs. Zimmer finished his playing career with the Senators in 1965 at age 34. In his 12 year playing career he hit.235 with 773 hits 91 HRs 130 doubles 22 triples 45 stolen bases 246 walks 352 RBIs & a .290 on base %.

Retirement: He managed in the minors and became a Montreal Expos coach in 1971. By 1972 Zimmer began his long managerial career, first as skipper with the San Diego Padres (1972-1973). He finished sixth both times with the Padres. He then moved on to the Boston Red Sox replacing Darrell Johnson after the Sox pennant year of 1975.

Zimmer remained in Boston from 1976-1980. He finished third three times, second once & fourth in his final season. In 1978 his Red Sox blew a big August lead with many questionable moves on the manager’s part. He played Carlton Fisk in 154 games even though he complained of sore knees; he kept Butch Hopson at third with floating bone chips in his elbow. Hobson ended up making 43 errors & could not hit for power. He despised The Space Man Bill Lee & kept him out of a key game against the A.L. New York team, even though Lee had dominated them all year. Lee would later refer to Zimmer as “the Gerbil”.

Next Zimmer went to the Texas Rangers (1981-1982) then the Chicago Cubs (1988-1991). In1989 his Cubs won 93 games but lost to the San Franciso Giants in the NLCS. & He won the Manager of the Year Award that season. In 1991 he was finished after an 18-19 start, ending his 13 year managerial career at 885-858 with a .508 winning percentage.

Since then he has been a long time coach with various team & has written two books. In 2008 he suffered a stroke and then served as a senior advisor for the Tampa Rays at Spring Training & home games. He wears a uniform number that celebrates how many years he has been in major league baseball. Each year he goes higher on the uniform number to match his seasons.

Former Mets Third Base Coach: Chuck Cottier (1979-1981)

2012-01-21T23:29:00.014-05:00

Charles Keith Cottier was born on January 8, 1936 in Delta, Colorado. The four letter college boy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Baltimore Orioles in 1964.

By 1956 the second baseman was traded to the Milwaukee Braves, where he made his MLB debut in 1959. There he made some good connections with two future managers whom he would later coach for. The two friends he made were Rookie Joe Torre & All Star catcher Del Crandall. In 1960 he played in 95 games with Milwaukee batting just .227 getting traded to Detroit the the Washington Senators in 1961. That season he posted the league’s third best fielding percentage & would rank first in range factor the next two seasons.

He spent three seasons as the Senators main second baseman before finishing his career with the California Angels in 1969. He was known more for his glove than his bat, hitting .220 lifetime with 19 HRs 63 doubles & 127 RBIs in 580 games over eight seasons.

Retirement: He was named to Joe Torre’s coaching staff in 1979 and served there for three seasons. Cottier was an aggressive third base coach who loved to send runners home, even though they weren’t the quickest group on the base paths. He became known as “the man with the golden arm” and the vision of him waving runners around third base is forever engraved in our Mets memory banks.

After getting fired by the Mets in 1981, he went to Seattle and coached there for three seasons under Del Crandall. At the end of the 1984 season he was named the Mariners manager replacing his old Team mate Crandall.

He managed the Seattle Mariners in 1985, but was fired in May of 1986, getting replaced by Dick Williams. Cottier went back to coaching, going to the Chicago Cubs (1988-1994) Baltimore Orioles (1995) Philadelphia Phillies (1997-2000) &then serving as an MLB scout through 2007 when he retired.

Former Met of the Day: Jorge Velandia (2000-2003)

2012-01-21T23:22:00.000-05:00

Jorge Luis Velandia was born on January 12th 1975 in Venezuela. The utility infielder was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1992 & spent five years in the minor leagues. In that time he never hit much, but showed a good glove getting traded over to the Padres organization. In 1997 he hit a career best .273 & was called up to the Padres for 14 games. He was traded up the coast to the Oakland A’s where he played in a career high 63 games in 1999 batting just .182 stealing two bases.

In September of 2000, he was traded to the New York Mets when Rey Ordonez was lost for the year, to possibly back up Mike Bordick if needed. But Velandia didn’t hit at all. He appeared in small parts of the 2000 & 2001 seasons going hitless in 16 at bats over a course of 21 games, drawing 4 walks. He was back at AAA Norfolk in 2002 batting just .201with 6 HRs & 37 RBIs.

In 2003 he was called up again & saw the most playing time of his Mets career. In 23 games he posted a .976 fielding % at short making only three errors in 108 chances turning 13 double plays. At the plate he was 11-58 good for a .190 average. He also drove in eight runs hitting three doubles.

Velandia was gone from the Mets and out of the big leagues for four seasons, returning with the 2007 Tampa Rays. The next year he finished his eight year career with a .975 fielding% & a .189 batting average with 2 HRs & 23 RBIs.

Remembering Anthony Young & His Record Setting Losing Streak

2012-01-20T23:35:00.002-05:00

Anthony Wayne Young was born on January 19, 1966 in Houston, Texas. The tall 6’2” right hander was signed by the New York Mets down in the 38th round of the 1987 draft. He was the AA 1990 Pitcher of the Year for Jackson, in the Texas League going 15-3 with a 1.65 ERA. The next season he was pitching at Tidewater going 7-9 when he got an August call up to the big leagues.

Young began, what would be a memorable but frustrating, hard luck career. He debuted on August 5th, 1991 relieving Pete Schourek at Shea Stadium in a game against the Chicago Cubs. He allowed a run in two innings of work finishing up a 7-2 Mets loss. He got his first start in Atlanta at the end of August, allowing just two runs in six innings but it was enough for his first career loss. In his next start he beat the Houston Astros at Shea Stadium, allowing one run in seven innings with seven strike outs. After a 2-1 victory over the Cubs Young lost his last four starts on the year, finishing his year at 3-5 with a 3.10 ERA.

At the start of the 1992 season, Young won his first start of the year, a complete game win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. He also won his next two decisions, finishing up April at 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA. Then all the bad luck in the world fell upon him. It began with a 5-3 loss in Cincinnati which led to a three game losing streak. In June he lost five straight decisions and was pitching out of the bullpen.

There was a break over the next two months as he would become the teams closer earning 11 saves & two holds. In September he was terrible blowing five saves taking the loss in each one finishing the season at 2-14 with a .125 winning %, 15 saves (10th best in the NL) in 52 appearances & posting a 4.17 ERA. He did not have a winning decision since Mat & was credited with 14 straight losses.
.
In 1993 things did not get better for Anthony Young. In the third game of the season he came into a tied game against the Houston Astros & gave four runs including a three run HR to Ken Caminitti taking his first loss. In his next decision the San Diego Padres scored an 8th inning run to break an 8-8 tie earning him his second loss. He took three mores losses in relief & was 0-5 when Dallas Green took over the club at manager. At the start of June Young was put back into the rotation but his misfortunes continued.

In the first start he did not allow any runs in six innings of work but the Mets didn't score any runs so he earned no decision upon his exit. He the lost seven straight games & on July 7th found himself at 0-12. He was then put back in the bullpen where he earned two holds, then had a break on July 23rd when he came in to a 7-5 game at Dodger Stadium in the 8th inning. He pitched two scoreless innings as the Mets scored three runs in the top of the 9th earning him a save. The break didn't last too long, as two days later he went into the record books.

On July 24,1993 Young came in to an 8th inning 4-4 tied game at Dodger Stadium. In the 9th inning he walked L.A.'s Dave Hansen with the bases loaded, scoring the winning run to end the game. The 13th loss of the year also gave him his record 27th straight losing decision. Young was devastated, after the game he could be found by his locker in the usual head in hands sulking position.

This was the infamous night, Vince Coleman threw an M-80 fire cracker out the window of the Dodgers Eric Davis' car in the Dodger Stadium Parking Lot. It exploded near a bunch of fans waiting for autographs, injuring a two year old girl & an 11 year old boy. Coleman was put on probation, suspended & soon traded.

As for Young, in his defense, seven of his 1993 losses were by two runs or less and four of them were one run games. During the losing streak many fans stood by him, sending him all sorts of good luck charms. Former 1960's Mets pitcher Jack Anderson had previously held the club record for consecutive losses. When Young snapped the losing streak & Anderson's record was broken he sent Young a message that read "I hope you win 27 in a row ".

Three days later at Shea Stadium, Young came into a 3-3 tie in the 9th inning, and gave up a run. But the Met's Eddie Murray, doubled in the bottom of the 9th to score two runs and Young got credited with a victory. The win streak didn’t last; he had two more losing decisions during the year to end up at 1-16 with a decent 3.77 ERA.

He made 39 appearances struck out 62 batters walked 42 over 100 innings & earned three saves. In the off season he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jose Vizciano.

In Chicago he went 7-10 over two years with a 3.80 ERA. In 1996 he signed with the Houston Astros going 3-3 finishing his six year career. Life time he was 15-48 with a respectable 3.89 ERA, striking out 245 batters in 460 innings pitched in 181 appearances.

Retirement: After his playing days he was just 30 years old, he then went to work in a chemical plant for eight years. He missed the game & began to coach youth baseball in Texas.

Former Mets Bench Coach: Dave Jauss (2010)

2012-01-20T23:32:00.009-05:00

David Patrick Jauss was born on January 16, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. He 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 base coach with the Boston Red Sox. At the time Duquette was the GM & Grady Little was bench coach. Jauss would later serve as bench coach for Little in Los Angeles in 2006 & 2007.

He worked in the Red Sox organization for nine years as bench coach, advance scout & director of Player Development. After his stint with the Dodgers he served as bench coach under Dave Trembley with the Baltimore Orioles in 2008 & 2009. He left that position getting hired as Jerry Manuel’s bench coach for the 2010 Mets replacing Sandy Alomar.

He managed winter ball in the Dominican Republic & won a Caribbean World Series in 1999. After bumping an umpire, chasing down an umpire & ordering a pitcher to bean a batter he has been banned from the Dominican League for two seasons. He interviewed for the Mets 2011 manager job but lost out to Terry Collins. Since then he has become a major league scout.

Short Time 1970 Mets Relief Pitcher: Ron Herbel (1970)

2012-01-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

Ronald Samuel Herbel was born on January 16, 1938 in Denver, Colorado. He went to the University of North Colorado and got drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1958 just as they arrived on the West Coast. The right hander with the thick glasses spent five years in the minors making his MLB debut against the New York Mets in 1963 at the Polo Grounds.

He spent seven seasons with the Giants being used as both starter & reliever. His best season was in 1965 going 12-9 with a save striking out 106 batters in 170 innings pitched posting a 3.85 ERA. As the sixties closed out he was pretty much strictly a relief pitcher.

In 1970 he was 7-5 with 9 saves for the Padres, through the end of August, when he was traded to the New York Mets for Rod Gaspar. Herbel was brought in to help bolster their bullpen up for the stretch run. At the time the Mets were 1 ½ games out of first place, & although they were only one game out by mid September they faded finishing six games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On the day he arrived with the Mets, he got a win, pitching one inning of relief in St. Louis. Later that week he earned a save at Shea against the Expos then a win the next night against Philadelphia. In his first 10 days with the Mets he had two wins and a save, fitting right in with the club.

Herbel pitched in twelve games for the Mets in September 1970 going 2-2 with one save. He posted a 1.38 ERA allowing two earned runs in 13 innings pitched. On the season he led the NL in appearances with 76, going 9-7 with a career high 10 saves in 124 innings pitched. On December 1st he was traded to the Atlanta Braves, for Bob Aspromonte who would be the Mets main third baseman in 1971. Herbel would pitch in 25 games going 0-1 with a save in Atlanta finishing up his nine year career. Lifetime he went 42-37 with 16 saves and a 3.83 ERA.

Herbel was never a good hitter, in his first season he had 54 plate appearances going hitless, striking out 30 times. According to baseball reference he has the worst batting average all time for a player with a minimum of 100 career at bats .029. Herbel passed away in Tacoma, Washington at age 62 in 2000.

1972 Mets Rookie of the Year Pitcher: Jon Matlack (1971-1977)

2012-01-18T23:35:00.037-05:00

Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack was born on January 19, 1950 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was another good pitching prospect developed by the Mets in the late 1960s, early 1970s period. He was their number-one selection in the June 1967 draft, the fourth pick overall. The Mets didn’t rush him; he was brought up slowly because the Mets were loaded with good pitching in those days. This certainly helped his development along the way as he posted three straight winning seasons with double figures at the AAA level. He was brought up at the end of the 1971 season and went 0-3 as he settled in to the big leagues.

In 1972 he started out his first two games in the bullpen. He earned his first career victory on April 23rd, against the Chicago Cubs in relief of Gary Gentry. He then went right into the starting rotation, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road with a complete game six hit one run performance. He then went 4-0 in May & earned two no decisions in games where he allowed three runs or less. He pitched a three hit shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium on May 30th besting his record to 6-0 with an ERA at 1.95.

He had a tough June going 2-4 although he only allowed more than three earned runs twice. In July he pitched a four hit shutout against the San Francisco Giants at Shea, & then suffered two tough no decisions. First he pitched nine shutout innings at Los Angeles & then an eighth inning, one run performance in San Francisco. His next outing on July 27th was a 10 inning four hit shutout against the reigning World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. In the month he went into the 8th inning or beyond five straight times, allowing only three earned runs overall, but earned just two victories.

In September he pitched back to back five hit victories at Shea Stadium against the Pirates & Phillies. On the last day of the season back in Pittsburgh, Matlack went into the history books, giving up Roberto Clemente’s 3000th hit. It was also the last hit of Clemente’s career, as he would tragically be killed in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve. Matlack finished the year 15-10 with a team leading 2.32 ERA (4th in the league), winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He also led the talented Mets staff with four shut outs, while throwing eight complete games and posting 169 strikeouts in 244 innings walking 71 batters.

In the 1973 Mets pennant season, Matlack like the rest of the team struggled at the start. He pitched in the second game of the season beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 allowing just four hits in nine innings of work. On May 8th at Shea Stadium in a game against Atlanta, Braves shortstop Marty Perez lined a shot that hit Matlack in the fore head, fracturing his skull. He was carried off the field in a stretcher and it was feared his season was over, or maybe even worse. The tough work horse returned to the mound eleven days later to throw six shutout innings against the Pirates .

He then lost three straight, including a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He found himself at 2-8 with a 4.55 ERA at the start of June. He bettered himself to 7-10 before losing three straight in July.
From August until the end of the year he was brilliant, going 7-2, pitching five complete games, with three shut outs. He struck out nine batters or more in six of twelve games.

On August 8th he struck out nine Dodgers & pitched a two hitter at Dodger Stadium. In the final month the whole Mets team came together at once, Matlack joined in going 3-1 down the stretch, losing a 1-0 game at Wrigley Field on September 30th, delaying the Mets clinching the East by another game. Also during that final week of the season, Matlack pitched a 2-0 shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals who were still in the pennant race, until the Mets completed the series sweep at Shea.

He finished the year at 14-16, second on the staff (tied with Jerry Koosman) behind Tom Seaver in wins. He struck out 205 batters (3rd in the league), and his strikeout per nine inning ratio (7.6) was also third best in the N.L. He posted a 3.20 ERA, pitched 242 innings, with 14 complete games (4th in the league) and three shutouts. He was a favorite of his manager Yogi Berra, who said he would never trade Matlack away, “what a career he has ahead of him" Berra said to Tony Kubek during a pre game World Series interview.

Post Season: In Game #2 of the 1973 NLCS, Jon pitched one of the best Mets post season games ever. He threw a two-hit shutout, against “the Big Red Machine” striking out nine Reds & walking three at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium. The win evened the Series to a game apiece. The veteran, Andy Kosco got both Reds hits, & Darrel Chaney walked twice as the only Reds to reach base. Outfielder Cesar Geronimo struck out three times against Matlack that day.

It was after this pitching performance that Bud Harrelson remarked the Reds “looked like me hitting out there” in that game. Those words angering the Reds and led to the Harrelson/ Rose brawl in Game three.

Matlack would get three starts in the 1973 World Series, and pitch well in all of them except the last start. He was the starting pitcher in the opener at Oakland against the A's Ken Holtzman. Matlack was superb going six innings, allowing two unearned runs, on just three hits against the mighty Oakland line up.

He struck out three and walked only two along the way. In the third inning Oakland's Bert Campaneris reached base on a ground ball that went through the usually sure handed Mets second baseman Felix Millan's legs. With Campy aboard (the American League's best base stealer), Matlack botched a pickoff attempt allowing him to move up to second base. He then scored what would be the winning run on Joe Rudi’s base hit, as the Mets lost the game 2-1.

Jon came back to pitch Game #4 at Shea Stadium and would get plenty of run support this time, thanks to Rusty Staub’s big five RBI night in the Mets 6-1 win. Matlack was fantastic again, allowing only one run on three hits while striking out five Oakland A’s, walking only two. Reggie Jackson, Gene Tenace & pinch hitter Deron Johnson were the only A's to gather hits that night. Matlack also hit Bert Campaneris with two pitches late in the game without any incident as well. It turned out to be the only World Series win in Matlack's career.

A tired Matlack was called upon to pitch Game #7 on three day’s rest, over a well rested George Stone. To this day it is one of Met fans biggest questions: Why didn't Yogi Berra start Stone & have a rested Matlack as well as Seaver ready to go if he didn't deliver in Game #7? It turned out to be Matlack's worst post season outing, allowing four runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched. He gave up the big blows, HRs to Reggie Jackson & Bert Campaneris as he took the 5-2 loss. Overall Matlack went 2-2 in the post season, allowing only four earned runs in 25 innings pitched for a fantastic 1.40 ERA. He struck out 20, & walked eight batters in his only postseason appearance.

Trivia: Jon Matlack & Ron Darling are the only two Mets to start three World Series games in a single World Series. They both got the starts in games one, four and seven.

In 1974 he began the year with a win in Philadelhia, he allowed just one run pitching into the 8th inning with seven strike outs. In his next start he struck out ten Phillies at Shea, but earned no decision. He was soon 1-1 then won four straight games including pitching three complete games with two shut outs. Both shut outs were four hitters, one in San Francisco & the other at Shea against the Montreal Expos where he struck out nine.

He lost his next four decisions due to lack of run support, as he only gave up more than three runs one of those times. He then won four of his next five which were all complete games victories. On June 29th he pitched a one hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals striking out seven walking just three. The only hit was a single in the third inning coming from the opposing pitcher John Curtis.

At the All Star break Matlack was 9-6 with a 2.55 ERA, and his manager Yogi Berra who was the NL All Star Manager, brought him to Pittsburgh for the first of his three straight All Star games. Matlack would pitch one scoreless inning, allowing a hit & a walk in the Mid Summer Classic NL victory.

After the All Star break he threw three more complete game shutouts, the first was a four hitter against the Dodgers. He then tossed another four hitter at Wrigley Field & in September threw a three hitter at Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Although he pitched brilliant at times he lost seven decisions from August to the end of the season. He had only allowed more than three earned runs in one of those games, and more than two earned three times.

Matlack finished 1974 with one of his best years, leading the league in shutouts (7) & leading the Mets staff with a 2.41 ERA (3rd best in the league) he had 14 complete games (5th in the NL) and 265 innings pitched (7th in the NL). He also struck out 195 batters (4th best in the league) & had five different games where he struck out ten or more batters. His record certainly didn’t reflect how good he was that season. He went 13-15 suffering a lot of hard luck losses, on a team that didn’t score many runs.

In 1975 he allowed two runs over seven innings in the second game of the season but earned no decision as the Mets fell to the Phillies 3-2. After going 2-3 he had a five game win streak from May 12th into the start of June. In that time he only allowed six earned runs over 38 innings. On June second he tossed yet another four hit shutout, this time a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros.

He went to his second All Star Game that year, this year held in Milwaukee's County Stadium. He pitched two scoreless innings while striking out four American leaguers in the 6-3 NL win. He ended up sharing the All-Star MVP Award honors with Chicago’s Bill Madlock. At the end of July he went on to a six game win streak, right through the end of August. It seemed he was on his way to his first twenty win season, joining Tom Seaver on the staff who won his third Cy Young Award that year. But September would be Matlack's worst month as he went 0-4 with two no decisions as the Mets faded from the race. That season he finished up 16-12 (7th most wins in the league) with 154 strikeouts (10th in the league) 8 complete games, three shutouts and a 3.36 ERA.

The bicentennial year began to bring changes to the Mets but it still was the last year before the bottom fell out. Matlack probably had his best Mets start to a season ever. In the seond game of the season he beat the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium pitching a four hit shutout. Two starts later he shutout the Cardinals in St. Louis on a six hitter striking out seven.

In June he threw three straight complete game victories before having a terrible seven run three inning outing against the Giants. He was 10-2 with a 2.65 ERA at the start of July leading all NL pitchers. From June 25th to July 6th he again threw three straight complete games, allowing four runs in 27 innings. Then on July 6th at Shea Stadium, he pitched shutout ball for 10 innings but lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to J.R. Richard & the Houston Astros. He went to another All Star game in 1976, along with Mets teammates Tom Seaver & Dave Kingman in Philadelphia.

He had a rough start to the second half, losing four straight games, although he allowed three earned runs or less in all of them. He rebounded to finish up 7-7 from there through the end of the season. This year Matlack was overshadowed once again, this time by Jerry Koosman who won 20 games for the first time in his fabulous career.

Matlack won a career high 17 games (17-10) seventh most wins in the league. He led the league in shutouts for a second time with six, he was thirs in the NL with 16 complete games, 6th in innings pitched (262) & posted a 2.95 ERA, (10th in the NL) with 153 strikeouts (8th in the NL).

It all went downhill for the Mets as well as Matlack in 1977, as the team sunk to last place. He started out the year at 0-4 but then threw back to back complete game shut outs on a West Coast road trip in Los Angeles & San Francisco.

It was a short lived streak as he lost seven straight decisions including a 1-0 loss to the Phillies Jim Lonborg. On June 15th the night when Tom Seaver was traded to the Reds, Matlack got the start in Atlanta he allowed five runs in six innings but earned no decision as the Mets rallied to beat the Braves 6-5.

Matlack missed a month of action due to injury from the end of August to September 30th when he returned to make one last start on the year. It turned out to be his last as a Met, he won that game pitching into the 5th inning beating the Cardinals in St. Louis. On the year he went 7-15 with a 4.21 ERA. He gave up a career high 19 HRs, and allowed 176 hits in 169 innings.

The Mets were cleaning house quickly and were dumping all the players from their glory days. Tom Seaver had been dealt away earlier that year & Matlack was no exception. That December he too was traded, in a strange four-team deal involving a number of players. Matlack went to Texas along with John Milner (who then went to Pittsburgh) in exchange for Willie Montanez, Ken Henderson and Tom Grieve.

Quotes: Jon Matlack on pitching on the Mets” That was a staff that knew how to compete and was willing to do whatever it took to be successful and put zeros on the board. We all fed off each other and it snowballed into not wanting to be the one who was the weak link. It’s easy to focus when you have to follow greatness and it became a very professional approach. I would do what ever I had to, to work on an aspect of my delivery or the details of the grip on a specific pitch. No matter how long it took, or how much work I needed to do I was willing to do it and so was the rest of the staff."

In his first year in the Arlington/Dallas area he went 15-13 but was among the league leaders with his 2.23 ERA and his career high of 270 innings pitched. In 1979 injuries limited him to only 13 games, going 5-4. It was his last year with a winning record; he’d go 10-10 in 1980 with a 3.68 ERA. That year he broke up George Brett's 30-game hitting streak in August, and also matched nine shutout innings against Ron Guidry, getting no decision that same month.

In 1981 he was limited to just 17 games going 4-7 with a 4.14 ERA. He was released by the Rangers in October 1983 and retired at age 34. In a 13-year career, he was 125-126 with 1516 strikeouts (175th all time) a 3.18 ERA, 97 complete games, & 30 shutouts (110th all time) in 2363 innings pitched in 361 games. At the plate he hit .129 (57-441) with three doubles & 23 RBIs.

Honors: Matlack is still ranks high on many Mets All Time pitching records; his 3.03 ERA (third) 26 shut outs (tied for second) 65 complete games (fourth) 1445 innings (sixth) 82 wins (seventh) starts (seventh) 1023 strikeouts (eighth) & 81 losses (fourth).

Retirement: Matlack resurfaced in the short lived Senior Professional Baseball Association where he had a solid 10-2 record. Recently, he became the Organizational Pitching coordinator for the Detroit Tigers, and was instrumental in helping to develop the talented young staff of the 2006 A.L. Champions.

Jon has a "roving" job as he travels from city to city visiting the farm teams and keeping tabs on all the prospects in the organization.

Former New York Giants Pitcher: Hal Schumacher (1931-1942 /1946)

2012-01-18T23:31:00.015-05:00

Harold Henry Schumacher (nicknamed Prince Hal) was born on November 23, 1910 in Hinckley, New York on the Southern end of the Adirondack Mountains. Hal began attending Lawrence University but had to quit due to financial reasons, even though he was an exceptional student in academics as well as in sports. He was offered a contract by the New York Giants, but he told them he’d only sign if they paid for him to finish his education, which they did. From there on, he would spend his entire career with the New York Giants pitching 13 seasons and appearing in three World Series.
He made a brief debut in April 1931 pitching just two innings in two games for manager John McGraw. He returned in June & July then got his first career win that September. The next season Bill Terry took over as manager & by 1933 Schumacher became second on the Giants staff to Carl Hubbell, winning 19 (19-12) fifth most victories in the league, with seven shutouts, 96 strike outs and a 2.16 ERA (3rd in the NL) pitching 258 innings (8th in the NL).

He made baseballs first All Star team that year and got some votes for the MVP award. That June he had his proudest moment when he graduated from Lawrence University and Manager Terry took, the whole team up North for the ceremony.

Post Season: In Game #2 of the 1933 World Series in the Polo Grounds, he pitched a five hit complete game win over the Washington Senators. He returned in Game #5 at Washington D.C. but got no decision pitching into the 6th inning leaving in a 3-3 tie. The Giants would win it & capture the Championship when Mel Ott hit a tenth inning game winning HR.

Schumacher had his best season in 1934 as he even topped his teammate Hubbell, winning 23 games (23-10) striking out 112 batters (7th in the NL) making 36 starts (3rd most in the NL) pitching in 298 innings (4th in the NL) with a 3.16 ERA (6th in the NL), 18 complete games (6th in the NL) & two shut outs. He also led the league with 10 wild pitches. At the plate he was one of the leagues best hitting pitchers, hitting 6 HRs with 15 RBIs batting .239.

He would win 19 games again in 1935 (19-9) with a 2.89 ERA, making his second All Star game. That year his average dropped a bit to .196 but he drove in 21 runs while hitting two HRs. He had an an off year in 1936 due to arm problems, going 11-13 but the Giants won another pennant, but lost in the World Series.

Post Season: In that World Series he got beat up in Game #2 allowing five runs in just two innings, taking the loss. He came back to win Game #5 although he scattered ten hits & allowed six walks. He still pitched a complete ten inning game with ten strikeouts, taking a 5-4 win.

From there Schumacher went on to have four straight 13 win seasons, followed by two straight 12 win seasons, finishing above .500 all but once. He would get to one more World Series (1937) taking the loss in Game #3. In his 13 year career "Prince Hal" was 158-121 with seven saves posting a 3.36 ERA.

He pitched 2482 innings in 391 games, making 329 starts striking out 906 batters walking 902. He threw 138 complete games with 26 shut outs. At the plate Schumacher was one of the best hitting pitchers during his time batting .202 with 15 HRs & 102 RBIs.

He enlisted with the Naval Reserves in 1942 during World War II, serving America for four years. When he returned he briefly pitched with the Giants in 1946 going 4-4 with 3.91 ERA in 24 games.

Retirement: After playing baseball he worked for the Adirondack Bat Company in upstate New York for twenty years. After that he worked at Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He passed away from stomach cancer at Cooperstown, New York in 1993 at age 83.

One Time Mets Player & the Go Go's Belinda Carlisle's Boyfriend: Mike Marshall (1990)

2012-01-17T23:34:00.037-05:00

Michael Allen Marshall was born January 12th, 1960 in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Not to be confused with the relief pitcher Mike Marshall who set a record with 106 appearances for the 1974 NL Champion Dodgers.

The big six foot five right handed hitter was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 6th round of the 1978 draft. He developed as a power hitter in the minors, winning Minor League Player of the Year as well as the Triple Crown in the Pacific Coast League in 1981. He hit 34 HRs with 137 RBIs while batting .373 at AAA Albuquerque.

The big season got him a September call up & in his first MLB at bat he hit a line drive HR over the Dodger Stadium wall. The ball hit a stairway & came back to the field where outfielder Jack Clark played the ball & threw it in to second base immediately. Marshall was robbed as the umpire called it a double due to Clark's quick reactions.

Marshall would play in 14 games and at have an at bat in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Dodgers 1981 Championship season. In 1982 he batted .388 in 66 games, winning the AAA Player of the Year Award once again. In 1984 he became the Dodgers regular right fielder batting .284 with 17 HRs & 65 RBIs.

Playing in Los Angeles has it's advantages, especially for the higher profiled players. He began dating Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle of "We got the Beat " fame & the two became a Hollywood celebrity couple.

The highly publicized romance supposedly inspired Neil Simon's movie "The Sluggers Wife". The two settled in a beachfront Marina Del Rey condo where Carlisle battled an addiction to cocaine, as admitted in her 2010 book.

The next two seasons he hit twenty plus HRs making the NL All Star team in 1984 & having his best year in 1985. He batted .293 with 28 HRs (7th in the NL) 27 doubles 95 RBIs (8th in the NL) & a .342 on base %. In the outfield he posted a .991 fielding % with 10 assists in 1985 (3rd in the NL) & then led the league two seasons later at .987%.He would lose time to injuries over the next two seasons but still had 16 plus HRs each year despite playing in no more than 104 games both years.

In the Dodgers 1988 Championship season, Marshall remained healthy enough to play in 144 games, 90 in the outfield as well as 53 at first base. He led the club in RBIs with 82 (10th in the league) hitting 20 HRs (second on the club to Kirk Gibson) while batting .277.

Post Season: In Game #2 of the NLCS against the New York Mets he had three hits & drove in three runs off David Cone in the Dodgers 6-3 victory.

In Game #5 he had three more hits including an RBI triple off Roger McDowell. In the final Game #7 he reached on an error scoring a run in the Dodgers five run 5th inning at Dodger Stadium, as they went on to clinch the pennant. He drove in five runs in the series batting just .233. In the World Series he hit a HR in Game # at Dodger Stadium in the Dodgers 6-0 win over the Oakland A's.

1989 was another season where he battled injuries; playing 105 games with 11 HRs 42 RBIs & a .260 average, as he was back as a full time outfielder. That December Marshall along with team mate Alejandro Pena got traded to the New York Mets for Juan Samuel.

Marshall began 1990 as the Mets Opening Day first baseman. He hit HRs in back to back games against the Cubs in mid April, & had the teams first game winning walk off hit of the year, an infield hit on April 24th against the Atlanta Braves. On May 22nd he had a huge day in Los Angeles against his old Dodger team mates. In the 6th inning he hit a grand slam HR off Mike Hartley & drove in two other runs, totaling six RBIs in the Mets 8-3 win.

After 53 games in early July, Marshall was batting .239 with 6 HRs & 27 RBIs when the Mets traded him to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later. By this time the Mets had fired Davey Johnson & Bud Harrelson took over as manager, and Dave Magadan took over at first base. He would bat .328 on the season.

Marshall played with the Red Sox through the following summer when he was released. He was picked up by the California Angels playing in just two games before injuries ended his playing career at age 31. In 11 seasons he batted .270 with 971 hits 148 HRs 173 doubles 8 triples & a .321on base % in 1035 games.

Retirement: For the past decade Marshall has been a manager, team president & general manager for teams in the Independent Northern League. He was of course mentioned in Belinda Carlisle's 2010 book "Lips Unsealed".

Early Nineteen Seventies Mets Outfielder: Dave Marshall (1970-1972)

2012-01-17T23:31:00.014-05:00

David Louis Marshall was born on January 14, 1943 in Artesia, California. The left handed hitting outfielder got signed by his home state Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent in 1963. In the minors he kept hitting better each year, batting .294 at AAA Phoenix by 1967. Earlier that year he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for prospect Hector Torres and debuted that September as a defensive replacement .

He would spend two more years in San Francisco, making the 1968 Topps All Star Rookie team batting .264 with 1 HR 5 doubles 16 RBIs & 40 walks in 76 games. In 1969 he played 110 games in an outfield with Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds & Ken Henderson. He got 267 at bats, batting .232 with 2 HRs 7 doubles & 33 RBIs. As an outfielder, the scouting reports said he had a strong throwing arm with decent range. In December of 1969 he was traded with pitcher Ray Sadecki to the New York Mets for Jim Gosger and Bobby Heise.

Marshall would spend three seasons in New York, as a utility outfielder. He was part of a crowded but talented Mets outfield in 1970 that included Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, Art Shamsky & youngsters Ken Singleton & Leroy Stanton. After five pinch hit appearances he got his first start. In his second start, he went up against his old Giants team mates & he hit a grand slam HR off Gaylord Perry at Candlestick Park, helping the Mets to a 5-2 win. The next month when the Giants visited Shea Stadium, he went 3-6 with four RBIs in the series.

Marshall was used often as a pinch hitter getting a dozen pinch hits batting over .375 in that role. He had 14 hits in a twelve game span in the last two weeks of June, as he saw more playing time in the outfield. On August 4th he had a two hit three RBI day at Shea Stadium in a game against the Chicago Cubs. He finished the season hitting a career high 6 HRs with 10 doubles 29 RBIs 17 walks a .304 on base % while batting .243.

In 1971 he started out the year well, and was seeing more action & was batting .393 at the end of April. On May 11th at the Astrodome, hit another grand slam for the Mets, helping them to an 8-5 win over the Astros. Four days later he hit another HR in Pittsburgh helping New York to a 9-5 win over the Pirates. In early June he drew six walks in a three game home stand with the Padres & the next day when the Giants came to town, he hit a HR against them.

It came in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game, although the Mets would lose it the next inning when Tug McGraw threw a wild pitch to Willie Mays allowing Hal Lanier to score. As the summer went on, Marshall fell off and saw less playing time, finishing the year batting .238 with 3 HRs 9 doubles 21 RBIs & a .322 on base % in 92 games.

In 1972 he started out the year slow, not getting his first hit until June 20th & then hit a HR the next day in Houston off the Astros Tom Griffin, helping the Mets to a 5-4 win. On July 1st he helped Jerry Koosman to his 6th win hitting a two run HR at Jarry Park in Montreal beating Mike Torrez & the Expos 2-0. He hit better as the year went on finishing up at .250 with 4 HRs5 doubles 22 walks a .346 on base % and 11 RBIs.

In November he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Al Severinsen, who never played a game in a Mets uniform. In 39 games for the 1973 Padres, Marshall hit .286 with 4 RBIs.

He ended his seven year playing career that season at 30 years old, batting .246 with 258 hits 16 HRs 41 doubles 4 triples 13 stolen bases 133 walks a .333 on base % & 114 RBIs.

Former New York Giants "Eye In the Sky" Coach: Herman Franks (1949-1955)

2012-01-17T23:28:00.000-05:00

Herman Franks was born on January 4, 1914 in Price, Utah. His playing career as a reserve catcher spanned parts of ten years with the St. Louis Cardinals (1939) Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-1941) Philadelphia A’s (1947-1948) & one game as a New York Giant (1949). In that time he also put in three and a half years military service in World War II. Franks was a lifetime .199 hitter with three HRs 18 doubles & 43 RBIs in 188 games played. In 142 games at catcher he threw out 57% of would be base stealers.

In Brooklyn he played under manager Leo Durocher, earning Leo’s respect with an aggressive "do anything to win" style of play. After his playing days he was summoned by Durocher to coach for him with the New York Giants.

He became Leo’s right hand man, getting into the other teams heads especially the hated arch rival Brooklyn Dodgers. He would stick his head in the Brooklyn clubhouse and taunt players like Carl Furillo, telling them the Giants pitchers would be throwing at their heads today.

Franks played an important role in the 1951 Giants amazing comeback pennant run. According to legend, Franks was positioned in the Polo Grounds centerfield clubhouse with a telescope, zooming in on opposing catcher’s signs. He would then activate a buzzer that rung in the Giants bullpen, where reserve catcher Sal Yvars would signal to the batter.

One ring from Franks meant Yvars would just hold a ball, a fastball was coming. Two rings &Yvars would throw a ball in the air, a curve. This entire sign stealing process would have to be done in a split second and then the batter would still have to hit it. Some admitted to using it, others denied it. Franks never admitted to any such actions, and in 2000 he said he would always deny any accusations.

As a Giants coach he went to two World Series and won one World Championship. After Durocher left in 1955 so did Herman Franks. He would return as a San Francisco Giants manager from 1965-1968, stepping down after four second place finishes. In those years the Giant won 90 games or better three times & won 88 games in 1968. In that period he managed Giants future Hall of Fame Players; Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, & Juan Marichal.

Retirement: After baseball he was a successful businessman off the field. He was even part of a group bidding to buy the A.L. New York club in 1973 when CBS put them up for sale.

He returned to baseball as the Chicago Cubs manager in 1977-1979. He took then to an 81-81 fourth place finish in 1977. In 1978 they finished third at 79-83 & in 1979 the Cubs fell to fifth before he was let go. Franks then served as the Cubs GM until 1981. As an MLB manager lifetime he was 605-521 (.531 %).

He passed away March 30th, 2009 at the age of 95 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mid Sixties Mets Outfielder: Danny Napoleon (1965-1966)

2012-01-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

Daniel Napoleon was born January 11, 1942 in Claysburg, Pennsylvania. The five foot eleven right handed hitter, was raised outside of Southern New Jersey. He then played baseball at Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey. After attending Ryder University he was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1964. That year he hit .351 with 36 HRs and was named Rookie of the Year in the NY Penn League.

In 1965 he made the Mets club out of Spring Training, making his début in the second game of the season as an 11th inning pinch hitter against the Houston Colt 45's. He came to bat after Ron Swoboda had just hit a HR, Napoleon then singled in his first career at bat & then scored a run on Cleon Jones' base hit. The Mets took a 10-7 loss.

In just his third career at bat had his brightest moment in the big leagues, it came at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Napoleon hit a game winning pinch hit triple off the Giants Bob Shaw, earning manager Casey Stengel his 3000th career victory. Napoleon had another good day on May 9th 1965, coming in as a pinch hitter starting out with a base hit. He remained in the game, got another hit to have one of two career multiple hit games.

Napoleon was used mostly as a pinch hitter & pinch runner in his rookie year of 1965. He played in 15 games in left field, posting a .941 fielding %. He also saw action in seven games at third base, appearing in 68 games overall. He was sent to AAA Buffalo in August where he hit .274 with one HR in 30 games, getting called back up in September. On the year he only batted .144 with one double, seven RBIs, & no stolen base attempts while striking out 23 times.

He spent the next season in the minors at AAA Jackson, hitting .261 with 15 HRs & 53 RBIs getting a September call up on September 9th, 1966. He enjoyed a four game hit streak, while hitting safely in six of eight games on a Houston/ Cincinnati road trip. Overall he batted .212 (7-33) with two doubles, two runs scored & no RBIs while striking out ten times. On April 1, 1967 he was traded with Eddie Bressoud to the St. Louis Cardinals for three players, Jerry Buchek, Art Mahaffey and Tony Martinez.

Retirement: Napoleon never appeared at the major league level again partly due to a knee injury. He decided to raise a family & worked for General Motors in Delaware through the seventies. He also played pro softball for Trenton as shown in their photo on the right. Napoleon passed away in Trenton, New Jersey in April of 2003 at age 61& is remembered as an all around nice guy.

1976 N.L. Cy Young Winner & Early Eighties Mets Pitcher: Randy Jones (1981-1982)

2012-01-16T23:35:00.028-05:00

Randall Leo Jones was born January 12, 1950 in Fullerton, California located in Northern Orange County. The tall six foot lefty was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the 1972 draft. He only spent parts of two seasons in the minors blowing through AA at 8-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 1973 getting brought right up to a needy Padre pitching staff.

He made his MLB debut at Shea Stadium on June 16th against Jerry Koosman, allowing two runs in four innings but getting no decision in the Mets 10-2 win. Jones then lost his first two decisions before earning his first career win in Los Angeles on July 3rd. Overall he went 7-6 in 1973 with a 3.16 ERA & became known with the nickname “The Junkman”.

In 1974 he led the league in losses (22) going 8-22 on a Padre team that lost 102 games. He had losing streaks of four straight to begin the season, then five straight from May into June. The year got worse as he lost seven straight including going 1-8 in the final two months. Overall he threw over 208 innings while striking out 124 batters while posting a 4.45 ERA.

Somehow Jones turned it all around in 1975, and won the NL Comeback pitcher of the Year Award. He threw a four hit shout for nine innings on Opening Day but got no decion. He threw another four hitter the next month & one July 3rd pitched a one hitter against the mighty Big Red Machine. By the end of the first half of the season he was 11-6 with one of the league's best ERA's at 2.25. He made the All Star team earning the save pitching a scoreless 9th inning, retiring the Minnesota Twins Rod Carew for the last out.

The 1975 Padres won 71 games (71-91) finishing in fourth place under manager John McNamara, Jones finished with 20 wins himself (20-12) the second most victories in the NL. He led the league with a 2.24 ERA, was second with 18 complete games & in shut outs (6). He had the second best walks per nine innings ratio at 1.76 & made 36 starts.

In the bicentennial year, he won the Cy Young Award beating out the Mets Jerry Koosman. Many Mets fans (myself included) believed Koosman should have won the Award; he was 21-10 (second in wins) with three shutouts, 17 complete games, a 2.69 ERA (4th in the NL) & 200 strikeouts (3RD in the NL) in 247 innings pitched. Jones led the league in wins (22) complete games (25) starts (40) and an incredible 315 innings pitched. His 2.76 ERA was sixth in the league behind some very good pitchers. The junkman only struck out 93 batters & in his career never had more than 124 strikeouts in a season.

That season Jones set a record for most chances by a pitcher without an error (112), posting a perfect fielding percentage (1.000. ) He also tied the NL pitchers season record for the most double plays with twelve. He began the year at 4-0, in May he pitched five straight complete games besting his record to 9-2. In June he shut out the Mets at Jack Murphy Stadium allowing seven hits in a 3-0 win over Tom Seaver.

He was 16-3 at the All Star break, and got the start against Mark the Bird Fidrych at the All Star game in Philadelphia. He pitched three scoreless innings allowing just two hits earning the victory. He had a rough August 2-6 and a rough September as well 2-4. At the end of the season he injured a nerve in his pitching arm and required surgery. He was never the same pitcher, going just 6-12 the next season with a 4.58 ERA pitching 27 games.

He then two had a pair of sub .500 seasons, first in 1978 he was 13-14 but lowered his ERA to 2.88 on a Padre team that was 84-78 finishing fourth. In 1979 he was 11-12 with a 3.63 ERA. 1980 was an injury ridden season again as he lost a month of time from June 14th -July 10th and then was lost for all of September as he went down for good on August 22nd. He went 5-13 with a 3.91 ERA in 24 starts.

On December 15, 1980 he was traded to the New York Mets for John Pacella and Jose Moreno. He made his Mets debut in the third game of the 1981 season at Wrigley Field, pitching six innings allowing just one run getting no decision. It was one of his best starts, after that he lost his first five decisions as a Met, pitching past the 6th inning just once.

After being 0-5 he finally got a win, beating the Cubs at Shea Stadium, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings of work. Jones then lost three more games although he pitched well in two of them. He pitched six innings allowing two runs at Houston on June 5th but was beaten by Nolan Ryan who threw a five hit shutout striking out ten Mets. His next start was at Shea, Jones went into the 8th inning on a two run five hitter but lost to the Reds Mario Soto who pitched a 2-0 twelve strike out shut out. Jones then went on the DL for three months returning in September for two more appearances. He finished the year at 1-8 with 12 starts striking out 14 batters walking 38 in 59 innings pitched posting a 4.85 ERA.

1982 would be his last year pitching as he rebounded a bit, starting the year at 2-0. He was given the start on Opening Day by manager George Bamberger. Jones beat Steve Carlton in Philadelphia, allowing just one run in six innings of work. On May 2nd he pitched 8 innings of shutout ball in San Francisco as the Mets beat the Giants 3-1 in the night cap of a double header. Jones threw a complete game victory against the Padres on May 10th besting his record to 4-1.

He had a fantastic May going 4-2 pitching seven or more innings in all but one of seven starts. On May 23rd in Houston he threw his best Mets game, a four hit six strikeout performance in 2-0 win over Joe Niekro. After entering June with a 6-3 record he then went on to lose six straight decisions going 7-10 posting a 4.60 ERA on the year. Injuries only had him make one appearance after August 25th, on the year he allowed 11 HRs, with 51 walks, in 107 innings striking out 44 batters. The Mets released him that winter; and he finished his playing career.

In ten career seasons he went 100-123 with a 3.42 ERA & 735 strikeouts 503 walks in 1933 innings in 305 games. In 285 starts he had 73 complete games & 19 shut outs Jones is the only Cy Young Award winner to have a career losing record.

Retirement: He is the owner of Randy Jones Big Stone Lodge, the home of his catering business that sells a famous Randy Jones BBQ sauce. In San Diego’ s Petco Park he has a concession stand named after him called the Randy Jones BBQ. He also does Padres local radio broadcast for pregame shows. Jones was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions and has his number retired by the Padre team as well.

Italian / American 1975 Bubblegum Blowing Champion: Kurt Bevacqua (1971-1985)

2012-01-16T23:30:00.001-05:00

Kurt Anthony Bevacqua was born on January 23, 1947 in Miami Beach, Florida. He attended Miami-Dade North Community College originally getting drafted in the 32nd round of the 1966 draft by the New York Mets but he did not sign. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 1967 draft the following season. Bevaqua made it to the big leagues by 1971 & would play a 15 year career as a utility infielder in Cleveland, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Texas & San Diego.

Most of Bevaqua’s famous moments didn’t actually happen in the statistical department. Most famously he lives on forever to baseball card fans as the 1975 Bazooka Bubble Gum Blowing Champion, in a card issued in the 1976 Topps set. A season long bubblegum blowing contest was held by Bazooka / Topps & the Baseball World of Joe Garagiola. The finals were held before Game #3 of the 1975 World Series on the Baseball World of Joe Garagiola with AL Champ Bevacqua beating out NL Champ Johnny Oates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RinlRM6Hhyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfE_oZPieSQ&feature=related

In Spring Training 1981 as a member of the Pirates Bevaqua was involved in a major brawl with the Detroit Tigers after Howard Bailey hit future Mets coach Bill Robunson, in the face with a pitch. Then in August of 1984 as a member of the Padres, there was giant brawl involving the Atlanta Braves which Umpire John McSherry called the ugliest thing he’s ever seen. The the scene got even uglier when Bevaqua was hit in the head with a can of beer & ran into the stands to fight a fan.

In 1982 the Dodgers Tom Neidenfuer was fined for beaning the Padres Joe Lefebvre, the next day Bevaqua told the press the guy who should be fined is that “fat little Italian” referring to manager Tommy Lasorda.

Lasorda claimed he never told a pitcher to throw at a hitter & certainly wouldn’t do it to a .130 hitter like
f----in' Bevaqua. He continued to insult him by saying when he was pitching he would send a limo to pick up a guy like Bevaqua so he could kick his but. The battle raged on.

Post Season: During the 1984 season Bevaqua only batted .200 with a HR & 9 RBIs in 59 games for the NL Champion Padres. He went 0-2 in the NLCS as a pinch hitter against the Chicago Cubs but was a hero in the World Series. Manager Dick Williams used Bevaqua as a designated hitter in the Series, and he became the teams leading hitter, batting .412 (7-17) with two doubles, hitting two of the teams three Series HRs.

In Game #2 at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, he hit a three run HR in the bottom of the 5th inning off Detroit’s Dan Petry leading the Padres to their only win of the Series.

He finished his playing career in 1985 batting .236 lifetime with 499 hits 27 HRs & 275 RBIs in 970 games played.

Giants Beat the Packers In Green Bay Once Again: Advance to NFC Championship Game

2012-01-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

Today It's all about the football New York Giants. Another upset to another team that was suppose to be so good. The Giants continue to roll & beat whoever gets in their way, especially when it counts.

The Giants went North to Green Bay a place that has become very comfortable for them to play in, winning their second playoff game there in four years.

The defense removed Aaron Rogers silly imaginary belt & sacked him four times while taking the ball away another four times.

There were Fumble recoveries by Antrel Rolle, Deon Grant (who also had a late 4th Quarter intercetion) when he recovered the ball after Osi Umenyiora swatted it away from Rodgers, and then Chase Blackburns 4th Quarter recovery after after Kenny Phillips yanked it away from Ryan Grant. That led to a Mario Manningham TD.

Now maybe everyone realizes how good Eli Manning is & that he is one of the NFL's elite quaterbacks. He completed 21 of 33 passes with three touch downs & his personal playoff best 330 yards. Also Eli was good enough to convert eight of sixteen trys (50%) on third down.

Hakeem Nicks made seven receptions for 165 yards, two touch downs including a 37 yard Hail Mary catch that will go down as one of the greatest in team history. Lawrence Tynes may have missed a field goal but he did get three others though the goal post.

The Packers, just like each team in the last month also tried to convert against the Giants defense in desperation on fourth down. As usual they were stopped, this time on a sack by Michael Boley.

As coach Coughlin always says, special teams are so important; so lets not forget the two on side kick recoveries for the Giants special teams.One by Victor Cruz who may not have had a touch down but did make a big fourth quarter third down catch as well (5 receptons for 74 yards).

It took a while for the running game to get going but in the end Ahmad Bradshaw put up 63 yards including a big fourth quarter run which led to Brandon Jacobs TD run.

Giant fans sit back, bask in the glory of victory for another week & get ready for the NFC Championship game next week!!!!!

Former Mets Coach Turned MLB Manager: Manny Acta (2005-2006)

2012-01-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

Manuel Elias Acta Pena was born on January 11, 1969 in the Dominican Republic. Acta played in the Houston Astros organization from 1987 through 1991. He began playing the infield at third base but his 31 errors in 1988 had him then see more time at first & second base.

In his career in the minors he posted a .875 fielding % at third in 202 games, making 96 errors in 567 chances. He was much better at second .954% (349 games) & at first .979% (57 games). Overall he was a .241 hitter in 370 minor league games with 281 hits 6 HRs 38 doubles 6 triples 109 RBIs & a .295 on base %. He never did get a chance to play in the big leagues.

After his playing days he coached in the Houston Astros organization from 1993-2000. He then moved on to the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs where he eventually became Omar Minaya’s right hand man. When Minaya got went to the Montreal Expos, he got Acta a job as a coach under Frank Robinson from 2002-2004.

Acta filled in as skipper one day, as Robinson let him manage a game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. That day October 1st, 2004 the Expos beat the Mets 4-2, it was Acta’s last season with the organization that moved on to Washington D.C. In the off season he interviewed for a couple of MLB manager positions with the Los Angeles Dodgers & Arizona Diamondbacks. In Arizona he lost out to former Met Wally Backman, who ended up not getting the job when he had some personal troubles of his own that winter.

Instead of managing in 2005, he followed his pal Omar Minaya to New York as coach with the Mets under manager Willie Randolph. Acta spent two seasons as the Mets third base coach, making a few questionable decisions of his own in that coaches’ box. He did a good job overall but still wanted to be a big league skipper.

On October 11th, 2006 when MLB pitcher Corey Lidle had his fatal plane crash, it was in Acta's building on the East side of Manhattan that the plane had crashed into. Acta was not home at the time, as he was at Shea Stadium preparing the Mets for the NLCS opener which would be eventually be rained out. After the season he went to manage the Dominican team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and then landed a job with the Washington Nationals, replacing his old boss Frank Robinson.

Acta uses the sabermetric style of baseball ideas like Bill Beane & Theo Epstein. In 2007 he earned some respect by bringing a young Nationals team to a fourth place finish with a 73-89 record. The following season they fell to the having the worst record in baseball 59-102. In 2009 his Nationals were 26-61 in July when he was fired there getting replaced by Jim Riggleman.

In 2010 he landed a job in Cleveland as the Indians manager, finishing 4th with a 69-93 record. In 2011 he improved a surprising Indians team remaining in first place up near the All Star break. They had specialized in alot of dramatic walk off wins early on as well. They faded to the Detroit Tigers in the second half finishing just under .500 at 80-82. The teams veteran players Grady Sizemore & Travis Hafner were sidelined to under 100 games each as sluggers like Asdrubal Cabrera & Carlos Santana led the team with over 25 HRs each.

Charity: His charity impACTA has raised a large amount of money for kids helping them achieve success.

Former Mets Relief Pitcher: Elmer Dessens (2009-2010)

2012-01-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

Elmer (Jusaino) Dessens was born on January 13th 1971 in Hermosillo Sonora Mexico. The five foot eleven right handed pitcher was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993. Three seasons later, Dessens was pitching in the big leagues, spending three seasons seeing brief action in the Pirates bullpen. He would become a journey man pitcher first as a starter in Cincinnati with the Reds (2000-2002).

In 2000 he was 11-5 with a 4.28 ERA then going 10-14 the next year pitching in 205 innings. In 2002 he posted a 3.03 ERA which was 6th best in the NL. He would move on to the Arizona Diamondbacks (2003-2004) and eventually become a middle reliever. He pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2004-2006) Kansas City Royals (2006) Milwaukee Brewers (2007) Colorado Rockies (2007) & Atlanta Braves (2008) before signing a minor league contract with the New York Mets in 2009.

He began the year at AAA Buffalo and was 3-2 with 11 saves posting a 2.31 ERA with the Bison's before getting called to the Mets staff in June. Dessens debuted at Citi Field pitching two innings of a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He next appeared in the subway series where he allowed three runs in his first of two game appearances. He pitched in 28 games for the Mets earning no decisions posting a 3.31 ERA with 14 strike outs in 32 innings pitched. In 2009 he was the team captain for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, going 1-0.

In 2010 he was 5-0 with six saves at AAA Buffalo getting to the Mets staff at the end of May. In his first game he allowed two runs to the AL New York team taking a loss in the subway series game at Citi Field. On June 8th he was credited with his first Mets win when Ike Davis hit an 11th inning walk off HR. He would earn another win in Florida at the end of the month, and another in Houston a month later. Dessens pitched well getting credit for 11 holds, posting a 2.30 ERA while going 4-2 with just one blown save in 53 appearances.

He was nicknamed by a sportswriter as "Unknown" because he will work in any pitching capacity the Mets put him in & yet he always flies under the radar. He was granted free agency in the winter and wasn't signed. He ended his big league career at 52-64 with 5 saves a 4.44 ERA 693 strike outs & 348 walks in 441 appearances.

Current Mets Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey (2006-2011)

2012-01-14T23:35:00.023-05:00

Michael Alan Pelfrey was born on January 14, 1984 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The six foot seven right hander known as Big Pelf was a star pitcher at Wichita State University, hiring Scott Boras as his agent entering the 2005 draft. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 9th round & negotiated for six months before settling on a deal.

He began 2006 at A ball in St. Lucie, going 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA, moving up to AA with Binghamton where he went 4-2 with a 2.71 ERA. He was called up to the Mets staff that July making his debut at Shea Stadium against the Florida Marlins on July 8th. He pitched five innings allowing three runs but got the win with the help of Jose Valentin’s grand slam HR. In his second start Carlos Beltran’s grand slam helped him earn his second win & he became the first rookie to have grand slams hit for him in his first two games.

He allowed five runs in his next start, then four runs over seven innings in the start after that when the Mets chose to send him down to AAA Norfolk. He did not pitch in the 2006 Mets post season.

In 2007 he had a strong Spring Training making the staff to start the season. Big Pelf struggled, going 0-5 with a 6.73 ERA by mid May when he was sent back down to the Norfolk Tides. He came back in July & lost two more games at 0-7 he was back in Norfolk but only went 3-6 there. One problem he was having was trying to learn how to throw a slider under the direction of Rick Peterson. He returned to the big league staff in September and beat the Braves in Atlanta on September 1st allowing just one run in six innings. He had a strong September going 3-1 helping the Mets stay in the pennant race until they blew it on the last day of the season.

He started out 2008 beating the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium in the seventh game of the season & then beat the Washington Nationals with seven shutout innings later that week. After that Pelfrey struggled again, losing his next six decisions, allowing four earned runs or more four times. Earlier that May he had a no hitter going into the 7th inning, he then gave up a run & lost 1-0. In June he began to pitch much better, in one outing he pitched shutout ball into the 8th inning when Billy Wagner relieved him & blew the save.

After that Pelfrey went on a roll, winning seven straight decisions & the Pitcher of the Week Award when he allowed only one run over three starts. At the end of August he pitched consecutive complete game victories during a three game win streak. He finished the year at 13-11 with a 3.72 ERA, striking out 102 batters pitching in 200 innings. That season he also set a club record not allowing a HR in 243 batters faced.

With new pitching coach Dan Warthan it seemed Pelfrey felt more comfortable at the start. Warthan allowed him to go back to throwing his curveball which Rick Peterson had stopped him from throwing as well as adding a splitter to his repertoire in the next two seasons.

In 2009 Pelfrey pitched the Mets Opener at their new Citi Field ballpark. After all the pre game fanfare which had Tom Seaver throwing out the first pitch to Mike Piazza, Pelfrey took the mound. He let down the fans including myself who was in attendance, literally right off the bat. Big Pel allowed a leadoff HR, gave up quick five runs to the San Diego Padres & took the first loss at the new ballpark.

It was a long year for Met fans, as the team struggled through injuries & fell below .500. Pelfrey lead the league in balks (6) & became the first pitched since Al Lieter (as a member of the Blue Jays at the time) in 1995 to balk three times in the same game. On May 17th in San Francisco Pelfrey balked three times, against the Giants allowing just two runs over six innings in the Mets 2-0 shutout loss. "I knew I wanted to make a pitch at home and I was fighting myself," said Pelfrey, who described it as a mental hurdle he's experienced on occasion in his career, including last season at Florida and a handful of times while at Wichita State.

For the year he led the team in losses going 10-12 (10th most losses in the league) as well as runs (112) earned runs (103) (which were 4th most in the NL) & walks (66) posting a 5.03 ERA.

In 2010 Pelfrey took over as ace of the staff when Johan Santana went down with injury. He began the year at 4-0 in April, & also earned a save against the St. Louis Cards in a 20 inning game on April 17th. Pelfrey continued to pitch well, and in mid May had an eight game stretch where he went into the 7th inning or beyond each time. He was 6-1 in that period & by the end of June was 10-2 with a 2.71 ERA.

His second loss came in the subway series against the cross town rivals where he allowed five runs in seven innings of work. He was among the top pitchers in the NL up to that point but did not make the All Star team, despite his efforts. The big guy down played it, very professionally well done. He cooled off losing four straight games getting into August. From August 10th through the end of the month he pitched into the 7th inning or beyond in all four starts. Through the end of the year he would pitch into the seventh or beyond nine times, including each of his last five starts.

Over that stretch (11 starts) he allowed only three earned runs or more three times going 5-3 with 3 no decisions. Pelfrey led the team in wins with 15 (9th in the NL) innings (204) & starts (33) as well as walks (68) earned runs (83) & hits (213).

In 2011 he got another Opening Day nod, this time losing to the Marlins in Florida. In his next start he was removed in the second inning after allowing six earned runs to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He was 1-3 at the end of April posting a 7.39 ERA, then won his next two starts at the start of May. There was no consistency from Pelfrey all season, as he went 7-13 with a 4.74 ERA 105 strike outs 65 walks in 193 innings. He did throw two complete games, the first on June 18th at Citi Field against the Anaheim Angels. The second was t Cincinnati a two run seven hit outing against the Reds.

Pelfrey lives in Long Island City with his wife & son, he makes the very short commute to work at Citi Field during home games. On the mound he is famous for his habit of licking his hands while on the mound, one official count had him do it 89 times during the course of a game. was one of the many people victimized by $8 billion fraud from Allen Stanford. He stated that 99% of his assets were frozen after the incident.

The Losing Pitcher In the First Game Ever Played at Shea Stadium: Ed Bauta (1963-1964)

2012-01-14T23:33:00.011-05:00

Eduardo (Galvez) Bauta was born on January 6th, 1935 in Florida, Cuba. The tall six foot three right hander was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956. Bauta was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 28, 1960, along with Julian Javier for Dick Gray and future Met & politician Vinegar Bend Mizell.

He spent four years with the Cards pitching as a reliever going 3-0 over his first three seasons with seven saves. In 1963 he saw the most action, first pitching in 38 games going 3-4, while finishing 19 in St. Louis through August 5th. He was then traded to the New York Mets for pitched Ken MacKenzie.

Bauta debuted with the Mets on August 11th, 1963 pitching four innings of relief in an 8-1 loss against the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a double header at the Polo Grounds. He would allow two runs that day as well as allow two runs in three of his first four appearances. Over in nine appearances with New York he posted no recordfinished one game while posting a 5.21 ERA.

In 1964 he began the year with the Mets in the brand new Shea Stadium, and was the losing pitcher in the first game ever played there. Bauta relieved Jack Fisher in the top of the 7th inning and immediately gave up a single to future Mets star Donn Clendenon tying the game. In the top of the 9th inning he allowed singles to Willie Stargell & Clendenon, then with two outs Bill Mazeroski also singled driving in Stargell in what would be the game winning run.

On April 26th he earned a save against the Pirates in Pittsburgh lowering his ERA to 1.59. He took another loss at Cincinnati on May 3rd in the first game of a double header, but then would allow five in runs in his next three outings over just four innings pitched. He was sent down to AAA Buffalo after going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in eight appearances. Bauta would pitch in the minor leagues through 1973 going 70-49 there with a 2.94 ERA in 450 games over 14 seasons total.

One of the Players Aquired In the Tom Seaver Trade: Dan Norman (1977-1980)

2012-01-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

Daniel Edmund Norman was born on January 11, 1955 in Los Angeles, California. The six foot two switch hitting outfielder was drafted in the 15th round of the 1974 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played through the Reds system next to outfielder Steve Henderson s getting promoted together through the minor leagues. In 1976 he hit 17 HRs batting .273 at AA Trois-Rivieres getting promoted to AAA Indianapolis the following year.

On June 15, 1977 he was traded along with his pal, Steve Henderson as well as Doug Flynn & Pat Zachary to the Mets for Tom Seaver in the famous “Midnight Massacre” trade. According to former WFAN Radioo talk show host, Jody Macdonald; he thought Norman was going to be a star player. He told his dad, Joe MacDonald who was the Mets GM at the time to make sure he got Norman in the trade. Coming to New York Henderson got promoted right away to the Mets team while Norman was sent down to AAA Tidewater. There he batted .264 with 10 HRs & a .344 on base % in 80 games.

He got a late September call up, debuting in Pittsburgh against the Pirates on September 27th as a pinch hitter. He went 4-16 with four walks on the season. He was back at Tidewater in 1978 leading the team in HRs (18) RBIs (66) & batting (.281) getting another September cup of coffee.

In his second game he hit his first MLB HR at Olympic Stadium against the Montreal Expos. Two days later he had a career day, going 2-4 with a pair of HRs and three RBIs leading the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. He closed out the season driving in runs in his last two games. On the year he hit .266 with 4 HRs one triple 7 runs scored& 10 RBIs. In 1979 he was back at AAA Tidewater getting up to the Mets big league squad in July. He saw action in 44 games batting .245 with 3 HRs 11 RBIs.

In 1980 he was on the club for the entire season, & manager Joe Torre used him mostly as a pinch hitter. This probably wasn't a good idea for a 25 year old kid, he played in 69 games overall, (19 in the outfield) but his average fell to.185 with just 2 HRs & 9 RBIs.

In May of 1981 he was playing at Tidewater when he was part of another big Mets trade. This time he was sent to the Montreal Expos along with Jeff Reardon for outfielder Ellis Valentine. He spent 1981 in the minors & in 1982 played in only 53 games for the Expos batting .212 before his ending his MLB career.

He would play in the minors through 1986 spending 12 years there playing in 1183 games. In five seasons he hit .227 with 79 hits 11 HRs 8 doubles 3 triples 29 runs scored 37 RBIs & a .287 on base %.

Retirement: After his playing days Norman became a manager in the Florida State League (1987) the Arizona League (1995/2000) & the Canadian baseball League (2003).

Big Blue Friday!!! Go GANTS !!! Wear Your blue

2012-01-13T06:50:00.000-05:00

Support the NFC Eastern Champion Giants today & wear Blue.