centerfield maz

Jeremy Thomas Reed was born June 15, 1981 in San Dimas California. The six foot left handed hitting Reed was a graduate of Long Beach State University. By 2003 he was one of the top five outfield prospects in the minor leagues. Scouted as a good defensive outfielder that had trouble hitting left handed pitching. He was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2002, but was soon traded with Miguel Olivo to the Seattle Mariners for Freddy Garcia & Ben Davis. He hit over .400 in 66 games at AA Birmingham in 2003 getting promoted to AAA in 2004. In the latter part of the year he batted .305 at AAA Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League. He got a September call up and made the most of it, hitting .397 in 18 games for the '04 Mariners. He became the Mariners everyday left fielder in 2005 hitting 33 doubles, but only hit three HRs while batting .254. He was beginning to show more power in 2006 hitting six HRs with 17 RBIs in 212 at bats, and was moved to over to play cente...

JUNE 17, 2008: In a move at the time that was looked at as classless by the Mets front office, Manager Willie Randolph was let go as manager. In the wee hours of Eastern Standard time, after the Mets had beaten the Los Angeles Angels 9-6 in Anaheim, the decision & official announcement was made. The Randolph era came to an end after three and one half years. Willie’s record was 302-253, the second-highest winning percentage in franchise history, trailing only Davey Johnson. In Randolph's first year at the helm 2005, the Mets had played better than they had in four years, finishing over .500 in third place. In 2006 they won their first N.L. Eastern title in 18 years and fell one game short of the World Series, losing the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals. 2007 was a disappointment as they blew a seven game first place lead with just 17 games left to play. They were still in it, but lost on the final day of the season. The 2008 Mets were struggling in June, playing under .5...

Brian Leonard Ostrosser was born on June 17, 1949 in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. Ostrosser was signed as an amateur free agent in 1970 by the New York Mets. The six foot left handed hitting Canadian infielder was scouted as an outstanding defensive shortstop that didn’t hit much. He had a good eye with an ability to draw walks which gave him decent on base percentages. Unfortunately for him, he was a shortstop in the Mets organization during the Bud Harrelson era. There wasn’t much room on the big league squad, especially if he couldn’t hit well. In 1972 he led all shortstops defensively in the Texas League, batting .262 with 71 walks & a .370 on base%. He earned a reputation with his glove & was promoted to AAA Tidewater. In 1973 at AAA Tidewater, he only batted .230 he posted a .354 on base % drawing 47 walks. Meanwhile as the the ’73 Mets were struggling through injuries, Ostrosser got a summer call up in early August. He made his MLB debut on August 5th, 1973 aga...

Shawn Wesley Abner was born on June 17, 1966 in Hamilton, Ohio. The six foot one right handed hitting Abner was a high school baseball & football star in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania, He set many school records there and had his uniform number 16 retired in both sports. In his 1984 sophomore year, Abner became a number one draft pick, the first pick overall selected by the New York Mets. The scouts said he was a “can’t miss” prospect, just as the recent Mets previous number one draft pick selections Dwight Gooden & Daryl Strawberry. Interestingly that year the Mets had first attempted to sign Mark McGwire but his family was unwilling to commit to a pre draft deal. The organization was unwilling to commit to McGwire not knowing if he would eventually sign a deal, so they chose Abner. In 1985 at the A ball Lynchburg he hit .300 with 16 HRs 30 double 11 triples & 89 RBIs winning the Carolina League MVP award. He then dropped to off to a .266 average at the AA level but wa...

Brett Morgan Butler was born on June 15, 1957 in Los Angeles, California. Butler grew up in three different large metro areas, first L.A. then to San Francisco, then to the Chicago area by his teen years. He attended Oklahoma State, getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1979, in the 29th round. After many years of losing in the early eighties the Braves had built a strong team with the likes of Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, & Glen Hubbard. Bret Butler was brought up in 1981 to be their leadoff man & slowly worked his way into the lineup. In 1983 he led the league in triples (13) batting .281 with 21 doubles & 39 stolen bases (7th in the NL). After the 1983 season, he was sent to the Cleveland Indians for Len Barker, batting a career high .311 with a .377 on base %, 47 stolen bases, 14 triples & 106 runs scored. There he developed into one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball for the next decade. In his career he would lead the league in triples & single...