centerfield maz

Saturday June 19, 1971: As long time Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy would have said "it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon for baseball”.  As 52,171 fans turned out at Shea Stadium to watch  Gil Hodges second place Mets (36-25) 2 ½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Mets hosted, Frank Lucchesi’s last place Philadelphia Phillies (25-38). The Mets "Tom Terrific" would go against Philadelphia's Rick Wise.  Wise came into the game at 7-4, he had shutout the Mets 1-0 a month earlier in Philadelphia, topping Gary Gentry. Wise would win 17 games in 1971 (17-1 with a 2.88 ERA) He would 15 or more games six times in his 18-year career. Tom Seaver certainly wasn’t having his best day,  allowing four runs on twelve hits, striking out only two batters before being relieved by Ron Taylor in the 6th. In the Phillies 2nd inning, Deron Johnson hit a two run HR to make it 2-0. Later in the 3rd, Tim McCarver doubled & Willie Montanez walked. ...

Michael Charles Brantley was born June 17th, 1961, in Catskill, New York. The youngster starred in baseball, as well as soccer & basketball in the Catskill Mountain Region of New York. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 1983 draft. He became known as Mickey Brantley . Playing Career: Brantley played four years with the Mariners, seeing the most playing time in 1988 (149 games). In his MLB career he batted .259 lifetime, with 32 HRs 56 doubles 125 RBIs in 1222 games. Brantley then went on to play in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants. Coaching Career: Brantley returned to MLB as a roving coach with the San Francisco Giants in 1994. From there he moved to the New York Mets organization, managing the St. Lucie Mets in 1996 & 1997.   1999 Mets:  After a struggling Mets team had lost eight games in a row, the Mets front office, led by GM Steve Phillips felt they had to make a move. There was no way they were going to touch B...

T uesday June 10th, 1969: As the New York Mets went up the coast arriving in San Francisco, everyone in baseball, especially the first place Chicago Cubs were talking about the Mets ten game win streak.  Tonight's game on the Bay at Candlestick Park had Gil Hodges second place Mets (29-23) go against Clyde Kings third place Giants (29-24) who were just three games back of the Atlanta Braves & two behind the LA Dodgers. Don Cardwell (1-6) got the start for New York against Mike McCormick (3-2). In the bottom of the 3rd, the Giants pitcher McCormick led off with a base hit. Bobby Bonds then tripled bringing in McCormick for the first run. Bonds would hit six triples in 1969 & ten the next year (3rd most in the NL), he had 66 career triples. In the top of the 4th, Tommie Agee answered with a solo HR, a 420 foot blast, his eighth of the year & first of two on the day.  In the 5th, New York got a double from Jerry Grote, Al Weis' bunt got Grote to third. D...

J une 1972: Prior to the 1972 season Rusty Staub had  come over from the Montreal Expos in a deal that sent youngsters Ken Singleton, Tim Foli & Mike Jorgenson to the Expos. It was a lot to give up,  but Staub was on of leagues better, proven hitters. Gil Hodges had all but signed the deal. But when Staub arrived Hodges had passed away suddenly to a heart attack. The Players were also on strike to begin the season. Yogi Berra was named manager & everything eventually got underway. The Mets had the pitching but needed to score runs. By June 3rd, 1972,  the Mets were in first place, with the best record in baseball (31- 12 with  a .721 winning %) & a five game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. On this Saturday afternoon over 41,947 showed up at Shea Stadium to watch future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver at 7-2 go up against Atlanta's Tom Kelley. Eddie Mathews Braves (19-23) would finish fourth in the NL West in 1972. ...

Michael William Difelice was born on May 28, 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The six foot two catcher, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the eleventh round of the 1991 draft. He didn’t hit for power or average but was always a fine defensive catcher. He threw out over 45% of would be base runners from 1994-1996 earning a quick cup of coffee with the 1996 St. Louis Cardinals. MLB Career: In 1997 he saw action in 93 games, sharing time with Tom Lampkin, batting .238 with 4 HRs & a career high 30 RBIs. In 1998 he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the expansion draft becoming an original Devil Ray. He would spend three and a half seasons with Tampa throwing out over 40% of base stealers twice.  photo by centerfieldmaz- Spring Training 2007 He batted a career high .307 in 1999 (179 at bats). That season he also hit a career high six HRs, & repeated that the following season. On July 31st, 2001,...

Raymond Joseph Robert Daviault was born May 27, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The right handed pitcher had ties with all three National League New York baseball teams at one time or another in his career.  The six foot one, right hand pitcher was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954.  He pitched in their organization for six seasons mostly at the A ball levels or lower.  At the time he arrived he only spoke French. In 1960 he went to the San Francisco Giants organization & pitched there for two seasons. In 1960, he was a best 13-5 with a 2.76 ERA, at AAA Rio Grande Valley.  Daviault was a ten game winner (10-9) in 1961 for Tacoma, in the AAA Pacific Coast League, before getting drafted by the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft. Original Met: Daviault was an original 1962 Met & became the first Canadian born player to don a Mets uniform. He became known as "Frenchy" due to his Quebec upbringing. He was remembered as a good nature...

Wednesday April 20th 1983: A Wednesday double header was big game for popular Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson. The Mets led by manager George Bamberger hosted Chuck Tanner's Pittsburgh Pirates. The first game was like a day from the past, as Tom Seaver took the mound & pitched a three hit shut out. The 38 year old Seaver was brought back to New York that year after spending 5 1/2 years with the Reds. He was traded for Charlie Puleo, Lloyd McClendenon & minor leaguer Jason Felice. The Mets were not a good team at the time & the return of Seaver was a nostalgic treat. This was Seaver's best outing of the 1983 season, he pitched a complete game, three hit shut out striking out nine & walking three. Starting Lineups Pittsburgh Pirates         New York Mets 1 Lee Lacy RF 1 Mookie Wilson CF 2 Lee Mazzilli CF 2 Bob Bailor SS 3 Bill Madlock 3B 3 Dave Kingman 1B 4 Jason Thompson 1B 4 George Foster LF 5 Mike Easler L...