centerfield maz

Jae Weong Seo was born May 24, 1977, in Gwangju, South Korea. The tall six-foot one right hander was a bright prospect in his homeland. South Korea:  In 1997 Jae brought his South Koren Inha University team all the way to a Korean College championship. He pitched one season in the Korean Baseball league before getting signed by the New York Mets in 1998. American Baseball:  That season he went 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA for the St. Lucie Mets at the A ball level. The next year he was 2-0 & needed reconstructive elbow surgery missing all of the 2000 season. The surgery took a lot of speed off his fastball & although he had a good change it effected his pitching. At times he showed good control when he was pitching well other times he struggled.  Mets Career:  On July 21st, 2002, Seo made his Mets debut  finishing off a 0-1 loss in Cincinnati & collecting one strike out, fanning Brady Clark. He was optioned back to AAA Norfolk the next day. 2003: ...

William Nathaniel Showalter III was born May 23rd, 1956, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. The five foot nine, left hand hitter also throws left-handed.  His father William was an All-American full back at Milligan College in 1940 & considered a career with the Pittsburgh Steelers but became a teach instead. After going to Century Florida high school where his father taught for 23 years, he first attended Chipola College then transferred to Mississippi State University, where he played for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. There he would set a school record with a .459 batting average.  Showalter would also play in the Cape Cod League winning the batting title with the 1976 Hyannis Mets. He was eventually inducted in the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame. As a player he was a first baseman & outfielder. He was drafted by the AL New York team in the fifth round of the 1977 draft. He would spend seven years in their organization without getting a big league call up. In seven mino...

Saturday May 20th, 2017: As the New York Mets got ready to host Mike Scioscia's Anaheim Angels (22-23), it marked a milestone game for Mets manager, Terry Collins. Tonight, would be Terry Collins' 1013th game as skipper of the Mets, surpassing Davey Johnson's record for most games as manager in franchise history.  Terry Collins Trivia: At that point in time, Terry Collins was also the oldest manager in the game at 67 years old. Tonight, he sent Zack Wheeler to the mound to face the Angels, Alex Meyer. In the bottom of the 1st, Michael Conforto led off with a walk.  Reyes 2000th Career Hit: Jose Reyes then singled into left field collecting the 2000th hit of his MLB career.   Jose Reyes Trivia: Reyes was in the Twighlight of his career, in his second go around with the Mets. The following year he would finish his career with 2138 hits, 1534 of the coming in a Mets uniform, second to David Wright in franchise history. Neil Walker's ground out to short allowing C...

Saturday May 18th, 1996:  In 1996, catcher Todd Hundley was one of the bright spots for a Mets team that went 71-91 finishing fourth in the NL East. But changes were starting to happen, that season the Mets fired manager Dallas Green & replaced him with Bobby Valentine.   Valentine would bring the Mets to playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 1999 & 2000. One problem Valentine did have was Todd Hundley's late-night partying & love of the NY night life. On this day, Hundley became the fourth Mets hitter to hit HRs from both sides of the plate in the same game. The others were Lee Mazzilli (1978) Howard Johnson (1991) & Bobby Bonilla (three times). Hundley himself had done it before as well, two years earlier in 1994. Dallas Green's struggling fifth place Mets (17-23) were on the annual west coast trip. That week thy had lost three of four in San Diego & they were now in San Francisco, facing Dusty Baker's third place Giants (20-20). 15,29...

Wednesday May 17th, 1972: Yogi Berra's first place Mets (20-7) were off to a good start in the '72 season despite all the sadness & obstacles that started before thongs go underway.  First off, on an MLB level, the season got started late due to the first MLB Players Strike that halted Spring Training. Then more sadly, the Mets family lost their beloved Manager, Gil Hodges, who passed away from a fatal heart attack. The organization was devastated, in the aftermath they named the popular favorite, coach Yogi Berra to take his place. On this evening, 16,905 fans came out to Shea Stadium, to see the Yogi's Mets (20-6) sporting baseballs best record, host Gene Mauch's Montreal Expos (13-14). Berra sent Gary Gentry to the mound to face Montreal's Ernie McAnally.  In 1966, McAnally had originally been drafted by the New York Mets, in 1968 he was picked up by the Expos in the expansion draft. The 1972 Mets had some exciting young players ready to break out, that year...