The Most With The Least: Pat Zachry (1977-80)

One of the toughest things for any athlete to do is replacing a living legend.  In addition to fulfilling his personal goals and the team's needs on the field, the new player has to prove himself to the fans of the player he replaced.  It's not an easy task, and some players, despite performing relatively well, are never able to live up to the fans' expectations.

In 1977, one such player joined the New York Mets.  This player had already tasted individual and team success before he called Flushing home, and he continued to succeed in the Big Apple.  There was only problem.  The Mets were a team in disarray when he joined them and most importantly, he was asked to fill the shoes of a franchise player.  Not just any franchise player, but "The Franchise" himself.  And because of that, his personal successes with the team were never fully appreciated by the fans who only wanted their team leader back.

Tall, lanky and not Tom Seaver.  That was Pat Zachry in a nutshell.  (Image courtesy of Topps)

Patrick Paul Zachry took his time making it to the big leagues.  Drafted out of high school in 1970 as a 19th round pick by the Cincinnati Reds, Zachry was never a top prospect.  But after slowly rising through the ranks, Zachry had a stellar season at AAA-Indianapolis in 1975, leading the American Association with a 2.43 ERA (min. 10 starts).

The Cincinnati Reds also had a memorable 1975 campaign, winning their first World Series title in 35 years.  The Big Red Machine, as they were known, had All-Stars and future Hall of Famers at every position.  Their starting rotation, however, was a little suspect.  Only two pitchers on the 1975 Reds made more than 26 starts and the combined 3.62 ERA of the team's starting pitchers was nearly a run higher than the bullpen's ERA.

Cincinnati then traded Clay Kirby and his 4.72 ERA in 19 starts to the Montreal Expos during the off-season and went with Pat Darcy as the fifth starter in 1976.  This allowed Zachry to join the Reds in 1976 as a relief pitcher.  But Darcy was awful in three April starts, allowing 14 runs in 16⅓ innings.  By mid-May, Darcy was out of the rotation and Zachry had stepped in.  Five months later, Zachry was on top of the world.

Despite not earning his first win until May 9, Zachry finished his first year in the majors with a 14-7 record and 204 innings pitched.  He allowed just eight home runs and finished among the league leaders in ERA, FIP and K/9 IP.  Zachry was also the winning pitcher in Game Two of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies and Game Three of the World Series versus the New York Yankees.  By season's end, Zachry had earned a World Series ring and the National League Rookie of the Year Award, which he shared with San Diego Padres pitcher Butch Metzger.

Zachry had a poor start to the 1977 campaign, as did the Reds, who were playing .500 ball for most of the first two months of the season.  At the same time, the relationship between the Mets and their ace pitcher, Tom Seaver, was rapidly approaching its breaking point.  After a Daily News article by Dick Young claimed that Seaver was upset at former teammate Nolan Ryan's new contract with the California Angels and mentioned the wives of both players, Seaver demanded a trade.

"That Young article was the straw that broke the (camel's) back," Seaver said.  "Bringing your family into it with no truth whatsoever to what he wrote, I could not abide that.  I had to go."

June 16, 1977 Daily News cover

On June 15, Seaver got his wish, as the Mets completed "The Midnight Massacre" trade with the Reds, sending Seaver to Cincinnati for Zachry, Steve Henderson, Doug Flynn and Dan Norman.  At the time of the trade, Zachry had a 3-7 record and a 5.04 ERA with the Reds, which was the exact opposite of Seaver's 7-3 mark and 3.00 ERA with the Mets.  Although Zachry managed to turn his season around in New York, going 7-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 19 starts with his new team, Seaver was even better in Cincinnati, winning 14 of his 20 starts and finishing the year with a 21-6 record - his fifth and final 20-win season.  Seaver also led the league with seven shutouts and a 1.01 WHIP.  The Mets ended the year without "The Franchise" and with a new pitcher who couldn't prevent the team's first last place finish since Seaver's rookie season in 1967.

In 1978, the first full year after the departure of Seaver, Zachry had a Seaver-like first half of the season.  When Zachry pitched a two-hit shutout against the Phillies on July 4, his record stood at 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA.  Making his phenomenal first half even more impressive was that the team was 22-41 in games started by other pitchers.  For his first-half efforts, Zachry was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time, although he wasn't called upon to pitch in the Midsummer Classic.  Even with the All-Star nod, Zachry still hadn't become the fan-favorite Seaver was.  However, he was giving the team the best chance to win games, just as his trade counterpart used to do.  Unfortunately, as much as Zachry was matching Seaver in the wins department, he couldn't match Seaver's run of good health.

From 1967 to 1976, Seaver made at least 32 starts in each season for the Mets.  Zachry combined to make 31 starts with the Reds and Mets in 1977, but could only make 21 starts with the Mets in 1978.  Zachry's first full season as a Met ended on July 24, when he injured himself upon being removed from a game against his former team.  After Pete Rose singled for Cincinnati in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to National League record-tying 37 games, Zachry allowed George Foster to drive Rose in with a single of his own.  When manager Joe Torre removed Zachry from the game, the right-hander took out his frustrations by kicking a concrete step in the dugout, fracturing his left foot and ending his season.

It was more of the same for Zachry in 1979, as he had a fantastic start to the season, going 5-0 with a 2.89 ERA in his first six starts, but once again, the injury bug defeated him more often than opposing teams did.  Zachry missed a month after his third start of the season because of inflammation in his pitching elbow, then aggravated the injury once he returned in late May.  He did not return to the Mets again until early May 1980.

Despite winning just six of his 26 starts in 1980, Zachry may have had his finest season with the Mets after his year-long stay on the disabled list.  Unfortunately, the Mets gave him very little run support when he was on the mound in 1980, which explains his 6-10 won-loss record.  Zachry allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 26 starts.  He earned a loss or no-decision in eight of those 14 starts.  He also held the opposition scoreless in six of his starts, but the Mets somehow managed to lose three of those games.  In all, the Mets lost 15 of Zachry's 26 starts during the 1980 campaign.  They scored a total of 26 runs in those losses, averaging 1.7 runs per game in the defeats.  Even Seaver in his prime would have had a tough time winning games with that putrid run support.

Through the 1980 season, Zachry had a 28-23 record as a Met, making him only pitcher - starter or reliever - who pitched for the team in each season from 1977 to 1980 to post a cumulative winning record.  Zachry was also second to Craig Swan in that time period in ERA (3.35), ERA+ (107) and batting average allowed (.252).  The Mets were 38-35 in Zachry's 73 starts during his first four seasons with the team, posting a .521 winning percentage in his starts.  When any other pitcher started, they were a completely different team, going 207-323 for a .391 winning percentage.

The strike-shortened 1981 season changed baseball forever.  It was also a turning point in Zachry's career.  Prior to the season, the Mets signed Zachry to a five-year, $2 million contract.  The Mets took a chance on Zachry, even though the Texan had not been able to stay healthy for much of his Mets career.  It was something that had frustrated Zachry ever since he kicked the dugout step in 1978, but with the new contract signed, Zachry aimed to leave his injury history in the past.

Image courtesy of Donruss

"I'm looking forward to staying in one piece for the year.  I'm relieved that the whole thing is over.  I felt O.K. physically, and now I feel better mentally, too."

General manager Frank Cashen also looked forward to having Zachry's services through the 1985 season, although he also couldn't help but discuss Zachry's injury history.

"If Pat Zachry can stay free of injuries, he has the natural equipment to be a great pitcher, " Cashen said.  "At the age of 28, (he) should be just coming into his prime.  He figures to be one of our starting pitchers for the next five years."

Zachry did manage to stay healthy in 1981 for the first time in four seasons, but he did not perform as well as the team expected, leading the league with 14 losses.  (On the flip side, Seaver paced the National League with 14 wins.)  In addition to his league-leading loss total, Zachry finished with an ERA above 4.00 for the first time as a Met.  Once again, the lack of run support was front and center in Zachry's starts, as the team scored two runs or fewer in 11 of his 24 starts.  But this time, Zachry also contributed to his high loss total, as he allowed four runs or more in ten of his 24 starts after allowing 4+ runs in just 23 of his first 73 starts in a Mets uniform.

At the conclusion of the 1981 season, Joe Torre - the only manager Zachry had pitched for as a Met - was relieved of his duties.  Torre was replaced by George Bamberger, who used an unorthodox approach when managing his starting pitchers during the 1982 campaign.  No pitcher made more than 24 starts for the Mets in 1982, and every starter pitched out of the bullpen as well.  Other than Randy Jones, who made 20 starts and eight relief appearances, every other pitcher who made at least a dozen starts for the Mets also made at least 12 appearances out of the bullpen.  Included in that group was Pat Zachry, who started 16 games and pitched in relief 20 times.

Zachry suffered without a set role, posting his second straight 4.00+ ERA in 1982.  He also had a 1.50 WHIP and struck out just 69 batters (both figures were his worst in any season he made 10+ starts).  Two months after the conclusion of the 1982 campaign, the Mets re-acquired Tom Seaver, as general manager Frank Cashen sent Charlie Puleo, Jason Felice and future major league manager Lloyd McClendon to Cincinnati for the beloved Met.  Eleven days after that trade was completed, Cashen sent Zachry to Los Angeles for outfielder Jorge Orta, ending the 30-year-old's tenure as a member of the Mets.  Zachry spent the final three years of his five-year contract as a relief pitcher for the Dodgers (1983-84) and Phillies (1985), hanging up his spikes at the age of 33.

(Photo by Tony Triolo/Getty Images)

In six years with the Mets, Zachry went 41-46 with a 3.63 ERA, which didn't exactly make Mets fans forget about Seaver.  But from 1977 to 1980, a Pat Zachry start was as good a chance as Mets fans had to see their favorite team win.  When he played his final game with the Mets in 1982, Zachry ranked in the team's all-time top ten in wins (41; T-7th), complete games (20; 9th), shutouts (6; T-7th) and WAR (7.3; 7th).  To this day, he still ranks in the team's top twenty in games started (113; 19th) and is 13th in both complete games and shutouts.  And he accomplished all this despite missing significant chunks of time due to injuries and playing for Mets teams that performed poorly on the offensive side.

Pat Zachry was never going to replace Tom Seaver in the hearts of Mets fans.  Nor was he ever going to replicate Seaver's gaudy numbers on the mound.  But for four seasons before signing his long-term deal, Zachry performed as best as he could given the circumstances he was faced with.  The Mets were a shadow of the team they were in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when they won two National League pennants and a World Series title.  By the time Zachry joined the team in 1977, the Mets had already begun what turned into the darkest seven-year period in club history.  Zachry was one of the lone bright spots on the club, making an All-Star team and winning games when most other Mets pitchers were having difficulty doing the same.

But Zachry was just part of the franchise, not "The Franchise".  He filled his own shoes quite admirably during his time in New York.  If only he hadn't been expected to fill someone else's at the same time...



Note:  The Most With The Least is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who performed at a high level without receiving the accolades or playing time their more established teammates got, due to injuries, executive decisions or other factors.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 4, 2016: Benny Agbayani
January 11, 2016: Donn Clendenon
January 18, 2016: Tim Teufel
January 25, 2016: Hisanori Takahashi
February 1, 2016: Chris Jones
February 8, 2016: Claudell Washington
February 15, 2016: Moises Alou
 

The Most With The Least: Claudell Washington (1980)

There have been many players to have long and distinguished careers in baseball who made brief pit stops as members of the Mets.  Warren Spahn, Willie Mays and Roberto Alomar had already established themselves as future Hall of Famers before they reported for duty in Flushing.  But by the time they joined the Mets, they were a shadow of their former selves and were out of baseball soon after their Mets debuts.

Very rarely has a player come to the Mets as a former All-Star, played well for the team, then left New York to become an All-Star again.  One such example was a player who came to the team as a gifted 25-year-old athlete who had tremendous speed and solid pop in his bat.  He exhibited both of those qualities during his brief tenure with the Mets, but once his 17-year stay in the majors was over, his time with the team was mostly met with "oh, he was once with the Mets?" comments from even the most die-hard fans.

He spent less than four months in a Mets uniform, but his mostly overlooked time with the team produced several magical moments, giving Mets fans credence that "The Magic is Back" was more than just a team slogan.

In 79 games as a Met, Claudell Washington had a full year's production compared to most of his teammates.  (Topps Image)

Claudell Washington was a superstar at a very young age.  Drafted as a 17-year-old amateur free agent by Oakland in 1972, Washington rocketed through the A's minor league system.  After batting .361 with 11 homers and 33 stolen bases in just 74 games at the Double-A level in 1974, Washington was promoted to the majors eight weeks before his 20th birthday, winning a World Series ring with the A's just three and a half months after his call-up.  In his first full season in the big leagues (1975), Washington made the American League All-Star team, collecting a hit and stealing a base in the Midsummer Classic, before getting picked off by Mets pitcher Jon Matlack, who earned the victory in the game.  Washington ended the 1975 campaign with a .308 batting average, ten homers, 40 steals and placed 14th for the A.L. Most Valuable Player award.

But Washington had a disappointing 1976 campaign, showing very little power (5 HR) and having his batting average drop more than fifty points and his OPS tumble by more than one hundred points.  At the same time, the A's were a team in transition.  The advent of free agency caused team owner Charlie Finley to part ways with most of the players that helped the team win five consecutive division titles from 1971 to 1975.  Free agent departures, trades and player releases resulted in four future Hall of Famers - Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Billy Williams and Rollie Fingers - leaving the team.  Veteran players weren't the only casualties of Finley's fire sale, as 22-year-old Claudell Washington was dealt to the Texas Rangers just days before the start of the 1977 season for two minor league players and cash.  It would not be the last time Washington changed uniforms.

Washington was traded five times and signed three free-agent deals with new teams over the course of his lengthy career.  In 1980, he was traded from the Chicago White Sox (his third team) to the Mets.  At the time of the deal, the Mets had recently undergone an ownership change and were desperately trying to attract fans to Shea Stadium.  The team was the first in baseball to hire an advertising agency when they brought in Jerry Della Famina and his partners to come up with a slogan for the team.  "The Magic Is Back" sought to foreshadow that good times were just around the corner at Shea.  But by mid-May, the team was mired in the N.L. East cellar with a 9-18 record.  A month-long burst of energy gave the Mets hope, as the team went 13-8 in their next 21 games.  That was when new general manager Frank Cashen decided he had to bring in a big bat to help the team continue down the winning path, and he did so by trading for Washington.

The Mets had homered just 11 times in their first 48 games, with two of the homers coming in the season's third game.  From April 16 to May 23, the team managed to hit just three homers in 30 games.  Although Washington wasn't a classic slugger, he had an innate ability to drive the ball, as evidenced by his 33 doubles and 13 homers in 131 games for the White Sox in 1979.  And given that Washington was only 25 years old when the Mets acquired him, he still had the potential to develop more power.

His first hit as a Met came during one of the most memorable innings in Mets history, as his RBI single with two outs in the ninth on June 14 brought Steve Henderson to the plate, who delivered a game-ending three-run homer off San Francisco Giants reliever Allen Ripley to complete the improbable five-run ninth-inning rally.  Washington's single in the "Hendu Can Do" game was the only hit he produced in his first two weeks with the team.  His next three hits traveled just a little farther than his first.

Image courtesy of Fleer

On June 22, the Mets played the finale of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, hoping to escape with a victory after dropping the first two contests, which included a shutout loss to Jerry Reuss the day before.  New York wasted no time putting runs up on the scoreboard, using Washington's first home run as a Met to take a 2-0, first-inning lead.  Washington then homered again in the fifth, becoming the first player on the power-starved Mets to have a multi-homer game in 1980.  Two innings later, he completed the trifecta, becoming the third player in franchise history - after Jim Hickman in 1965 and Dave Kingman in 1976 - to hit three home runs in one game.  Washington had a chance to hit a fourth homer in the ninth inning, but singled instead.  He then stole second base, becoming the first Met to have three homers and a stolen base in the same game.  No Mets player matched Washington's feat until Yoenis Cespedes turned the trick in Colorado on August 21, 2015.

Washington's three-homer game was the first time since June 30, 1979 that the team had hit three home runs in one contest.  It was also just the second time during the 1980 campaign that the club had homered more than once in a game.  It didn't take long for the Mets to produce another three-homer game, doing so the next time they took the field two days later in Chicago, and once again Washington left the yard.  With the Mets trailing by two runs in the fifth inning, Washington clubbed a three-run homer off Cubs starting pitcher Rick Reuschel, giving the Mets a 6-5 lead, which the bullpen was able to hold at windy Wrigley Field.

The four homers in two games for Washington proved to be contagious, especially once the calendar turned to July.  After hitting just 15 homers in their first 62 games, the Mets hit 19 home runs in the first 19 games they played in July.  Washington's prodigious power displays rubbed off on fellow outfielder Lee Mazzilli, who hit 11 of those 19 home runs.  Washington played in 14 of the 19 games, putting together a streak where he drove in at least one run in 10 of 11 games.  He also doubled once, legged out three triples, homered twice and stole six bases in the 14-game stretch.

New York reached the .500 mark during the Mazzilli and Washington-fueled hot streak, but then stumbled in August, going 9-20 from August 3 (when the team was just one game under .500 and six games out of first place) until the end of the month.  The Mets scored just 98 runs in those 29 games, as the team's early summer magic went poof.  But the one player who continued to wave a magic wand in August was Claudell Washington.

Washington played in 25 of the 29 games, batting .352 with a .545 slugging percentage.  While his teammates were dormant at the plate, Washington contributed six doubles, a triple, three homers and 14 RBI in just 88 at-bats.  When Washington finally cooled down, the team completely stopped winning.  Literally.  From August 31 to September 27, Washington played in 18 games, putting up a .169/.210/.220 slash line.  The Mets lost all 18 games.

Once the 1980 season had come to its conclusion, with the advertised magic not being all the way back, Washington left the Mets as a free agent, signing a five-year, $3.5 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.  The contract was ridiculed by most baseball pundits, and several baseball owners were stunned by the money Braves owner Ted Turner was throwing at Washington.  Yankees owner George Steinbrenner called Turner "crazy", while Baltimore Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams said the deal was "the most outrageous contract I have ever heard of" and went on to add other opinions on the signing, saying "it's absolutely crazy" and "a touch of madness".  Mets general manager Frank Cashen, who engineered the trade for Washington just five months earlier, had just one word to say on the subject.

(Keith Torrie/NY Daily News)

"Stupefying."

Washington was reunited with his former Mets manager, Joe Torre, in Atlanta after Torre was relieved of his managerial duties in New York following the 1981 season.  Torre's leadership and Washington's bat (he achieved a career high in home runs, RBI and runs scored, while adding 33 stolen bases) helped lead the Braves to a division title in 1982 - the team's first since losing to the Mets in the NLCS in 1969.  Two years later, Washington made his second All-Star team and first as a National League player, entering the game as a defensive replacement for Mets superstar Darryl Strawberry.  Ten years after he played his final game with the Mets, he retired from baseball, spending the final five seasons of his 17-year major league career with the California Angels and New York Yankees.

Claudell Washington's career with the Mets lasted all of 79 games.  He started just 68 times, but still managed to be one of the team's top offensive stars.  He produced a .275/.324/.465 slash line in 306 plate appearances and had 16 doubles, four triples, 10 homers, 42 RBI and 17 stolen bases.  Despite playing in less than half of the team's games in 1980, Washington was second on the Mets in home runs, sixth in doubles, third in triples, sixth in RBI and fourth in steals.  He also led the team in slugging percentage and his 121 OPS+ was second to Lee Mazzilli (126 OPS+).

In 1980, the Mets assured their fans that the magic of the team's past was on its way back to Shea Stadium.  Although the team did not fulfill their end of the bargain for a few more years, the team did give its fans a reason to come out to the ballpark when the trade for Claudell Washington was made.  Washington's performance at the plate and on the basepaths allowed him to leave for greener pastures after the season was over, but he still thrilled Mets fans during the brief time he called Flushing home.

Yes, it's true.  Claudell Washington was actually a Met, even if it was only for four months out of his 17 years in the majors.  If you blinked, you missed it.  But if you were an opposing pitcher facing the Mets during the summer of 1980, then you had a front row seat to what Washington was capable of doing on a baseball diamond.  It's no wonder Ted Turner broke the bank (and the minds of his peers) for a player like Washington.


Note:  The Most With The Least is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who performed at a high level without receiving the accolades or playing time their more established teammates got, due to injuries, executive decisions or other factors.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 4, 2016: Benny Agbayani
January 11, 2016: Donn Clendenon
January 18, 2016: Tim Teufel
January 25, 2016: Hisanori Takahashi
February 1, 2016: Chris Jones

One Mo-MET In Time: Steve Henderson

Every once in a while, a player becomes known for something he has no control over.  It's then up to that player to give people something else to think about whenever his name pops up in a conversation.

One such player became known for a trade he was involved in - a trade that was arguably the most hated transaction in Mets history.  He went on to have a decent career in New York, but did not do nearly enough to make Mets fans forget who he was traded for.  But for one night, he became the talk of the town when he launched a ball into the Flushing sky to give the Mets an unexpected come-from-behind victory that is still being talked about to this day - a victory that made fans truly believe that there was something magical returning to Shea Stadium.

Steve Henderson was one of the key players received in the Tom Seaver trade.

Steven Curtis Henderson was one of the Cincinnati Reds' top outfield prospects in 1976.  During that season, he batted .312 with 17 homers and 44 stolen bases.  Henderson continued his onslaught against minor league opponents in 1977.  Through his first 60 games, Henderson batted .326 with seven homers and 19 steals.  It appeared as if Henderson was on the fast track to the major leagues, but there were three obstacles standing in his way.  Their names were George Foster, Cesar Geronimo and Ken Griffey.

The two-time defending champion Reds had one of the best outfields in the league with top slugger Foster in left, perennial Gold Glove winner Geronimo in center and batting title contender Griffey in right, making Henderson instantly expendable.  During their World Series-winning seasons in 1975 and 1976, the Reds had one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, posting ERAs of 3.39 and 3.51, respectively, on their way to back-to-back titles.  But Cincinnati struggled on the mound during the first two months of the 1977 campaign, with the team ERA ballooning above 4.00.  For the Reds to compete with the surging Dodgers, they needed an upgrade in the starting rotation.  They found a perfect suitor in the New York Mets, who were looking to rid themselves of the best pitcher they ever had.

On June 15, 1977, in a trade that was dubbed "The Midnight Massacre" by the New York media, Tom Seaver was shipped off to Cincinnati in exchange for Henderson, infielder Doug Flynn, outfield prospect Dan Norman and pitcher Pat Zachry (who was the 1976 National League co-Rookie of the Year).  Most of the four players who came to New York did not do much to erase the sting left by the trade of The Franchise.

Flynn did become the first - and only - second baseman to win a Gold Glove for the Mets when he took home the hardware in 1980, but he was as close to an automatic out with the bat as he could possibly be.  After hitting a respectable .275 in two and a half seasons with Cincinnati, Flynn posted a .234 batting average and .264 on-base percentage during his time in New York.

Norman played sparingly in his four seasons with the Mets, never collecting more than 110 at-bats in any campaign.  Like Henderson, he was a power/speed guy, hitting as many as 17 home runs and swiping as many as 33 bags in a minor league season.  But that never translated at the major league level, as Norman had a total of nine homers and eight steals in 139 games as a Met.

Zachry's promising rookie campaign with the Reds did not blossom into an illustrious career in New York.  Although Zachry was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1980, he never started more than 26 games in any of his six seasons with the Mets because of nagging injuries.  Zachry's 41 wins from 1977 to 1982 did not make anyone forget about another No. 41, and because Zachry wasn't Tom Seaver, he had no chance to be as good as he could have been in New York.

That left Steve Henderson to be "the guy" in the deal.  Manager Joe Torre was adamant that some day the trade of Seaver was going to be known as the Steve Henderson trade.  Henderson actually had a very good rookie campaign in New York in 1977.  Although he didn't make his Mets debut until June 16, Henderson still managed to post a .297/.372/.480 slash line in 99 games.  Henderson also collected 16 doubles, six triples, 12 HR and 65 RBI, while scoring 67 runs for a Mets team that finished with its worst record since Seaver's rookie season in 1967.

Henderson lost out on the Rookie of the Year Award by just one vote to future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, despite posting a higher batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage than the Expos' right fielder.  Henderson also scored more runs, drew more walks and tied Dawson in RBI even though he played in 40 fewer games than the Hawk.

The 1978 and 1979 campaigns were mostly forgettable for the Mets, but quite solid for Steve Henderson, as the young left fielder posted career highs in doubles (30), triples (9) and runs scored (83) in 1978, then followed that up with his first .300 campaign, as he batted .306 for the Mets in 1979.  Clearly, Henderson had become one of the bright stars in New York, even with the team going through its darkest period.

In 1980, the team started to alter its course, as new majority owner Nelson Doubleday hired an experienced general manager with a winning pedigree in Frank Cashen.  Doubleday also enlisted the services of advertising executive Jerry Della Famina to come up with a catchy slogan for the Mets.  "The Magic Is Back" proclaimed to Mets fans that the team's losing ways were coming to an end, and that there would be good times to be had at Shea Stadium in the new decade.  Steve Henderson did his part to contribute to this magical feeling, and did it in a most dramatic and unexpected fashion.

Despite the new slogan, there was nothing that would suggest that the 1980 Mets were going to be a much better team than their 1979 counterparts. The '79 squad needed to win its final six games just to avoid a 100-loss season.  The '80 team appeared headed down that 100-loss road during the season's first month, losing 18 of its first 27 games.  But then something - perhaps something magical - began to happen at Shea Stadium.  The Mets started to win with regularity, going 17-10 over their next 27 games.  And they saved their best for last, winning four games in walk-off fashion over the 27-game stretch.

On June 14, the Mets were trying to pull to within one game of the .500 mark as they hosted the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium.  But after falling behind by five runs going to the bottom of the eighth inning, it appeared as if the team would have to wait another day before continuing their march to the .500 mark.  That is, until Steve Henderson took control of the night's festivities.

The Mets were four outs away from dropping a 6-1 decision to the Giants when Henderson lashed a two-out RBI single off John Montefusco.  It appeared to be a meaningless hit when John Stearns struck out to end the rally, leaving the Mets within four runs of the Giants going into the ninth inning.  Reliever Jeff Reardon struck out the side in the top of the ninth, giving the Mets one last chance to erase the seemingly insurmountable deficit.  But a pair of groundouts sandwiched around a Doug Flynn single left the Mets an out away from defeat with the tying run sitting somewhere on the bench.  The Mets needed, for lack of a better expression, magic to come back against Giants closer Greg Minton.  And magic they received.

With wands shaped like bats, New York mounted a furious comeback.  First, Lee Mazzilli drove in Flynn with a single to make it 6-3.  Then Frank Taveras walked to bring up the tying run to the plate in Claudell Washington.  Washington then singled to center, bringing home Mazzilli and putting the tying runs on base for Henderson.  Giants manager Dave Bristol then called upon reliever Allen Ripley to face Henderson.  Ripley was prone to serving up the long ball, having allowed 20 homers in 150⅓ career innings prior to his tête-à-tête with Henderson. But that was the furthest thing from Bristol's mind when he brought in Ripley because Henderson, surprisingly enough, had yet to go deep in 1980.

After reaching double digits in home runs in two of his first three seasons with the Mets, Henderson had not homered in any of his first 188 plate appearances in 1980.  His strength was in the batting average department, where he was hitting .340 to find himself among the National League leaders.  But with one swing of the bat, Henderson made Bristol pay for doubting his ability to hit with power and proved that at least for one night, the magic was indeed back at Shea Stadium.

(Please scroll to the 50:58 mark of the video to see the full ninth inning or just click on the link above.)

YouTube video courtesy of Larry Arnold/ClassicMLB11 

Henderson's three-run opposite-field homer completed the miraculous five-run rally against the Giants, giving the Mets a thrilling 7-6 victory and moving the team to within one game of the .500 mark.  New York would eventually reach the break-even point in mid-July, but couldn't maintain its good fortune throughout the season, although they did manage to stay out of the NL East cellar for the first time in four seasons.

Steve Henderson finished the 1980 campaign with a .290 batting average, 17 doubles, eight triples, eight home runs and 58 RBI.  He also scored 75 runs and stole a career-high 23 bases.  But by not hitting a home run until mid-June, even though that homer was the liveliest moment for a moribund team, the front office decided that there needed to be a more consistent power threat in the lineup.  After all, no Met had hit as many as 20 homers in a season since Dave Kingman launched 37 blasts in 1976.  With no internal options appearing to be headed toward a 20-homer season, Frank Cashen did what worked for the Mets in the mid-'70s.  He brought Kingman back to New York, trading Henderson to the Chicago Cubs for the surly slugger.

The irony of bring traded for Kingman, another victim of the Midnight Massacre trades conducted by the Mets in 1977, did not escape Henderson.

"It seems every time I get traded, it's for the big guy.  Tom Seaver in 1977.  Now, Dave Kingman."

Henderson was correct.  Seaver was a three-time Cy Young Award winner when he was traded to Cincinnati for a package that included Henderson, while Kingman crushed 111 homers and made the All-Star team twice in the three and a half years he was away from New York.

Upon his return to the Big Apple, Kingman produced the first 20-homer campaign for the Mets in five years when he collected 22 round-trippers during the strike-shortened 1981 season.  He then hit a league-leading 37 homers in 1982.  But by 1983, Kingman had worn out his second visit to New York and was released.  He was later signed by the Oakland A's, producing three seasons of 30-plus homers, the latter two as a teammate of Steve Henderson, who by then was a part-time outfielder and occasional designated hitter.  Henderson spent his final season in the big leagues in 1988 as a member of the Houston Astros, then played in the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league system in 1989 until announcing his retirement from professional baseball at age 36.

When Tom Seaver was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline in 1977, Steve Henderson became one of four players who were asked to fill the huge void left by the departure of The Franchise.  Doug Flynn, Dan Norman and Pat Zachry never became the players the Mets expected them to be.  But Joe Torre knew that Steve Henderson wasn't going to fail, which is why he expected the deal to someday become known as the Steve Henderson trade.  That didn't quite happen, but it wasn't because Henderson didn't become a good player.

Steve Henderson was one of the offensive leaders on a Mets team that didn't have much offense.  During his four years with the Mets, Henderson led the team in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.  His 31 triples led all Mets players from 1977 to 1980 and only Lee Mazzilli had more hits and scored more runs.  When he played his final game as a Met, Henderson was the team's all-time leader in batting average (min. 1,000 plate appearances).  Henderson was also among the top ten leaders in runs scored, triples, stolen bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, while falling just outside the top ten in hits, doubles, walks and RBI.

Entering the 1980 campaign, the Mets had a new owner, a new general manager and a new attitude, proclaiming that the magic was back at Shea Stadium - magic that had been lost since Tom Seaver's last full season as a Met.  And for one night in mid-June, the magic did indeed come back on the strength of an incredible ninth-inning rally capped off by Steve Henderson's long overdue first home run of the season.  Fans at Shea Stadium on that glorious June evening did not want to leave the park, celebrating until minority owner Fred Wilpon urged Henderson to come back onto the field to acknowledge the euphoric crowd.

For as much as Henderson did in his four years as a Met, no moment was as big as what became known as the "Hendu Can Do" home run.  The Mets were a lousy team from 1977 to 1983, but even a second division squad can have its bright spots.  And that's exactly what Steve Henderson provided on June 14, 1980.  Henderson never quite replaced Tom Seaver in the hearts of Mets fans, but still provided a seminal moment during a time when Mets fans needed something to cheer about.

And it's a moment that still resonates with Mets fans who experienced it.


Note:  One Mo-MET In Time is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who will forever be known for a single moment, game or event, regardless of whatever else they accomplished during their tenure with the Mets.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 5, 2015: Mookie Wilson 
January 12, 2015: Dave Mlicki

The Best On The Worst: Hubie Brooks

For nearly two decades, the third base position resembled a game of musical chairs for the Mets.  New York used 16 different players at the hot corner in their first 20 Opening Day games, with no third baseman starting more than two season openers.

Don Zimmer was the first third baseman in team history.  After getting the Opening Day nod in 1962, Zimmer went on to play just 13 more games at the position for the Mets.  Similarly, Opening Day starters Charlie Neal (1963), Ron Hunt (1964), Joe Foy (1970), Bob Aspromonte (1971) and Joe Torre (1975) all failed to play 100 games at the hot corner during their Mets careers.

Through 1981, only Wayne Garrett had played more than 250 games at third base for the Mets, as New York had tried (and failed) to acquire players to fill the void at the position for nearly two decades.  For example, in December 1969, the Mets traded Amos Otis to Kansas City for third baseman Joe Foy.  Otis went on to become a five-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner for the Royals, collecting over 2,000 hits in a big league career that lasted until 1984 and included five trips to the postseason.  Foy played one season with the Mets and was out of baseball following the 1971 season.  Two years after the Otis-for-Foy deal, the Mets acquired Jim Fregosi from the California Angels to play third base.  Fregosi played just 103 games at the hot corner and was a former Met by July 1973.  The man he was traded for, Nolan Ryan, went on to pitch seven no-hitters, struck out 5,714 batters and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

Clearly, the Mets did not have much success cultivating third baseman or trading for them.  But by the time the team was about to begin its third decade in the National League, they had finally found their man.  And he ended up helping the team in more ways than anyone could have expected.

A young Hubie Brooks before he became the first true regular third baseman for the Mets.

Hubert Brooks was selected by the Mets with the third overall pick in the 1978 June amateur draft.  Like his future teammate, Craig Swan, Brooks went to Arizona State University, helping the Sun Devils to two College World Series appearances and one national championship.  Brooks got off to a slow start at Double-A Jackson in 1978, batting .216 in 45 games.  But Brooks became a hit machine in 1979, splitting time between Jackson and AAA-Tidewater.  The 22-year-old batted .309 with a .389 on-base percentage in 117 games, then followed up his tremendous '79 campaign by finishing ninth in the International League in batting average in 1980 with a .297 mark.

By September 1980, the magic of a promising season at Shea Stadium had long since faded, so the team decided to call up many of its minor league stars in the hopes that some might play well enough to stick around for the 1981 season.  Second baseman Wally Backman and center fielder Mookie Wilson were two of the prized prospects who made their major league debuts in September.  Two days after Backman and Wilson played in their first games, Hubie Brooks joined the party, becoming the team's latest third baseman.  Prior to Brooks' call-up, Elliott Maddox had played third base for the Mets since 1978.  Once Brooks made his debut, the higher-salaried Maddox started just six more games at the position and was released the following February, despite being under contract through the 1982 season.

Brooks had a terrific 24-game tryout with the Mets in 1980, batting .309 with a homer and 10 RBI.  With Maddox gone, there was no one in Brooks' way to claim the everyday job at third base in 1981.  Brooks delivered in his first full season in the majors, batting .307 with 21 doubles, four homers and 38 RBI in 98 games.  Brooks' 110 hits led the Mets, as no other player on the team managed to bang out 90 safeties during the strike-shortened 1981 season.  Brooks' .307 average was also good enough to place him eighth in the National League in batting.

For his efforts, Brooks finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, behind Fernando Valenzuela and Tim Raines.  Brooks became the seventh Met to finish in the top three after Ron Hunt (1963; 2nd place), Tom Seaver (1967; 1st), Jerry Koosman (1968; 2nd), Jon Matlack (1972; 1st), John Milner (1972; 3rd) and Steve Henderson (1977; 2nd).

After years of trying to find a regular third baseman (Garrett played in 711 games at third, but only played 100-plus games at the position in two of his eight seasons in New York), the Mets finally had their man in Hubie Brooks.  Not only was he among the top hitters in the league at a young age, but he was quickly becoming a fan favorite.  And he needed to be loved if he was going to get through a subpar 1982 campaign.

In 1982, Brooks struggled for the first time in the major leagues.  Through June 27, Brooks hit .262 with no homers in 231 plate appearances.  A hamstring injury kept him out of action for almost a month, but when he returned in late July, he performed even worse than he did in the first half, batting .239 with two homers and 16 RBI in 68 games.  One of the reasons for Brooks' poor season was his inability to come through with runners in scoring position, as the 24-year-old batted just .236 in those situations in 1982.  One year later, that problem was fixed.

Although Brooks hit just .251 overall in 1983, he batted .347 with runners in scoring position.  As a result, Brooks drove in 58 runs despite hitting only five homers.  His RBI total placed him third on the team, after sluggers George Foster (90 RBI) and Darryl Strawberry (74 RBI).

Hubie Brooks is congratulated by George Foster and Darryl Strawberry, the only Mets to have more RBI than Brooks in 1983.

Through four seasons as a Met, Brooks had hit just 12 homers, far fewer than what is normally expected from a corner infielder.  Although he had given the Mets a stable presence at a position that was known for its instability, he still had a lot of work to do to become the third baseman the Mets truly wanted.  The Mets hadn't had a third baseman hit more than 15 homers in a season since Garrett accomplished the feat in 1973 - the last time the Mets qualified for the postseason.  Brooks would eventually join Garrett in the pantheon of powerful third basemen, just in time for the team to return to contention for the first time since Garrett's last game as a Met.

In 1984, new manager Davey Johnson guided the Mets to their first winning season since 1976 and only the second 90-win campaign in club history.  Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry, who were in St. Louis and Tidewater, respectively, at the beginning of the 1983 season, were two of the Mets' top players going into the 1984 season.  Also new to the team were Ron Darling and rookie phenom Dwight Gooden, who would comprise two-fifths of the starting rotation for the rest of the decade.

With Brooks no longer needing to be one of the top offensive threats on the team, he went on to post his best season as a Met in 1984, although he started off poorly, batting .203 with eight RBI in the month of April.  He did, however, hit three homers in the season's first month.  It would be a portent of things to come for the once power-starved Brooks.

From May 1 to June 1, Brooks batted .398 and posted a .530 slugging percentage.  More importantly, he collected at least one hit in all 24 games he played, breaking Mike Vail's franchise-record 23-game hitting streak.  Brooks' 24-game skein would remain unsurpassed for nearly a quarter century, until David Wright hit in 26 straight games from 2006 to 2007.  Brooks' single-season record remained intact until Moises Alou posted a 30-game hitting streak in August and September 2007.  (Mike Piazza had tied Brooks' record with a 24-game streak of his own in 1999.)

After going 2-for-24 in his first six games following the 24-game streak, Brooks continued to pound the ball, batting .352 with ten doubles, five homers and 20 RBI over his next 43 games.  More importantly from a team perspective, the Mets went 31-12 over those games to move into first place in the NL East.  But when the Mets lost seven consecutive games in late July and early August to fall out of first place, general manager Frank Cashen decided the team needed to add a veteran presence to the lineup.  In late August, that presence arrived in the form of third baseman Ray Knight, which forced Hubie Brooks to move to the shortstop position in place of the light-hitting, but sure-handed Jose Oquendo.  The Mets never recovered from their seven-game losing streak, conceding the division to the Chicago Cubs, but Brooks finally had his breakout season, batting .283 with 16 homers and 73 RBI.

Brooks' offensive contributions at the shortstop position opened eyes in the Mets organization as well as another team up north.  And with the Mets seeking an upgrade at catcher after Mike Fitzgerald, Ron Hodges, Junior Ortiz and John Gibbons combined to hit .219 (129-for-588) with three homers and 56 RBI in 1984, the Montreal Expos began to engage in a discussion with Cashen and the Mets.  The Expos, needing offense and steadiness at the shortstop position (no Expo started more than 57 games at short in 1984 and the six players who played the position combined to hit .212 with no homers), coveted Hubie Brooks as well as a few other prospects in the Mets organization.  They would send the Mets perennial All-Star Gary Carter in exchange.  The deal was a no-brainer, as Carter would not only improve the Mets' offense dramatically, but he would help mold the young pitching staff into a powerhouse.  Once the Mets threw in pitcher Floyd Youmans, outfielder Herm Winningham and Fitzgerald, the Mets had their new catcher.  On December 10, 1984, Hubie Brooks became an ex-Met and the Gary Carter era began in New York.

Gary Carter waved hello to New York as Hubie Brooks said his goodbyes.

Carter produced two epic seasons for the Mets in 1985 and 1986, helping the Mets win their second World Series championship.  Meanwhile, Brooks continued to play for middle-of-the-division teams in Montreal during his five-year stay with the Expos.  However, his growth as a Met in 1984 continued as an Expo, as Brooks became one of the top offensive threats in the league.

In his first season with Montreal, Brooks produced career highs in hits (163), doubles (34), triples (7), runs scored (67) and RBI (100).  Brooks continued to be an exceptional hitter with runners in scoring position, as he achieved his first 100-RBI campaign despite hitting only 13 homers.  At the end of the season, Brooks received MVP consideration and won his first Silver Slugger Award.

Brooks continued to be a star in Canada, winning his second Silver Slugger in 1986 and making the All-Star team twice (1986, 1987).  Because of an assortment of injuries, Brooks played only 80 games in 1986 (his season ended, coincidentally, in a series against the Mets), but at the time of his season-ending thumb injury on August 1, Brooks was leading the league in batting with a .340 average.  He had also smacked 14 homers and driven in 58 runs, putting him on pace to become the power-hitting infielder the Mets had always wanted him to be.

From 1987 to 1989, Brooks averaged 29 doubles, 16 homers and 77 RBI for the Expos, producing his first 20-homer season in the majors in 1988.  After signing a free agent contract with his hometown Dodgers, Brooks put up his second 20-homer campaign in 1990.  But by then, Brooks was a right fielder, as he had been moved there by the Expos in 1988.  And when Los Angeles ripped Darryl Strawberry away from the Mets with a lucrative free agent deal, Brooks was a man without a position.  He was also about to be a man reunited with his former team.

A month after the Dodgers signed Strawberry, Brooks was traded back to the Mets for pitchers Bob Ojeda and Greg Hansell.  Brooks was a fan favorite during his first stint with the Mets in the early '80s.  But this was a new decade and Brooks was replacing one of the most popular players in franchise history.  The pressure proved to be too much for the Mets' new right fielder, as Brooks batted .238 with 16 homers and 50 RBI in 1991.  By comparison, in Strawberry's last season in New York, he had 21 homers and 56 RBI by the All-Star Break.

Brooks averaged 56 extra-base hits per season from 1984 to 1990, but produced half of that amount in '91, adding 11 doubles and one triple to his 16 homers.  As a result of his poor season, Brooks did not get another chance with the Mets to prove himself as a capable major league hitter.  After a one-year return (and seven years to the day after the Mets traded him to Montreal in 1984), Brooks was shipped back to California, this time to the Angels in return for outfielder Dave Gallagher.  Brooks was a part-time player for the Angels in 1992 before finishing out his career as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1993 and 1994.  Although his career was over, Brooks had no regrets about his time in the big leagues, saying:

"The best thing that happened to me was to start my career where and when I did.  I really enjoyed it.  To see it change, it was so exciting to see. ... I never won (a World Series) and it would've been nice to have won one.  But that's how the game is.  That trade (for Gary Carter) had to be made for them to get what they wanted.  I've never felt bad about that.  Something had to go and it was me.  I never took it personal.  At least the Mets thought well enough of me to give me my first opportunity." 

Hubie Brooks played 15 seasons in the major leagues, but only six of them came with the Mets.  From 1980 to 1983, Brooks played on teams that finished in last place or next-to-last.  Then, after finally tasting success with the Mets in 1984, the team traded him to Montreal.  During his six seasons away from the team, the Mets won two division titles and were runners-up in the NL East the other four years.  But once Brooks returned in 1991, he was a shadow of his former self and so were the Mets, finishing below .500 for the first time since 1983.

When Brooks was traded to the Expos after the 1984 season, he was only the second Met to play in more than 250 games at third base, manning the hot corner in 516 contests.  He was also the first player in club history to have three seasons in which he played 100 or more games at third base, basically making him the first regular third baseman to suit up for the Mets in the team's first quarter century.

Brooks played his final game with the Mets in 1991, ending his second stint with the team among the team leaders in various offensive categories.  But among third basemen in franchise history, Brooks ranks in the top five in virtually every category.  For players who played at least 50% of their games at third base, Brooks ranks highly in hits (640; 4th among Mets third basemen), doubles (96; 3rd), triples (12; 5th), home runs (44; 5th), RBI (269; 4th) and runs scored (244; 4th).  Before Howard Johnson and David Wright became the best offensive third basemen in franchise history, the clear star at the position was Hubie Brooks.

In addition to his fine play as a Met, Brooks was also a great offensive player during the time between his two stints in New York, particularly as a shortstop.  Through the 2013 season, Brooks remains one of just seven National League shortstops to ever win multiple Silver Slugger Awards at the position, joining Garry Templeton (1980, 1984), Dave Concepcion (1981-82), Barry Larkin (1988-92, 1995-96, 1998-99), Edgar Renteria (2000, 2002-03), Hanley Ramirez (2008-09), Troy Tulowitzki (2010-11) and Ian Desmond (2012-13).

Brooks played 1,645 in the major leagues with five teams.  But he never made the playoffs with any of them.  Only 43 players have played in more games without appearing in the postseason.  And Brooks is one of only 32 players in history to play at least 15 seasons without a sniff of October baseball.  Of course, that's what happens when you play on just five winning teams in 15 years.  And that was expected if you were a member of the Mets in the early '80s or early '90s.

Hubie Brooks had the misfortune of playing for some lousy Mets teams during his decade and a half in the big leagues.  But if that's all you remember about Brooks, then you missed out on a pretty special ballplayer.  There was a reason why Brooks was cheered loudly with choruses of "HUUU-bie" during his time as a Met.  Ending a two-decade game of musical chairs at third base had quite a bit to do with that.  So did timely hitting on a team that desperately needed something to cheer about.  The kid from California was quite the hit in New York.

Hubie Brooks should be proud of his career.  He was certainly a fan-favorite playing for teams that did not have many fans.

Note:  The Best On The Worst is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting the greatest Mets players who just happened to play on some not-so-great Mets teams.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 6, 2014: Todd Hundley 
January 13, 2014: Al Jackson
January 20, 2014: Lee Mazzilli
January 27, 2014: Steve Trachsel
February 3, 2014: Rico Brogna
February 10, 2014: Skip Lockwood 
February 17, 2014: Ron Hunt
February 24, 2014: Craig Swan