Curtis Granderson warms up in right field before a game. Not many other Mets have been able to say the same since 2014. (Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)
It's been more than a quarter century since Darryl Strawberry patrolled right field for the last time as a member of the New York Mets. Since then, the Mets have used 17 different Opening Day right fielders. Sixteen of them made their Opening Day starts in the 23 seasons between 1991 (when Hubie Brooks replaced Strawberry in right) and 2013 (when Marlon Byrd became the word at the outfield position). No Met started more than three Opening Day games in right field in those 23 seasons and none started more than two consecutive season openers.
Of the 126 players who succeeded Strawberry in right, only 17 of them played at least 100 games at the position. And in the 23 seasons following the Straw Man's departure, no Met played as many as 300 games in right field, as Jeromy Burnitz's total of 290 games in right led all players from 1991 to 2013. But after a quarter century, the Mets may finally have found their first everyday right fielder since Darryl packed his bags to go home to Los Angeles.
Curtis Granderson signed a four-year contract with the Mets prior to the 2014 campaign. It wasn't the first time the team had signed a right fielder to a lengthy contract, as the aforementioned Bonilla signed a five-year deal with the Mets following the 1991 season, only to see him shift over to each corner infield position and eventually run himself out of town with a year and a half left on his contract.
As in Bonilla's case, Granderson had a subpar first season in New York. Bonilla's final year in Pittsburgh in 1991 saw him produce a .302 batting average, a league-leading 44 doubles and his third 100-RBI campaign in four seasons. As the Mets' new right fielder in 1992, Bonilla batted just .249 with 70 RBI and fewer extra-base hits (23 doubles, 19 homers) than he had doubles in 1991. Granderson, who produced back-to-back 40-HR campaigns with the Yankees in his final two healthy seasons with the team in 2011 and 2012, did not drive in many runs for the Mets as a middle-of-the-order hitter in 2014 and was eventually moved to the leadoff spot because of his ability to draw walks. His first season as a Met was mostly underwhelming, as he batted .227 with 20 homers, 66 RBI and 73 runs scored in 155 games, with 142 of those games seeing Granderson playing right field.
Granderson's sophomore season in Flushing was a smashing success, as he posted a .259/.364/.457 slash line. His .821 OPS was over one hundred points higher than the .714 OPS he produced in 2014. He also scored 98 runs and walked 91 times, the most by any Mets right fielder since Strawberry, who scored 101 runs in 1988 and walked 97 times in 1987. In doing so, Granderson became just the seventh player in Mets history - regardless of position - to have 90+ runs and 90+ walks in the same season. The other six players are among the best in team history - Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Carlos Beltran and David Wright.
Who would have thought Granderson would ever be on a list with these guys?
Including last night's game - one in which Granderson had a very Strawberry-like performance with two homers and five runs batted in - Granderson has started 286 games in right field since joining the Mets in 2014. He has also played in 20 other games in right that he did not start, giving him 306 games played in right field - the most by any player on the Mets since Strawberry departed via free agency more than a quarter century ago.
As of this writing, only Strawberry (1,062 games), Rusty Staub (535 games), Ron Swoboda (434 games) and Joel Youngblood (309 games) have appeared in more games in right field for the Mets. By early next week, Granderson should pass Youngblood into fourth place and should Granderson stay healthy, he'll pass Swoboda by the end of the season.
For the better part of a quarter century, the Mets struggled to find anyone resembling a permanent replacement for Darryl Strawberry in right field. In the 21-plus seasons before Strawberry's debut in May 1983, the Mets had trotted out 77 different right fielders. In the 23 seasons following the Straw Man's departure, New York chewed up and spit out 125 right fielders. The 126th right fielder is finally making the position his own.
Until David Wright joined the team in 2004, the running gag was to keep track of the number of third basemen in team history. (For the record, Wright was the 129th Met to man the hot corner.) As of today, the Mets have used 158 players at third base. Meanwhile, a total of 221 players have found themselves playing right field for the Mets at least once in their careers. Curtis Granderson is doing all he can to make sure that number stays in the 220s until his contract expires after the 2017 campaign.
It's good to know that the Mets finally have a productive player in right field after so many years of searching for one. A 25-year game of musical chairs was far too long.
One of the worst feelings for a promising minor league talent is knowing his path to the majors is being blocked by a productive veteran. It happens to young prospects all the time, causing those players to be misused at the major league level when a space eventually opens up for them on the parent club's roster. Unfortunately, many of those misused players end up having relatively short careers and their potential on the big league diamond is never fully realized.
Occasionally, a team that can't guarantee playing time to a young star at the major league level ends up trading that player to a team that can offer him a more steady job. Sometimes, all it takes is a trade to a new environment for that player's talents to shine. And in the late 1960s, one such player found his way to success as a member of the New York Mets.
Art Shamsky's left-handed power was crucial in the Mets' drive to October glory. (Warren Zvon/Mets Fantasy Cards)
Arthur Louis Shamsky was born in 1941 to Jewish parents in St. Louis. Signed as an amateur free agent by Cincinnati in 1959, Shamsky was a power-hitting outfielder in the Reds' minor league system, clubbing 92 home runs from 1960 to 1964. Even though he had proven himself in the minor leagues, spending the entire 1963 and 1964 campaigns at the Triple-A level, his road to everyday success in the majors was blocked by the Reds' potent outfield. With young star Tommy Harper manning one corner outfield position and future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson handling the other, Shamsky didn't make the jump to the majors until 1965, and even then, the Reds could only give him 96 at-bats, mostly as a pinch-hitter, as he started just 12 of the 64 games he played in.
Cincinnati had two 20-game winners in 1965 in Sammy Ellis and Jim Maloney, but the team's combined ERA was ninth in the ten-team National League, with only the Mets posting a worse earned run average as a team. Because of the Reds' shortcomings on the mound, Reds owner Bill DeWitt went into the 1965-66 off-season coveting starting pitchers. At the same time, he thought 30-year-old Frank Robinson was past his prime and felt he was expendable. As a result, DeWitt traded Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles for two-time All-Star pitcher Milt Pappas and two other players in what became one of the most lopsided trades in major league history.
Pappas never panned out in Cincinnati, while Robinson went on to win a Triple Crown in his first season in Baltimore and eventually wore an Orioles cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. The Robinson trade didn't help the Reds, but did help further the career of Art Shamsky, who appeared to be in line to earn more at-bats in 1966 with the departure of Robinson. Or so he thought.
In 1966, the Reds moved third baseman Deron Johnson - who had a league-leading 130 RBI in 1965 - to left field and shifted Tommy Harper from left to right. As a result, Shamsky started just 63 games for the Reds in '66. However, Shamsky made the most of his opportunity when he did receive a rare start, blasting 21 homers in 234 at-bats.
Although Shamsky was one of the team's top home run hitters in 1966, he did not cross the plate very often nor did he drive in many runners other than himself. Despite his 21 homers, he scored just 41 times and produced 47 RBI. In doing so, he became the first player in major league history to hit 20 or more homers while failing to score 50 runs or drive in 50. And since then, only seven players have been able to match Shamsky's feat.
Without the Baseball Reference Play Index, Shamsky's feat would have remained an urban legend.
Shamsky failed to capitalize on his breakout season, batting .197 with just three homers in 147 at-bats during the 1967 campaign. Although he was still only 26 years old, the Reds traded him to the New York Mets at the conclusion of the season for veteran utility infielder Bob Johnson. Nineteen days after Shamsky became a Met, the team made an unorthodox trade, sending pitcher Bill Denehy and cash to the Washington Senators for manager Gil Hodges.
The arrival of Hodges changed Shamsky's career forever, as Hodges believed in a platoon system in which he assembled his starting lineup according to the opponent's starting pitcher. Now, rather than being relegated to the bench the way he was throughout most of his career in Cincinnati, the left-handed hitting Shamsky would get an opportunity to start against right-handed pitchers. As a result, Shamsky started in 87 of the Mets' 162 games in 1968, collecting 30 extra-base hits (including 12 homers) in 345 at-bats.
Although Shamsky batted just .238 in his first year with the team, that was still higher than the team's .228 overall batting average in what became known as "The Year of the Pitcher". Shamsky finished eighth on the team in at-bats, yet still finished third in doubles (tied with Ron Swoboda), second in triples (tied with Cleon Jones) and third in homers. His 48 RBI were also good for fourth on the team, just 11 behind team leader Swoboda. If there was one negative about Shamsky's 1968 campaign, it was his 58 strikeouts against 21 walks. By today's standards, that may not seem like a tremendous number of whiffs. But it was highly unusual for Shamsky, who prided himself on being a good contact hitter. The "high" strikeout total was something Shamsky set out to correct in 1969, and in doing so, he enjoyed his most complete season at the plate and his greatest team success.
From 1965 to 1968, Shamsky posted a .231 batting average and .723 OPS. He also struck out 166 times (and drew 78 walks) in 822 at-bats, averaging a strikeout every 4.95 at-bats. A back injury suffered in spring training caused Shamsky to miss the first 30 games of the 1969 season. But when he returned to the Mets in mid-May, he was far more focused at the plate, and the team benefited from the new Art Shamsky.
Shamsky made his season debut with a pinch-hit RBI single against the Atlanta Braves on May 13. By the All-Star break, he was batting .343 with a .997 OPS in 140 at-bats. He also drew 22 walks while striking out just 19 times as part of a right field platoon with Ron Swoboda. Then, beginning in mid-August, Shamsky started 30 of the team's next 43 games. Three of the 13 games he did not start were due to his observance of Rosh Hashanah, even though the team was facing right-handed starting pitchers in those games. The Mets won all three games sat out by Shamsky - plus 25 of the 30 contests he did start - on their way to winning their first National League East crown.
Photo by The Sporting News
Despite spending the first month of the 1969 campaign on the disabled list with a back injury, Shamsky surpassed 300 at-bats for the second consecutive season. He also batted .300 for the first time in his career, adding 14 homers and 47 RBI, while finishing the year with more walks (36) than strikeouts (32). Shamsky finished second on the team in both batting average and home runs. He was also the team's first runner-up in on-base percentage (.375), OPS (.863) and OPS+ (139). And despite Cleon Jones's team-leading .340 batting average and Tommie Agee's club-topping 26 homers, it was Shamsky who led the team with a .488 slugging percentage.
Shamsky continued his torrid hitting in the National League Championship Series, collecting seven hits in the three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta used right-handed starting pitchers in all three games, allowing Shamsky to start each game over Swoboda, who did not have a single plate appearance in the short series. Shamsky set the tone for the series in Game One, collecting the Mets' first hit and crossing the plate on a Jerry Grote single. He then contributed another single - his third hit of the game - during the Mets' five-run eighth inning rally, which turned a 5-4 deficit into a 9-5 lead. The Mets won Game One, then took the next two games, with Shamsky producing four more hits. But just as Shamsky earned playing time over Swoboda in the NLCS, he spent most of the World Series on the bench, as the Mets faced southpaw starters four times in the Fall Classic. Shamsky did not collect a hit against Baltimore in the World Series, but he did collect a ring after the Mets dispatched in Orioles in five games.
The Mets failed to defend their World Series title in 1970, but Shamsky finally succeeded in becoming a regular player for the first time. Shamsky continued to platoon in right field with Ron Swoboda, but also logged significant time as part of a first base platoon with Donn Clendenon. Originally, Ed Kranepool was supposed to be the left-handed hitting complement to the righty-swinging Clendenon at first, but Kranepool experienced the worst slump of his career during the first few months of the 1970 campaign and was subsequently sent to the minors, allowing Shamsky to become the starting first baseman whenever the Mets were facing a right-handed starting pitcher.
Used mostly out of the cleanup spot in the Mets' batting order, Shamsky started over 100 games for the first and only time in his career in 1970. He had his greatest success in the month of May, when he put up a .341/.416/.580 slash line in 24 starts. During the month, he produced six doubles, five homers and 17 RBI, all while splitting time between right field (13 starts), first base (nine starts) and left field (two starts). He also struck out just seven times in 101 plate appearances, while walking a dozen times.
New York may not have recaptured the glory from their miraculous 1969 campaign in 1970, but Shamsky did have a spectacular season of his own, setting career highs in runs scored (48), RBI (49), hits (118) and extra-base hits (32). He also led the team with a .293 batting average and produced his second straight season with an OPS above .800. And once again, he finished the year with more walks (49) than strikeouts (33).
Sadly, the 1971 campaign would be Shamsky's fourth and final season in New York. For the second time in three years, injuries curtailed his campaign, but this time Shamsky could not recover from his nagging aches and pains, batting .185 with five homers in 18 RBI in 135 at-bats. The only positive thing to come out of Shamsky's 1971 season was that he once again walked more times than he struck out, drawing 21 bases on balls while fanning 18 times.
Just one day after the conclusion of the 1971 World Series, Shamsky was part of an eight-player deal between the Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, he never played a game for his hometown team, as he was released by the Cards at the end of spring training and signed with the rival Chicago Cubs. Shamsky then split the 1972 season between the Cubs and the Oakland A's before being released by Oakland in July, just three months before the A's won the World Series.
When he played his final game in the majors, Shamsky was 30 years old. Only once in his eight-year major league career did he play enough to reach 400 at-bats, but he never had a problem with the fact that he did not become a true everyday player. While in New York, Shamsky learned to love his adopted city, just as Mets fans - especially ones of the Jewish faith - embraced him.
(Barry Talesnick/Globe Photos)
"I learned that New York City is really one of a kind. ... The city energizes you. There is never a dull moment in New York City. After a few months I fell in love with the city. ... I was okay with it now."
Art Shamsky found the role he was perfect for as a member of the New York Mets. In his four years with the team, Shamsky accepted the platoon philosophy of manager Gil Hodges, becoming one of the most valuable members of a championship team. To this day, he is beloved by Mets fans young and old. He is also respected by his peers in the Jewish sports community, who inducted him into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
He may have averaged just 296 at-bats per season during his tenure in New York, but Shamsky always made the most of those opportunities, appearing among the team leaders in virtually every offensive category despite his limited number of plate appearances. That is why whenever the topic comes up of which player accomplished the most on the
Mets with the least amount of playing time, Art Shamsky is sure to be
one of the players in the conversation.
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 February 22, 2016: Pat Zachry
There are complete baseball players who are good at everything on the field (see Mays, Willie) and then there are one-dimensional players, who are excellent in one aspect of the game but are considered a liability at other facets (Rob Deer comes to mind). When Deer retired, he was known for being a great power hitter and not much else. A fan would be hard-pressed to recall any memory of Deer that did not involve a trot around the bases.
More often than not, a player who specializes in one aspect of the game is known just for that. There are some exceptions, however. Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski was a defensive wizard at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. During his 17-year career, Mazeroski won eight Gold Glove awards, a number that has been surpassed by just two second basemen, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame (Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar). But unlike Sandberg and Alomar, who were as lethal with the bat as they were with the glove, Mazeroski was not a particularly good hitter.
Mazeroski's lifetime .260 batting average and .299 on-base percentage weren't exactly Hall of Fame-caliber numbers. Neither were his 138 homers, 853 RBI or 769 runs scored. But one post-season home run catapulted Maz to legendary status and became one of the contributing factors in his selection to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee nearly 30 years after he played his final game.
That World Series-winning blast against the heavily-favored Yankees in 1960 became Maz's calling card, almost completely overshadowing what he did on the field with his glove. Mazeroski is one of a few players who specialized in one thing on the baseball field, but whose signature moment came in a spot that was ordinarily his weakness.
Likewise, the Mets had such a player in the early days of the franchise - a player who was one of the team's best power-hitting prospects when he was first called up in 1965, then became a player of legend four years later. But of course, it wasn't his bat that made him a storied Met. Rather, it was one spectacular defensive play at a most critical juncture that elevated him to heroic levels.
A young Ron Swoboda was an all-hit, no-glove player. But Mets fans loved him for his glove in 1969.
Ronald Alan Swoboda was known as a power hitter from a very young age. As a 19-year-old, his penchant for hitting balls a long way caught the eye of the Mets, who signed him in 1963 after he completed his freshman year at the University of Maryland. Swoboda played one season in the Mets minor league system before making the team's Opening Day roster in 1965.
Swoboda became an instant success in New York, collecting 10 home runs in his first 90 at-bats. In addition, half of Swoboda's first 28 hits went for extra bases. Although Swoboda collected only 399 at-bats in 1965, he still managed to lead the team in home runs (19) and slugging percentage (.424), while finishing third on the club in RBI (50) and second in runs scored (52).
Casey Stengel was an ardent supporter of Swoboda, and he showed his loyalty to the 20-year-old outfielder by starting him in 67 of the team's first 96 games. But once Casey was forced to step down as Mets manager because of a hip injury in late July, Swoboda's performance on the field suffered and his playing time decreased. Swoboda started just 37 of the Mets' final 67 games in 1965, batting .191 with three homers and 11 RBI over the final two and a half months of the season.
Swoboda did not play as much in 1966, collecting only 342 at-bats, but he drove in 50 runs for the second straight season despite batting just .222 with 21 extra-base hits. The reason why Swoboda drove in so many runs in limited playing time was because he was an excellent clutch hitter. With no one on base, Swoboda batted .197 in 1966. But with runners in scoring position, his average ballooned to .326. Swoboda also posted a .605 slugging percentage and a whopping 1.037 OPS in RBI situations in 1966. He followed that up with a similar season in 1967, batting .320 with runners in scoring position.
Although Swoboda was never much of a high average hitter (he batted above .242 just once in his six seasons with the Mets), he always hit well and hit with power when there were runners on base. More than half (36) of his 69 career homers as a Met came with runners on base. He also batted .275 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
From 1965 to 1969, Swoboda never amassed more than 450 at-bats in any season. However, he did manage to drive in 50 or more runs in each of his first five seasons with the Mets. In doing so, he became just the 26th player (and first Met) in modern National League history to accomplish this feat, joining all-time greats such as Johnny Mize, Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and Frank Robinson.
After the retirement of Casey Stengel, Swoboda never fully took over as the everyday player Stengel projected him to be, especially after Gil Hodges became the team's manager in 1968. In 1969, Swoboda - a right-handed hitter - shared duties in right field with the lefty-swinging Art Shamsky and switch-hitter Rod Gaspar. As good as Swoboda was hitting in the clutch and hitting with power, he was just as bad with a glove on his hand. Never known for his fielding prowess (although he did possess a fine arm in the outfield), Swoboda occasionally lost playing time to the slick fielding Gaspar, even when a left-handed pitcher was on the mound. Because of his fielding ineptitude and Hodges' strict adherence to the outfield platoon, Swoboda collected just 327 at-bats in 1969 - his lowest total in his first five years. But Swoboda made the most of his limited opportunities.
During the Mets' miraculous late-season run in 1969, Swoboda hit his first career grand slam, an eighth-inning shot against the Pirates that a broke a 1-1 tie and sent the Mets to their tenth consecutive victory. Two days later, Swoboda hit another go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. It was Swoboda's second two-run homer of the contest against Cardinals starting pitcher (and future Hall of Famer) Steve Carlton. Swoboda was only in the starting lineup because Carlton was a southpaw. But without Swoboda's heroics, the game would have been remembered more for Carlton's epic 19-strikeout performance - the first time in major league history that a pitcher had as many as 19 whiffs in a nine-inning game.
With all the success he had as a hitter during his first five seasons in the majors (especially during the September run to the NL East crown in 1969), one would think that Swoboda would forever be part of Mets lore because of what he accomplished with the bat. Perhaps that would have been true had it not been for what transpired in the ninth inning of Game Four in the 1969 World Series.
Ron Swoboda had the third-highest RBI total on the 1969 Mets despite having the eighth-most at-bats on the team. But even though Swoboda had displayed a keen ability to drive in runs, manager Gil Hodges stayed true to his style and kept him on the bench during the Mets' three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the inaugural National League Championship Series. Atlanta's three starting pitchers in the series - Phil Niekro, Ron Reed and Pat Jarvis - were all right-handed, thereby allowing Hodges to start Shamsky in right field for all three games, with Gaspar coming in as a defensive replacement in the late innings. But the World Series was a different story, as the American League champion Baltimore Orioles had two left-handed starters in Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally. Swoboda would finally get his first taste of the postseason in Game One of the 1969 World Series.
After striking out and flying out in his first two World Series at-bats, Swoboda caught fire. He reached base seven times in his next 14 plate appearances, collecting five singles, a double and a walk. But it was what he did between his 11th and 12th World Series plate appearances that may have helped save the season for the Mets.
The Mets had won two of the first three games against Baltimore and were looking to take a commanding 3-to-1 series lead in Game Four at Shea Stadium. Any loss by the Mets at home would guarantee that the series would go back to Memorial Stadium, where the Orioles posted a league-best 60-21 record in 1969. Needless to say, the Mets did not want to go back to Baltimore.
Game Four was a pitchers' duel between Tom Seaver and Mike Cuellar. Cuellar pitched seven innings of one-run ball, while Seaver held the Orioles scoreless through eight innings. Clinging to a precarious 1-0 lead in the ninth inning, Seaver was sent back to the mound to finish what he started. But after retiring Paul Blair on a fly ball to Swoboda, Seaver allowed back-to-back hits to Frank Robinson and Boog Powell, with the latter hit moving Robinson to third base. That brought up third baseman Brooks Robinson, who lined a ball that appeared headed for the gap in right-center. But Swoboda ran at full speed and made a diving lunge at the ball, catching it a millisecond before it hit the outfield grass.
"If that shot had been hit straight at me, it might
still be rolling. For me, it was one of those do-or-die plays. There's
one chance in a thousand I'm going to catch it, but I had to go for it. Chalk it up to a blind squirrel finding an acorn."
Although Frank Robinson scored the tying run from third base on the sacrifice fly by Brooks Robinson, it was Swoboda's athletic grab that prevented the ball from rolling all the way to the wall, keeping the Orioles from taking the lead. As a result, Baltimore failed to score the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, allowing the Mets to push across the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning on a throwing error by relief pitcher Pete Richert.
The catch by Swoboda did not win the series, let alone the game, for the Mets, but it thwarted Baltimore's best chance to come back in a series that by all intents and purposes, was theirs to lose. The Orioles had come into the series with 109 regular season victories - a number that had been surpassed by just four teams before them. But after Swoboda's catch and the subsequent win by the Mets an inning later, the wind was knocked out of Baltimore's sails.
Brooks Robinson clearly felt as if Swoboda's catch was the turning point of the series. "If the ball gets by Ron," said the Orioles' 16-time Gold Glove winner, "two runs score, we win 2-1,
and the Series is tied 2-2. I'll always feel that way. That play was a
killer."
One day after his unbelievable and unexpected catch, Swoboda once again came through for the Mets in the late innings, although this time it was with his more familiar weapon of choice - his bat.
The Mets had rallied from an early three-run deficit, tying it on a two-run homer by slugger Donn Clendenon in the sixth inning and a solo shot by non-slugger Al Weis in the seventh. With the game now tied, 3-3, the Mets were poised to take the lead in the eighth inning. Cleon Jones led off the frame with a double off reliever Eddie Watt. Jones remained at second after Watt coaxed Clendenon to ground out to third. Up stepped Ron Swoboda, clutch hitter extraordinaire, with a chance to be the hero for the Mets. And as he did so many times before, Swoboda came through.
Video courtesy of the MLB.com YouTube channel
Swoboda ripped a double near the left field line, a hit that fell just in front of a non-diving Don Buford, who chose not to take a page out of the Ron Swoboda Handbook for Game-Saving Plays. The two-bagger scored Jones from second to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish, as Swoboda scored an insurance run on Boog Powell's error later in the inning and Jerry Koosman got the final three outs in the ninth to secure the Mets' first World Series championship.
Although Donn Clendenon was voted the 1969 World Series Most Valuable Player, the award could have easily gone to Swoboda, as the Mets' right fielder produced a .400 batting average with a team-leading six hits, despite not playing in Game Three because right-handed starting pitcher Jim Palmer was on the mound for Baltimore. Swoboda also made the game-saving catch in Game Four and delivered the game-winning hit in the Mets' World Series-clinching victory.
Ron Swoboda was a tremendous run-producer with the Mets in a limited number of plate appearances. And on a team that has seen so many All-Star sluggers and run producers, Swoboda matches up favorably when it comes to producing runs. Here are some things you may not have known about Swoboda as a hitter:
Ron Swoboda's total of 19 home runs as a rookie in 1965 has been surpassed by just one Mets first-year player - Darryl Strawberry. The Straw Man's 26 homers in 1983 broke Swoboda's rookie mark nearly two decades after the mark was set. Only Ike Davis in 2010 has been able to match Swoboda's mark in the years since Strawberry broke the team record for homers by a rookie.
When Swoboda played his final game as a Met in 1970, he was the team's all-time leader in home runs (69) and RBI (304). He wasn't knocked out of the top ten in homers until 1988, when Keith Hernandez passed him on May 18. Swoboda was in the team's top ten in RBI until 1986, when Lee Mazzilli displaced him on August 13.
Through the 2014 season, Swoboda remains just one of 11 players in Mets history to have at least five seasons with 50 or more RBI. The other ten are a who's who of great Mets hitters - Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson, Kevin McReynolds, Edgardo Alfonzo, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Cleon Jones, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza and David Wright.
Swoboda produced five 50-plus RBI seasons with the Mets despite never having more than 450 at-bats in any season. He remains the only Met to have that many 50-RBI campaigns in seasons he didn't surpass 450 at-bats. Stretching it out by 50 at-bats, Swoboda joins all-time great Mike Piazza as the only Mets to achieve five 50-RBI seasons in years with 500 or fewer at-bats.
Ron Swoboda didn't possess a high batting average, nor did he wear a glove made of gold in the field. But he did have many memorable moments, primarily as a hitter and especially during the months of September and October in 1969. Yet despite those impressive credentials as a hitter, Swoboda will always be remembered for one thing before anything else.
In 1969, the Mets needed to win Game Four of the World Series to potentially avoid a return trip to a hostile environment in Baltimore. The Orioles won 60 games at home in 1969, which was a higher win total than the Mets produced in all games, at home AND on the road, in each of their first four seasons. Ron Swoboda, a Baltimore native, had done whatever he could with the bat to help his team. But in Game Four, he stretched his baseball ability - and his body - to a place no one expected. With one Amazin' catch, Swoboda propelled the Mets to victory in Game Four, and helped seal the team's improbable championship the following day.
Ron Swoboda was supposed to be a great catch by the Mets when they signed him to a contract in 1963. Six years later, he gave the team his own version of a great catch. Swoboda may have originally been coveted for his bat, but it's his glove that will always provide fond memories for Mets fans young and old. His defining moment occurred during one of the greatest times to be a Mets fan and will always be among the brightest spots in the history of the franchise.
Miracles do happen. Just ask Ron Swoboda.
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:
In the late '60s and early '70s, the Mets went as far as their pitching would take them. The 1968 team was the first to lose fewer than 90 games, with sophomore sensation Tom Seaver and Rookie of the Year runner-up Jerry Koosman combining for 35 of the team's 73 wins. One year later, that dynamic duo was joined by rookie Gary Gentry in the rotation and went on to win the World Series. The Miracle Mets were also helped by a stellar bullpen, which included Ron Taylor, Tug McGraw and part-time starter Nolan Ryan.
The Mets failed to defend their title in 1970 and fell short once again in 1971. Both of those teams led the National League in ERA and strikeouts. They also shared identical 83-79 records. How could teams so rich in pitching fail to win more than one division or league title from 1968 to 1971? The answer is simple. They couldn't hit.
The 1968 team was the only Mets squad that failed to score three runs per game. In 1970, the Mets' .249 team batting average was well below the league average of .258. And in 1971, the team could only muster 98 home runs (the NL average was 115). Even the 1969 World Championship team had difficulty at the plate, finishing near the bottom of the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
By 1972, the Mets were desperate to acquire a premier slugger to give their offense a jump start. They had already failed twice when they kept their focus on acquiring an offensive-minded third baseman, losing Amos Otis and Nolan Ryan in the process. This time, they set their sights elsewhere, trading for soon-to-be fan-favorite Rusty Staub. Unlike Joe Foy and Jim Fregosi - the players received for Otis and Ryan, respectively - Staub actually produced as a Met. But by the end of 1975, Staub had become an ex-Met, while one of the players he was traded for was just entering his prime and becoming one of the top players in the majors.
The Mets developed Ken Singleton and other talented hitters in the 1960s. Keeping them, however, was another story.
Kenneth Wayne Singleton was the Mets' first round selection in the 1967 January draft, taken one spot before future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. At the time, the New York-born Singleton was a student at Hofstra University who had played just one year of college ball. But that single season was enough to attract the attention of Mets scouts, as the team took the 19-year-old outfielder with the third overall pick in the draft.
Singleton displayed the poise and patience of an experienced veteran as he was advancing through the Mets' minor league system, batting over .300 and reaching base more than 40% of the time. When he finally reached AAA-Tidewater in 1970, it had become clear that Singleton was ready for the bright lights of the New York stage.
Singleton tore apart the International League as a member of the Tides, batting .388 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs in only 64 games. The switch-hitting Singleton also had an eye-popping .513 on-base percentage and .703 slugging percentage. But the Mets had a crowded outfield, with Cleon Jones in left, Tommie Agee in center and a platoon of Ron Swoboda and Art Shamsky in right. A change would be needed for Singleton to get his first promotion to the big leagues. That change would come at the expense of another native New Yorker.
As spring turned to summer in 1970, the Mets were playing as mediocre as a team could play. Through their first 65 games, the team had not yet been more than three games above or below the .500 mark. The team was in desperate need of a spark to awaken from its doldrums, especially with first place still within shouting distance. In a move that was considered shocking, but not unexpected, the Mets sent veteran first baseman Ed Kranepool to Tidewater and promoted Ken Singleton to take his spot on the roster.
Going into the 1970 season, Kranepool was the longest tenured Met, having played in each of the team's first eight seasons. But after a slow April in which he batted .222 with no extra-base hits and one RBI, everything began to unravel for the 25-year-old veteran.
Ed Kranepool
The former All-Star failed to collect a single hit in the month of May and was no longer being used as part of a lefty-righty platoon with World Series MVP Donn Clendenon at first base. With part-time rightfielder Art Shamsky now sharing first base duties with Clendenon and leftfielder Cleon Jones suffering from hamstring and groin injuries, the time was right for Singleton to get his long-awaited promotion to the big leagues, which finally happened on June 23. Singleton's promotion made Kranepool a minor leaguer for the first time since 1964.
Singleton began his big league career as the Mets' leftfielder, keeping the position warm for Jones while he recovered from his injuries. Upon Jones' return in July, Singleton moved over to right field, where he played until an injury forced him to leave a game early on August 3. When Singleton returned to the Mets ten days later, he was placed in a four-man right field rotation that also featured Swoboda, Shamsky and Dave Marshall. The lack of regular playing time hurt Singleton, as he batted .220 in his last 30 games (10 starts) to finish his rookie campaign with a .263 average.
In 1971, Singleton found himself on the Mets' Opening Day roster for the first time, but struggled mightily in his first full season in the major leagues. Singleton was batting .175 and had collected one extra-base hit in the team's first 49 games, being used mostly as a pinch-hitter and late-inning defensive replacement. But once manager Gil Hodges inserted him in the starting lineup for good on June 11, Singleton became one of the team's top threats at the plate.
Singleton played in 84 of the team's final 109 games. Although his batting average over that span was only .255, he reached base at a .381 clip. Singleton also collected 12 home runs and 39 RBIs over the final 3½ months of the season. The 24-year-old outfielder was at his best during the final three weeks of the season, batting .313 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in his last 15 starts. Included in Singleton's season-ending hot streak was his first and only multi-homer game as a Met, which he accomplished in the regular season finale to help Tom Seaver win his 20th game of the year. (Editor's note: For more on this game, please listen to the audio at the end of this piece.)
In his first two seasons with the Mets, Singleton never became the full-time player he expected to be, collecting fewer than 500 at-bats in 184 games. But he did show good power (18 HR), an ability to drive in runs (72 RBIs) and a keen eye at the plate (91 walks). Going into his third year in the big leagues, Singleton had every intention to be the Mets' Opening Day rightfielder. He did start in the outfield as the curtains rose on the 1972 campaign, but it wasn't as a member of the New York Mets.
The Mets had coveted superstars to bolster their offense going into the 1972 season, especially after posting back-to-back 83-79 records in 1970 and 1971. In December, they added their first piece, sending Nolan Ryan and three others to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi. Four months later (and just three days after the death of manager Gil Hodges), they pulled off another deal, acquiring Rusty Staub from the Montreal Expos for Mike Jorgensen, former No. 1 overall pick Tim Foli and one Kenneth Wayne Singleton.
Tim Foli, Ken Singleton, Rusty Staub and Mike Jorgensen exchange pleasantries at Shea Stadium.
Ken Singleton's first year in Montreal was similar to his last year with the Mets. Although Singleton was finally given the opportunity to be an everyday player with the Expos, he managed only 14 homers and 50 RBIs in 142 games. One year later, he posted the kind of season he never got a chance to achieve as a Met.
In their first four seasons in the National League, the Montreal Expos had never competed for a division title. But that all changed in 1973, when a late surge pushed them above the .500 mark and only half a game out of first place on September 16. The Expos eventually watched the Mets pass them and every other team in the NL East, but they still managed to win a franchise-record 79 games. None of it would have been possible if not for the MVP-caliber season produced by Ken Singleton.
Over the Expos' final 50 games, no pitcher could get Singleton out. He batted .357 and posted a .486 on-base percentage, reaching base a whopping 105 times (61 hits, 44 walks). Montreal finished 3½ games behind the eventual National League champion Mets, but had a new star in Ken Singleton. Singleton played in all 162 games and finished the year with a .302 batting average, 23 homers, 103 RBIs and 100 runs scored, becoming the first Expo to reach triple digits in runs batted in and runs scored. He also paced the National League with a .425 on-base percentage. To this day, Singleton's 123 walks in 1973 remain the Expos/Nationals' franchise record.
A year after helping the Expos contend for the first time in their short history, Singleton had a disappointing follow-up campaign. In 148 games, Singleton batted .276 with only nine home runs. His walks dipped from 123 to 93 and his triple-digit totals in runs and RBIs dropped to 68 and 74, respectively. Although Singleton was only 27 and just entering his prime, Montreal decided to give up on their promising outfielder. In what became a lopsided deal, the Expos sent Singleton and pitcher Mike Torrez to Baltimore for four-time 20-game winner Dave McNally, outfielder Rich Coggins and a minor leaguer.
McNally and Coggins managed three wins and ten hits, respectively, as members of the Expos. Torrez won 124 games after leaving Montreal, including a 20-win season in his first year in Baltimore, while Singleton became one of the best hitters in the American League and a perennial MVP candidate following the trade.
In 1975, Singleton enjoyed a fine first season in Baltimore, batting .300 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs as the Orioles' leadoff hitter. Singleton also laced a career-high 37 doubles and set a still-standing Baltimore Orioles record with 118 walks (the franchise record of 126 was set while the team was still in St. Louis as the Browns).
Singleton's second season in Baltimore produced a .278 average, 13 homers and 70 RBIs. His third year there made him a superstar.
The 1977 American League leaderboard had Ken Singleton's name all over it. Singleton finished third in the league in batting average (.328), second in on-base percentage (.438) and second in OPS (.945). He also surpassed a .500 slugging percentage for the first time in his career on the strength of his 24 doubles and 24 homers. In addition, Singleton drove in 99 runs and crossed the plate 90 times, while drawing 100 or more walks for the third time in five seasons. For his efforts, Singleton was selected to his first All-Star team and finished third behind Al Cowens and future Hall of Famer Rod Carew in the AL MVP race.
After another fine season in 1978 (.293, 20 HR, 81 RBI, .409 OBP), Singleton had a career year in 1979. The 32-year-old continued to hit well (.295) and posted a high on-base percentage (.405), but he also became one of the top power hitters in the league, shattering his previous career highs with 35 homers and 111 RBIs. On a team that featured future Hall of Famer (and future Met) Eddie Murray, it was Singleton who helped the Orioles end the Yankees' three-year reign as American League champions.
Singleton's torrid regular season carried into the postseason. In his first trip to the playoffs after ten years in the big leagues, Singleton batted .375 against the Angels in the ALCS and .357 versus the Pirates in the World Series. Singleton appeared to have a strong chance to be named World Series MVP, batting .412 in the first four games as the Orioles took a commanding 3-1 series lead. But Baltimore dropped the final three games of the series, losing to the Pirates in seven games. A month after his team was the runner-up to Pittsburgh in the Fall Classic, Singleton became the runner-up to Don Baylor for the AL Most Valuable Player Award.
Although the Orioles won 100 games in 1980, they failed to defend their American League crown, finishing three games behind the Yankees in the AL East. But Singleton did everything he could to keep Baltimore in contention until the final weekend of the regular season. In the season's final 33 games, Singleton batted .373 with 15 extra-base hits and 28 RBIs. Baltimore fell short in their quest to repeat as AL champs, but Singleton succeeded in his quest to continue to be one of the league's top hitters, finishing the year with a .304 batting average, 24 homers and 104 RBIs.
As Singleton entered his mid-thirties, his numbers began to drop off. The strike-shortened 1981 season saw Singleton make the All-Star team for the final time. But it also saw him fail to score 50 runs or drive in 50 runs despite playing in over 100 games. In 1982, Singleton posted his lowest batting average (.251) since his last year as a Met. That season was also his first year as the Orioles' primary designated hitter. But after two subpar seasons, Singleton had one final productive season, and it came at the best possible time.
In 1983, Singleton batted .276 with 18 homers and 84 RBIs. He also finished second in the league in walks (99) and fifth in on-base percentage (.393). For the second time in his career, Singleton was going to the playoffs, as Baltimore held off the Detroit Tigers for the division title. Baltimore had won the AL East for the seventh time since division play began in 1969, but only had one title to show for it. (The Orioles also won the 1966 World Series, but that was three years before the advent of divisional play.) That would change in 1983.
In a career that began in 1970 as a member of the defending World Series champion Mets, Singleton finally got to win a championship of his own in 1983. Baltimore took out the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS before defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series in five games. Singleton didn't pick up a hit in the Fall Classic, but he did draw a game-tying bases-loaded walk as a pinch-hitter in the decisive fifth game. He also got to pick up something far more valuable - a World Series ring that had eluded him for 13 years.
Singleton played one more year in Baltimore before retiring at the end of the 1984 season. He finished his career with a .282 batting average and .388 on-base percentage, collecting 2,029 hits, 317 doubles, 246 homers and 1,065 RBIs - numbers that he could have achieved as a Met had he not been traded prior to the 1972 season because the Mets were in need of offense.
The Orioles have been in Baltimore for 60 years, moving to Charm City from St. Louis following the 1953 campaign. In that time, many great hitters have donned Orioles uniforms. Ken Singleton is one of them. In ten years with the Orioles, Singleton ranks among the team leaders in games played (1,446; 8th in Orioles history), at-bats (5,115; 8th), hits (1,455; 6th), doubles (235; 10th), home runs (182; 7th), RBIs (766; 5th), runs scored (684; 10th), walks (886; 4th) and on-base percentage (.388; T-2nd).
Rusty Staub, the man Singleton was traded for in 1972, was only a Met for four seasons before he was traded to Detroit prior to the 1976 campaign (Staub did return in 1981, but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter for the next five seasons). His numbers as a Met from 1972 to 1975 were comparable to what Singleton produced over the same time period in Montreal and Baltimore:
But Staub obviously did nothing for the Mets from 1976 to 1980 and played sparingly for the team from 1981 until his retirement in 1985. At the same time, Singleton made multiple All-Star teams as a member of the Orioles, nearly won two AL MVP Awards, played in two World Series and won a championship.
Perhaps former Mets director of player development Whitey Herzog (who knows a thing or two about winning pennants and championships after leaving New York) said it best in his book, "White Rat: A Life In Baseball", when he shared his thoughts on the trade that jettisoned Ken Singleton, Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen out of New York.
"We made a terrible deal with Montreal, giving up three fine players for Rusty Staub. Here I was busting my tail to develop young players, and Don Grant says he doesn't trust minor leaguers, that we need big names. We had guys in our system who could have helped the Mets dominate baseball in the 1970s ... and we gave them up."
Both Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen eventually returned to New York after being shipped out in the Rusty Staub deal. Foli was purchased by the Mets in December 1977, which led to the trade of long-time shortstop Buddy Harrelson to the Phillies the following March. Mike Jorgensen won a Gold Glove two years after being traded by the Mets to Montreal, but didn't begin his second engagement in New York until 1980.
By then, the Mets were no longer contenders in the NL East. They also were no longer hoping that Ken Singleton would follow suit and return to New York, as he had carved out an exceptional career in Baltimore - one that led him to be enshrined in the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1986. Ironically, it was the same year Rusty Staub was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame.
Rusty Staub was a beloved player in New York. But his best years happened before and after his first stint with the
team. In the three seasons prior to becoming a Met (1969-1971), Staub
averaged 26 HR and 90 RBIs. In the three seasons after leaving New York
(1976-1978), Staub averaged 20 HR and 106 RBIs. But he never hit 20 homers in a season for the Mets and only once surpassed 80 RBIs. Meanwhile, Singleton produced five seasons of 20+ homers and three years of 100+ RBIs in Montreal and Baltimore. And those walks. Oh, those walks.
From 1972 to 1983, Singleton finished in his respective league's top ten in walks every year. Over the same time period, he ranked among the league leaders in on-base percentage ten times, including five seasons above .400 and another year in which he just missed with a .397 OBP. From 1973 to 1980, Singleton's combined on-base percentage was .406, as he reached base via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch over 2,100 times in the eight-year period.
How impressive was that eight-year stretch for Singleton? Let's put it this way. Going into the 2013 season, David Wright is the Mets' all-time leader in times on base. The long-time third baseman has reached base safely 2,078 times in nine seasons with the team. In second place is Ed Kranepool, who reached base 1,886 times in 18 years in New York. Singleton reached base more times in eight years than any Met has ... EVER! That's more than David Wright and more than the man whose poor start in 1970 gave Singleton his first chance to compete at the major league level.
Ken Singleton did it all in the major leagues. He hit for average. He hit for power. He reached base with a consistency that most players can only dream of having. He was a three-time All-Star (1977, 1979, 1981). He had four top ten MVP finishes (1973, 1975, 1977, 1979). He played in two World Series (1979, 1983). And at the tail end of his long and successful career, he achieved his life-long dream of winning a championship. Yup, Ken Singleton did it all. But he didn't do any of it as a Met.
The Mets gave up on Singleton long before he had a chance to prove just how valuable a player he was about to become. Their impatience and need to acquire a big-name, veteran slugger led to the departure of three players who all had long, successful careers. (Both Foli and Jorgensen played in the big leagues until 1985). But of the three players traded for Rusty Staub in 1972, none had as big an impact to his new team as Ken Singleton. Sure, it's possible the Orioles could have won without Singleton. But it's certain the Mets would have been a better team had they never let him get away.
This audio of Ken Singleton's final game as a Met was brought to you by samspinchat on YouTube. It's also sponsored by Rheingold.
Note: The Mets That Got Away
is a
thirteen-part weekly series that spotlights those Mets players who
established themselves as major leaguers in New York, only to become
stars after leaving town. For previous
installments, please click on the players' names below:
Rusty Staub was beloved as a Met, setting numerous club records during his underrated career. So cherished was Rusty in New York that the team honored him with "Thanks Rusty Day" on July 13, 1986.
Mets players poured out of the dugout wearing red wigs in appreciation of Le Grand Orange, a key player in the march to the National League pennant in 1973 and one of the best pinch-hitters of all-time during his second stint with the Mets in the 1980s.
It's been 25 years since the Mets honored their red-headed sparkplug. Now the Mets have another in Justin Turner.
The arrival of Turner came "Justin" time for the Mets.
Justin Turner quietly put together a successful minor league career, hitting .309 in five minor league seasons. A doubles machine, Turner hit 124 two-baggers in the minors, a number surpassed by only 16 players in Mets history (including Rusty Staub, who hit 130 doubles for the Mets).
Now given the chance to play every day for the Mets due to injuries to Ike Davis and David Wright, Turner has flourished. Entering tonight's game, he was hitting .364, continuing his doubles onslaught with seven two-base hits in only 55 at-bats. With his first-inning RBI single, Turner broke Ron Swoboda's 46-year-old rookie record for consecutive games with an RBI (seven). Over those seven games, Turner has driven in 12 runs.
Terry Collins will have a dilemma on his hands when Ike Davis and David Wright return from their injuries to play first base and third base, respectively. Who will lose playing time between Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner? Will the lefty-swinging Murphy platoon with the right-handed hitting RBI machine? Has Turner earned the opportunity to play every day? Will someone be traded?
One thing's for certain. In the '70s and '80s, Mets fans were treated to the fantastic play of Le Grand Orange, Rusty Staub. It's been over a quarter century since Rusty announced his retirement. Now the fans have a new redhead to cheer. Le Grand Justin Turner is winning the hearts of Mets fans all over the city and making opposing pitchers see red every time he drives in another run. Not bad for a guy who only had four major league hits before 2011.
