The Internet did not exist in 1983. Neither did winning baseball at Shea Stadium. As a ten-year-old Mets fan in '83, I knew as much about the World Series as I did the World Wide Web, as both were still years away from becoming a reality.
So when my Little League team decided to attend a Mets game together on Wednesday, June 15, 1983, I was naturally excited but I didn't have a forum to document my experience. (My mother had discovered my diary just a weeks before the game and because of her find, I wasn't allowed to write in it anymore. Censorship at its overprotective motherly worst.)
It's been exactly 37 years since I attended that game, so I thought now would be a perfect time to finally tell that story. To make this recap even more special, I have decided to allow my ten-year-old self access to my computer. I figured more people would be able to read the recap that way instead of trying to read it on my just-returned-to-me diary.
Take it away, Eddie!
Hi, everyone! My name is Eddie Leyro and I'm ten-and-a-half years old. I just got home from Shea Stadium where I saw my first-ever Mets game! I went to the game with my Little League team and some of the coaches and I had an awesome time. Well, it would have been better than awesome had the Mets actually won the game. But stupid Rusty Staub made a dumb error in the tenth inning that helped the Chicago Cubs win the game. I mean, seriously. Even Orko from the "He-Man" cartoon could've made that play and he floats in mid-air! Anyway, the game started with Craig Swan sucking more than Madonna's music. (I mean, do you really think she's going to have a long career as a singer? She's no Toni Basil!) Swan was knocked out of the game in the second inning after giving up an RBI single to Bill Buckner in the first and allowing Jody Davis, Mel Hall and Ryne Sandberg to drive in runs in the second. Once Swan hit the showers, I figured I'd hit the concession stand with my teammates, David and Robby. But I never got my hot dog because the coaches had to get off the line to break up a fight by our pitcher, Walter and our second baseman, Ricky in the bathroom. Walter was also the son of our manager, so you can imagine who got blamed for starting it. (Hint: Not Walter.) Needless to say, I never got my hot dog. The coaches made us all go back to our upper deck seats and no hot dog vendor came around. The only other time they allowed us to get out of our seats was when a few of the guys had to go to the bathroom. I didn't go because I don't like peeing in public. I'm as afraid of public restrooms as B.A. Baracus is of flying on a plane. Anyway, by the time we got back to our seats, the Mets had already scored a run to cut the Cubs' lead to 4-1 and I just managed to see my first major league home run, a shot by Hubie Brooks in the bottom of the third to make it 4-2. I didn't get why people were booing him until I was told that the fans were actually saying "HUUUUUUUUUU-bie". Baseball fans are very weird. The fans also cheered a message that was posted on the DiamondVision about some guy named Keith Hernandez. Apparently, he was just traded to the Mets for a few pitchers. He can't be as bad as the guys already on the team, right? Oh, I almost forgot! The Mets tied the game right after the DiamondVision announcement on an RBI double by Jose Oquendo and a run-scoring single by Danny Heep. But of course, Heep got greedy like Boss Hogg and got thrown out trying to get to second base. Had Heep not gotten thrown out, the Mets might have taken the lead in that inning. Instead, the game was just tied, 4-4, and stayed that way through nine innings.
Maybe if Danny Heep didn't have such a big ear flap on his helmet, he'd have seen he was going to be out by a mile.
Coach Walter, Sr., announced that we would stay for the tenth inning, but we'd have to go home if the game kept going. It was a Wednesday night and we had to go to school the next day. So I started praying for the Mets to hold the Cubs scoreless in the tenth and then maybe Hubie Brooks could hit another home run to win it in the bottom of the inning. But while I was alternating between one of my many Hail Marys and Our Fathers, the Cubs scored three runs, all because our first baseman, Rusty Staub, made a lousy error.
The Mets didn't score in the bottom of the tenth, as Hubie Brooks made an out and the skinny rookie, Darryl Strawberry, grounded into a double play to end the game. All I kept thinking as we walked down the Shea Stadium ramps was:
a) This Keith Hernandez better be a good first baseman so that this Rusty Staub guy isn't allowed to make more stupid errors. 2) Why do we have to go down these long ramps when there are escalators all over the place? iii) Oh, snap! I never got my hot dog!
So that's it. My first Shea Stadium experience. Craig Swan sucked. My teammates fought in the bathroom. And Rusty Staub should never play first base again. But at least the experience was more fun than having to sit through another rerun of "The Facts of Life", which I would have done had I stayed home. (They should really move "Magnum P.I." from Thursday to Wednesday. That would be, like, totally awesome.) I hope you liked my recap. Maybe I should ask my mom to get me a Commodore 64. I'm sure it's a lot better to write on than my diary!
The Internet did not exist in 1983. Neither did winning baseball at Shea Stadium. As a ten-year-old Mets fan in '83, I knew as much about the World Series as I did the World Wide Web, as both were still years away from becoming a reality.
So when my Little League team decided to attend a Mets game together on Wednesday, June 15, 1983, I was naturally excited but I didn't have a forum to document my experience. (My mother had discovered my diary just a weeks before the game and because of her find, I wasn't allowed to write in it anymore. Censorship at its overprotective motherly worst.)
It's been exactly 33 years since I attended that game, so I thought now would be a perfect time to finally tell that story. To make this recap even more special, I have decided to allow my ten-year-old self access to my computer. I figured more people would be able to read the recap that way instead of trying to read it on my just-returned-to-me diary.
Take it away, Eddie!
Hi, everyone! My name is Eddie Leyro and I'm ten-and-a-half years old. I just got home from Shea Stadium where I saw my first-ever Mets game! I went to the game with my Little League team and some of the coaches and I had an awesome time. Well, it would have been better than awesome had the Mets actually won the game. But stupid Rusty Staub made a dumb error in the tenth inning that helped the Chicago Cubs win the game. I mean, seriously. Even Orko from the "He-Man" cartoon could've made that play and he floats in mid-air! Anyway, the game started with Craig Swan sucking more than Madonna's music. (I mean, do you really think she's going to have a long career as a singer? She's no Toni Basil!) Swan was knocked out of the game in the second inning after giving up an RBI single to Bill Buckner in the first and allowing Jody Davis, Mel Hall and Ryne Sandberg to drive in runs in the second. Once Swan hit the showers, I figured I'd hit the concession stand with my teammates, David and Robby. But I never got my hot dog because the coaches had to get off the line to break up a fight by our pitcher, Walter and our second baseman, Ricky in the bathroom. Walter was also the son of our manager, so you can imagine who got blamed for starting it. (Hint: Not Walter.) Needless to say, I never got my hot dog. The coaches made us all go back to our upper deck seats and no hot dog vendor came around. The only other time they allowed us to get out of our seats was when a few of the guys had to go to the bathroom. I didn't go because I don't like peeing in public. I'm as afraid of public restrooms as B.A. Baracus is of flying on a plane. Anyway, by the time we got back to our seats, the Mets had already scored a run to cut the Cubs' lead to 4-1 and I just managed to see my first major league home run, a shot by Hubie Brooks in the bottom of the third to make it 4-2. I didn't get why people were booing him until I was told that the fans were actually saying "HUUUUUUUUUU-bie". Baseball fans are very weird. The fans also cheered a message that was posted on the DiamondVision about some guy named Keith Hernandez. Apparently, he was just traded to the Mets for a few pitchers. He can't be as bad as the guys already on the team, right? Oh, I almost forgot! The Mets tied the game right after the DiamondVision announcement on an RBI double by Jose Oquendo and a run-scoring single by Danny Heep. But of course, Heep got greedy like Boss Hogg and got thrown out trying to get to second base. Had Heep not gotten thrown out, the Mets might have taken the lead in that inning. Instead, the game was just tied, 4-4, and stayed that way through nine innings.
Maybe if Danny Heep didn't have such a big ear flap on his helmet, he'd have seen he was going to be out by a mile.
Coach Walter, Sr., announced that we would stay for the tenth inning, but we'd have to go home if the game kept going. It was a Wednesday night and we had to go to school the next day. So I started praying for the Mets to hold the Cubs scoreless in the tenth and then maybe Hubie Brooks could hit another home run to win it in the bottom of the inning. But while I was alternating between one of my many Hail Marys and Our Fathers, the Cubs scored three runs, all because our first baseman, Rusty Staub, made a lousy error.
The Mets didn't score in the bottom of the tenth, as Hubie Brooks made an out and the skinny rookie, Darryl Strawberry, grounded into a double play to end the game. All I kept thinking as we walked down the Shea Stadium ramps was:
a) This Keith Hernandez better be a good first baseman so that this Rusty Staub guy isn't allowed to make more stupid errors. 2) Why do we have to go down these long ramps when there are escalators all over the place? iii) Oh, snap! I never got my hot dog!
So that's it. My first Shea Stadium experience. Craig Swan sucked. My teammates fought in the bathroom. And Rusty Staub should never play first base again. But at least the experience was more fun than having to sit through another rerun of "The Facts of Life", which I would have done had I stayed home. (They should really move "Magnum P.I." from Thursday to Wednesday. That would be, like, totally awesome.) I hope you liked my recap. Maybe I should ask my mom to get me a Commodore 64. It's sure a lot better to write on than my diary!
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.
Prior to 1997, the Mets had only faced their crosstown rivals from the Bronx in Grapefruit League games and Mayor's Trophy exhibitions. In addition, neither the Mets nor the Yankees had ever qualified for the postseason in the same year. But thanks to interleague play, meaningful games between the two squads became a reality as the 20th century came to a close.
The first regular season contest between the two teams in 1997 ended with Dave Mlicki pumping his fists on the Yankee Stadium mound in celebration of the Mets' 6-0 victory over the Bronx Bombers. It was the defining game for the journeyman Mlicki - an extraordinary moment in an otherwise ordinary ten-year major league career.
The Subway Series has become a venue for some of the most dramatic victories in Mets history. Entering the 2015 season, the Mets have won 42 regular season games against the Yankees, including 13 one-run victories and six walk-off wins. Perhaps the most dramatic of these one-run, walk-off triumphs occurred on July 10, 1999, as both the Mets and Yankees were trying to reach the playoffs in the same season for the first time. And when the game ended, one Met became a hero for life, delivering the game-winning hit in a pinch.
Matt Franco proves that even bench players can become Mets legends. (AP Photo)
Matthew Neil Franco was born for Hollywood endings. His uncle, Kurt Russell, has been an actor since childhood, following in the footsteps of Franco's grandfather, Bing Russell. Franco also has immediate family working behind the scenes, as his father is acclaimed movie producer Larry Franco.
Franco was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the seventh round of the 1987 June amateur draft. As is the case with many struggling actors, it took Franco several years to make it to the big show. He didn't advance past the Double-A level until his seventh professional season and didn't make his major league debut until the final month of the 1995 campaign.
Following his 16-game cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1995, Franco was traded to the Mets at the outset of the 1996 season. Once again, Franco's only time spent in the big leagues in 1996 was during a brief September call-up. But after starting the 1997 campaign in the minors, Franco was called up by the Mets following an injury to outfielder Andy Tomberlin, who also served as the team's primary pinch-hitter from the left side of the plate. Tomberlin never played for the Mets again as Franco took over as the team's top lefty-swinging pinch-hitter, batting .306 with three homers and 13 RBI in 66 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.
In 1998, Franco continued to be one of the baseball's most productive pinch-hitters, reaching base 26 times (14 hits, 12 walks) in 68 pinch-hitting appearances. But his best season off the bench came in 1999, and he punctuated his year with a dramatic at-bat against the top closer in the game.
On July 10, the Mets and Yankees entered the second game of their three-game set at Shea Stadium with both teams playing their best baseball. The Yankees were in first place in the AL East and were owners of the third-best record in the game. Meanwhile, the Mets were the hottest team in the sport, winning 22 of their last 32 games to move them within striking distance of the first-place Braves.
The Mets took the first game of the series, 5-2, with the deciding runs scoring on a tie-breaking three-run homer by Mike Piazza off Roger Clemens in the sixth inning. Power was on full display in the second game - a Saturday matinee at Shea - but most of it came from the players sitting in the road team's dugout.
The Yankees hit six home runs that afternoon (two by Paul O'Neill, two by Jorge Posada, one each by Ricky Ledee and Chuck Knoblauch), becoming the seventh team to hit at least six homers in one game against the Mets. The Mets had lost the six previous contests in which they were taken deep half a dozen times, losing those games by a combined 94-26 score. They were determined not to go 0-for-7 in those situations.
Mike Piazza did his part, hitting one of the longest home runs in Shea Stadium's history - a 482-foot blast over the picnic area tents in left field - to give the Mets a temporary 7-6 lead in the seventh inning. But a two-run homer by Jorge Posada an inning later helped the Yankees retake the lead. The score remained 8-7 as future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera came into the game in the ninth inning.
Rivera had never allowed a run to the Mets in four career appearances, notching saves in all four games. But that streak was in jeopardy when Edgardo Alfonzo followed Rickey Henderson's one-out walk with a double. With the tying and winning runs in scoring position, John Olerud grounded out to first baseman Tino Martinez, leaving Henderson and Alfonzo on base and Yankees manager Joe Torre with a decision to make. Should he have Rivera face cleanup hitter Mike Piazza or should he walk him intentionally to face Melvin Mora, who had entered the game two innings earlier as a late-inning defensive replacement for Benny Agbayani? Torre chose the latter, and had Rivera issue a four-pitch free pass to the Mets catcher.
Mets manager Bobby Valentine counteracted by inserting Matt Franco into the game to pinch-hit for Mora. Franco had never gotten a hit against Rivera in two previous plate appearances, but he had drawn a walk. And a walk against Rivera with the bases loaded would have tied the game. But Franco had his eye on a bigger prize, and with the Mets down to their final strike, Franco delivered.
YouTube video courtesy of Courtside Tweets
After taking a borderline 0-2 pitch from Rivera that was called a ball by home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg - a call that did not please Torre, who could be seen mouthing "that ball's not low" in the Yankee dugout - Franco laced a single to right on Rivera's next offering. Running on contact, Henderson scored easily from third base and Alfonzo slid home safely ahead of Paul O'Neill's throw, giving the Mets a thrilling 9-8 victory before 53,792 raucous fans at Shea Stadium.
The two-run single by Franco would be the only safety he'd record against Rivera in four career plate appearances. Franco's clutch hit was also the first of four times the Mets defeated Rivera during his illustrious career. The only teams to defeat Rivera more often during his 19-year tenure with the Yankees were the Orioles (nine losses), Red Sox (seven) and Rays (six) - all teams that played in Rivera's division.
Matt Franco's game-winning single on July 10 was one of 14 pinch-hits he collected in 1999. Franco also set a major league record in 1999 when he walked 20 times as a pinch-hitter. By reaching base 34 times in 80 pinch-hit appearances, Franco posted a stellar .425 on-base percentage, one of the highest marks in team history.
''In batting practice alone, I've been through that same situation a
million times. Everyone has. Bottom of the ninth, bases
loaded, two outs, two strikes. To get the game-winning hit at Shea Stadium, playing the Yankees, with
53,000 people in the stands, the bases loaded, down a run, in the bottom
of the ninth, I don't know how it's going to get any better than
that. It's a dream come true.''
Ed Kranepool set a team record with 90 pinch-hits. Rusty Staub's 72 RBI are also best among all Mets' subs. Both figures are nearly double the amount of hits and RBI put by Matt Franco as a pinch-hitter (58 hits, 37 RBI) during his five seasons with the Mets. But for all the regular season records set by Kranepool and Staub during their times as the top hitter off the bench for the Mets, none of their hits or runs batted in have resonated as much with Mets fans as Franco's game-winner off Mariano Rivera.
Matt Franco was born to a family that spent a lot of time in front of the camera. But in a season where the Yankees and Mets qualified for the postseason together for the first time and one year before the teams squared off in the first Subway World Series in 44 years, it was Franco who took center stage in a mid-July game at Shea Stadium.
Hollywood is known for producing storybook endings in film and television. On July 10, 1999, Matt Franco produced a storybook ending of his own. And in doing so, he became a beloved Met for life, all because he came through in a pinch against one of the most dependable pitchers of this or any other generation.
No script could have produced a better ending.
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:
Every once in a while, a player is anointed as "the next big thing" by baseball pundits. Whereas some of these players do proceed to have spectacular careers, others end up being complete duds.
The Mets have had both types of "next big thing" players. They've had the success stories who played incredibly well in a Mets uniform, like Tom Seaver and Darryl Strawberry. But they've also had guys who didn't quite live up to the lofty expectations. Players like Gregg Jefferies and Paul Wilson come to mind.
It's bad enough when one of these supposed sure things flames out at the big league level. But it's far worse when that player is so highly touted that he ends up replacing an established veteran - only to have the veteran continue to play at a high level long after the so-called phenom's star has fizzled.
In 1975, the Mets fell into that trap, letting a one-month hot streak by a neophyte dictate whether or not they needed to keep an aging star. They made the wrong decision, and in doing so, changed the fortune of the team for the better part of a decade.
Mike Vail's one good month caused the Mets to have seven bad years.
Michael Lewis Vail was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971 as an infielder who occasionally played in the outfield. Vail struggled as a hitter in his first two minor league seasons, batting .235 in just under 500 at-bats, causing him to be demoted from the Double-A level back to Single-A for the start of the 1973 season. But Vail started to turn things around in 1973, raising his average to .278, while banging out 31 doubles, nine triples and 15 homers. In 1974, Vail's power production remained consistent, but his batting average soared to .334. That caught the eye of the Mets' front office, who traded utility player Ted Martinez to the Cardinals for Vail and infielder Jack Heidemann in December.
Leaving the Cardinals organization did nothing to impede Vail's development, as he proceeded to bat .342 at Tidewater in 1975, posting an outstanding .888 OPS with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate. For his efforts, Vail was named the International League Player of the Year and earned his first promotion to the big leagues.
Prior to Vail's promotion in August, the Mets had used six different left fielders, with none of them having started more than 64 games at the position. Vail made his major league debut on August 18, collecting a pinch-hit single off Houston's hard-throwing right-hander J.R. Richard. Vail became the seventh Met to start a game in left field two days later, but went 0-for-5. Through his first four games at the big league level, Vail collected three hits in 11 at-bats. He more than doubled his career hit total in his fifth game - a game that began Vail's march into the record books.
Facing the San Diego Padres on August 25, Vail went 4-for-4 with a walk, becoming the first Met to collect four hits in a game during his first month in the big leagues. Vail collected three hits the following day and two more hits in the series finale against the Padres. But as August turned to September, the Mets faded from the NL East race. A victory over the Pirates on September 1 - a game in which Vail hit his first major league home run - moved the Mets to within four games of first place Pittsburgh. The joy was short-lived, however, as the Mets proceeded to lose eight of their next nine games to fall ten games out of first.
The Mets may have stopped winning in September, but Vail never stopped hitting. By September 9, Vail was hitting .358 and had recorded eight multi-hit games in his first 18 starts. Three days later, Vail extended his hitting streak to 20 games, making him just the third Met to collect a hit in 20 or more consecutive games, joining Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones, who both accomplished the feat in 1970. The hit streak by Jones eventually reached 23 games, and on September 15, Vail matched him.
Trailing 2-0 in the sixth inning against the Montreal Expos, Vail delivered a two-out, run-scoring single off Steve Rogers. Vail not only cut the Expos' lead in half, but he extended his hitting streak to 23 games, tying Cleon Jones's franchise record and the modern National League record for rookies. Vail joined Joe Rapp (1921), Alvin Dark (1948) and Richie Ashburn (1948) as the only Senior Circuit rookies to string together a hitting skein of 23 games. Two innings later, Vail delivered his second hit of the game, an RBI single that scored the decisive run in the Mets' 3-2 victory.
Unfortunately, Vail could not break the Mets' record for longest hitting streak, even though he got plenty of opportunities to do so. On September 16, during an 18-inning marathon against the Expos, Vail drew a first-inning walk, then failed to collect a hit in his next seven plate appearances. When Del Unser drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the winning run in the Mets' 4-3 victory, Vail was two batters away from getting a ninth chance to extend his streak.
With the streak now in the past, the Mets could contemplate their future - one that involved Mike Vail as an everyday player. But Vail's future in New York was not in left field. Rather, it was in right, a position that was occupied by Rusty Staub, who had just completed the first 100-RBI campaign in Mets history.
Staub had already played 13 seasons in the major leagues and was thought to be entering the downside of his career. Plus, with slugger Dave Kingman setting a franchise record by hitting 36 home runs in 1975, Staub was deemed expendable. The Mets were also searching for a fourth starter to use behind Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack, and believed they had found him in Detroit in 207-game winner Mickey Lolich. General manager Joe McDonald was certain that Vail was ready to replace Staub in right, and thought of something the Brooklyn Dodgers had done in the early 1940s.
"When we won in 1973, George Stone won 13 games. But the last two years, we haven't had a consistent fourth starter. Stone had arm trouble and Randy Tate and Craig Swan couldn't quite do it. In getting Lolich, it reminds me of when the old Brooklyn Dodgers were winning with Larry French as their fourth starter."
If that was the reason McDonald acquired Lolich, then the Mets were in serious trouble. For one thing, French only started 15 games for the Dodgers in 1941 and 1942, appearing in relief 29 times. In his only full season with the Dodgers (1942), French did pitch beautifully, going 15-4 with a 1.83 ERA. But the Dodgers didn't win the pennant in 1942, finishing two games behind the eventual World Series champion Cardinals. They did advance to the World Series the previous year, but French only started one game for the Dodgers in 1941. (And not to nitpick, but McDonald's selective memory also pegged George Stone as a 13-game winner in 1973 when he only won a dozen games.)
While it was true that Mickey Lolich had had a solid career in the majors, winning 207 games prior to being traded to the Mets for Rusty Staub, McDonald failed to notice one important detail about Lolich's career. In his first eight years in the big leagues (1963-70), Lolich never pitched more than 280⅔ innings in any season. But from 1971 to 1974, Lolich never pitched fewer than 308 innings, peaking in 1971 when he tossed a mind-boggling 376 innings in 45 starts.
Staub had come off a 1975 season in which he received MVP consideration. Lolich was coming off a 1975 campaign in which he went 12-18 and pitched just 240⅔ innings, his lowest total since 1968. Lolich might have been able to give the Mets the innings they needed out of a fourth starter, but he certainly wasn't going to help them win. In other words, Lolich was not going to be the Mets' version of Larry French, something that was confirmed when Lolich went 8-13 and pitched just 192⅔ innings in his only season as a Met.
While Joe McDonald was busy trading away his MVP candidate for a washed-up pitcher, Mike Vail was busy getting hurt playing basketball. A dislocated right foot suffered in January caused Vail to miss half of the 1976 season. Upon his return, Vail spent most of June and July on the bench, starting just six games over the two months. Vail played in just 53 games in 1976, batting .217 in 143 at-bats. His total of 31 hits during the 1976 campaign was three fewer than the number of hits he collected during his 23-game hitting streak the previous summer.
Vail played one more season with the Mets in 1977, but never hit enough to play every day. He shared right field duties with Dave Kingman and Ed Kranepool during the season's first half, then ended the year in a right field platoon with Bruce Boisclair. Vail was then claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians prior to the start of the 1978 season.
In three years with the Mets, Vail produced a total of 25 doubles, 11 homers and 61 RBI. In his first three years with Detroit following the trade to make room for Vail, Rusty Staub averaged 31 doubles, 20 homers and 106 RBI per season. Needless to say, Vail didn't exactly make Mets fans forget about Rusty Staub.
Throughout the team's history, many young players have been viewed as the next great Mets prospect. For Mike Vail, an unexpected long hitting streak that began a week after he made his major league debut gave the team hope that it had found its newest young star - one that could shine at Shea Stadium for many years to come.
For one brief moment in time, Mike Vail was heralded as the future of the Mets. Instead, all he did was convince a general manager to make an ill-fated decision, one that brought the Mets back to its ugly past. It would take years for the team's future to be bright again.
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:
The Internet did not exist in 1983. Neither did winning baseball at Shea Stadium. As a ten-year-old Mets fan in '83, I knew as much about the World Series as I did the World Wide Web, as both were still years away from becoming a reality.
So when my little league team decided to attend a Mets game together on Wednesday, June 15, 1983, I was naturally excited but I didn't have a forum to document my experience. (My mother had discovered my diary just a weeks before the game and because of her find, I wasn't allowed to write in it anymore. Censorship at its overprotective motherly worst.)
It's been more than three decades since I attended that game, but with this past week's installment of "The Best On The Worst" focusing on former Mets hurler Craig Swan, I thought now would be a perfect time to finally tell that story. After all, Swan started that game on June 15, 1983, throwing the first pitch I would ever see in a big league ballpark.
To make this recap even more special, I have decided to allow my ten-year-old self access to my computer. I figured more people would be able to read the recap that way instead of trying to read it on my just-returned-to-me diary.
Take it away, Eddie!
Hi, everyone! My name is Eddie Leyro and I'm ten-and-a-half years old. I just got home from Shea Stadium where I saw my first-ever Mets game! I went to the game with my little league team and some of the coaches and I had an awesome time. Well, it would have been better than awesome had the Mets actually won the game. But stupid Rusty Staub made a dumb error in the tenth inning that helped the Chicago Cubs win the game. I mean, seriously. Even Orko from the "He-Man" cartoon could've made that play and he floats in mid-air! Anyway, the game started with Craig Swan sucking more than Madonna's music. (I mean, do you really think she's going to have a long career as singer? She's no Toni Basil!) Swan was knocked out of the game in the second inning after giving up an RBI single to Bill Buckner in the first and allowing Jody Davis, Mel Hall and Ryne Sandberg to drive in runs in the second. Once Swan hit the showers, I figured I'd hit the concession stand with my teammates, David and Robby. But I never got my hot dog because the coaches had to get off the line to break up a fight by our pitcher, Walter and our second baseman, Ricky in the bathroom. Walter was also the son of our manager, so you can imagine who got blamed for starting it. Needless to say, I never got my hot dog. The coaches made us all go back to our upper deck seats and no hot dog vendor came around. The only other time they allowed us to get out of our seats was when a few of the guys had to go to the bathroom. I didn't go because I don't like peeing in public. I'm as afraid of public restrooms as B.A. Baracus is of flying on a plane. Anyway, by the time we got back to our seats, the Mets had already scored a run to cut the score to 4-1 and I just managed to see my first major league home run, a shot by Hubie Brooks in the bottom of the third to make it 4-2. I didn't get why people were booing him until I was told that the fans were actually saying "HUUUUUUUUUU-bie". Baseball fans are very weird. The fans also cheered a message that was posted on the DiamondVision about some guy named Keith Hernandez. Apparently, he was just traded to the Mets for a few pitchers. He can't be as bad as the guys already on the team, right? Oh, I almost forgot! The Mets tied the game right after the DiamondVision announcement on an RBI double by Jose Oquendo and a run-scoring single by Danny Heep. But of course, Heep got greedy like Boss Hogg and got thrown out trying to get to second base. Had Heep not gotten thrown out, the Mets might have taken the lead in that inning. Instead, the game was just tied, 4-4, and stayed that way through nine innings.
Maybe if Danny Heep didn't have such a big ear flap on his helmet, he'd have seen he was going to be out by a mile.
Coach Walter, Sr., announced that we would stay for the tenth inning, but we'd have to go home if the game kept going. It was a Wednesday night and we had to go to school the next day. So I started praying for the Mets to hold the Cubs scoreless in the tenth and then maybe Hubie Brooks could hit another home run to win it in the bottom of the inning. But while I was alternating between one of my many Hail Marys and Our Fathers, the Cubs scored three runs, all because our first baseman, Rusty Staub, made a lousy error.
The Mets didn't score in the bottom of the tenth, as Hubie Brooks made an out and the skinny rookie, Darryl Strawberry, grounded into a double play to end the game. All I kept thinking as we walked down the Shea Stadium ramps was:
a) This Keith Hernandez better be a good first baseman so that this Rusty Staub guy isn't allowed to make more stupid errors. 2) Why do we have to go down these long ramps when there are escalators all over the place? iii) Oh, snap! I never got my hot dog!
So that's it. My first Shea Stadium experience. Craig Swan sucked. My teammates fought in the bathroom. And Rusty Staub should never play first base again. But at least the experience was more fun than having to sit through another rerun of "The Facts of Life", which I would have done had I stayed home. (They should really move "Magnum P.I." from Thursday to Wednesday. That would be, like, totally awesome.) I hope you liked my recap. Maybe I should ask my mom to get me a Commodore 64. It's sure a lot better to write on than my diary!
I became a Mets fan on Memorial Day 1981. My father wasn't feeling well that day so we had to cancel our annual Memorial Day barbecue, leaving eight-year-old me to find something to do since I was home from school that day. My ill father was in bed all day, so I decided to lay back on his comfortable-beyond-words recliner and watch TV. The last person who watched the tube had left it on Channel 9 and since 1981 was the pre-remote control era of television (at least it was in our household), I didn't feel like getting up to physically change the channel, so I just watched was on WOR at the time. It was a Mets-Phillies game. And it was beautiful.
The Mets destroyed Philadelphia, showing no brotherly love for their division rivals in a 13-3 romp. Although many players performed well for the Mets that day (Hubie Brooks, Lee Mazzilli and Joel Youngblood had three hits apiece and Dave Kingman hit a grand slam), it was Mookie Wilson who captured my attention and made me thankful that we weren't a remote control household. Mookie reached base four times that day (two hits, two walks). He also scored three runs and drove in two. After leading off the game with a walk, Mookie proceeded to swipe second and scored the first of the Mets' four runs in that inning. It was the first time I had been exposed to Mookie's baserunning abilities, and I was utterly amazed. Six innings later, Mookie crushed a long drive to center off former Met Tug McGraw that went for a two-run triple. His gazzelle-like speed mesmerized the eight-year-old me to the point where I checked the TV guide (I had to get off the couch eventually) for when the next Mets game was going to be aired on WOR.
Less than three weeks after discovering Mookie and the Mets, baseball went on strike. For two months, I couldn't indulge in my new passion - my New York Mets passion, that is. Fortunately, my father recovered from his illness and we were able to have many barbecues to pass the time during baseball's two-month hiatus. Baseball returned to my TV screen in August, and I quickly eschewed burgers and hot dogs on the grill for Mookie and the Mets on my grill.
Run, Mookie, Run!
Although my father hails from Puerto Rico, an island paradise that loves its baseball, he has never been much of a sports fan. He knows the object of the game, but can't differentiate between an infield fly and an unzipped fly. So naturally, you can imagine how difficult it was for me to get him to take me to a Mets game at Shea Stadium. Every conversation would start the same way ("We're not doing anything this weekend, right? Can you get us tickets for this game?") and unfortunately, they would also end the same way ("No."). It took over two years for me to finally make it out to Shea to meet the Mets, meet the Mets, step right up and greet the Mets. And when I did, it was because my Little League team went as a group. The date was June 15, 1983 - thirty years ago today - and it became a memorable day not just for the then ten-year-old me, but for all Mets fans.
When we got to the game, I remember how disappointed I was that Mookie Wilson was not in the starting lineup (Danny Heep took Mookie's place as the leadoff hitter and centerfielder for the game. It was only the second time all year that Mookie wasn't in the starting lineup for the Mets.) My fleet-footed hero didn't start, but Craig Swan did, taking the mound for the Mets against future Hall-of-Famer Ferguson Jenkins. Unfortunately, Swan was not graceful that night. By the
time I got back from my second bathroom break in the second inning (my Little League
teammates were not amused that I kept stepping on their feet every time I
tried to squeeze by them in our upper deck seats), Swan was out of the
game and the Mets were down 4-0.
The bullpen pitched very well after
Swan’s early exodus and the Mets rallied to tie the game. Mookie did pinch-hit in the fifth inning, but struck out against Jenkins, denying me the opportunity to see him fly around the bases. Of course, his one-day replacement in center field, Danny Heep, followed Wilson's strikeout with the game-tying hit, causing my Little League teammates to tease me by saying that Heep was going to be the centerfielder of the future. I'm glad they were wrong.
Neither team scored after Heep knotted the game, necessitating
extra innings and causing some of the parents and chaperones to wonder
if they should take the kids home. They decided to stick around for the tenth, but told us all that if the game went to the 11th, we would have to leave. We did get to see the game to its conclusion, but it wasn't the conclusion I wanted. The Mets lost the game to the
Chicago Cubs in ten innings by the score of 7-4. An error by first baseman Rusty Staub and a timely bunt by Bill Buckner set the Cubs up for their big inning and my bigger disappointment. But errors by Mets' first basemen were about to become a thing of the past, thanks to a brilliant trade engineered by general manager Frank Cashen.
A Gold Glove, a sweet swing, a killer 'stache. Keith Hernandez brought it all to the table.
Earlier in the evening, the Mets announced that they had acquired first baseman Keith Hernandez from the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in a trade for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. I
remember how happy the sparse crowd of 11,631 was when the announcement was flashed on
DiamondVision. I also remember how confused I was that the biggest
cheer of the night was reserved for the “big TV screen in left field”
rather than the events taking place on the field. But as the years went by and my love of the Mets grew, I realized just how special Keith Hernandez truly was, both as a player and as a team leader.
As you all know, the trade for Keith Hernandez set off a chain of events that led to a World Series championship three years later (a World Series that turned my man Mookie into a Mets legend for all time). Hernandez's arrival gave instant credibility to the languishing franchise, although it took until the following season for that off-the-field credibility to translate into on-the-field wins.
In hindsight, it didn’t matter that the Mets lost on June 15, 1983. It was one of 94
games they lost that season anyway. That day was important to me for
more than just a game. That day began my love affair with Shea Stadium and my subsequent appreciation of Keith Hernandez. I should have known
the Mets had acquired someone special when I listened to the sweet voice
of Bob Murphy after the game during the radio post-game show when he
said “the Mets lost the game tonight, but they have gained a
superstar.” Thirty years ago today, the magic that was the Mets entered my life. It
has never left.
There have been a total of 11 former Mets players who have received the ultimate honor of being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Those players are Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Tom Seaver, Richie Ashburn, Nolan Ryan, Eddie Murray, Gary Carter, Rickey Henderson and Roberto Alomar.
Of the 11, only Seaver is wearing a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. And only Carter (600 games), Seaver (420 games) and Murray (310 games) played in at least 250 games as a Met.
Most of this information you already know, especially if you've read Greg Prince's excellent discussions on the topic in his blog, Faith and Fear In Flushing. In all likelihood, you also know that Seaver is the only player who has had his number retired by the Mets (Casey Stengel's No. 37 and Gil Hodges' No. 14 were retired because of what they did as managers). But what about former Mets players who have had their uniform numbers retired by other teams?
The ten Mets Hall of Famers not named Seaver have all had their numbers retired by other teams, with one player (Nolan Ryan) receiving the honor from three teams. But there are six other former Mets who have not been voted into the Hall of Fame (although one is not yet eligible), yet have had their uniform numbers retired by another team. Let's take a look at those six players, some of which might cause you to look away once you see their names.
Ken Boyer
One of many former Mets who tried (and failed) to make the third base position his own in the 1960s, Ken Boyer spent the majority of his career as a Gold Glove-winning All-Star in St. Louis. Defensively, Boyer won five Gold Gloves manning the hot corner in St. Louis. Offensively, Boyer drove in over 1,000 runs in 11 years as a Cardinal and was named the 1964 National League MVP. In St. Louis, Boyer enjoyed seven 20-HR seasons and hit over .300 five times. In 1½ seasons with the Mets (1966-67), Boyer batted .258 and managed 17 homers. Boyer's No. 14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984.
Jim Fregosi
Even Mets fans who hadn't been born by December 10, 1971 know why that date is notorious. On that date, the team made what is still considered to be the worst trade in team history when they sent Nolan Ryan to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi, who would be asked to play third base for the Mets. Ryan went on the have his number retired by the other three teams he played for (more on that later), while Mets fans wish Fregosi had retired before the day of the trade. The Angels retired Fregosi's No. 11 in 1998, just five years after Ryan retired from pitching.
Tom Glavine
Glavine won his 300th game as a Met, but no one really cares. It's the one game he didn't win (and his post-game reaction to it) that everyone will remember him for. The southpaw's Met career ended the way it began, with a horrible performance that resulted in him exiting the game to a chorus of boos from the Shea Faithful. Glavine won 244 games as an Atlanta Brave and had his No. 47 retired by the team in 2010. I'm sure he wasn't devastated on the day it was retired.
Randy Jones
Although Jones went 92-105 as a San Diego Padre, his No. 35 was retired by the Friars in 1997. Jones had two 20-win seasons in San Diego, which came immediately after he recorded a 20-loss season in 1974. Take out Jones' two 20-win campaigns and his best single-season record came in his rookie year (1973) when he finished a mediocre 7-6. Jones spent his final two seasons in the big leagues as a Met, leaving his afro and ability to pitch on the West Coast.
Mike Scott
In four years as a Met, Mike Scott went 14-27 and never struck out 100 batters in a single season. Then he became an Astro, had a little chat with original Met Roger Craig, got Santa Claus to bring him a "Scuffing For Dummies" book and became a Cy Young Award winner. He almost single-handedly eliminated the Mets in the 1986 NLCS. Six years later, Scott's No. 33 (and nail file) was raised to the Astrodome roof.
Rusty Staub
Staub played for the Mets before and after he played for the team that eventually retired his number. Le Grand Orange was traded by Montreal to the Mets in 1972 after making the All-Star team in each of his three seasons as an Expo. In 1979, Staub returned to Montreal, two years before coming back to the Mets. Staub was no longer in the proper shape to be an everyday player (although his body certainly had a proper shape), but was still able to contribute to the team, becoming one of the most productive pinch-hitters in franchise history. Staub's No. 10 was retired by the Expos in 1993. His two numbers with the Mets (No. 4, No. 10) are still in circulation.
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:
