The Best On The Worst: Joel Youngblood

In baseball, the big bucks go to the power hitters, speed demons and flamethrowers.  If you can hit a baseball 500 feet, you're going to get a lucrative deal.  Similarly, if you can cover two-thirds of the outfield while stealing 50 bases, you can run your way to the bank.  And hit 100 on the speed gun, you're set for life.

All of those players can contribute to the success of a team.  But sometimes the most invaluable player is the one who finds many ways to contribute.  Occasionally, that player is needed to fill more than one role on the team, either because of injuries to a teammate or because of extenuating circumstances that don't allow that player to remain tied down to one position on the field.  This player is known as the utility player.

The Mets have had a number of utility players in their 50-plus seasons.  The original Mets had Rod Kanehl hot rodding his way around the field, playing all three outfield positions, as well as all four infield positions.  But utility players aren't just reserved for last-place Mets teams, as Kanehl was.  Ted Martinez played five or more games at six different positions during the 1973 pennant-winning campaign.  Kevin Mitchell might have forgotten to put on his protective cup during the 1986 World Series, but he never forgot to pack all his gloves, as the rookie played six positions for the world champion Mets.  And who can forget Super Joe McEwing, who could hit Randy Johnson and play eight positions (including designated hitter) during his five seasons in New York, although he "only" played six positions for the 2000 National League champions.

As invaluable as Kanehl, Martinez, Mitchell and McEwing were, none of them were All-Stars during their time with the Mets, and only Kanehl had a season of more than 350 at-bats, barely getting there in 1962, when he had 351 official at-bats for the original Mets.  But the Mets have had a utility All-Star in their history, one who had multiple seasons of 500 or more at-bats despite never settling into one position on the field.  Unfortunately, he never shared in the team success experienced by the utility office of Martinez, Mitchell and McEwing during his six years with the Mets.

Joel Youngblood became a star in front of many empty seats at Shea Stadium.

Joel Randolph Youngblood was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1970 January draft.  Youngblood's ascent to the majors was slow, as he was mired at AAA-Indianapolis for three full seasons from 1973 to 1975 because the Big Red Machine didn't have any openings on their star-laden team.  The outfield consisted of up-and-coming slugger George Foster in left, Gold Glove-winner Cesar Geronimo in center and All-Star Ken Griffey in right.  And Youngblood wasn't about to crack an infield filled with all-time greats Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion and Pete Rose.

Despite Youngblood showing a penchant for playing multiple defensive positions in the minor leagues, he was a man whose talent just wasn't good enough for the team that drafted him.  Youngblood did eventually make it to the Reds in 1976, but he was relegated to mostly pinch-hitting, as he played in 55 games but only managed 57 at-bats with Cincinnati.  The extended time on the bench did nothing for Youngblood's confidence, as batted just .193 in his limited action.

With no future in Cincinnati, Youngblood was traded in March 1977 to the St. Louis Cardinals.  Eleven weeks later, Youngblood was on the move again, as he was dealt to the Mets for infielder and singles hitter Mike Phillips at the trade deadline - the same day of the infamous "Midnight Massacre".  It was the one trade made by the Mets on June 15, 1977 that was viewed as a positive move by the team, even though it didn't exactly lead to a bigger number in the win column.

After playing in 80 games but amassing just 84 at-bats for the Reds and Cardinals in 1976 and 1977, Youngblood started at third base in his first three games as a Met, collecting a hit in each contest.  But Youngblood came off the bench in 11 of his next 15 games, batting just .150 over the three-week period.  His second month in New York proved more productive, as Youngblood got more chances to start, playing games at second base, third base, center field and right field.  From July 24 to August 16, Youngblood batted .370, starting more than half the games he played in.  Youngblood finished his first half-season with the Mets batting .253 with 12 extra-base hits in 182 at-bats.  Although he didn't hit any homers, he showed he was capable of playing wherever manager Joe Torre put him.  He also proved he wasn't just a singles hitter, like the man he was traded for - Mike Phillips.

The 1978 season saw Youngblood without a position of his own again, as the Mets used Steve Henderson, Lee Mazzilli and newcomer Elliot Maddox in the outfield.  They also had Doug Flynn at second and Lenny Randle at third, two of the other positions played by Youngblood.  As a result, the 26-year-old Youngblood had just 266 at-bats in 1978.  But Youngblood made the most of his limited playing time, batting .252 with 27 extra-base hits.  He also hit seven homers after not hitting a home run in his first two major league seasons.  Most impressive was his eight triples, which placed him in a tie for 10th place in the National League.  But of all the NL players who had at least eight three-baggers in 1978, Youngblood was the only one to do it in fewer than 437 at-bats.

After a productive 1978 season in limited action, the stage was set for Youngblood to have a breakout year for the Mets in 1979.  All he needed was the playing time.  The Mets made sure to oblige and they were rewarded with one of the best all-around seasons by a player in their short history.

The 1979 season began with Steve Henderson and Elliot Maddox once again starting in left and right field, respectively.  But simultaneous injuries to both players allowed Joel Youngblood to start more games in the outfield.  With Henderson out two months with a severe ankle sprain and Maddox sidelined for a month with a pulled hamstring, Youngblood made it impossible for the Mets to keep him on the bench.  The utility man played in a career-high 158 games in 1979, batting .275 with 37 doubles, five triples, 16 homers, 60 RBI, 90 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.  He also had an accurate arm in the outfield, finishing second in the league with 18 assists.

Youngblood's 37 doubles in 1979 tied a franchise mark set by Felix Millan in 1975.  Youngblood's co-ownership of the club's single-season doubles record lasted until 1989, when Howard Johnson ripped 41 two-base hits.  Youngblood also became the fourth Met to score 90 or more runs in a season, joining Tommie Agee (1969, 1970), Cleon Jones (1969) and Rusty Staub (1975).  In addition, Youngblood became just the fourth Met to finish a year with at least 15 homers and 15 stolen bases, after Agee (24 HR/31 SB in 1970), Lee Mazzilli (16 HR/20 SB in 1978, 15 HR/34 SB in 1979) and John Stearns (15 HR/25 SB in 1978).  And Youngblood's 58 extra-base hits in 1979 represented the fourth-highest total in club annals, behind Agee (61 XBH in 1970), Frank Thomas (60 XBH in 1962) and Dave Kingman (59 XBH in 1975).  Defensively, Youngblood became the third Met with at least 18 outfield assists in a single season, joining Rusty Staub (19 assists in 1974) and Steve Henderson (18 assists in 1978).

Very quietly, Youngblood had a great all-around season for the Mets in 1979 without having a regular defensive position.  He played most of his games in the corner outfield positions, starting 82 games in right field and 53 games in left.  But he also saw time at third base (seven starts), second base (six starts) and center field (four starts).  The thing he saw the most in 1979 was the other team celebrating a victory, as the Mets needed to win their last six games to avoid their first 100-loss campaign since 1967.

In 1980, the Mets began to move away from using their overpriced veteran players and started to dig into their minor league system for talent more often.  As a result, Youngblood had almost 100 fewer plate appearances in 1980 than he did during his breakout 1979 campaign despite never missing more than two consecutive games at any point in the season.  Youngblood's .276 batting average remained consistent with his 1979 performance, but his other numbers fell off a tad, as you would expect from a player who spent more time watching the kids play.

Youngblood finished the 1980 season with 26 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 14 steals.  Although he hit half the number of home runs as he did in 1979, Youngblood did manage to drive in a career-high 69 runs in 1980, batting .290 with men on base as opposed to a .257 average in similar situations in 1979.  He also benefited from batting lower in the order in 1980.  Youngblood was the team's leadoff hitter 51 times in 1979, hurting his RBI chances.  A year later, his name was penciled in the fourth, fifth or sixth spot in the batting order nearly 100 times.

Going into the 1981 season, Youngblood had become one of the team's veterans.  He was also two years removed from his best season in the majors and was about to turn 30.  If Youngblood was going to prove that he should remain an everyday player with so many capable youngsters ready and willing to take playing time away from him, he was going to have to force the Mets to play him, even if his all-out style of play was conducive to injuries.  He did force the Mets to play him in 1981, but he also forced his way out of the lineup by being too aggressive.

Youngblood spent most of the first month of the 1981 campaign on the bench because manager Joe Torre had gone with an outfield of Lee Mazzilli in center, first-year player Mookie Wilson in right and the recently-reacquired Dave Kingman in left, despite Youngblood being one of only two players on the team to play in over 300 games in 1979 and 1980.  Torre didn't start Youngblood until the seventh game of the season and went with a Kingman-Mazzilli-Wilson outfield alignment in ten of the team's first 18 games.  In early May, a slumping Wilson finally forced Torre to give Youngblood the opportunity he needed to produce on a consistent basis.  And boy, did he ever produce when he got that chance!

Joel Youngblood is living proof that determination always leads to success.

From May 2 to May 26, Youngblood started 22 games for the Mets, batting a whopping .430 (37-for-86) and posting an eye-popping 1.150 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).  The new everyday right fielder produced a dozen extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples, four homers) and drove in 19 runs in the 22 games.  By the time his streak came to an end, Youngblood was leading the league with a .368 batting average and had opened the eyes of All-Star voters across the country.  But Youngblood's storybook season was about to change, and not in a good way.

On May 29, Youngblood was forced to leave a game versus the Chicago Cubs in the third inning with back spasms.  That night, the team acquired right fielder Ellis Valentine from the Montreal Expos for reliever Jeff Reardon.  To add insult to Youngblood's injury, Valentine was acquired by the Mets while he himself was on the disabled list.  Youngblood was limited to one pinch-hitting appearance over the next five games before he was able to start a game against the Houston Astros on June 5.  A day later, Youngblood doubled and scored a run against the Astros, but had to be removed for a pinch-hitter prior to his next at-bat.  This time, it wasn't back spasms that kept Youngblood from continuing.  It was a ligament strain in his left knee.  And it required him to go on the disabled list.

Less than a week after Youngblood doubled against the Astros to hike his average back up to .359, Major League Baseball went on strike.  The strike actually helped Youngblood, as the two-month layoff caused him to miss just four games.  It also kept his average atop the National League leader board, which helped Youngblood make his first All-Star team.  As the Mets' sole All-Star representative in 1981, Youngblood made his return from the disabled list in the delayed All-Star Game, which was held in Cleveland on August 9.  Youngblood was the first player off the bench for the National League, pinch-hitting in the second inning for über-phenom Fernando Valenzuela, who would go on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the strike-shortened season.  Youngblood flied out in his lone All-Star plate appearance.

Upon returning from the All-Star Game, Youngblood was back in the Mets lineup, collecting hits in four of his first five games following his time on the disabled list.  Youngblood has shifted over to left field to accommodate Ellis Valentine in right.  But just five days after playing in the Midsummer Classic, Youngblood had to be removed from a game once again due to injury.  And this time, he didn't have a players' strike to keep him from missing too much time.  Youngblood had injured his left knee for a second time, and he would not play again in 1981.  His final season totals in just 43 games played were excellent (.350, 16 extra-base hits in 143 at-bats), but Youngblood still considered his season a disappointment because he couldn't stay healthy and be a part of his team's unexpected march into second-half contention.  The Mets finished the second half of the season with a 24-28 record, competing for a split division title until the final two weeks of the season.

Despite the front office's insistence on bringing in veterans to play in the outfield (Ellis Valentine, Dave Kingman, etc.), Joe Torre had always been able to find a spot for Joel Youngblood in the lineup during his four-plus seasons as manager of the New York Mets.  It started immediately after Youngblood was traded to the Mets, when Torre removed the "player" from his player/manager status, opening up a roster spot for Youngblood.  (Torre was officially "released" by the Mets on June 18, 1977 to fully focus on managing the team.  Six days later, Youngblood made his Mets debut.)  But Torre was relieved of his managerial duties on the final day of the 1981 season, leaving Youngblood without the manager who believed in his ability.  The move shocked Youngblood, as well as several of his teammates, some of whom had difficulty coping with general manager Frank Cashen's decision.

(video from Eyewitness News broadcast posted by Jon Bois on YouTube)

Cashen's firing of Torre (as well as long-time pitching coach Rube Walker) was the first of many moves the club made during the off-season in an attempt to end a five-year stretch of losing seasons.  Speedster Frank Taveras was traded to Montreal and Gold Glove-winning second baseman Doug Flynn was shipped off to Texas in December.  Lee Mazzilli was also sent to Texas, in a deal that wrangled Ron Darling and Walt Terrell away from the Rangers.  The Mazzilli trade opened up a spot for Mookie Wilson to become the everyday center fielder.  With Ellis Valentine firmly entrenched in right field, that left one outfield spot for Youngblood to claim.  The only problem was that Cashen had already found his man for the position.

George Foster, one of the many stars of the Big Red Machine in the mid-'70s, became a Met on February 10, 1982.  Cashen traded three players to Cincinnati for the slugging left fielder, then signed Foster to a five-year, $10 million contract, which at the time was the most lucrative deal ever given to a player by the Mets.  Six years after Foster contributed to keeping Youngblood out of the Reds' outfield mix in Cincinnati, he reprised that role with the Mets.  And this time, Youngblood didn't have Joe Torre to put him somewhere in the lineup.

The new Mets manager in 1982 was George Bamberger, a man who had no allegiance to the veteran Youngblood.  Bamberger used Foster and Wilson as his everyday left fielder and center fielder, but platooned Youngblood, Valentine and rookie Gary Rajsich in right.  Through the team's first 46 games, Youngblood had started 19 games in right, with Valentine starting 17 times and Rajsich getting the call on ten occasions.  Neither man played well enough to claim the everyday job so Bamberger started Mike Jorgensen and Rusty Staub in right field 17 times in July and August.  Still, no one player could make the position his own.

Although Youngblood had played in 80 of the team's first 104 games, he had only started 45 times through early August.  As usual, Youngblood bounced around the diamond, playing six defensive positions and starting games at four of them.  But since he was in the last year of a three-year contract signed after his breakthrough 1979 campaign, the Mets decided it would be better to trade him than to keep him mired on the bench.  On August 4, after going 1-for-2 against future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, Youngblood was removed from the day game at Wrigley Field, having been traded to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (Tom Gorman).  An ex-Met for just five hours, Youngblood then collected a hit off another future Hall of Famer, Steve Carlton, in Montreal's night game at Philadelphia.  In doing so, Youngblood proved his versatility in a different way, becoming the first player in major league history to collect hits for two teams in two cities on the same day.

The Youngblood trade was supposed to give Ellis Valentine the everyday job in right, but Bamberger continued to platoon several players at the position, causing Valentine to declare that there was a "conspiracy" against him by an organization that was "the worst in baseball".  Valentine also went on to say that Youngblood should have been traded earlier in the season, and was displeased by Youngblood's trade destination, saying "they traded Youngblood right back into our own division, and to a contending team.  That was stupid."

Needless to say, Valentine was also a former Met at the conclusion of the 1982 season.  Youngblood, on the other hand, never caught on with the Expos after his historic debut, signing a free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants prior to the 1983 season.  Youngblood played six years in the Bay Area, spending more time in the infield during the beginning of his Giant tenure.  But after committing 36 errors in just 117 games as the Giants' third baseman in 1984 - tied for the fourth-most errors at the position in a single season since the end of World War II - Youngblood was moved back to the outfield in 1985 and spent most of his remaining years with the Giants alternating between the three outfield positions.  Although Youngblood was a member of San Francisco's division-winning team in 1987, he never played for the team in the postseason.  Two years later, Youngblood closed out his career as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, appearing mostly as a pinch-hitter, just as he did when he made his major league debut with the Reds 13 years earlier.

Joel Youngblood was a fine major league player, whose longevity in the big leagues was due mostly to the fact that he wasn't able to hold down a steady position.  Youngblood always knew his versatility would be advantageous to whichever team employed him, and to this day remains grateful that his former manager in New York noticed that as well.

"From a manager's standpoint, I gave (Torre) an insurance policy on the bench that could go in and play anywhere.  But it took away some of the opportunities for me to play regularly at one position because I was so valuable I could play all positions quite well. ... Joe's always been my favorite manager and I've had great managers - Sparky Anderson, Frank Robinson.  I always felt (Torre) was fair, he was open and listened.  It was great in New York."

Youngblood played in over 1,400 major leagues during his 14-year career, but never once became a regular at any one position.  In six seasons as a Met, Youngblood played 309 games in right field.  But he also spent time in left field (102 games), second base (99 games), center field (75 games), third base (53 games) and even found himself playing shortstop twice.

There are only ten other players in Mets history besides Youngblood who split time between second base, third base and the three outfield positions.  None of them played is as many total games as Youngblood did (Joe McEwing ranks second to Youngblood with 502 games as a Met, which is still more than 100 games short of Youngblood's total in New York) and none of the utility players came close to matching Youngblood's offensive production with the Mets.

From 1977 to 1982, Youngblood was one of only three Mets to produce 100 doubles, score 200 runs and collect 200 RBI.  (Lee Mazzilli and John Stearns were the others.)  When Youngblood played his final game as a Met, he ranked in the team's top twenty in several offensive categories, including hits (519; 14th all-time through 1982), home runs (38; 15th), runs scored (241; 15th) and RBI (216; 14th).  Youngblood cracked the top ten in doubles (108; 9th), triples (18; T-10th) and stolen bases (39; 10th).  All this from a player who could do everything on the field except claim a defensive position of his own.

In 1981, Robert Sullivan wrote an article in Sports Illustrated claiming Youngblood was "a star, not a starter".  It's true that Youngblood was never a fixture at any one position for the Mets or any of the other teams he played for.  But that didn't stop him from becoming an All-Star in 1981.

Although he played hundreds of games there, you couldn't really pigeonhole Joel Youngblood as an outfielder.  He also couldn't be referred to as a second baseman or a third baseman.  But if you had to define Youngblood's role on a team, it would be simple.  Joel Youngblood was a baseball player, and a damn fine player at that.

The Mets weren't very good between 1977 and 1982.  But that didn't mean they were bereft of good players.  Joel Youngblood was a very good player on some very bad teams.  It wasn't his fault he couldn't catch a break with the Big Red Machine.  Nor could anyone blame him for the Mets' troubles in the late '70s and early '80s.  Youngblood just did what he knew how to do - play baseball - and that's something Mets fans will always appreciate.

That's the smile of a much-appreciated Met.

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

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

The Best On The Worst: Craig Swan

Hard-luck pitchers.  The majors have seen many of them in recent years.  Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners led all of baseball in 2010 with a 2.27 ERA.  He also paced the American League in innings pitched and allowed the fewest hits per nine innings.  His won-loss record for the year was a rather mediocre 13-12.  Similarly, in Matt Harvey's final 22 starts in 2013, he pitched to a 2.53 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and had an astounding 159 strikeouts to only 22 walks.  Harvey won just five of those 22 starts and the Mets' record in those appearances was 9-13.

Matt Harvey has only been in the big leagues for a year and a half, so he should have plenty of opportunities to become a big winner.  Meanwhile, at age 27, Felix Hernandez has already won 110 games and is 24 games over .500 for his career.

Decades before Harvey and Hernandez had their hard-luck seasons, there was a pitcher who spent a dozen seasons in Flushing making a career out of getting tough losses and no-decisions despite pitching better than most of his fellow moundsmen.  In fact, he may just be the most unfortunate pitcher in Mets history.

Craig Swan was one of the unluckiest pitchers in Mets history.

Craig Steven Swan was selected by the Mets in the third round of the 1972 June amateur draft - the same round that produced future Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Gary Carter.  Swan pitched for four years at Arizona State University, winning the national championship in his freshman year in 1969 and allowing just one run in 18 innings as a senior for the Sun Devils in the 1972 College World Series.  With all his college experience, Swan needed very little minor league seasoning before making his debut with the Mets in 1973.  But the Mets of the mid-1970s had Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack making 100-plus starts per season, leaving very few starts for a young pitcher like Swan, even though he dominated minor league hitters in 1972 and 1973 (14-8, 2.29 ERA in 28 starts).  Because of the Mets' strong rotation, Swan was only afforded 12 starts at the big league level between 1973 and 1975, winning just twice and posting a 5.81 ERA and 1.69 WHIP.  Finally, in 1976, as the country was celebrating its bicentennial, Craig Swan had a different reason to celebrate.  He had finally earned his first extended stay in the big leagues.

The 1976 Mets finished the year with an 86-76 record, which at the time represented the second-highest win total in franchise history.  The big three of Seaver, Koosman and Matlack combined to win 52 games for the Mets.  Meanwhile, Craig Swan made 22 starts in his first full season with New York.  He got off to a quick start, notching his first-ever complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves on April 28, adding a career-high 11 strikeouts to his masterpiece.  Swan won his next start as well, allowing just two runs to the defending World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.  But Swan's next four starts were not nearly as graceful, and by early June, his ERA had risen to 5.44.  That's when Swan turned his season around and perhaps saved his career.

In a seven-start stretch from June 7 to July 9, Swan was practically untouchable, posting a 1.59 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and holding opposing hitters to a .193 batting average.  But an elbow injury kept Swan out of action for the entire month of August, putting a damper on the 25-year-old's first full season.  Swan returned in early September and allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts.  However, despite the strong September efforts, Swan was only able to win one of those five starts.  It was a trend that haunted him for the rest of his career.

After not pitching well in limited action from 1973 to 1975, Swan broke through in 1976, finishing the year with a 3.54 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.  But not even a solid season in those departments could prevent Swan from posting a low victory total.  Swan won just six games in 1976, as the Mets managed to score three runs or less in half of his 22 starts.

It wasn't much better for Swan or the team in 1977.  Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman were traded as part of the infamous "Midnight Massacre" on June 15, leaving the team without its best pitcher and greatest power threat.  Swan made 24 starts in 1977, making him one of seven pitchers on the Mets to start at least ten games.  Although the right-hander finished the year just one win off the club lead (Nino Espinosa led the team with ten victories), he saw his ERA and WHIP rise to 4.23 and 1.43, respectively.  After five seasons in the major leagues, Swan was no longer part of a contending team, as the Mets ended the 1977 campaign in last place with a 64-98 record.  His team may have waved goodbye to its best days, but Swan was about to say hello to a tremendous five-year stretch, a period in which he became one of the most unlikely dependable pitchers in the National League. 

The 1978 season began with Tom Seaver in Cincinnati and Jon Matlack in Texas.  Jerry Koosman was still a Met, but he was coming off an 8-20 season (the first 20-loss campaign for a Mets pitcher since 1965) and was quite unhappy about the direction of the team.  After another terrible year on the mound, one in which he lost 15 of 18 decisions, Koosman was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Jesse Orosco.  The pitching staff of Seaver, Koosman and Matlack - the rotation that kept Swan out of a regular spot until 1976 - was no more.  And Swan took full advantage of being the new go-to guy on the staff.

Despite nagging injuries that kept him out of action for two-week spells in June and September, Swan managed to make 28 starts for the Mets in 1978.  Swan was brilliant in the first half of the season.  He won his first start of the season by pitching a complete-game shutout against the Cubs (although hardly anyone can claim to have witnessed Swan's gem in person, as the announced attendance at Shea Stadium that day was only 3,751).  Swan continued to pitch beautifully throughout the first half of the season.  Through games of July 15, Swan had a 2.59 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and had limited opposing batters to a .221 batting average and .281 on-base percentage.  In addition, Swan allowed two runs or less in 11 of his first 16 starts.  Unfortunately, by July 15, Swan was still searching for his second victory of the season.  As incredible as it may seem, despite allowing just 32 earned runs in 15 starts following his shutout in his first start, Swan did not win any of those 15 games, as he was saddled with five losses and ten no-decisions.

Part of the reason why Swan appeared to be allergic to victories was his bullpen.  During a six-start stretch from April 15 to May 12, Swan left three games with the Mets in front.  The bullpen coughed up the lead all three times.  Then on July 15, Swan was removed the game with Mets holding a three-run lead.  But the relief corps of Paul Siebert, Dale Murray and Skip Lockwood combined to allow six runs over the next two innings in a game the Mets lost the Reds, 7-5.

The bullpen wasn't the only reason for Swan's low win total.  The offense also failed to show up when Swan was on the mound.    The Mets were shut out three times in Swan's first 16 starts and scored three runs or less in eight others.  As a result, half of Swan's first 16 starts resulted in one-run games.  And of course, with an offense that couldn't extend leads and a bullpen that couldn't hold them, the Mets were unable to give Swan the "W" in the 15 starts following his first-start shutout.  But after July 15, things finally started going right for the Mets whenever Swan took the hill.

From July 19 to August 30, Swan was a perfect 7-0 with just two no-decisions.  The offense clicked for Swan, scoring eight runs or more in four of those nine starts, and the bullpen was more efficient, holding opponents scoreless in six of the nine contests.  Swan continued to keep opposing batters off the bases (.287 OBP) and actually had a lower ERA during the nine-start stretch (2.33) than he had during his 15-start winless streak.  Swan bookended his season-opening victory with a win in his final start, a 3-1 gem over the St. Louis Cardinals in which he allowed one run on just three hits in seven innings.  It was the sixth time Swan allowed three hits or less in 1978 and the 12th time he gave up no more than one earned run.

Swan finished the year with a league-leading 2.43 ERA, making him just the second Met ever to lead the league in that category (Tom Seaver won ERA titles in 1970, 1971 and 1973).  Swan also finished second in the league with a 1.07 WHIP and surpassed 200 innings pitched for the first time in his career.  But of course, his inability to secure a win for three months kept his record at 9-6, one of the lowest win totals for an ERA champion in major league history.  Swan's unluckiness was a team-wide problem, as the Mets finished in last place in the NL East for a second straight season in 1978 with a 66-96 record.

As good as Swan's 1978 season was, his 1979 campaign may have been his best.  It certainly was the weirdest season for a Mets pitcher when compared to his fellow starters.

 In 1979, if you didn't see Craig Swan pitch at Shea Stadium, you probably didn't go home with a win.

The 1979 Mets were a team in complete disarray.  They bumbled, fumbled and stumbled their way to a league-worst 63-99 record, winning their last six games to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1967.  It was also the first time since 1967 that the team was outscored by 100 or more runs, as the '79 squad allowed 706 runs while scoring just 593 times.  The Mets used 15 different starting pitchers in 1979, which was the highest number of starters used by the squad since they needed 20 in - you guessed it - 1967.  But despite being on the team that was the laughingstock of the league, Craig Swan continued to be one of the NL's most consistent pitchers, even when his teammates were not.

Swan finished the 1979 season by setting new career highs in just about every pitching category.  Among his new highs were starts (35), innings pitched (251⅓), complete games (10), shutouts (3) and strikeouts (145).  Those career-high numbers placed Swan in the league's top ten in all five categories.  In addition, Swan's first full season of good health saw him finish in the league's top ten in WHIP (1.19; 8th in the NL) and K/BB ratio (2.54; 4th), as well as completing the year with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (no errors in 46 chances).  And on a team level, Swan's 251⅓ innings made him just the fifth Mets pitcher to surpass 250 innings pitched in a single season, joining Jack Fisher (1965), Tom Seaver (1967-73, 1975-76), Jerry Koosman (1968, 1973-74) and Jon Matlack (1974, 1976).

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Swan's 1979 campaign was not what he did on the mound, but what he did compared to what his fellow moundsmen did.  Swan won 14 games in 1979.  No other Mets pitcher won more than six.  Swan pitched ten complete games.  No one else had more than one.  Swan pitched three shutouts in '79.  The rest of the team combined to pitch two.  As much as the 1979 Mets stunk, they couldn't even draw flies to Shea Stadium, let alone fans, as only 788,905 fans came to Flushing to watch the team play.  Those die-hards didn't see many wins that year, but at least they knew they had their best chance to leave Shea Stadium in a victorious mood whenever Craig Swan was on the mound.

As the Mets entered a new decade in 1980, the team embarked on a new philosophy.  Gone was the "Grant's Tomb" version of the Mets, as new owners Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday vowed to do whatever it took to make the Mets competitive again.  The new owners also brought in general manager Frank Cashen, who promised that the team would be turned around within five years.  One of Cashen's first moves as the Mets' new GM was to sign Craig Swan for five years and $3 million, which at the time was the most lucrative deal for a pitcher in franchise history.

Swan thanked the team by remaining one of the toughest pitchers to score against.  In his first 12 starts in 1980, Swan recorded a 2.21 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, limiting opposing hitters to a .203 batting average and an almost unheard-of .244 on-base percentage.  During the last seven starts of his two-month streak of excellence, Swan authored four complete-game victories, including a ten-inning gem won on a walk-off grand slam by Mike Jorgensen on June 11.

But Swan struggled over his next nine starts, going 0-5 with a 6.28 ERA.  A sore right shoulder was the original reason given for Swan's struggles, which landed him on the disabled list for a month after a loss to the Braves on July 16.  When Swan returned to the team on August 16, he continued to pitch in pain and was forced to end his season prematurely two starts later as the result of a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.  The Mets were flirting with the .500 mark and the division lead when Swan first went on the disabled list in mid-July.  They were an NL-worst 24-52 after July 17, never recovering from the loss of their ace pitcher, who finished the year winning just five of his 21 starts.

The injury bug afflicted Swan once again in 1981, as a rib fracture (caused on a throw by his own catcher, Ron Hodges) and shoulder discomfort caused him to miss most of the season.  Swan made only three starts and two relief appearances in the strike-shortened '81 campaign and did not pick up a win.  However, when Swan was able to pitch, he was vintage Swan, allowing only 11 base runners in 13⅔ innings and posting a 3.29 ERA.  Through the first two years of his team-record contract, Swan had given the team just five victories, making it seem like the deal was a bust.  But a return to form in 1982 brought relief to Swan and the front office.  The only problem was that the team's new manager insisted on using all of his starters in relief.

After nearly five seasons at the helm of a struggling Mets team, Joe Torre was replaced by new manager George Bamberger prior to the start of the 1982 season.  Bamberger already had a strong relationship with the Mets' general manager, as he was the pitching coach in Baltimore during Cashen's tenure as the Orioles' general manager in the 1960s and 1970s.  Naturally, Bamberger's strength would help mold the Mets' staff into a rotation full of solid starters, which included the injury-prone Craig Swan.  At least, that's what was supposed to happen.

The team started the year well under Bamberger.  As late as June 20, the Mets were just three games out of first place with a 34-30 record.  But Bamberger was using all of his starters in relief, sometimes because of injuries and at other times because of poor performances as starting pitchers.  As a result, no pitcher made more than 24 starts for the Mets in 1982 and seven pitchers made at least ten starts.  All seven of those starters made at least eight relief appearances for the team and all but one of them (Randy Jones) recorded at least one save.  But despite the disarray in the rotation and bullpen, Craig Swan managed to keep it together - at least while he was on the mound.

Swan began the season by making two starts before he was moved to the bullpen for 15 consecutive relief appearances.  Swan was brilliant out of the pen, going 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA and holding batters to an incredible .180/.209/.288 slash line.  As a result of his dominance out of the pen, Swan was moved back into the starting rotation in early June.  But Swan struggled in his return to the starting rotation.  Not helping his case, Swan got into an altercation with his manager in late June that stemmed from the team's travel arrangements - the team refused to switch from commercial flights to chartered flights, even after a long flight delay.  Swan and Bamberger had to separated during the shoving match, causing an upset Bamberger to say: "In my mind, he was out of line.  There were 30 or 40 people on that plane who didn't complain.  If he wants a charter, let him charter it himself."

Clearly, the altercation left Swan shaken, as he lost his next two starts after the scuffle, allowing a total of 12 runs in 9⅓ innings.  But in his first start in July, Swan was back to his usual self, and almost accomplished something that no Mets pitcher had ever done before.

On July 2, Swan took the mound against the Phillies, a team that had shelled him for seven runs and nine hits in just 2⅓ innings in his previous start.  But Swan was not going to allow Philadelphia's veteran hitters repeat the feat a second time.  Swan mowed down the potent Phillies lineup, retiring 17 batters without allowing a hit.  But Pete Rose broke up the no-hitter with two out in the sixth inning on a clean single to right.

Swan was cognizant of what was going on throughout his entire effort, which he admitted after the game.  But he was not too disappointed that he didn't notch the team's first no-hitter.  Rather, he was encouraged because his effort indicated that he was back to his usual form after years of pitching through injuries and spending extended periods of time on the disabled list.


 

"I was aware of it.  The scoreboard was there telling me every time I turned around.  But I was not pitching any differently because of it. ... They told me it would be midseason before I would reach my form.  That's been true.  I wanted to throw a little harder each time out.  Now, the rehabilitation is over."

 


Beginning with his near no-hitter, Swan finished the year by winning six of his last ten decisions, earning his first major league save along the way.  But Swan was the only pitcher who won regularly during the season's final three months, as the Mets went 27-58 after Swan's victory over the Phillies on July 2.

For the second time in four seasons, Swan was the only pitcher on the Mets to reach double digits in victories.  Swan led the team's main core of starters in ERA (3.35) and WHIP (1.21), while issuing the fewest walks (37).  His return to prominence almost earned him the Comeback Player of the Year Award, as he finished second to Joe Morgan of the San Francisco Giants.  But that was the last good season Swan would have for New York, as Swan would once again flip-flop between the starting rotation and the bullpen in 1983.  This time, however, he faltered in both roles, finishing the year with a 2-8 record and an un-Swan-like 5.51 ERA.  The Mets then protected Swan in the free-agent compensation pool during the '83-'84 off-season instead of Tom Seaver, who had returned to the team in 1983.  Seaver became a member of the Chicago White Sox in 1984 and won his 300th game in the majors a year later.  By that time, Swan was already out of baseball, as he made just ten relief appearances (no starts) for the Mets in 1984 before he was released in early May.  Swan then signed with the California Angels but only pitched five innings for the Halos.  His last game in the majors came just six days after he signed with the Angels.

The oft-injured Swan is now helping others from getting hurt, as he is currently a practicing physical therapist specializing in rolfing, a technique named after its creator, Dr. Ida Rolf.  Rolfing attempts to  rid the body of pain through alignment and lengthening the tissues that cover the body's muscles.

Craig Swan pitched twelve seasons in the majors, with all but two of big league appearances coming as a member of the New York Mets.  His final record with the Mets (59-71, 3.72 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) suggests that he was just average at best, but he was much better than average for a five-year stretch from 1978 to 1982.  He just didn't have the wins to show for it.  Then again, neither did the team.

From '78 to '82, Swan was the owner of a 3.12 ERA and 1.147 WHIP.  He also held opposing hitters to a .288 on-base percentage.  Swan was one of only seven National League pitchers to post an ERA under 3.15 during those five seasons (minimum 700 innings pitched).  He was also one of just three NL hurlers to have a sub-1.15 WHIP from 1978 to 1982, as well as one of three to keep opposing hitters below a .290 on-base percentage.  The other two pitchers in both categories were Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Don Sutton.  Of the seven pitchers who kept their earned run averages under 3.15, all but Swan won at least 56 games during the five seasons.  Similarly, the other two pitchers who had a WHIP under 1.15 and OBP under .290 both won at least 64 games from 1978 to 1982.  Swan could only manage a 39-37 record.

It's true that Craig Swan didn't win many games.  But he did have a winning record during his best five seasons, a time in which the Mets had a combined record of 302-449.  Felix Hernandez has been a great pitcher for the Mariners since making his major league debut in 2005.  But his greatness has produced just one season of more than 14 victories.  Similarly, Matt Harvey has only won 12 games in 36 big league starts despite a stellar 2.39 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP and more than one strikeout per inning.

If Hernandez and Harvey ever get frustrated with their lack of wins, they have a former Met they can contact who can relate to their pain.  After all, Craig Swan knows what it's like to be the best pitcher on some of the worst Mets teams.  

Craig Swan couldn't help himself to more wins, but now he's helping others feel like winners.

(Photo by Richard Harbus/NY Daily News)

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

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

Bobby V Becomes Bobby VIII

Former Met player, coach and skipper Bobby Valentine will be officially introduced as the new manager of the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.  When he takes his place in the dugout on Opening Day 2012, Valentine will become the eighth former Mets manager to take over the reins of another team after his tenure with the Mets had ended.

Since the Mets haven't exactly been giving me much to write about, I thought it would be interesting to see how the other seven managers did with their new teams after they managed their last game in Flushing.  Some have had outstanding results, while some should have stayed away from the dugout, including one manager who barely the managed the Mets, then had a shorter stay with the Mets' expansion sibling.

Enough chit-chat already!  Let's get to the Magnificent (and not-so-magnificent) Seven, shall we?

Wes Westrum

After Casey Stengel retired during the 1965 season, Wes Westrum was tabbed as the Ol' Perfessor's replacement.  Westrum, who spent his entire 11-year playing career as a member of the New York Giants, finished the 1965 season with a 19-48 record after taking over for the only manager the Mets had ever known.

In 1966, Westrum accomplished two things his predecessor couldn't do - he led the Mets out of the basement and also presided over their first non-100 loss season, which was quite an accomplishment for a team that had never lost fewer than 109 games in its short existence.  Unfortunately, even with rookie sensation Tom Seaver joining the Mets in 1967, the team regressed, losing 101 games during the Franchise's first season.  Westrum didn't stick around to see the team reach the century mark in losses, resigning as manager with 11 games to play.

In 1974, Westrum's former team, now playing in San Francisco, reached out to him to manage the team after Charlie Fox was relieved of his duties midway through the season.  Westrum fared better with the Giants than he did with the Mets, but he still could manage a winning record, going 38-48 to close out the 1974 season, followed by an 80-81 mark in 1975.

Salty Parker

After Wes Westrum resigned as manager of the Mets in 1967, Francis James Parker (better known as Salty) became the interim manager for the team's final 11 games, going 4-7 during his two week stint as Mets manager.  Parker had a tendency to do baseball-related things in 11-game stretches.  His playing career in the major leagues lasted (you guessed it) 11 games as a member of the 1936 Detroit Tigers.

Parker didn't manage the Mets again after the 1967 season.  Some guy named Gil Hodges replaced him to start the 1968 season.  However, he did manage (no pun intended) to return to the dugout as a big league skipper again in 1972 with the Houston Astros.  Unfortunately, that stint couldn't even make it to the 11-game mark, but it was never supposed to.  Parker managed the Astros for one game in 1972 after Harry Walker was unceremoniously let go despite the fact that Houston was on its way to recording its first winning season in franchise history.  (The Astros were 67-54 at the time of Walker's firing.)  Walker's replacement, Leo Durocher, could not join the Astros immediately, necessitating the one-game fill-in for Parker as Astros manager.  But at least he was victorious in his "one-and-done" with Houston.

Yogi Berra

After the sudden death of Gil Hodges in 1972, Yogi Berra was tabbed to replace the man who led the Miracle Mets to the 1969 World Series championship.  After leading the Mets to their second-best record in franchise history (83-73 in the strike-shortened 1972 season), Yogi overcame a series of boo-boos on the field in 1973 to lead the team to its second World Series appearance.  The Mets struggled again in 1974, but this time they failed to make a late season run, finishing 20 games below .500.  Berra was fired in 1975 after the team played mediocre baseball for most of the season.

Yogi did not get another chance to manage in the major leagues until the Yankees called upon their former Hall of Fame catcher to fill the vacant managerial position in 1984.  Although Berra won 87 games in his first season as Yankee manager, it represented a four-game decrease in wins from the Billy Martin-led 1983 team.  After a 6-10 start in 1985, Berra was shockingly fired by the Yankees and replaced by the man he replaced a year earlier, Billy Martin.

Joe Torre

In 1977, Joe Torre became the first and only player/manager in Mets history.  Two days after the infamous "Midnight Massacre", Torre ended his playing career to focus exclusively on managing his ragtag group of misfits.  Perhaps he should've stayed on the field.  Under Torre, the Mets never won more than 67 games in a full season, with the team finishing dead last in the NL East in three of his five seasons.

Following his stint with the Mets, Torre managed the Atlanta Braves for three seasons, leading them to the NL West title in 1982.  In 1990, Torre took over for Red Schoendienst in St. Louis and managed the Cardinals until 1995.  Although he failed to win a division title in St. Louis, he never finished lower than third place in any full season with the team.  Then came 1996 and the New York Yankees.  You probably know what happened next so I'll skip that part.

Following his time with the Mets' crosstown rivals, Torre took his final managerial job with the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading them to back-to-back NLCS appearances.  After an 80-82 finish in 2010, Torre retired from managing and is now Executive VP for Baseball Operations for MLB, which is a fancy term for "he's a pretty big kahuna now".

George Bamberger

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That was the case for George Bamberger not once, but twice.  Prior to managing the Mets, Bambi was the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1978-1980.  The Brewers then went on to the playoffs in 1981 (as the second-half winners of the AL East) and made their first (and only) pennant in 1982.  Where was Bamberger when the Brewers were on their way to the World Series?  He was managing the Mets to a last place finish, that's where.

Then in 1983, after he "suffered enough" with the Mets through their 16-30 start, he resigned as manager.  Of course, the year after Bamberger left the Mets, they went on to post 90 wins for the first time since 1969 and began the most successful era in franchise history, which included two division titles and the 1986 World Series championship.  Where was Bamberger in 1986?  He was back in Milwaukee, managing the Brewers to their second consecutive last place finish.  Wrong place.  Wrong time.

Davey Johnson

Davey Johnson needs no introduction.  He is only the winningest manager in franchise history.  The Mets had enjoyed one 90-win season during their first 22 years of existence.  Davey Johnson managed the team to five consecutive 90-win seasons from 1984-1988.  His "worst" full season as Mets manager came in 1989, when the team won "only" 87 games.  After Johnson was fired by the Mets in 1990, he didn't wait very long to get another managerial position, taking over for the terminated Tony Perez in Cincinnati in 1993.

In Cincinnati, Johnson led the Reds to division titles in 1994 and 1995.  In 1996, he took over the reins in Baltimore, leading the Orioles to an 88-win season.  He followed that up with a 98-win season in 1997 and the AL East division crown, only to have Jeffrey Maier and the Yankees end his season early.  Due to a spat with Orioles' owner Peter Angelos (not the first time Davey dueled with the front office of a team he was managing at the time), Johnson resigned after the 1997 season.  The Orioles have not had a winning season since.

Johnson spent two uneventful season in Los Angeles in 1999 and 2000, then dropped out of the managerial spotlight until 2011, when he was hired to replace Jim Riggleman as manager of the Washington Nationals.  Although the Nationals went 40-43 after Johnson took over, they still finished in third place in the NL East.  It was the highest they had ever finished in the division since moving from Montreal prior to the 2005 season.

Jeff Torborg

Vince Coleman.  Bobby Bonilla.  Bret Saberhagen.  Jeff Kent.  Those were just some of the names associated with the team forever known as "The Worst Team Money Could Buy".  Those were also the names of players managed by Jeff Torborg during his two-year stint as Mets manager.  In 1992, the former AL Manager of the Year (1990) was brought in to bring the Mets back to contention in the NL East after they had finished the 1991 season with their first losing mark in eight years.  Torborg "led" the Mets to a 72-90 finish in 1992, which was actually quite good considering that in 1993, the Mets lost over 100 games for the first time since the days of Wes Westrum (see, it all comes full circle).  Alas, Torborg was not there to see the 1993 Mets complete their 103-loss campaign, as he was fired after beginning the season with a 13-25 record.

After doing his part to blow up the team in 1993 (Vince Coleman wasn't the only one capable of doing that), Torborg managed the Expos briefly in 2001, going 47-62 in Montreal, followed by a short stint in Florida.  After going 79-83 with the Marlins in 2002, Torborg was fired after a 16-22 start in 2003.  Florida responded to Torborg's termination by winning the World Series under new manager Jack McKeon.  Hence, Torborg went from managing "The Worst Team Money Could Buy" to being fired from "The Best Team Money Didn't Buy".  Ah, symmetry is a beautiful thing.