The Most With The Least: Claudell Washington (1980)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image courtesy of Fleer

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Keith Torrie/NY Daily News)

"Stupefying."

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

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

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

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


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

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

Curtis Granderson's Resurgence Keeps the Naysayers at Bay

Curtis Granderson is rarely without a smile.  His 2015 production is making everybody smile.  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus) 

Curtis Granderson did not have a good year offensively in 2014 - the first of four campaigns he was under contract with the Mets.  In his first season in Flushing, Granderson posted a .227/.326/.388 slash line.  The right fielder failed to record 50 extra-base hits and did not reach double-digit stolen bases after having seven straight seasons with 50+ XBH and six consecutive campaigns with 10+ SB through 2012, averaging 66 XBH and 18 SB per season.  (Granderson played just 61 games in 2013, notching 22 extra-base hits and eight steals.)  Granderson did lead the team in one offensive category in his first year, striking out 141 times in 564 at-bats.

But unlike the other free agent outfielder signed to a long-term deal by the Mets in the post-Shea Stadium era (Jason Bay), Granderson has turned things around quite nicely in his second season at Citi Field.  Through the team's first 133 games in 2015, Granderson has produced a .258/.351/.457 slash line, racking up 52 extra-base hits (28 doubles, one triple, 23 homers) and stealing 11 bases.  He has also scored 77 runs, has 59 RBI - a high number for a leadoff hitter - and has drawn 69 walks.

A year after he had fans wishing the team had never signed him to a four-year deal, Granderson is now leading the team in hits, walks, runs scored, home runs, RBI and stolen bases.  And that's not something that has happened much in team history.  Here are the players who have led the Mets in all six categories over a full season, with Granderson's numbers included in the mix.

Player	Year	Hits	Walks	Runs	HR	RBI	SB
Lee Mazzilli	1980	162	82	82	16	76	41
Howard Johnson	1989	164	77	104	36	101	41
Curtis Granderson	2015	128	69	77	23	59	11

In addition to Mazzilli, HoJo and Granderson, only two other players have led the team in five of the six categories in one season.  Darryl Strawberry's 1987 campaign saw him lead the Mets in walks (97), runs (108), home runs (39), RBI (104) and stolen bases (36).  However, the Straw Man finished third on team in hits behind Keith Hernandez and Kevin McReynolds.  David Wright has twice led the team in five of the six categories in a season.  The team's all-time leader in several offensive categories led the club in everything but home runs in 2009, finishing two taters behind unlikely team leader Daniel Murphy.  Three years later, Wright once again led the Mets in hits, walks, runs scored, RBI and stolen bases, but finished second to Ike Davis in home runs.

Should Granderson remain the team leader in the six offensive categories over the final month of the 2015 campaign, he would become just the third Met in franchise history to finish first in all six over a full season.  And he'd accomplish something never accomplished by Strawberry, Wright, Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones and other five-tool players that have worn a Mets uniform over the years.

Last year was widely considered to be a subpar season for Granderson, even though he hit 20 HR and drew 77 walks - the two categories coveted by Mets general manager Sandy Alderson.  The next time Granderson takes ball four in 2015, he will have his second consecutive 20 HR/70 BB campaign, which would make him just the tenth Met to have multiple seasons reaching both totals, joining Strawberry (1984-88, 1990), Johnson (1987-89, 1991), Todd Hundley (1996-97), John Olerud (1997-98), Edgardo Alfonzo (1999-2000), Robin Ventura (1999-2001), Wright (2005, 2007-08, 2012), Carlos Beltran (2006, 2008) and Carlos Delgado (2006, 2008).  You may know some of those players as among the best offensive stars in team history.

Granderson has two years left on the four-year, $60 million contract he signed prior to the 2014 season.  His first year left a lot to be desired.  But his second season has seen him lead the team's offensive charge in ways that have rarely been seen in club annals.  It remains to be seen how the rest of his tenure in Flushing will unfold.  But one thing is for sure.  Curtis Granderson is earning every penny of his contract this season.  He's regularly reaching base with hits and walks.  He's driving the ball out of the park.  He's running the bases with aplomb.  And he's hitting in the clutch, driving in his teammates from a spot in the batting order not usually known for its run-production.

The Mets owe their resurgence to a player whose renaissance couldn't have come at a better time.
 

One Mo-MET In Time: Mookie Wilson

A legendary player is known for many things.  Mention Willie Mays to a casual baseball fan and that person might bring up the Say Hey Kid's catch in the 1954 World Series or his 660 career home runs.  Fans questioned about Tom Seaver could discuss his near-perfect game in 1969, his three Cy Young Awards or the Midnight Massacre trade to Cincinnati.

But what about players who weren't first ballot Hall of Famers?  Or those who didn't even make an appearance in an All-Star Game?  Naturally, those players are going to be known for far less.  However, every once in a while, a player will do something that he will forever be remembered for.  Whether it be a memorable season, a special game or just a bizarre play, that athlete will have to live with that moment and be linked to it long after his baseball career is over.  And those moments are not always positive - even if the rest of the player's career was - much to the chagrin of that player.

There have been numerous Mets players who will always be known for one thing above anything else they accomplished on a baseball field.  This series will focus on some of those players and discuss not only the primary things for which they are remembered, but also the events and occurrences that may not immediately come to mind or have simply been forgotten that each player was responsible for.

One such player spent an entire decade in a Mets uniform and when he played his final game as a Met, he was the team's all-time leader in multiple offensive categories.  He was also one of the most exciting and beloved players in team history.  But ask anyone about his career and it will always come down to just one moment.

Mookie Wilson should be known for far more than just one memorable moment.

William Hayward Wilson was a second round draft pick in 1977 and quickly advanced through the Mets' minor league system.  His blazing speed helped him leg out 25 triples and steal 87 bases between the Double-A and Triple-A level in 1978 and 1979.  But with All-Star and fan-favorite Lee Mazzilli playing center field at Shea Stadium, Wilson had no position to play at the big league level, so he began the 1980 campaign at AAA-Tidewater.  Also hurting Wilson was the fact that he was solely a right-handed hitter, while Mazzilli batted from both sides of the plate.  So upon returning to Tidewater for a second season, Wilson took it upon himself to learn how to hit left-handed.

The decision paid off beautifully, as the new switch-hitter batted .295 for the Tides with 14 triples, 92 runs scored and 50 stolen bases.  His year at Tidewater caught the eye of the front office, and despite having Mazzilli entrenched in center field, the Mets called up Wilson in September for his first taste of the big leagues.  Wilson batted .248 with three triples, seven steals and 16 runs scored in 27 games.  He wouldn't return to the minors again for six years.

As the 1981 season opened, Wilson still did not have a regular position because of the presence of Lee Mazzilli, so manager Joe Torre platooned Wilson with Joel Youngblood in right field.  But an injury to newly-reacquired first baseman Rusty Staub forced Torre to move left fielder Dave Kingman to first, causing Mazzilli to move to left field, which opened up a spot for Wilson.  Wilson took advantage of the opportunity, leading the team in runs scored (49), triples (8) and stolen bases (24) in the strike-shortened season.

With Wilson claiming center field as his own, the Mets used the opportunity to trade Mazzilli - their main box office attraction since Tom Seaver was dealt away in 1977 - to Texas for two young pitchers, Ron Darling and Walt Terrell.  Darling would go on to become a vital cog in the Mets' resurgence during the mid-'80s, while Terrell was sent to Detroit in a deal that brought Howard Johnson to New York.  Wilson, on the other hand, became a mainstay in the Mets lineup for the next three seasons.

From 1982 to 1984, Wilson was one of the premier leadoff hitters in the National League.  Although he didn't walk much (76 free passes during the three seasons) and struck out a little too much (295 Ks), Wilson ranked in the top ten among all National League hitters in several categories during those three campaigns, including hits (516; 7th in the NL), triples (25; T-3rd), runs scored (269; 7th) and stolen bases (158; 4th).  The lofty stolen base totals allowed Wilson to become the Mets' all-time leader in that category, as he supplanted Lee Mazzilli - Mookie always seemed to be taking something away from Maz whenever he could - when he stole his 140th career base in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 27, 1983.  And who got a great view of the record-setting theft from the Pirates dugout?  That would be none other than Mazzilli, who by then had been traded to Pittsburgh and had been relegated to pinch-hitting duties.

Wilson was the starting center fielder for the Mets entering the 1985 season, but a sore shoulder limited him to pinch-running duties in late April and early May.  Darryl Strawberry had filled in for Wilson for five games, but the Straw Man was not a center fielder.  Once the Mets realized that Darryl belonged in right, they called up Lenny Dykstra to fill the void left by Wilson.  Dykstra caught the Mets' eye in 1983 when he stole 105 bases at Class A-Lynchburg.  He was a scrappy player who was tough as nails and would go all out to help his team win.  In other words, he was just the type of player manager Davey Johnson loved.

Eventually, Wilson's shoulder required surgery, and the center fielder was out of action for two months during the latter part of the season.  In his absence, Dykstra gave the Mets everything Mookie did.  He ran down fly balls in the gap.  He stretched singles into doubles and doubles into triples.  He stole bases.  But there was one thing Dykstra did far better than Wilson.  He was patient at the plate and had a good eye.  Whereas Mookie struck out four times for every time he walked, Dykstra was more likely to walk than strike out.  In fact, when Dykstra's major league career ended following the 1996 season, he had drawn more walks than strikeouts in ten of his 12 seasons.

Although Wilson wasn't thrilled with losing playing time to the younger Dykstra, he took his new platoon role as a challenge.  Gone were the days when he racked up 600-plus plate appearances.  But in his diminished role, Wilson learned how to become a better hitter.  From 1980 to 1984, Wilson batted .275 with a .309 on-base percentage and a .688 OPS.  Over his next four seasons - all of which involved sharing time with Dykstra - Wilson posted a .290 batting average, reached base at a .345 clip and upped his OPS nearly 100 points to .781.

By the time Wilson played his final game as a Met in 1989, he was the team's all-time leader in runs scored (592), triples (62) and stolen bases (281), and was third in hits (1,112) and doubles (170).  In ten seasons with the Mets, Wilson had become one of the team's best players and had accomplished many positive things with the club.  But one moment stood above all others, and it occurred in what is perhaps the most memorable game ever played by the franchise.

After six-plus seasons in New York, Mookie Wilson finally made it to the postseason in 1986.  A year that began with a dangerous eye injury in spring training (one that required a rehab assignment that saw him play minor league games for the first time since 1980) ended with the Mets' first division title in 13 years.  Mookie's first playoff experience did not start out well on an individual level, as the veteran collected just four hits in his first 36 postseason at-bats.  But one of those hits was a single that plated the first run in the Mets' three-run ninth-inning rally in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

As hard as it was for Wilson to reach base in his first nine postseason games, it seemed like he was always on base during the final four games of the World Series.  In those four games, Wilson collected six hits, one walk and was hit by a pitch.  He also reached base another way, and did it when the Mets needed it the most.

With the Red Sox one win away from securing their first championship in 68 years, the Mets had to win Game 6 at Shea Stadium to force a deciding seventh game.  The game was tied, 2-2, as the Red Sox came to bat in the seventh inning.  But a walk, a throwing error by third baseman Ray Knight and a groundout produced the go-ahead run for Boston.  The Red Sox had a chance to score a second run in the inning when catcher Rich Gedman lashed a single to left, but Wilson ended the Red Sox rally by throwing out Jim Rice at the plate.

Two Hall of Famers exchange pleasantries at the plate, courtesy of Mookie Wilson's throwing arm.  (Peter Southwick/AP)

New York eventually tied the game to send it to extra innings, but there may not have been a tenth frame had it not been for Mookie Wilson's accurate throw to nail Rice.  Had the Mets won the game in nine innings, Wilson's legacy might have been based on that throw, but the game did not reach its conclusion after each team had recorded 27 outs.

In the top of the tenth inning, Dave Henderson homered to left as Mookie could only watch the ball sail over the wall.  Boston added an insurance run on a Marty Barrett single, which was followed by Bill Buckner getting hit by a pitch.  But Jim Rice, who ended a Red Sox rally in the seventh inning, did so again in the tenth, as he flied out to right.

The Mets were now facing the reality of losing the World Series in front of their home crowd to a team that had not won a title since 1918.  And after Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez flied out to start the bottom of the tenth, that heartbreaking conclusion was becoming more and more likely.  But singles by Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight - the latter coming on an 0-2 pitch - brought the Mets to within one run and put the spotlight on the shoulders of Mookie Wilson.

Wilson was never a good breaking ball hitter, and Red Sox closer Bob Stanley - who had been brought into the game to face Wilson - specialized in palm balls, sinkers and sliders.  Four pitches into the at-bat, Wilson had two strikes on him.  It was then that he decided to go to with his mantra, a phrase he had heard in church.

"Thou shalt not pass without offering."

Mookie Wilson was not going to go down without a fight.  He was determined to swing at every pitch, not allowing the game to end on a called third strike.  Simply stated, he was not going to let a pitch pass by without offering at it.  And that's exactly what he did.

Pitch No. 5 was foul tipped.  Barely.  Pitch No. 6 was then fouled off to his left.

Wilson was sticking to his guns, taking aim at every ball fired his way by Stanley.  That is, until pitch No. 7 took aim at him.

With Rich Gedman setting up on the outside part of the plate, Stanley's pitch went inside.  An acrobatic Wilson threw his body out of the way as Gedman's lunged in vain for the errant pitch.  Scoring from third base with the tying run was Mitchell, as Knight moved into scoring position.  The Mets were now a well-placed hit away from tying the game, but Wilson kept placing balls in the left and right field stands.

Pitch No. 8 was fouled off near the first base dugout.  Pitch No. 9 was lined down the left field line and into the crowd.  Then came the tenth pitch of the at-bat, a pitch that Mookie made sure to keep in fair territory.

Wilson chopped the ball into the dirt along the first base line.  The ball took three hops in the direction of a running (some might say hobbling) Bill Buckner.  Buckner, who was already playing with a bad Achilles tendon and had been struck in the ribs by a Rick Aguilera pitch in the top of the tenth, was only on the field because manager John McNamara wanted him to celebrate the final out with his teammates.  Late-inning defensive replacement Dave Stapleton, who had replaced Buckner in the final inning of each of Boston's three victories over the Mets, remained on the bench as the ball took a fourth hop and rolled by Buckner's glove into right field, giving the fragile first baseman a bruised ego to go with his bruised ribs.

Mookie Wilson did not let any strike pass without offering at it, and in doing so, hit the most famous ground ball in Mets history.  It gave the Mets an unlikely victory in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and helped set up their championship win two nights later.

In the late 1970s, Mookie Wilson's path to the majors was blocked by Lee Mazzilli.  But through perseverance and the will to get better at his craft, Wilson finally achieved his dream of playing in the major leagues.  Similarly, in 1986, Mookie refused to make the final out of the World Series.  And that refusal to give up allowed him to run down the first base line and into the hearts and memories of Mets fans everywhere.

Mookie Wilson was a dynamic player who brought excitement to the game.  He could make an acrobatic catch as easily as he could leg out a triple, steal a base or score from second base on a groundout.  He could do so many things so well that he became the team's all-time leader in several categories.  But all that was overshadowed by a little roller up along first in the biggest game of his life.

Perhaps Mookie said it best in his memoir, "Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the '86 Mets", when he discussed the play that forever changed the course of his life and the Mets franchise.

Photo by Christian Oth/NY Times

  
 "I think everyone has to have a moment that defines them. ... But if you take that moment away and just look at my career numbers, there's nothing that jumps out at you.  So while there may be some regrets over how the play has become the focal point of my career, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."





Mets fans wouldn't trade his defining play either.  The tenth inning of Game 6 was one of many reasons why Mookie Wilson will forever be a beloved figure in the Mets community.  But it should come as no surprise that one little dribbler will always overshadow all the other wonderful moments in his career.  It would be almost impossible for it not to.


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.  Please come back next week for the next installment.

August 16, 1987: Mets Score Club-Record 23 Runs

The late Harry Caray probably wishes he hadn't been taken out to the ballgame on August 16, 1987.

Note:  I originally published this piece five years ago on Mets Merized Online, but this Mets game from 1987 has always fascinated me, and I have since uncovered some more oddities about this game.  Therefore, I felt compelled to make some quick edits and share this piece once again with you.  Enjoy!


The New York Mets are currently playing a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field.  Twenty-seven years ago today, the Mets were also playing the Cubs, although the venue on that lazy Sunday afternoon was Wrigley Field in Chicago.  One year after winning the 1986 World Series, the Mets were battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the division title and needed to win the finale of their four-game series against the Cubs after dropping the first three games.  They were in the throes of a poor stretch that saw them lose six out of eight games after they had cut the Cardinals’ lead in the division from 10½ to 3½ games.  In that eight-game stretch, they had scored only 20 runs.  They needed to bust out of their slump quickly if they were going to continue to stay in the race with St. Louis.  Fortunately, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field on August 16 and the Mets’ bats were ready to take advantage.

The starting pitchers were Ron Darling for the Mets and a kid for the Cubs who had just been recalled from the minors after being sent down two weeks earlier due to a poor 6-10 start for the big club.  You may have heard of him.  He was a scrawny 21-year-old kid named Greg Maddux.

The Mets jumped out of the box quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning to take an early lead.  The lead had extended to 7-0 by the time the Cubs came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.  However, Ron Darling struggled in the fourth, giving up a grand slam to catcher Jody Davis.  That was followed up by a home run from the next batter, a rookie who was pinch-hitting for Cubs reliever (and former Met) Ed Lynch.  That rookie was Rafael Palmeiro, who hit the tenth of his 569 career home runs to cut the Mets lead to 7-5.

Fortunately for Darling, manager Davey Johnson did not remove him from the game despite the poor inning.  He was allowed to put out the fire he started and pitch the minimum five innings required to qualify for the victory.  Because of that, Darling was able to stick around to reap the benefits of the additional fireworks displayed by his teammates as they continued to ride the jet stream out of Wrigley Field.

The Mets immediately responded to the Cubs’ five-run fourth by scoring three runs in the fifth inning and seven additional runs in the sixth.  They now had a commanding 17-5 lead, but the Cubbie carnage continued.  Not satisfied with a lead of a dozen runs, they scored three additional runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.  Jesse Orosco relieved Darling in the seventh and gave up four runs in his inning of work, but by then, the Mets had already put the game away.  A run by Chicago in the ninth inning off Jeff Innis produced the final tally in the Mets’ 23-10 shellacking of the Cubs.

The offense was powered by Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry.  Eights were wild for the two Met outfielders, as they combined for eight hits, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in.  Strawberry in particular smoked the Cubs’ pitchers, as all four of his hits went for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and a home run).

Dykstra and Strawberry - two smiling California kids who put lots of frowns on Cubs fans' faces on August 16, 1987.

In doing so, Strawberry became just the third Met to produce four extra-base hits in one game, joining Joe Christopher, who accomplished the feat in 1964, and Tim Teufel, who turned the trick just six weeks prior to Strawberry.  Strawberry added a stolen base in the second inning, making him the first and only Met to collect four extra-base hits and a stolen base in the same game.

Strawberry also became just the third Met to score five runs in a game, after Lenny Randle in 1978 and Lee Mazzilli in 1979.  In addition, the Straw Man drove in five runs, making him the first Mets player to have a five-run, five-RBI game in franchise history.  The only other Met to accomplish that rare feat since August 16, 1987 is Edgardo Alfonzo, who produced six runs and five RBI against the Houston Astros on August 30, 1999.

Dykstra also made Mets history in the game, becoming the first Met to collect seven at-bats in a nine-inning game.  The only Met to match Dykstra since then is Luis Hernandez, who went 3-for-7 in an 18-5 thrashing of the Cubs in 2010, which, just like Dykstra's record-setting effort 23 years earlier, took place on a lazy Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Strawberry and Dykstra victimized several Cubs pitchers that day, including starting pitcher Greg Maddux.  Maddux collected almost 10% of his 355 career wins against the Mets.  His 35 victories (against 19 losses) are the most by any pitcher against New York.  However, one of his worst pitching performances against the Mets (or any other club) took place on that Sunday afternoon in the North Side of Chicago.

Throughout his major league career, which resulted in a much-deserved call to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, Maddux was always known as a control pitcher, as he walked fewer than 1,000 batters in over 5,000 innings.  But on August 16, 1987 against the Mets, Maddux pitched 3⅔ innings and was charged with seven earned runs allowed.  He gave up six hits and a very un-Maddux-like five bases on balls.  Let's dissect Maddux's effort to see just how much of an anomaly this game was for him.

Greg Maddux would have preferred starting at Shea Stadium on August 16, 1987.

Greg Maddux made 740 starts in his big league career.  He issued five bases on balls or more in just 20 of those starts.  But in 14 of those 20 starts, he lasted at least six innings, giving him more time to issue those free passes.  Maddux wouldn't have another game in which he lasted fewer than four innings and allowed five or more walks until 2004, a year in which he produced his first ERA above 4.00 since - you guessed it - 1987.

Maddux also allowed seven earned runs in the game, which was the first time he had ever allowed that many runs in one of his starts.  Maddux would go on to allow seven or more earned runs in a start a total of 27 times in his career, including three more times against the Mets, but he never walked more than three batters in any of his other seven-run efforts.  The game on August 16, 1987 was the only time in his 23-year career that Maddux allowed seven or more runs and walked more than three batters.  And that was from a future Hall of Famer who beat the Mets more than any other pitcher in the 53-year history of the club.

Going into their series finale against the Cubs on August 16, 1987, the Mets were in a hitting slump and got out of it in a major way at Wrigley Field.  They scored more runs in that one game than they did in their previous eight contests.  By doing so, the Mets established a new franchise record with their 23-run outburst in Chicago and were able to use that game as a stepping stone that carried them all the way until the last week of the season, when they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Cardinals.  And it all happened 27 years ago today.
 

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