Gary Carter's trophy cabinet includes a World Series ring, three Gold Glove awards, five Silver Slugger awards, the Roberto Clemente…
/
RSS Feed
Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is well-known both for his play on the baseball field and for his controversial behavior off of it.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in the game, known for his prodigious home runs and his intimidating presence in the batter's box with his 6-foot-6 frame and his long, looping swing. During his 17-year career, he helped lead the New York Mets to one World Series championship in 1986 and the New York Yankees to three World Series championships in 1996, 1998, 1999.
A popular player during his career, Strawberry was voted to the All-Star Game eight straight times from 1984-1991.
In 1985, despite missing 40 games due to an injury to his right thumb, he hit 29 home runs but the Mets fell 5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East.
In 1986, Strawberry hit 27 homers and had 99 RBIs as the Mets won the 1986 World Series.
Strawberry signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991, inking a lucrative five-year $22.25 million contract. In California, he was named Big Brother of The Year for that year. After hitting 28 home runs and bringing in 99 runs batted in a successful first year for the Dodgers, injuries and personal problems kept him sidelined for much of the next two seasons, hitting five home runs in each season.
William Hayward "Mookie" Wilson (born February 9, 1956) played with the New York Mets (1980–89) and Toronto Blue Jays (1989–91). He was a switch hitter, known for his impressive speed and positive attitude. Fans would frequently chant "Mooooo-kie" in appreciation of him.
Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, Wilson played college baseball at Spartanburg Methodist College and then the University of South Carolina. Later, in 1996, he earned a bachelor's degree from Mercy College in New York.
In twelve seasons, Wilson was a .274 hitter with 67 home runs, 438 RBI, and 327 stolen bases in 1403 games. Wilson held the Mets record for career stolen bases (281) and career triples (62) until Jose Reyes broke both marks during the 2008 season.
Wilson is the batter who, in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, avoided being hit by a wild pitch, allowing the tying run to score in the bottom of the 10th. His ground ball later in the same at bat went through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, allowing the winning run to score. The ball that rolled through Buckner's legs is now housed in the Seth Swirsky baseball collection.
When the Mets decided to rebuild, Wilson requested a trade. The Mets accommodated him by trading him to the Blue Jays in exchange for Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady on August 1, 1989.
Wilson was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2005, Wilson managed the single A team Brooklyn Cyclones. Previously, he managed the Rookie League Kingsport Mets team and was a coach for the New York Mets from 1997 to 2002.
In 1999, Wilson obtained a license to drive tractor-trailer trucks and began hauling freight in the offseason, a job he stated his intention to keep if and when he left professional baseball.
This data was drawn from Wikipedia.
This episode was originally broadcast as a national radio syndication in October 1987.
Smarter Podcasts.com, Delivering Sound Advice.
/
RSS Feed
Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952, in Albany, Georgia) was primarily a third baseman, although he did see some action at first base, second base, designated hitter, shortstop and in the outfield. He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1974–1981), Houston Astros (1982–1984), New York Mets (1984–1986), Baltimore Orioles (1987), and the Detroit Tigers (1988). He is now a studio analyst for MASN's coverage of the Washington Nationals.
While Knight is notable as being a very high quality hitter, making the Top 10 leaderboard in batting three times, he is mostly known for his role in the 1986 World Series, when he not only scored the winning run in Game 6 on Mookie Wilson's famous grounder through Bill Buckner's legs, but he also hit the tie breaking home run in Game 7. Due to his contributions Knight won the World Series MVP award, and then became the first player to join a new team the season after winning the award, signing with the Orioles in 1987. The Mets granted Knight free agency after it was decided that Howard Johnson would be the Mets' everyday third baseman. His all-time statistics in the postseason include a .279 BA, with 1 home run and 7 RBIs.
In 1986, Knight also won the Babe Ruth Award for the National League and The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. He was also a winner of the Hutch Award in 1983.
In a 13-season career, Knight put together a .271 batting average with 84 home runs and 595 RBIs in 1495 games. He had 490 runs and 14 career stolen bases. He accumulated 266 doubles and 1311 hits in total, in 4829 at bats.
In Knight's managerial career, he is 125-137, managing the Reds from 1996-97 and in 2003 for one game. In 1997, he forgot how many outs there had been in a half-inning in which the Reds were at bat and called for a bunt at an inopportune time. He later fined himself $250 for the incident. The team's lack of success would lead to his eventual firing and his replacement with Jack McKeon.
Knight is married to LPGA star Nancy Lopez, and briefly caddied for her after retiring.
This data was drawn from Wikipedia.
This episode was originally broadcast as a national radio syndication in July 1987.
Smarter Podcasts.com, Delivering Sound Advice.
/
RSS Feed
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (born January 31, 1947) is a former American right-handed pitcher who played in a major league record 27 seasons for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers, from 1966 to 1993.
Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 mph, even past the age of 40. The media tagged him, or more specifically his pitching, as "The Ryan Express" (a reference to the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express).
Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history. He leads the runner-up by over 1,000 strikeouts as of early in the 2007 season. The pitcher in second place as of early 2007 varies between Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson, who are both active and who are both over the 4,600-strikeout mark. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history.
Ryan is also the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters.
This episode originally aired September 11, 1987.
Smarter Podcasts.com, Delivering Sound Advice.
/
RSS Feed
"A ballpark is an empty place until you put people in it." Warren Spahn loved the sounds and anticipation of Opening Day and shares his memories of his 21 seasons.
This episode originally aired the first week of the 1987 baseball season.
SmarterPodcasts.com, Delivering Sound Advice