Welcome to this week’s edition of Prospect Time Machine. I wanted to shine the light on a player that I enjoyed watching as a kid. It was right around the 1997 and 1998 season when I started to really follow major league baseball, and I was drawn to Butch Huskey because I thought his name was awesome.

Robert Leon Huskey was born and raised in Oklahoma; the Mets were hoping they would be able to develop those country muscles into a legitimate power hitter in the middle of their lineup at Shea Stadium for years to come. New York selected the third baseman (at the time) out of high school in the seventh round of the 1989 MLB draft.

Upon signing with the organization, the Mets assigned him to the GCL in order to get his feet wet as a professional baseball player. He immediately made his presence felt, hitting .263/.317/.453 with six home runs, 14 doubles, and 34 RBIs in 190 at-bats (it sounds somewhat similar to the numbers Dominic Smith put up this season). That performance earned him his first of three Doubleday Awards for his minor league performances.

As an 18-year-old entering the 1990 season, Huskey was sent to the Appy League with Kingsport, and began to show his power potential. The slugging right-hander hit .269/.326/.466 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. It was the first of six straight double-digit home run seasons for Huskey. He put together his best overall season in the minors with Columbia during the ’91 South Atlantic League. He earned his second Doubleday Award by hitting .287/.357/.520 with with 26 homers and 99 RBIs.

That performance finally put him on the map with Baseball America; he was named the 54th-best prospect in the game heading into the 1992 season. He spent his age-20 season in the Florida State League with St. Lucie, but took a step back after what was a career year. He hit .254/.299/.402 in 493 at-bats, but still slugged 18 home runs and drove in 75. That performance dropped him in Baseball America’s rankings next spring to the 92nd best prospect.

Despite his struggles in Florida, the Mets promoted him to Double-A Binghamton for the 1993 season, and he found his form from years past. He won his third Doubleday Award after hitting .251/.312/.441 with 25 homers and 98 RBIs in 526 at-bats. He did see his first big league action during this season, but his debut was overshadowed by a Darryl Kile no-hitter. In 13 games played and 41 at-bats, Huskey hit .146/.159/.171.

He spent the ’94 and ’95 seasons mostly in Triple-A Norfolk, getting a September call-up to finish the ’95 season. Once 1996 rolled around, he was in the big leagues with the Mets on a full-time basis. Instead of staying at his natural position of third base, he was moved to first base, then eventually to right field in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Huskey would play for the Mets for three more seasons before getting traded to the Seattle Mariners to make room for the acquisition of Bobby Bonilla (we all know how that’s paying off for the Wilpons for the next few years).

Huskey’s best overall season came in 1997 — as a 25-year-old, he hit .287/.319/.503 with career bests in the home run (24) and RBI (81) departments. With the kind of success he had at that particular age, the Mets were hoping he would continue turning into a force at the plate. His showing in ’98 was underwhelming (.252/.300/.407) enough for New York to lose faith in him and trade him away.

Butch would play two more seasons in the majors before fading into the background; he started ’99 with Seattle before getting traded to the Boston Red Sox, getting his only taste of October baseball. He came back in 2000 and split time with Minnesota and Colorado before spending an entire season with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate in ’01. After that, he hung up his spikes for good.

One of the more notable aspects of Huskey’s career was the number he wore on his back. He wore #42 when the MLB retired it across the game back in 1997. He was eligible to wear the number for the rest of his career, if he wanted to. Mariano Rivera was the last player to wear the number, but Mo Vaughn also sported 42 in his brief stint with the Mets.

I wish the Mets gave Huskey another chance in their outfield in 1999, but it just wasn’t meant to be. However, I do appreciate the fond memories I have of him as my love for the game was starting to mature into the full-blown obsession it has now become.