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The 1986 Mets We Didn’t Know: The Lower Minors

By Former Writers

December 11, 2013 No comments

Once we drop below AA, the number of players in the Major League organization that eventually makes it to the majors drops off.  It’s a struggle to make it to Double-A, and the majors can seem miles away.  Most guys get weeded out before ever making it that far.

In 1986, the Mets had 35 players suit up for the Lynchburg Mets (A+) of the Carolina League, 36 players suit up for the Columbia Mets (A) of the South Atlantic League, 27 players take the field for the Little Falls Mets (A-) of the New York Penn League, and 28 players suit up for the Kingsport Mets (Rookie) of the Appalachian League.  There was overlap between these levels as players moved up and down the system during the course of the season – but only 14 players from the lower levels of the system ever played a game in the majors.

Marcus LawtonMarcus Lawton

Marcus Lawton spent 1986 in Lynchburg and played 10 seasons in the minor leagues as an outfielder and shortstop, spending time in the Mets, Yankees, White Sox, Angels, and Royals organizations before ending his playing career in 1992.  He very briefly made it to the Majors in 1989 with the Yankees, appearing in 10 games and getting 3 hits – all singles.  Over his 10 minor league seasons, he appeared in 1,064 games and hit .271 with 25 HR and 365 RBI’s.  He stole 379 bases in his minor league career, including 111 during the 1985 season for the Columbia Mets. In 1986, he hit .279 with an OBP of .390 and scored 118 runs, stole 58 bases and walked 102 times.  He was a player in the system to be excited about.  I remember being excited about having a potential 100 stolen base guy on the team when I heard about this mythical Speed Demon that would arrive sometime in the not-too-distant future.  Unfortunately, he never lived up to that promise.

Gregg Jefferies played at three different levels of the Mets system in 1986.  He played the bulk of the season in Lynchburg, but he did spend time with Columbia and 5 games with the AA Jackson Mets.  Gregg was one of those players who never quite fit in New York.  He wasn’t very well liked by his teammates, and after the 1991 season – he was shipped off to Kansas City along with Kevin McReynolds and Keith Miller in the trade that brought Bret Saberhagen to the Mets.   Greg had an outstanding 1986 season, where at the age of 18, he  played in 125 games and hit .353 with  16 HR, 111 RBI, 32 doubles, 11 triples, and 184 hits to go along with 57 stolen bases.  Gregg was the absolute can’t miss, can’t miss, can’t miss future hall of famer that was on his way to New York.  He was the Minor League Player of the Year both in 1986 and 1987.  I was even more excited about seeing Gregg Jefferies come to the Mets than I was Lawton.  While he played 14 seasons in the majors, made two all star teams with the Cardinals (1993 & 1994), and had a career that most ballplayers would give their eye teeth for – given the Great Expectations that were laid upon him, Gregg was generally considered a disappointment.  During his 14 MLB seasons (with 6 teams – Mets, Royals, Cardinals, Phillies, Angels, Tigers), he appeared in 1,465 games and hit .289 with 126 HR and 663 RBI.  He had 1,593 base hits with 300 doubles and 27 triples to go with 196 stolen bases.  He was incredibly difficult to strike out, fanning only 348 times in 5,520 at bats.  He never struck out more than 46 times in a single season and in 1992 he struck out only 29 times against a career high 604 at bats.  His last season was 2000, and after justing having turned 33, his playing days were done.  I’ll admit, I was sad to see Gregg go when he was traded after 1991.  He wasn’t well liked, but he was one of my favorite players on the team.  He also drove a cool electric blue Camaro with the personalized license plates 4FOR4GJ.

Steve Phillips was a rather unspectacular middle infielder that spent 7 minor league seasons from 1981-1987 in the Mets and Tigers organizations.  In 1986, he played 101 games with Lynchburg and another 3 games at AA Jackson, batting a combined .286 with 3 HR and 50 RBI. Over 7 years, he played in 618 games, batting .250 with 22 HR and 215 RBI, collecting 457 hits.  While his playing days were less than spectacular, Steve later became the General Manager of the Mets from 1998-2003.  During his 6 seasons at the helm, the Mets made back to back playoff appearances in 1999 and 2000, with the 2000 squad losing in the World Series to the New York Yankees.

Jeff Gardner was a second baseman at Lynchburg in 1986, batting .272 with 1 HR and 39 RBI in 111 games.  The former 14th round pick made it to the majors in 1991 with the Mets, appearing in 13 games and batting .162 with 6 base hits.  He played parts of 4 seasons in the majors with the Mets, Padres and Expos, appearing in 186 games batting .246 with 1 HR, 26 RBI and 121 base hits.  He appeared in a career high 140 Major League games with the Padres in 1993.  In 10 minor league seasons, he appeared in 1,108 games batting 285 with 6 HR and 358 RBI to go with 1,049 minor league hits.

Scott Little was an outfielder with Lynchburg and Jackson in 1986, appearing in 98 games, batting .231 with 2 HR and 39 RBI.  He had a cup of coffee with the Pirates in 1989 and had 1 major league hit in 4 at bats.  In 8 minor league seasons from 1984-1991, he played in 750 games, batting .264 with 28 HR and 289 RBI to go with 616 hits.

Dave Lidell is the all-time leader in career batting average.  His single feat may be challenged, but will never be beaten.  It is unfortunately a record he wishes he didn’t have.  A perfect career batting average.  Dave played for 9 seasons in the minors in the Cubs, Mets, Brewers and Orioles organizations and in 1986, he played with Columbia, Lynchburg, and the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League (Cubs – A).  Over his 9 minor league seasons (1984-1992), he played in 529 games hitting .215 with 24 HR, 147 RBI, and 323 hits.  But on June 3, 1990 – David appeared in one Major League game.  The Mets lost that Sunday afternoon at Veterans Stadium to the Phillies 8-3 and while Sid Fernandez got beat up, lasting only 3 1/3 innings, it was Dave’s day to shine.  He entered the game to lead off the top of the 8th with the Mets down 8-1, pinch hitting for Mackey Sasser.  He stepped into the batters box against Pat Combs and on the first and only big league pitch he would ever see, he hit a ground ball single up the middle and into center field and found himself standing on first base.  He reached second on a Kevin Elster walk.  He advanced to third on a fly ball by Mark Carreon.  He completed his ride around the bases on a 1-0 wild pitch and scored his only major league run.  He is in the record books with a career 1.000 batting average.

Jose Bautista (no, not that one) split 1986 between Lynchburg and AA Jackson, where he pitched in 25 games (22 starts) with a combined 8-9 record with a 4.62 ERA in 140 1/3 innings.  Jose broke into the majors in 1988 with the Orioles and pitched 9 seasons with the Orioles, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, and Cardinals.  He appeared in 312 games (49 starts) with a record of 32-42 and a 4.62 ERA and 3 saves.  He pitched 686 innings, striking out 328 with ah WHIP of 1.32.  He also appeared in 367 minor league games over 16 seasons  with a record of 99-86 with an ERA of 3.95 over 1,583 minor league innings.

David West made 26 starts between Columbia and Lynchburg in 1986, going 11-9 with a 3.92 ERA in 167 2/3 innings.  He made it to the Mets in 1988 and was involved in the 1989 trade that brought Frank Viola to New York.  He pitched 10 years in the majors with the Mets, Twins, Phillies and Red Sox, pitching in 204 games (78 starts) with a record of 31-38 and a 4.68 ERA and 3 saves with a 1.47 WHIP over 567 innings.  He also appeared in 282 minor league games with a record of 88-60 with a 3.37 ERA and 6 saves over 1,250 innings and a 1.41 WHIP.

Mauro Gozzo pitched for Lynchburg in 1986, appearing in 60 games out of the bullpen, going 9-4 and an ERA of 3.10 and 9 saves over 78 1/3 innings.  He broke into the Majors in 1989 with the Blue Jays and played 6 seasons in the majors with the Jays, Indians, Twins and the Mets (1994-1994).  He appeared in 48 games (13 starts) and had a career record of 7-7 with an ERA of 5.26 and 1 save in 125 innings, allowing 150 hits, walking 51, striking out 55 with a WHIP of 1.61.

Rich Rodriguez pitched for Lynchburg and Jackson in 1986, appearing in 59 games (5 starts) with a record of 5-5 and an ERA of 5.86 and 3 saves in 78 1/3 innings. He made it to the majors in 1990 with the Padres and pitched for 13 seasons in the bigs with the Padres, Marlins, Cardinals, Giants, Mets, Indians, Rangers, and Angels.  He appeared in 609 games with a record of 31-22 with an ERA of 3.80 and 8 saves in 642 innings and a career WHIP of 1.41.

Brian Givens pitched for Columbia in 1986, making 27 starts with a 8-7 record with a 3.77 ERA in 172 innings, striking out 189 and walking 100 batters with a WHIP of 1.44.  He broke into the majors in 1995 and pitched parts of two seasons with the Brewers, appearing in 23 games (all starts) with a record of 6-10 and an ERA of 5.88 in 121 innings with 61 walks and 83 innings with a WHIP of 1.73.

Heathcliff Slocumb pitched for Little Falls way back in 1986 and went to John Bowne High School in Flushing, Queens.  That season, he appered in 25 games with a record of 3-1 and a 1.65 ERA and 1 save in 43 1/3 innings with 41 strikeouts.  He made it to the majors in 1991, and over a 10 year Major League career (1991-2000) with the Cubs, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, Mariners, Orioles, Cardinals, and Padres, he pitched in 548 games with a career record of 28-37 and an ERA of 4.08 and 98 saves.  He pitched 631 innings, allowed 636 hits, walked 358 and struck out 513 with a career WHIP of 1.58.

Terry McDaniel was an outfielder with Kingsport in 1986, appearing in 41 games, batting .246 with 6 HR and 21 RBI.  He made it to the Mets in 1991, his only season in the bigs, appearing in 23 games, batting .207 with 0 HR and 2 RBI and 6 base hits.  He appeared in 554 games in the minors, collecting 462 hits.

Curtis Pride was a 17 year old outfielder playing for Kingsport in 1986, batting .109 with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 27 games, collecting only 5 hits.  He was a long way from the majors, but broke in with the Expos at the age of 24 and went on to play 11 seasons with the Expos, Tigers, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, and Angels.  He appeared in 421 big league games, batting .250 with 20 HR and 82 RBI with 199 big league hits.  He played 21 seasons in the minors, appearing in 1,297 minor league games and hit .278 with 139 HR, 582 RBI and 1,247 minor league hits.

Julio Valera made 13 starts for Kingsport as a 17 year old in 1986.  He had a record of 3-10 with an ERA of 5.19, pitching 76 1/3 innings, allowing 91 hits with 29 walks and 64 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.57.  He reached the majors in 1990 with Mets, making 3 starts.  He pitched 5 years in the majors with the Mets, Angels & Royals, appearing in 85 games (38 starts) with a record of 15-20 with an ERA of 4.85 and 5 saves in 317 innings.  In 12 minor league seasons, he pitched in 229 innings (188 starts) with a record of 71-83 and an ERA of 3.74 and 15 saves.  He threw 1,249 minor league innings.

(Photo Credit – Tradingcarddb.com)