Friday, December 7, 2007

Exclusive Club

Most home runs by a Met player who retired without playing for any other major league team:
Ed Kranepool 118
Ron Hodges 19
Bruce Boisclair 10
Dave Schneck 8
Rod Kanehl 6
Ron Gardenhire 4
Kelvin Chapman/Billy Murphy 3

I was going to put Danny Garcia on this list with 5 career homers for the Mets, but it was pointed out that Garcia, although he did not appear anywhere in "organized baseball" in 2007, was still playing professionally. Garcia, whose claim to fame, thus far, is as the first Brooklyn Cyclone to make it to the majors, played in the independent Atlantic League in 2000, playing in 70 games with the Somerset Patriots based in Bridgewater, New Jersey (Bridgewater is in New Jersey's Somerset County -- just as England's Bridgwater is in England's Somerset County).

Garcia was a Somerset teammate of the indefatigable Alan Zinter, who will turn 40 in May. Alan Zinter was the Mets first pick in the 1989 draft and has plugged away in pro ball year after year ever since, with only brief stops in the majors at age 34 and age 36 (84 major league plate appearances altogether). In any event, it appears that Danny Garcia is still trying to get back to the majors, so I din't include him on the list above.

Most wins by a Met pitcher who retired without pitching for any other major league team:
Bob Apodaca 16
Jeff Innis 10
Randy Tate 5

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