" Good old Bobby O !!!"
When you think of some of the best pitching rotations of all time I feel that a case could be made that the ’86 Mets should be mentioned in the top five.When you look back at the names on those Jerseys, Gooden, Darling, Fernandez, Aguilera – and today’s number 32 Met of all time , Bobby Ojeda, It is hard to think of many starting rotations that could match up against them.
Robert ”Bobby” Ojeda was born in Los Angeles on born December 17, 1957. Bobby would sign with the Boston Red Sox after graduating The College of the Sequoiasas a undrafted free agent in 1978.
Ojeda was assigned to the Red Sox Single A team , the Elmira Pioneers, where he didn’t pitch that well. That next season he was promoted to Boston’s minor league team, the Winter Haven Red Sox in the Florida State League. Bobby showed marked improvement, going 15-7 in 29 starts. In 1980, Ojeda was once again promoted. This time to the Red Sox triple A affiliate in Pawtucket Massachusetts. Bobby pitched extremely well there and by that July he earned a call up to the big team.
Bobby made three starts that season for the Red Sox before being sent back down for more seasoning. He would be promoted again to the Sox after the MLB strike of ’81 ended. Bobby pitched well, upon his call up, he even had a complete game seven-hit win Bobby made the team out of Spring Training in ’82 but he pitched poorly. In the middle of that season he would become a long reliever/ spot starter.In 1983, once again won a spot in the Red Sox rotation. As a fourth starter, Bobby put of good numbers.He ended the season with a record of 12-7 and a ERA of 4.04.In 1985 Bobby was relegated to the Red Sox bullpen, but he pitched so well that he was moved back into the rotation at the end of May.
That off season the Mets stole Bobby from the Sox in a eight player deal that sent Ojeda along with pitcher, John Mitchell , and minor league pitchers Tom McCarthy and Chris Bayer to the Mets for pitchers Calvin Schiraldi and Wes Gardner along with minor league outfielders, John Christensen and LaShelle Tarver going to the to the Red Sox.
Upon his arrival to the Mets in ’86, Bobby proved to be the missing piece to a already strong pitching staff. Bobby would go 18-5 record with a ERA of 2.57 (second-best in the league) and 148 strikeouts that season.
Bobby was also one of the four players that were arrested in the infamous Cooter’s barroom brawl that July. To read a funny account of this melee read ” The Bad Guys Won” , by Sports Illustrated reporter, Jeff Pearlman.
During the ’86 NLCS against the Houston Astros, Bobby pitched a complete game to win the game two of the series. . He also started that epic Game 6 In which he gave up three runs in the first inning. As you may recall ( if you are old enough) Mets didn’t tie the game until the ninth, sending the game into extra innings where the Mets finally won the game in sixteen innings.
Bobby would face his old team , the Boston Red Sox in the world Series. After the Mets dropped their first two games to the Sox at home, Bobby came in to save the day , propelling the Mets to a 7-1 victory ! Ojeda would pitch again in game six. Ojeda gave up two runs early to the Soxs. The Mets would tie the game, letting Ojeda off the hook with a no decision. The Sox would once again take the lead, but the Mets would make one of the most amazing comebacks ever , when the game would win the game on Mookie Wilson’s ground ball that rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run.
Ojeda had surgery missed most of the ’87 season after having shoulder surgery. He would come back in ’88 , and pitched well, but he would miss the Mets post season when he sliced off the top of his middle finger after he severed it while using a hedge trimmer at his home. Bobby didn’t pitch well for the Mets the next two seasons, and was relegated to the bullpen.
That off season the Mets traded Bobby to the Los Angeles Dodgers – the team that he rooted for as a kid for one time Mets star third baseman, Hubie Brooks. Bobby pitched well for the Dodgers in ’91 But his numbers started to decline in ’92.
After the ’92 season ended Bobby signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent. That Spring Training tragedy would strike Bobby when a boat that he was on with fellow Indians players, Steve Olin and Tim Crews crashed into a pier, killing both Crews and Olin. All the men were legally drunk. Bobby was lucky enough to have suffered lacerations to his scalp, but he suffered emotional damage from the accident. He would return to the Indians late that season and pitched fairly decently, posting a ERA of 4.40 in 43 innings.
Ojeda would sign with the Yankees as a free agent after 1993 season.George Steinbrenner liked to tweak the Mets by signing and rehabilitating ex Mets stars. Bobby pitched poorly for the Yanks and after two games he was released. He retired as a player soon after.
After retiring from baseball Ojeda became a pitching coach for the Mets short season rookie ball team, The Brooklyn Cyclones in ’01. Bobby would spend two season coaching in Brooklyn before being promoted to coach the Mets Double A team in Binghamton as a pitching coach. He spent a year there before quitting. He went public to the New York sports media, criticizing the Mets front office for their ineptitude after his resignation.
In 2009, Ojeda joined the Mets owned cable channel, SNY to be a Pre-Game and Post-Game studio analyst for New York Mets games with ex Wfan host, Chris Carlin .
Tomorrw we will reveal the number 31 Met in this list of 50 – You may be surpised by who it is !!
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today include :
Today would have been original Mets owner,Joan Payson’s 108th birthday (1903) . Mets fans everywhere owe her a debt of gratitude for believing in Bill Shea’s vision of bringing National League baseball back to New York. I still feel her name should be on the wall of honor in the outfield.
Recent Hall Of Fame inductee, second baseman, Roberto Alomar is 43 (1968) . It’s a shame his career was on the wane by the time he came to the Mets.
The New York Mets sold back up catcher, Greg Goossen to the Seattle Pilots on February 5, 1969.
The New York Mets released often injured outfielder, Elliott Maddox on February 5, 1981. Maddox was a minor fan favorite during those dark days of the late ’70′s and early ’80′s. He had sued the City of New York when he was playing for the Yankees in ’75 because he got caught in the outfield drainage area of the Shea Stadium outfield (The Yankees played at Shea while Yankee Stadium was being renovated in the mid ’70′s)and injured his leg. The suit was tossed out as ” frivolous. His other claim to fame is that during his college years , he converted to Judaism.
The New York Mets traded reserve first baseman/outfielder, Roberto Petagine to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league infielder, Yuri Sanchez on February 5, 1998.
The New York Mets signed free agent pitcher,Scott Erickson on February 5, 2004. Erickson would only get two starts with the Mets before being traded to the Texas Rangers for a minor leaguer.
The New York Mets signed free agent middle reliever, Elmer Dessens of the Atlanta Braves on February 5, 2009.Elmer was quite effective coming out of the Mets bullpen the past two seasons. His final stats for the Mets were a 4-2 record with a E.R.A of2.71 in 81 games. Not too shabby for a pitcher who we all thought was washed up. He recently inked a deal with the St Louis Cardinals.
And while you spend your day stocking up on chips, salsa, dip, beer and other provisions for tomorrow nights Super Bowl, just remember that there are just 55 Frank Howard days until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami and only 62 days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn will be featured in tomorrow nights commercial for Budweiser. He will be wrestling one of the iconic clydesdales !!!
10 comments
stickguy
2/5/2011-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
He really did have a short productive career for the Mets, but 86 was a good one. 88 not too far behind, and if someone this yer could put up his numbers it would be wonderful!
the other 3 years were barely average.
The biggest thing I realized from the write ups on the mid-80s guys? Cashen was one hell of a dealer. He had quite a few trades where he really ripped off the other team! Not sur ehow much was him, and how much was the talent evaluators (for the younger guys) but most of the lopsided trades (in the mets favor) were under his watch it seems.
rustyjr
2/5/2011-11:45am at 11:45 am (UTC -4)
I agree – getting darling also was a great deal
metsfan4decades
2/5/2011-11:51am at 11:51 am (UTC -4)
Agree with stick above. Bobby O was key in reaching the post season that year. It was his best year and we’re lucky it was in ’86.
‘He went public to the New York sports media, criticizing the Mets front office for their ineptitude after his resignation.’
Ouch.
After listening to Bobby O during the pre and especially post game shows on SNY last year, not hard to imagine him criticizing the Mets FO in ’01. He tells it like it is and you can just tell, if not for professionalism, he’d like to be even more blunt on those shows.
Ojeda was easily on my top 50 list.
stickguy
2/5/2011-12:02pm at 12:02 pm (UTC -4)
Hey MF, did you have fun with your new BFF over at MMO last night? There are some people on their that are just too over the top to actually have a discussion with. Although it is fun to poke at them to get them all riled up!
The Mets also need to get lucky with a few more of these “talented guys that never quite clicked for a career year” types.
and once again, Ojeda was 28 when he had the breakout year in 1986. One more in a long line of examples that you can’t give up too early on talented guys, even if they bounced around for a few years already. Unless it is Ollie, then you can.
hey, maybe sandy can sell that theory to another GM and get him to trade for Ollie?
metsfan4decades
2/5/2011-12:08pm at 12:08 pm (UTC -4)
hahaha – wow, he is one angry dude, isn’t he?
I’m kind of a newbie to those discussions. The only thing I was sure of is Bayonne bails out when people disagree with him but had no idea about that kid (i’m assuming he’s a kid). I quickly caught on.
I will never understand the anger some people have over a difference of opinion. It’s not like I was insulting his mother, for crying out loud. I was just saying that none of us know what really went down, none of us probably ever will, and the only thing I’m sure of right now is that Madoff is a crook.
I know better now…..lol.
stickguy
2/5/2011-12:13pm at 12:13 pm (UTC -4)
as NJ knows, Bayonne is a loose cannon. He often would go nuts, getting extremely (viley) personal and cursing up a storm. I think he bails out now to avoid getting barred or the shoutbox shut down!
There are a few others that have very strong opinions on certain topics (even if it is hard to understand what they are!) and you found one.
I don’t care what people think, if they can have a civil discourse about it. But I hate when people skip the whole “in my opinion” part, and scream at you that they are right, they speak facts/truth, and if you disagree they call you names.
metsfan4decades
2/5/2011-12:10pm at 12:10 pm (UTC -4)
Trade for Ollie? If Sandy pulls that off I’ll dub him the Miracle Man.
I know luck doesn’t have a whole lot to do with it but dang, we’re due for some good luck this year. Having everyone stay relatively healthy, having the ‘veterans’ put up numbers they’ve put up before, having a pitcher or two step it up and one of the young’uns have a good year…..and I’ll enjoy the ’11 season.
stickguy
2/5/2011-12:19pm at 12:19 pm (UTC -4)
the sad thing is, what you consider luck is what fans of every other team considers normal.
a top talent like Bay having a good, career normal year? that does not seem rash!
beyond that, I think Sandy was shrewd in picking his injury rebound guys. Get them the 2nd year beyond surgery, so that they already had the wasted year getting back into playing shape (and you saw, of course, that they could play), and another full off season to just ;;work out, instead of rehab.
Even Beltran and Reyes talked about this, how last year they were rehabbing instead of just training their whole body and getting ready for the season.
If young and Capuano can pitch at least 22-25 GS and 150ish IP each, minimum, the team could actually do quite well. As long as, of course, the rest of the team does not have a collectively breakdown again!
Beltran I think wil hang in there, play 140 games or so and be productive (with judicious rest). And the Pen, some interesting arms to mix/match out there so it could be fine.
yeah, a few Ifs, but every team has some of them, and the teams the mets will compete against for the WC have plenty!
njstuckintx
2/5/2011-2:59pm at 2:59 pm (UTC -4)
It well could play out that way. I like Cap and Young, so here is to hoping…
metsfan4decades
2/5/2011-3:33pm at 3:33 pm (UTC -4)
I have no problem with the number and type of arms Sandy signed this off season. We had very little pitching depth to start. Yes, it would have been nice to go after that one solid 2/3 starter but didn’t sound like Sandy wanted to part with prospects this off season. And getting that pitcher on FA would have probably meant spending the 10-12mil they were looking at all on one player.
If all stay relatively healthy, pitching staff might not be all that bad.