#414 Tom Gorman

Card thoughts: There have been three major league players named Tom Gorman, all pitchers.  This one was nicknamed Gorfax (note: short for Goose Koufax, even more inexplicable) for some reason. This is his last Topps card.

The player: Although Gorman wasn’t a big winner for the Mets, he figured in several memorable games.

Gorman had yet to establish himself other than a “generic struggling lefty” before being traded from the Expos to the Mets for #177 Joel Youngblood. He ended up winning eight straight decisions, mostly in relief, for the Mets between 1983 and 1985, including a win on Opening Day the latter year (which he had predicted to Davey Johnson earlier that day). Despite the wins, Gorman only really had one good year, 1984, when he was undefeated (6-0) with a 2.97 ERA.

By 1985, he was used mainly in a mop-up role, where he was the winner in the marathon 19-inning Mets-Braves game which light-hitting pitcher #419 Rick Camp famously tied with a home run (that came off Gorman). He also was the winner in an 18 inning game against the Pirates that occurred a few weeks before. And finally, Gorman was the losing pitcher in a 26-7 blowout against the Phillies. Gorman, an emergency starter, gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning. #210 Calvin Schiraldi, who followed him to the mound, gave up 10 runs in an inning and a half.

With the Mets having a stacked bullpen in 1986, Gorman was cut on the last day of spring training. A few remaining games for the Phillies and Padres the following two years, and stops in the Twins and A’s minor league systems finished off his career. Gorman now coaches baseball in Oregon City, OR, and is a high school sales rep for Nike.

Rear guard: Gorman's first win came as the fourth reliever in an 8-7 win over the Padres. He struck out three and gave up two hits.

"Clouted": an awkward verb. Cleon Jones was a decent hitter for the late 60s/early 70s Mets, but the most home runs he ever hit was 14. Here's his 1972 card.

#402 Turn Back the Clock: 1976

Card thoughts: I think Mark Fidrych was the story of this season, and it should be his picture on the front. While Seaver had his usual fine season, he only led the league in strikeouts and his WAR was his second lowest in his career by this point.

Rear guard: Every year is the year of records being broken, and these records aren’t that impressive. Nolan Ryan would go on to set much more impressive records, and, uh, the only other records are meaningless one by Jose Morales and Butch Metzger. As for the players mentioned here, Randy Jones was a one year wonder in winning the Cy Young Award and all three Rookies of the Year ended being complete bust.

What was I doing in 1976? Crapping in my diapers on Bruner Street.

#362 Tom Paciorek

Card thoughts: Second high-five picture in the set! And since Paciorek only hit one home run in a Mets uniform, we should be able to identify the circumstance, and his mysterious high-fiving partner. This picture was taken on August 15, in the first inning. Paciorek was the second batter of the game, and he drove in leadoff man, #191 Wally Backman, who had earlier taken a walk. As a child, I pronounced his name “Passiorek.”

The player: Paciorek, who was nicknamed “Wimpy” for some unknown reason, was the most successful of three baseball playing brothers.  One of the myriad of great hitting prospects the Dodgers had in the early 70s, like of many of those players he tore up the PCL, driving in over 100 runs three straight seasons (1970-1972).  Despite this, he was unable to make it to the majors for more than a cup of coffee until 1973. When he did, he was blocked at first by former Spokane teammate Steve Garvey, and in the outfield by a trio of solid veterans (Manny Mota, Willie Davis, and Willie Crawford). Paciorek never would get a chance to be more than a fourth outfielder in LA, as in the next two seasons youngster Bill Buckner and import Jim Wynn would take up the majority of the outfield playing time in left and center, respectively.

Suffering from lack of playing time, Wimpy’s average dipped to .190 in 1976, prompting a trade to the Braves. He still was in a reserve role, but the Braves starting outfielders were far inferior to the Dodgers, so his playing time increased accordingly. Playing in 110 games, Paciorek hit .290 with a league average OPS. He slumped in 1977, and was bad in spring training the next year, prompting the Braves to put him on waivers. He cleared, and went to Richmond for a week. However, he was added to the 40-man again when Gary Mathews separated his shoulder. After only 5 games, he was once again put on waivers, but this time the Mariners claimed him when he failed to report to the minors. Paciorek finished the year strong, hitting .299 for the Mariners.

Paciorek finally got a chance to be a full-time player in 1981, and he made the most of it. Unfortunately, the season was strike shortened so we’ll never know what Paciorek could have done in a full season. He did make his first all star team, and even was tenth in the MVP voting. Top 10 rankings in hits (fifth), total bases (third), OPS (fourth), batting average (second), slugging (fourth), runs batted in (sixth), and doubles (third) made his case, although it is doubtful that those numbers would have held up over a full season.

Then the Mariners foolishly traded him to the White Sox for three nobodies (Jim Essian, Todd Cruz, and Rod Allen). Paciorek would hit over .300 his first two years with the White Sox, and would be their starting first baseman in 1983, the year they went to the ALCS (he hit .250 in the series). The next year, he would set a record by getting 5 hits in a 25-inning game, the most for a player who didn’t start the game (he entered in the fourth inning).

With the Mets breathing down the Cardinals neck in 1985, the coveted some veteran help off the bench to complement their young squad. Paciorek joined the team in July, and hit .284 down the stretch. He would not be able to enjoy the Mets success in 1986, however, as he was playing with the Rangers by then for his final full season.

Paciorek has remained well known in Chicago, particularly for his color commentary on White Sox games from 1988-1999 with the unlistenable Hawk Harrelson (I found “Wimpy” to be the only tolerable thing about watching the Sox). He subsequently did color for the Tigers, Mariners, Braves, and Nationals. His name was once again in the news a few years ago when he accused Rev. Gerald Shirilla of molesting him and his brothers when he was teaching at St. Ladislaus High school.

Rear guard: If you squint hard enough (or just click on the above image) you'll note that Paciorek played in exactly the same number of games with the White Sox and Mets in 1985, and had near identical offensive numbers.

#339 Bruce Berenyi

Card thoughts: This is the second Met pitcher Topps found fit to issue a card for, who barely pitched in 1985 due to injury. Didn’t Topps have any flexibility in changing the cards during the season once it was apparent they weren’t going to play much?  Larry Bowa, who played 14 games at the end of the season for the Mets (and 72 with the Cubs earlier) could have been given a card, especially since it was the last season of a long, productive career. For once, I long for the days of airbrushing. At least, unlike #18 Brent Gaff, he did get another card.

The player: Berenyi wasn’t much of a pitcher, even when he played, although he had good genes: His uncle was Ned Garver who had 129 wins for the Browns, Tigers, A’s, and Angels. He was viewed as a phenom when he made the majors. In a time when this was rare, his fastball was regularly clocked at 96, and his slider and curve broke sharply as well. Today, he'd be moved into short relief so he could dominate. Think Carlos Marmol.

When he was young, with cheek of tan, he led several minor leagues in strikeouts. Called up to the Reds in 1981, he struck out a lot of guys, but also walked a lot (he led the league with 77 in 126 innings). In those days, where pitch counts were not closely monitored, no doubt the extreme number of pitches Berenyi needed to pitch deep into games contributed to his later shoulder problems.

Although Berenyi led the league with 18 losses, his ERA of 3.36 shows a lack of run support by the (Small) Red Engine of 1982, although he gave up over 5 runs in 6 of his starts, and he was still too wild (his 96 walks were 3rd in the league, and his 16 wild pitches were 4th). The Yankees tried to acquire him for Rick Cerone (after all, despite his losses his WAR was over 4), but Cerone refused to waive his no-trade clause. Another losing season followed (9-14, another 102 walks), and then, in 1984 with Berenyi’s ERA at 6, the Reds traded him to the Mets in June for a bunch of minor leaguers.

With the Mets, he had his first winning season since 1981 (9-6). But, he tore his rotator cuff two starts into the season, and was done for the year. He made the Mets squad in 1986 as a long reliever and spot starter, but his ineffectiveness banished him to AAA, so he didn’t make the Mets post-season roster. A year after, he pitched a few games for the Expos AAA affiliate before his release.

Rear guard: Tim Harkness had only 7 career stolen bases, and he stole 3/4 of his 4 steals in 1963 in just that one game. This was a strange game, as the Phillies used six pitchers to lose a 6-3 game (at the time, it was rare to see more than three pitchers in a game that wasn't a blowout). It must of been an experiment of #81 Gene Mauch's. Anyhow, the unlucky catcher was Clay Darlymple.

#315 Mookie Wilson

Card thoughts: Yet another spring training head shot (that is four in a row). Wilson is looking quite noble in this shot.

The player:   Mookie was one of the few star players on the terrible Mets teams of the early 80s (the other was the surly Dave Kingman). As such, Wilson became a fan favorite. However, his shortcomings as a player (too many strikeouts and not enough walks for a speedy leadoff man) caused him to be relegated to platoon duty once the Mets got some better players. A light-hearted look at Wilson is shown here.

Wilson, a speedy switch hitter, was drafted by the Mets in 1977. In the minors, he played a brilliant centerfield while leading the league in triples at Jackson in 1978, and steals and triples at Tidewater in 1980. While at Jackson, Wilson got married on the field and invited everyone at the game to have cake afterwards.

Once called up to Mets in 1980, Wilson became the starting centerfielder, pushing veteran Mike Jorgensen to the bench. On an offensively challenged team, he scored at least 90 runs in both 1982 and 1983 while stealing over 50 bases both years.  On the other hand, he walked only 18 times (and struck out 103) in a league leading 638 at bats in the latter year.

Despite having his best offensive season as a regular in 1984 (a career high 48 extra base hits, 10 home runs, 10 triples, 46 steals), the Mets were still not happy with his strikeouts. Although he switch hit--and hit equally well batting lefty or righty--starting in 1985, Wilson was platooned with #53 Lenny Dykstra. Limiting his playing time to about 110 games a year helped him, as he started hitting for a higher average (he hit over .290 twice from 1985-1989). One of Wilson’s most famous at bats came in Game 6 in the 1986 World Series. He was at the plate when Bob Stanley uncorked a wild pitch to let the tying run score. And here he is, slashing a hard grounder down the first base line, the ball that Buckner eventually booted allowing the winning run to score. At the height of the Mets popularity following that win, Wilson made an appearance on Sesame Street (see him at the at the 10 minute mark).

The magic was gone by 1989, and Wilson was hitting in the low .200s when he asked to be traded.  The Mets obliged by sending him to the Blue Jays for a pocket full of sunflower seeds (actually Jeff Musselman and a minor leaguer).  He spent the rest of the season as a fourth outfielder, hitting .298. The following year, the struggling Lloyd Moseby left as a free agent, and Wilson enjoyed his last season as a regular. Showing he hadn’t changed much since 1984, he walked only 30 or so times while striking out over 100.

With the arrival of Devon White in 1991, Mookie was relegated to the bench. After hitting .241 in, well, 241 at bats, he retired.

In retirement, Wilson has driven a truck, and coached with the Mets in 1996-2002 and 2011. In between, he managed in the Mets minor league system. His nephew, Preston Wilson, had a pretty decent major league career for a while but, like Mookie, his propensity to strike out limited his utility (although he had a lot more homers than Mookie). Two of Wilson’s brothers John (averaged 30 steals a year in the minors) and Phil (27 steals) played pro ball as well, but only in the minors. 

Rear guard: Walt Terrell hit 10 career home runs, but he only had a .193 total slugging percentage. In 1983, his rookie year, he would have his best year as a hitter, belting 3 home runs, driving in 8, and hitting a respectable (for a pitcher) .182.  Not only did he hit 2 dingers in one game, but he drove in all four Mets runs with those homers. The pitcher he victimized was Hall of Famer Fregie Jenkins.

#287 John Christensen

Card thoughts: A nice picture of Christensen getting ready to swing at Shea. The mustache makes him look older than the rookie he is in this picture. This is his rookie card, and he would have just one more Topps card.

The player: Another obscure Mets rookie from this season (the other being Kelvin Chapman). This guy was long gone before the Mets began their reign as the top NL team.

Christensen was drafted originally by the Angels but elected to go to California State University instead. He finally signed with the Mets after graduating, and was immediately sent to the South Atlantic League. As a 21 year old, he was a little advanced for low-A ball, and he dominated there, leading the league in runs batted in with 97, and scoring another 100. 

Although the rest of minor league numbers were not particularly impressive, Christensen was in the majors two years later, debuting on my sister’s sixth birthday as a pinch hitter (for #80 Daryl Strawberry no less!) in a game where the Mets were being blown out by the Pirates. For the rest of the 1984 season, he batted .273.

Christensen was featured in the famous mock article written by George Plimpton about Mets prospect Sidd Finch for Sports Illustrated.  But that would be the highlight of his 1985 season. Due to the poor health of George Foster and Daryl Strawberry, Christensen was part of a platoon with Danny Heep and the beginning of the year.  However, he hit an unimpressive .186 (although he showed a good eye at the plate—his on-base percentage was 100 points higher). Sent to the minors when Strawberry and Foster were healthy, he hit .212.

Still a top prospect despite his poor 1985 season, Christensen was packaged in the deal with #210 Calvin Schiraldi in the deal that brought #11 Bob Ojeda to the Mets. He was presumed to have the inside track as a platoon partner for aging designated hitter Mike Easler, however he never played in the majors that year after the Red Sox acquired Don Baylor to fill that role. Another bad year at AAA convinced the Red Sox to part with Christensen, but he was once again included in a big trade with playoff implications, as he was sent to the Mariners after the end of the 1986 season as the player to be named later for #221 Dave Henderson and #248 Spike Owen.

Christensen got another chance to prove he was major league caliber in 1987. After starting the year tearing up the Southern and Pacific Coast Leagues, he was called up to the Mariners where he hit decently enough (.242/.306/.654), but was no better than a generic replacement player.

He was hitting .300 at AAA Calgary before the Mariners released him in May of 1988. Five days later, he was signed by the Twins, where he saw his last major league action. In 38 at bats, he hit .263. His pro career ended after one last season at AAA.

Rear guard: Christensen was pinch hitting for Keith Hernandez in a blowout when he doubled off Phillies pitcher #120 Steve Carlton for his first major league hit.

#274 Ron Gardenhire

 Card thoughts:  The fierce, determined, Viking look Gardenhire is sporting here is indictative of the fiery personality he shows as the manager of the Twins.  This is Gardenhire’s final card, and I remember being confused that both he and Rafael Santana had the sole shortstop positional designation. In my unsophisticated baseball mind at the time, I didn’t understand how two people could play the same position.

The player: Every team has a black hole at a position for a period of time, and for the Mets it was the shortstop position in the 1980s. The fact that the rest of the lineup were such mashers in the mid to late 80s disguised some of these very weak shortstops (Rafael Santana, Kevin Elster). In the early 80s, however, there was no hiding the poor play of the Mets shortstops (why they didn’t move Hubie Brooks there, I’ll never know).

This is just a long way of saying that Ron Gardenhire was supposed to be the shortstop of the future in 1982. But after a trial year in when Gardenhire hit .240 with a terrible .592 OPS (he was worth less than a replacement player), he was relegated to the minors in favor of a younger shortstop Jose Oquendo (only 19 at the time . . . he couldn’t hit a lick either but he was a better fielder). He remerged as a backup in 1984 where he was a erratic fielding shortstop with a poor bat to boot (his OPS in 74 games went down even further to .581).

For some unknown reason, he was given a card in this set, despite playing only 26 games in the majors and hitting .179. I suspect in a lot of cases, Topps used to make the determination early in spring training who they were going to use in the set, based on how much the player played the previous season (in order to not have to stress about getting marginal players in action). This was the reason they lost out on the rookie race to the more nimble Donruss and Fleer card companies.

This would be Gardenhire’s last Mets season, but more important to his future career, he landed with the Twins AAA club for one last pro season. The Twins connection landed him several minor league managing jobs in the organization and, most importantly, a long tenure as Tom Kelly’s third base coach.

When Kelly left after the 2001 season, Gardenhire stepped right in and was successful in guiding a small market franchise like the Twins to division titles in 6 of the first 9 years he managed them, going below .500 only once.  “Gardy” became a bit of a folk hero in Minneapolis-St. Paul, as much for his penchant of getting tossed from games as for his success on the field. With the turnover from one year to the next of players these days, his longtime reign as Twins manager made him the face of the franchise, which led him to make several goofy commercials (like this one and this one).

Unfortunately for Gardenhire, the last two seasons he managed have been abysmal, and he had the humiliation of having three of his long time coaches let go from under him this last season. His contract only runs until 2013, and I doubt he’ll be retained past that.

Rear guard: Gardenhire's first home run was hit off #106 Ray Burris and drove in #191 Wally Backman. It was the deciding run in the Mets 5-4 victory over the Expos. 

I have never heard of Hawk Taylor, and I once gorged on the early history of the Mets when I was younger. He hit only 16 career home runs, in 1966 only 3 while hitting a meager .174.