The New York Mets announce general manager Steve Phillips will take a paid leave of absence while a threatened sexual harassment lawsuit against him is resolved. Phillips acknowledges having had an extramarital affair with a woman, but denies having harassed her. Frank Cashen will replace Phillips on an interim basis.
At Shea Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons. Mac’s 7th-inning solo shot helps to defeat the Mets, 2 – 0.
The Mets acquire catcher Mike Piazza from the Marlins in exchange for OF Preston Wilson, P Ed Yarnall and a player to be named. Piazza has barely spent a week with Florida, following a trade from the Dodgers.
1997 – The Marlins trade ace Kevin Brown to the Padres for 1B Derrek Lee and pitchers Rafael Medina and Steve Hoff. In the next two days the Fish will send P Dennis Cook to the Mets for OF Fletcher Bates and P Scott Comer, and trade IF Kurt Abbott to the Athletics in exchange for P Eric Ludwick as the fire sale dismantlement of the World Champion team begins in earnest.
The Chicago Cubs stop their season-opening losing streak at 14 games, rallying in the 6th inning to beat the New York Mets, 4 – 3, in the second game of a doubleheader. The Mets won the opener 8 – 2. Chicago’s 0-14 start sets a National League record and is the second worst behind the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who began 0-21.
On April 15, 1997, commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will retire uniform #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. The decision comes on the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Players who are currently wearing the number are allowed to continue to do so until they retire.
Mets C Todd Hundley hits his 41st home run of the season to set a new major league mark for catchers. The Mets defeat Atlanta, 6 – 5, in 12 innings. Johnny Bench hit 45 in 1970, but only 38 while behind the plate. Hundley also owns the Mets home run record, previously held by Darryl Strawberry with 39.
Todd Hundley joins Mickey Mantle as the only other switch hitter to hit 40 homers in a season. His 40th home run also breaks Darryl Strawberry’s Met club record for most homers in a single season.
Due to a conflict with the Republican National Convention being staged in San Diego, the first major league game ever played outside of the United States or Canada takes place in Monterrey, Mexico, with the ‘home team’ Padres out-slugging the Mets at Estadio de Beisbol, 15-10. Fernando Valenzuela, a native of the Mexican city of Navojoa, opens the three-game series and goes six innings to get the victory for the first-place Friars.
On June 10, 1995, colorful broadcaster Lindsey Nelson dies at the age of 76. A member of the New York Mets’ original broadcast team in 1962, Nelson served as the team’s play-by-play man for 17 seasons. Known for his loud sportscoats, Nelson received the Hall of Fame’s Ford Frick Award in 1988.
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