Feb
24
2012

MMO Flashback: The Ones Who Got Away # 1 Paul Blair

An article by Barry Duchan

Enjoy this MMO Flashback originally posted in January of 2007 and written by the great Barry Duchan who has seen it all since 1962. Enjoy.

In their long history, the Mets have had more than their share of young players who were dealt away and became stars with other teams. Nolan Ryan and Amos Otis are probably the 2 names mentioned most often. And the trading of future MVP’s Kevin Mitchell and Jeff Kent were in retrospect, major mistakes, too.

But the very first star the Mets let get away was Paul Blair who became nothing less than the premier centerfielder in the American League for 10 years while the Mets were constantly trying to fill the void. The Mets tried Jim Hickman, Johnny Lewis, Billy Cowan, and Don Bosch among others before landing Tommie Agee to fill the role nicely for a couple of years. Then, the drought began again with the likes of Don Hahn, Dave Schneck, Jim Gosger and Del Unser getting most of the playing time in centerfield while Blair and then Otis were still among the best centerfielders in the game.

Blair had always been a shortstop, until he got into the minor leagues. The Orioles made him a full-time outfielder, and he quickly became the top non-pitching prospect in their organization. The Dodgers refused to sign Blair out of high school, because they thought he was too small to make it the big leagues. He was signed by the Mets originally, for a $2,000 bonus. He played one year for the Mets’ Santa Barbara club in the California League in 1962, batting .228 while playing both infield and outfield.

The Mets didn’t have many prospects following the 1962 season, so their failure to protect Blair by putting him on the 40-man roster is tough to excuse. Obviously, the Orioles saw something in him that the Mets didn’t and drafted him as a first-year player for $8,000 while the Mets were still searching for anyone who could play centerfield.

Blair went on to have an excellent career. While his hitting was never his strong suit, in 1969, Blair hit .276 with 26 HR’s and 76 RBI. Oddly, the exact HR and RBI totals that Tommie Agee put up for the Mets, and with a better average than Agee. And of course, Blair had a much longer and more consistent career than Agee. So, letting Blair go was a mistake of major proportions. Especially when you figure that if the Mets had kept Blair, there would have been no reason to make deals for Cowan, Bosch, or Agee. So, the Mets could have used what trading chips they had for help in other areas.

When you talk about the ones that got away, no doubt Nolan Ryan will head that list, but Blair should be right behind him.

About the Author: Barry Duchan

I've been following the Mets since 1962. Have to admit I was a Yankee fan as a kid, but I found it to be so much more interesting to see how a young team could build itself up rather than following a team where the season didn't really begin until October. I remember them all - Casey, Marv, ChooChoo, Don Bosch, The Stork, etc. As the years went on, I became more and more of a Mets fan, and a Yankee hater once Steinbrenner and Billy Martin entered the picture. After retiring, I relocated with my family from Long Island to Chapel Hill, NC in 2005. I spend a lot of my time now checking out all the various Mets blogs. Fortunately, I still get to watch almost all of the Mets games (except those that are blacked out here).

9 Comments + Add Comment

Met Maniac February 24, 2012 at 11:35 pm

Nice article. Blair was a winner in every sense of the word. He went to 6 World Series and won 4 rings 2 with the Yanks and 3 with Orioles. When Agee made the most spectacular of his two amazing grabs in the 69 Series, it was Blair who got robbed on that one. Also, when Billy Martin pulled Reggie Jackson during a game for not hustling, it was Paul Blair who went out to right field to tell Reggie the bad news that he was out of the game igniting that memorable confrontation in the dugout with Martin. I still remember that day it was a Saturday afternoon and the game was on NBC Game of the Week.
Met Maniac February 24, 2012 at 11:37 pm

Should read 2 with Yanks and 2 with O’s.
Barry Duchan February 25, 2012 at 12:00 am

I routinely check this website every day, even though I am so discouraged about the Mets’ current situation that I will probably be less interested in the team this year than ever before. I was both startled and elated to see one of my old, old posts show up out of nowhere and truly flattered that I was referred to as “great”. If you have access to any more of my writings, feel free to post them. If you’d like me to do any new historical posts about the Mets, I’d be happy to. Just ask.
- Fonzie13 February 25, 2012 at 12:31 am
  
  I love Met history. Keep them coming. The Mets could’ve had an OF of Ken Singleton,Amos Otis and Paul Blair to go along with that amazin staff.
- Chris in Forest Hills February 25, 2012 at 12:53 am
  
  Yes, please keep posting gems like this. I implore you. Paul Blair was very adept at the basket catch made famous be another great center fielder! I loved watching those catches, except for one time when Lee Mazzilli dropped one and Rennie Stennett scored the winning run after Maz muffed the third out. Shades of Luis Castillo.
MetsJets13 February 25, 2012 at 12:18 am

I love these types of posts and thank you for writing this Barry.
Fonzie13 February 25, 2012 at 12:22 am

Nice read Barry. Blair doesn’t get as much recongition as he deserves. He was one of the best defensive CF’ers of his era. He made it look too easy.
NickDanger February 25, 2012 at 10:54 am

They all got away, what team did your favorite Mets finish his career with?
t agee February 25, 2012 at 12:56 pm

Great article Barry. I forgot Blair was with the Met organization at one time.

What a classic team that old Oriole squad was. Hendricks, Etchebarren, Powell, Davey, Belanger, Brooks and Frank Robinson, Blair, Buford, Rettenmund, Palmer, McNally, Cuellar and of course Earl Weaver.

They were always in the thick of it. Seven pennants in 15 years, six times finished 2nd once with 97 wins and once with 94.

Weaver was way ahead of his time. HR’s, walks and platoons on offense, throw strikes and lockdown D up the middle.

I used to hate it when I “lost” one of those guys flipping cards.

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