Nov
25
2012

Old Time Mets: Jesse Gonder, C

An article by Barry Duchan

In 1960 and 1961, Jesse Gonder was a good hitting young catcher in the Yankee organization who had no chance of making a team that already had two of the best catchers in the league in Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. Plus Jesse had a reputation as one of the more outspoken black ballplayers at the time. The Yankees were beginning to add some black players to their team, but they were generally quiet guys like Howard and Harry “Suitcase” Simpson. Gonder may have also had a better chance at a good major league career if the DH rule existed in those days, since he was a lefthanded hitter with a sweet swing. But since his only position was catcher, and he frankly, wasn’t all that good defensively, he languished in the minor leagues. After leaving the Yankees organization, he put up great numbers in the PCL in 1962 and got a shot with the Reds, but the team already had a pretty good lefty-hitting catcher in Johnny Edwards.

The 1963 Mets, of course, could use all the help they could get, and if Gonder was an incomplete player, he was still a better hitter than any catcher the Mets had. In fact, Howard Cosell, who in those pre-Monday Night Football days, did the Mets’ post-game show (one of the few authorized post-game shows that always seemed to take a negative slant on the team they covered!) called Gonder “one of the best natural hitters in the major leagues”. That may have been overstating it, but Gonder was certainly going to hit more than Sammy Taylor, the catcher they traded for him (along with a practically washed up Charley Neal).

Jesse actually had a pretty good year with the bat as the Mets’ #1 catcher in 1964, hitting .270 which was quite impressive for a Mets’ catcher back then. But he was dealt away and his defensive deficiencies coupled with a disappointing record as a pinch hitter shortened his major league career. Gonder needed to play full time in order to keep his batting eye sharp, but he couldn’t play any position other than catcher and was well below average defensively behind the plate, not a good combination. My most vivid memories of Gonder recall his throws in the dirt attempting to nail runners at second and his sweet lefthanded stroke. Jesse was one of many “incomplete” ballplayers who surfaced with the early Mets, but he did at least have one solid year as a regular.

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).

5 Comments + Add Comment

raysadecki November 25, 2012 at 10:55 am

Thanks for a bit of mets history. throws skipping to second remind me of another mets catcher who will soon be in the hall of fame.
MetsWatchman November 25, 2012 at 11:36 am

Great piece of Mets history that evoked lots of memories for me. I can remember as a kid in 1963, being at a game in the Polo Grounds and seeing a banner that read “UP YONDER WITH GONDER”. Yes they were the clowns of baseball, but we had so much fun with our new NL team in those days. Such a different game in a different time. And I also remember Cosell’s post game radio show called “Clubhouse Journal”. Thanks so much for the memories.
Joey D. November 25, 2012 at 11:43 am

Thanks for the memories of Jesse. I remember during the fall of 1963 his appearance in a cameo role in the George C. Scott dramatic series “East Side, West Side” hitting fungos to inner city youth.

In 1964, Jesse was part of a trio that actually made up one of the better backstop combinations in baseball. He platooned with Chris Canizzaro who was a good defensive catcher and in a bit over 180 at bats actually hit .300. Hawk Taylor was the third who provided some power.

Of course, that all fell apart the following year. In the 1965 Mets Yearbook they said Chris became a .300 hitter (based on those all of 180 somewhat at bats) when he stopped swinging for the fences – albeit that he had yet to hit one over in his three years with the Mets. Chris couldn’t even hit .200 that season and he was so pathetic with the bat that in July a Met headline included “CANIZZARO DRIVES IN RUN!” – since he had failed to even do that the first half of the year.

Didn’t know he was one of the more outspoken minority players at the time and respect him for having the courage to do so when minorities had to be careful with what they said in order to stay in the majors – a non-white had to be good enough to be a regular to make the roster of most clubs due to the prejudices of the time when discrimination meant the white player almost always got the bench job over an equally skilled minority player.

But keeping that in mind, the one thing that upset me was how ungracious he was when the Mets sent him to Milwaukee toward the end of July for Gary Kolb. Yes, I can understand how excited Jesse must have felt going from the worst club in baseball to one that was in the heat of a exciting five team pennant race, but he didn’t have to say how he couldn’t wait to get out of here and felt sorry for his ex-teammates who still had to stay. Granted, that would have been the feeling of most any Met player but it doesn’t mean one has to bad mouth the team publicly. Wishing the Mets luck and thanking them for the opportunity to play for two and a half seasons would have been more appropriate.
William H. November 25, 2012 at 4:27 pm

Thanks for the post, Barry. I haven’t heard or seen a reference to Clubhouse Journal in over 40 years. As for Jesse Gonder, I was never a big fan at the time, but I can still appreciate the trip down memory lane.
Lisa P. November 26, 2012 at 10:48 am

Thanks for this post Barry. I love and miss the Lovable Losers – all of them!

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