We all have Aunts down in Florida.  Okay, maybe not everyone, but I do.  And recently she sent some “vintage” mid-80s Mets cards up to me in NY from a neighbor who wanted to get rid of them after her spouse passed on.  In looking through them, I came across the 1986 Mets card shown below:

           

Several things about this card. Firstly 1986 is not “vintage”.  In 1986 I was in high school, had a full head of hair, and weighed about 150 pounds.  The Mets had a young Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and Lenny Dykstra and would win their second World Series. Truly just a few short years ago.

Secondly, while I remember Tom Paciorek, I don’t remember him ever being a Met. Paciorek had come up to the Dodgers in 1970 as a corner outfielder and had become an All-Star with Seattle in 1981 when he was second in the American League with a .326 batting average.  In 1985 he was a 38-year old fourth outfielder, and back-up first baseman with the White Sox when the Mets acquired him for good glove but no-hit shortstop project Dave Cochrane, who was batting .223 in AA when traded on July 16. That was at the All-Star break in 1985 and the Mets were in second place, 2.5 games behind St. Louis.

It was a trade to shore up the bench as young outfielder John Christensen was hitting .190. Paciorek could also serve as a defensive placement for an aging George Foster in left, provide Strawberry a day off in right, spell Keith Hernandez at first or serve as a right-handed pitch hitter while Rusty Staub was the left-handed pitch hitter.

Paciorek did exactly that in 1985 with the Mets, hitting a solid .284 while playing 8 games at first, 29 in the outfield and pinch hitting 17 times as well.

The picture on the card is easy to determine where and when it was taken.  Shown in the home uniform and high-fiving after a home run, Paciorek only hit one home run for the Mets.  A check of BaseballReference.com shows that occurred on August 15, against the Phillies in the bottom of the first off of Jerry Koosman, who was pitching in his final year of baseball.  Wally Backman, who had walked, scored ahead of him, so that’s likely Wally on the left side of the card shown.

Alas, the 1985 Mets remained where they were at the All-Star break, as despite winning 98 games, the second-best record in the National League and the third-best in baseball, the Cardinals won 101 games, finishing 3 games ahead of the Mets. St. Louis won the pennant that year but fell to the Royals in the World Series.  At least the way Don Denkinger saw it.

After the season, with a young Kevin Mitchell on the way, Paciorek was released.  He signed with Texas and played two seasons with the Rangers, finishing his career with a .282/.325/.415 slash line, and at least one card showing his 1/2 season with the Mets so “vintage” fans can be prompted that Tom Paciorek was once a New York Met.