Could He Be #134
But this weekend's news that the veteran infielder had agreed to a minor league contract with the Amazin's puts the Cuban expat in line to become the 134th player to appear in a game for both the Yankees and Mets.
Todd Frazier is part of that noteworthy group. So (for all of four games) is Yogi Berra -- who's the only man to both play and manage both New York clubs. Robinson Cano, the Mets big off-season trade acquisition, will be the 133rd on the list -- he's technically ahead of Hechevarria because the trade that brought him to Citi Field was completed several months ago.
Now, let's hit the wayback machine:
- Gene Woodling and Marvelous Marv Throneberry would be charter members: both played for Casey Stengel's Yankees during the 1950s, before following him to the Polo Grounds in 1962.
- Ron Swoboda and Dave Kingman found their fame as Mets before brief late career cameos in the Bronx.
- New York area products Willie Randolph, Lee Mazzilli, Al Leiter, Duke Carmel, Stan Jefferson and Rick Cerone called both the Bronx and Queens home.
- Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry won titles with the '86 Mets and late '90s Yankees.
- And Daryl Boston -- who despite his family name never suited up for the Red Sox -- appeared for the Mets and Yankees during the 1990s.
New Yorkers like me love digging into local baseball history, especially the quirky parts. I wonder if Los Angeles or Chicago fans do the same with their local clubs?
Thanks to the Ultimate Mets Database for the handy information.
And my image of Hechevarria is from last September 1st's game against the Tigers, when he made his Yankee debut.
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