The highlight of the team was a 15 year old kid. A Shortstop from Rio Piedres Puerto
Rico, this youngster was barely out of junior high school when he signed on
to be a member of the New York Mets franchise and at age 15... held his own as
a hitter batting .227 with 8 doubles and a home run. His name was Jose Oquendo
and he would become well known for being able to play every single position with
quality. Oquendo would spend 2 years as the shortstop for the Mets, when he
was promoted at age 19 and barely hit above .200. He was traded to the Cardinals
where he served as the Cardinals' Shortstop and eventually other position as
well. Oquendo's best season came in 1989 when he played in 163 games batting .291
with 28 doubles. In 1987 and 1988, Oquendo would play every position throughout
the season, including pitcher... and a few times, he would every single
position all in the same game! When Oquendo began the game at Shortstop and
found himself playing 2nd base by the 2nd inning, the fans knew they were in for
a crazy game of Oquendo ball. HIs pitching skills unfortunately were never very
good... he had a lifetime ERA of 12.00, though his best season came in 1988
when he pitched 4 innings and allowed only 2 earned runs. |