Sunday, November 11, 2007By Barry Duchan
Editor's Note: We will publish a post from Barry Duchan every Sunday covering some aspect of Mets history. - M.S.
I don't remember if the mid -'60's Mets' careers of Al Luplow, Larry Stahl, and Larry Elliot overlapped at any point, because they were all virtually the same player. Lefthanded hitters with good speed, good power (when the pitcher made a mistake, anyway) and good enough range to play centerfield. Unlike Cowan, Lewis, and Bosch, they were all obtained in cash deals, so the fans' expectations weren't all that high. All were around 26 years old when the Mets got them, beyond the prospect stage, but not old enough to be characterized as veterans. It was kind of like "they must be better than what we've got". And statistically, they weren't terrible, batting in the .240 range, which was a lot better than the Mets had been getting from the likes of Billy Cowan, Danny Napoleon, and Hawk Taylor, who struggled to hit .200.
None was a regular with the Mets, not even on a platoon basis. They would get an occasional start, but seemed to be used more often as pinch-hitters and late inning defensive replacements. They all represented a "threat" at the plate, but my most vivid memories of all three was that in a clutch situation when a bloop single or even a sac fly was needed, you could almost always count on them to strike out.
Luplow had been a semi-regular with the Indians, Elliot a big minor league home run hitter in the Pirates' organization who had no chance to win a spot in Pittsburgh's outfield, and Stahl was an extra outfielder with the Kansas City A's who had a reputation for hitting some long home runs, though not on a consistent enough basis to cause much excitement.
I can't remember a single highlight for any of them, and I guess that's telling. But they were there, they were Mets, and Luplow and Stahl managed to find job with other big league teams after their Mets' days were over, so I guess they weren't all that bad.
About 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. Read More -->
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Comments (1)
I cant remember a highlight for those three guys either. I do remember one thing about Elliot, however, he wore number 17.
One year on banner day, there was a banner that added up the numbers of several Mets to total the year, saying something like, the Mets will win in '66, I think. The thing that struck me was that the players listed (Hunt, Swoboda etc.) were the stars of the team. The last player was Elliot, no. 17, and it seemed strange to me that he would be included on this list, until I realized that 17 was the balancing figure.
Posted by mark | November 11, 2007 5:18 PM