The View From The Rear View Window - Tommie Agee
by Michael Jawitz, AKA: Grubby Glove
Tommie Agee. When Gil Hodges took over as Manager of
the Mets during the 1967 – 1968 off season, he quickly realized the team needed
a quality, reliable center fielder. Having spent the previous five seasons
managing the Washington Senators, Hodges was a witness to the outstanding
season Tommie Agee had in 1966, one that was good enough for the youngster to
earn the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award. Although Agee had slumped
in 1967, Hodges still had confidence in the young man from Mobile, Alabama, and
was surely behind the trade in which the Mets acquired Agee from the Chicago
White Sox on December 15, 1967. Unfortunately, Agee slumped again in 1968,
hitting only .217 with a mere five home runs.
Everything changed in 1969. Moved to the lead-off position
in the batting order, Agee’s slash line of .271/.464/.806 coupled with 26 home
runs helped catapult him to National League Comeback Player of the Year Award (The
Sporting News). His spectacular defensive play in the World Series against the
mighty Birds of Baltimore earned him the respect of baseball fans in general
and Mets fans in particular. Any story on Tommie Agee must include this iconic
image from game three, featured here on a 1970 Topps World Series subset card.
Mets fans were excited to see the 1970 season begin, and
they were not disappointed with Agee’s performance, which included a .286
batting average, 24 home runs, 31 stolen bases and a Gold Glove Award for his
excellence with the glove. The team itself was still quite good, but in the
wake of their unexpected World Series triumph the rest of the teams in the
division improved themselves, and the Mets dropped to third in the NL East.
His performance in 1971 and 1972 suffered due to knee
injuries, and Agee was traded to Houston in November, 1972. Tommy Agee died at the age of 58 after suffering a heart
attack in January, 2001. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2002.
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