The Six Week Superstar
Following their improbable trip to the 1973 World Series, there was very little that was memorable about the 1974 season for the New York Mets. They lost over 90 games for the first time since 1967. They still featured a strong starting rotation headed by Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and John Matlack, but fourth starter George Stone had come back down to earth after tearing his rotator cuff, the bullpen wasn't great, and the offense was terrible.
They made a couple of deals after the season to try and improve their offense. The big one saw the club ship 1973 hero Tug McGraw along with Don Hahn and Dave Schneck to Philadelphia in exchange for John Stearns, Del Unser and Mac Scarce. The other shipped out backup infielder Teddy Martinez to the Cardinals for utility infielder Jack Heidemann and a well regarded OF prospect named Mike Vail.
The 1975 season was a bit of a bounce back for the Mets, finishing 82-80 in third place in the NL East. Tom Seaver rebounded from his worst season as a Met to win his third NL Cy Young award, the bullpen was stronger and the offense was improved. Unser had his one solid season as a Met, Rusty Staub had over 100 RBI and new acquisition Dave Kingman hit 36 home runs. One of the real bright spots for the Mets that year came when OF prospect Mike Vail came up in mid-August and put up some strong offensive numbers.
He didn't come out of nowhere. Vail had put up strong numbers in the minors for the Cardinals in 1974 and for the Mets Triple-A Tidewater team prior to his call-up in 1975. In just over 400 AB for the Tides Vail slashed .342/.394/.494 with 7 HR and 79 RBI. That kind of power probably wouldn't cut it for a corner outfielder today, but back then was acceptable, particularly with a high batting average.
He didn't come out of nowhere. Vail had put up strong numbers in the minors for the Cardinals in 1974 and for the Mets Triple-A Tidewater team prior to his call-up in 1975. In just over 400 AB for the Tides Vail slashed .342/.394/.494 with 7 HR and 79 RBI. That kind of power probably wouldn't cut it for a corner outfielder today, but back then was acceptable, particularly with a high batting average.
What was a bit of a red flag were Vail's strikeout totals. He struck out 105 times in the Cardinals system in 1973, 95 times in 1974, and 74 times in Tidewater before his callup to the Mets. By today's standard those aren't crazy totals, but in a contact-oriented era, combined with Vail's fairly low home run totals, those numbers stick out. You didn't have as many young pitchers throwing mid 90s heat in that era as you do today, and hitting triple digits in strikeouts was only acceptable for big home run bats.
Mike Vail got a hit in his first major league AB in a loss to the Astros on August 18, 1975. The hit was against J.R.R. Richard, one of the best pitchers in the game. The Mets gave him a lot of starts, wanting to see what they had, and he rewarded them by producing with the bat. In a series against the Padres in San Diego on August 25, 26 and 27, Mike Vail went 9-14. The Mets swept the Padres, and a legend was born. Vail had hits in his next 20 games. That 23-game hitting streak tied Mike Vail for the longest rookie hitting streak in modern major league history, and was also the longest streak in Mets history.
Vail kept on smoking the ball through mid-September, batting .352 on September 15. He tailed off a bit the last two weeks of the season. An 0-4 in a loss to the Phillies took his average down to .299, but he went 2-5 on the final day to get it back up to a more satisfying .302.
Mets fans like myself were excited that our all too often offensively starved team had a young player that looked like he could really hit. Mike Vail got a level of hype for his performance in 162 AB that probably wouldn't happen if he did it for a better offensive club. No one cared that he struck out 37 times in 162 AB, even though that number was pretty high in those days for a guy who slugged .420.
No one can say how it would have gone for Vail if he spent the whole 1976 season with the Mets, because of course he didn't. He injured his ankle playing basketball over the winter. He only appeared in 53 games for the 1976 Mets, but that was enough to remove all of the leftover luster from his 1975 campaign. Vail slashed .217/.243/.266 over 143 AB, with 0 HR and 9 RBI.
Mike Vail got a full season with the Mets in 1977, and a chance to prove that his 1975 campaign wasn't a fluke. He got off to a really bad start, but heated up in May. He had his batting average over .300 at the end of July. Only 25, Mike Vail was looking like the prospect he once was, but the league figured him out. He hit .159 in August and .192 in September, dropping him down to .262/.310/.398 on the season.
The Mets lost 98 games in 1977, the first year of an abysmal stretch of pure suckitude that wouldn't end until 1983. As bad as they were, Vail had a weak spring training in 1978 and was waived by the Mets. He landed briefly in Cleveland, then was traded on to the Chicago Cubs in July. It was there that Mike Vail enjoyed the best sustained stretch of good play in his career.
From July 1978 through the end of 1980, Mike Vail had a part-time gig with the Cubs as a platoon OF. He batted .333, .335 and .298 over those three seasons. In a combined 671 AB over that time, Vail hit 17 HR and 115 RBI. Certainly by the numbers Vail was thriving in that role with the Cubs, but apparently he was not loved by his managers there. Herman Franks, who managed the Cubs in Vail's fist two seasons, labeled Vail "a constant whiner". Vail apparently was not happy about his part-time role with the Cubs. Franks went on to say about Vail, "I just got tired of being around him. There isn't enough money in the world to pay me to manage if I have to look at that face every day."
Mike Vail got a hit in his first major league AB in a loss to the Astros on August 18, 1975. The hit was against J.R.R. Richard, one of the best pitchers in the game. The Mets gave him a lot of starts, wanting to see what they had, and he rewarded them by producing with the bat. In a series against the Padres in San Diego on August 25, 26 and 27, Mike Vail went 9-14. The Mets swept the Padres, and a legend was born. Vail had hits in his next 20 games. That 23-game hitting streak tied Mike Vail for the longest rookie hitting streak in modern major league history, and was also the longest streak in Mets history.
Vail kept on smoking the ball through mid-September, batting .352 on September 15. He tailed off a bit the last two weeks of the season. An 0-4 in a loss to the Phillies took his average down to .299, but he went 2-5 on the final day to get it back up to a more satisfying .302.
Mets fans like myself were excited that our all too often offensively starved team had a young player that looked like he could really hit. Mike Vail got a level of hype for his performance in 162 AB that probably wouldn't happen if he did it for a better offensive club. No one cared that he struck out 37 times in 162 AB, even though that number was pretty high in those days for a guy who slugged .420.
No one can say how it would have gone for Vail if he spent the whole 1976 season with the Mets, because of course he didn't. He injured his ankle playing basketball over the winter. He only appeared in 53 games for the 1976 Mets, but that was enough to remove all of the leftover luster from his 1975 campaign. Vail slashed .217/.243/.266 over 143 AB, with 0 HR and 9 RBI.
Mike Vail got a full season with the Mets in 1977, and a chance to prove that his 1975 campaign wasn't a fluke. He got off to a really bad start, but heated up in May. He had his batting average over .300 at the end of July. Only 25, Mike Vail was looking like the prospect he once was, but the league figured him out. He hit .159 in August and .192 in September, dropping him down to .262/.310/.398 on the season.
The Mets lost 98 games in 1977, the first year of an abysmal stretch of pure suckitude that wouldn't end until 1983. As bad as they were, Vail had a weak spring training in 1978 and was waived by the Mets. He landed briefly in Cleveland, then was traded on to the Chicago Cubs in July. It was there that Mike Vail enjoyed the best sustained stretch of good play in his career.
From July 1978 through the end of 1980, Mike Vail had a part-time gig with the Cubs as a platoon OF. He batted .333, .335 and .298 over those three seasons. In a combined 671 AB over that time, Vail hit 17 HR and 115 RBI. Certainly by the numbers Vail was thriving in that role with the Cubs, but apparently he was not loved by his managers there. Herman Franks, who managed the Cubs in Vail's fist two seasons, labeled Vail "a constant whiner". Vail apparently was not happy about his part-time role with the Cubs. Franks went on to say about Vail, "I just got tired of being around him. There isn't enough money in the world to pay me to manage if I have to look at that face every day."
7 comments:
Sounds like a slightly better version of Eric Campbell.
Think he was a better hitter than Eric Campbell. As Mike says his September 1975 was amazing. Went to the Labor Day gane where he hit a home run and Seaver won. Also went to game in 77 or 78 where he threw a ball from deep right field over catcher's head. He had strong but inaccurate arm.
If we knew then what we know now, our expectations for Vail would not have been so outsized. When he came up in '75, he had a .377 BABIP. He had little power and didn't walk much - he was the 70s version offensively of Juan Lagares.
Gosh, how ugly was the poor guy? We brought back a former long-time employee this past February as a hostess/Front Of the House Manager at our restaurant, and early on she explained to me that my face scares away customers. I mentioned it to some regulars, and they agreed! I get no respect, I tell ya!
John, Vail was a better hitter than Campbell and a few years of more success, but OBP-wise, Vail was .313, and Eric was .312.
Vail would certainly lead my All Time Met "Flash-in-the-Pan" Team. What other 8 would you put there?
Hobie. That is a great idea. Ed Hearn would be my catcher, the guy who threw a complete game shutout in his MLB debut - was it Dick Rustick? Would be my pitcher
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