The Neighborhood Guys: The Outfield

Written by: Mark Healey on 17th March 2009

The Neighborhood Guys: The Outfield | read this item

The New York City area has produced many distinguished people from all walks of life:

Woody Allen, Humphrey Bogart, Mary Tyler Moore, John D. Rockefeller, and Theodore Roosevelt, just to name a few. With respect to New York City baseball, a significant number of men who were born in the area went on to achieve outstanding success with the Big Apple teams.

Here are some of the best area ballplayers that once wore the colors of the Gotham clubs.

LEFT FIELD: LEE MAZZILLI (New York, NY) METS (also Yankees): He gained fame as an ambidextrous pitcher, as well as a switch hitter while attending Abraham Lincoln High in Brooklyn. This popular local product was the Mets’ first pick (14th overall) in the June 1973 amateur draft. As a center fielder, Mazzilli represented a link to the great New York baseball tradition: Italian roots (Joe DiMaggio), switch hitter (Mickey Mantle) and the basket catch (Willie Mays). In 1979, he looked like New York’s next big star by batting .303 with 15 home runs. Additionally, he represented the Mets in that year’s All-Star game, and homered. In 1980, he stole 41 bases, batted .280, hit 16 home runs and drove in 76 runs. However, his batting average fell to .228 in 1981, and was traded to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell in the spring of 1982. Mazzilli also played for the New York Yankees. He was brought back to the Mets in 1986 for bench depth, and he delivered, going 2 for 5 in the 1986 World Series, which of course the Mets won. He enjoyed an outstanding year as a utility player and pinch hitter in 1987 with a .306 batting average. Mazzilli served as a Yankee coach under Joe Torre from 2000 to 2003 and he returned to the Bronx in 2006 after managing the Baltimore Orioles.

CENTER FIELD: JOE PEPITONE (Brooklyn, NY) YANKEES: Flamboyant Brooklyn native was given a bonus of between $20,000 and $25,000 to sign with the Bronx Bombers in 1958. Upon joining the organization, many experts felt that Pepitone possessed the skills be a Yankee great and would eventually end up in the Hall of Fame. He possessed great power and was an outstanding defensive player both at first base and in the outfield. The local kid joined the Yankees in 1962 and hit two home runs in the eighth inning of a May 23 game. Pepi impressed the club so much that the highly productive and popular first baseman Bill “Moose” Showron was traded to make room for him at first base for the 1963 season. He justified the Skowron trade by hitting .271 with 27 home runs and 89 RBIs that season. Pepitone also hit 28 home runs with 100 RBIs in 1964 and hit 31 home runs with 83 RBI in 1966. He hit at least 25 home runs a season four times as a Yankee. Pepitone won the Gold Glove Award for outstanding defensive play in 1965, 1966 and 1969. He was a member of the 1962 World Championship team and played for the Bombers in the 1963 and 1964 Fall Classics. Despite these accomplishments, Pepitone was considered an underachiever. Sadly, off the field problems prevented him from achieving the greatness that was predicted for him. As former teammate Whitey Ford states in his book Few and Chosen, “ Pepitone had so much ability, but he let his off-field behavior get in his way.”

RIGHT FIELD: WILLIE KEELER (Brooklyn, NY) YANKEES (also Giants and Dodgers): Keeler was one of the greatest hitters of the 19th and 20th centuries and joined the Yankees (Highlanders) in 1903. Even though his greatest seasons were behind him, he still led the Yankees in batting average and hits in three consecutive seasons (1903-05) and batted .343 in 1904. He also led the club in games played and runs scored in 1903, 1905 and 1906. Keeler was an expert at bat control and along with the legendary John McGraw, he invented the hit-and-run play. In 1905, he made 42 sacrifices, setting a Yankee club record that unlikely ever to be broken. Keeler batted .294 in seven Yankee seasons and had a .341 average for his entire career.

(Eds. Note) Portions of this article, written by William Cummings, were published previously in Gotham Baseball Magazine, Summer 2006)

Share on Tumblr

Topics: Gotham Baseball Magazine, Joe Pepitone, Lee Mazzilli, Wee Willie Keeler, William Cummings

Lem The Gem says:

March 18, 2009 at 6:56 pm

\Joe, You coulda made us proud.\ Is a great read. Its a no-holds barred autobiography or Joe Pepitone’s personal demons during his baseball career. Manny Ramirez is one of the latest NYC homegrown heroes to go on to a fine major league career. For us Bronx faithful, it causes us to wince.