Dennis Ribant - The 32nd Met Pitcher

     Dennis Ribant was acquired from the Braves in exchange for Frank Lary, on August 8th, 1964.  

At the age of 22 during his rookie season, Ribant struggled to adapt the the majors, going 1-5 with a 5.15 ERA.  In his second season, Dennis was much better.  Through his first eleven appearances he posted a 2.93 ERA.  On May 30th, 1965, Ribant gave up six runs in three innings and was demoted, despite his solid bullpen work earlier in the season.  He returned to the majors that September, highlighted by an 11 inning complete game shutout of the Pirates on September 28th.
     1966 was truly amazing!  Dennis went 11-9 with a 3.20 ERA that season.   Keep in mind the Mets were 66-95 that season, so wins definitely weren't easy to come by.  That December the Mets traded Ribant to the Pirates along with Gary Kolb in return to veteran starter Don Cardwell and Don Bosch.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Ribant's arm was never the same.  Limited by injuries, he last appeared in the majors in 1969 and retired from the game in 1973 after four years in the minors.

     This father's day ball was signed by Mr. Ribant after being mailed to his home in March of 2018.