Jim Bethke was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1964. In 1965, he posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 major league innings during his age 18 season. Bethke was the last Met "Bonus Baby". In 1965. For those of you who don't know what a "Bonus Baby" was, it was a rule established by MLB in 1947. This "bonus" rule was designed to limit the larger market teams from hoarding top amateur prospects. If an amateur player signed for more than a set limit ($4,000), the signing team was required to roster this player on their 25 man active roster for 2 seasons. This system had many flaws, such as rushing players to the majors or teams hiding players on the DL with phantom injuries. In 1965 MLB implemented the rule IV amateur draft, effectively putting an end to the flawed bonus system.
This Father's Day baseball was signed by Mr. Bethke after being mailed to his home in March of 2018.
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