Billy Wynne - The 67th Met Pitcher

     Billy Wynne was signed as an amateur free agent prior to the 1965 season.  Wynne made his Met debut on August 6th, 1967, mopping up a Danny Frisella start and pitching a scoreless 9th.  Wynne was perfect in his five appearances out of the pen, but allowed 4 runs, 3 earned, in his only Met start. He was lifted after recording only four outs in a crazy extra innings game in which Tom Seaver took the loss in the 14th inning.  On December 15th, 1967, Wynne was dealt to the White Sox along with Jack Fisher,  in a huge trade that brought Tommy Agee and Al Weis to the Mets.  Billy finished his Met career with a 3.12 ERA, no wins, no losses.  

     Mr. Wynne signed my baseball through the mail after being mailed to his home in May 2018.   

Cal Koonce - The 66th Met Pitcher

     Cal Koonce was purchased from the Cubs on August 2nd, 1967.  Cal finished the '76 season strong after arriving in New York, posting a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings.  In '68 he was even better with a 2.42 ERA over 96.2 innings.  Koonce admitted to throwing a "Sweatball" during his playing days.  He occasionally used moisture from his wrist to get a better grip on the baseball, effectively tossing an illegal spitball.   Koonce, scuffled a bit in '69 and '70.  His contract was sold to the Red Sox on June 8th, 1970.  After a long battle with lymphoma, Cal passed away on October 28th, 1993.  

     This Koonce baseball was purchased from a collector.  his signed baseball is one of the more valuable Mets balls in existence.  I had to save up for a while to get this one.  

Hal Reniff - The 64th Met Pitcher

     Hal Reniff was purchased from the New York Yankees on June 28th, 1967.  Reniff was solid during his short tenure on the Mets, posting a 3.35 ERA over 43 innings.  His walk rate was a bit high  at 4.8 per 9 innings, but he seemed to pitch out of jams often enough to be league average.   "Porky", as they called him, was released 2 days after the '67 season concluded.  Afterwards, Reniff returned to the Yankees and pitched five more years in AAA.  Hal passed away on September 7th, 2004.   

     This baseball was purchased via eBay.  There are several Reniff balls out there, everyone just wants an arm and a leg for them.  It took me awhile to find one for a reasonable price.  

Dennis Bennett - The 63rd Met Pitcher

     Dennis Bennett was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Al Yates and Cash on June 24th, 1967.  Bennett had fallen out of favor in Boston and the Mets were desperate for a lefty pitcher. Bennett struggled during his brief stay in New York, posting a 1-1 record with a 5.13  ERA.   He was demoted to AAA Jacksonville after only a month on the team.   Bennett was known as a free spirit who's off the field activities affected his on the field performance.   Believe it or not, he was thrown through a car windshield three times during his life.   Dennis passed away on March 24th 2012 at the age of 72.

     The first ball was purchased via eBay.   I picked up the second ball from a collector.  I liked how the ink was a bit darker.   Signed Bennett balls tend to be somewhat rare and usually aren't cheap.  

Nick Willhite - The 61st Met Pitcher

     Nick Willhite was acquired via trade from the California Angels in exchange for Jack Hamilton on    June 10th, 1967.  Willhite's Met career only only lasted one start and three relief appearances.  He was optioned to the minors in July and would never pitch in the major leagues again.  His numbers during those appearances were not good, allowing an 8.64 ERA.  It was later revealed that Willhite battled alcoholism throughout his career.  After reaching rock bottom and losing his family, Nick recovered and became an addiction counselor later in life.  He credited old friend and former Giants manager Herman Franks in standing beside him during his recovery.  He died of cancer on December 14th, 2008.   

     The first ball was purchased via auction on eBay.  The second ball was purchased from a collector as an upgrade from the first one.  I haven't seen any other Willhite balls for sale since I began collecting.  They seem to be out there, but definitely aren't very common.