Tommie Agee
Encyclopedia
Tommie Lee Agee was a Major League Baseball
center fielder
most noted for making two of the greatest catches in World Series
history, both of which occurred in game three of the 1969 World Series
.
and played baseball
and football at Mobile County Training School with future New York Mets
teammate Cleon Jones
. After one season at Grambling State University
, Agee signed with the Cleveland Indians
for a $60,000 bonus.
After two seasons in the Indians' farm system, Agee received a September call-up to Cleveland in . With the Indians already behind 11-1 to the Minnesota Twins
, Agee made his major league debut on September 14 at Metropolitan Stadium
pinch-hitting for pitcher
Bill Dailey
in the ninth inning. He received September call-ups to the majors the following two seasons as well, playing a total of 31 games with the Indians in which he batted .170 with one home run
and five runs batted in. Following the season, he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox
with Tommy John
as part of a three team blockbuster trade between the Indians, ChiSox and Kansas City Athletics that returned All-Star
Rocky Colavito
to the Indians.
's Indianapolis Indians
, and .158 in ten games with the White Sox in . After earning the starting center fielder
job in Spring training
, he hit a two-run home run in the season opener, and was batting .264 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs to be named the White Sox's sole representative at the 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
. He ended the season with a .273 batting average
, 22 home runs and 86 RBIs to earn American League Rookie of the Year honors, while his defense in center field earned him a Gold Glove. Although he was technically in his 5th major league season, MLB's classification of a rookie is determined by plate appearances and time on a major league roster. Agee's September call-ups had been so brief and his playing time so scarce that he was still eligible for the award.
Agee was batting .247 with ten home runs and 35 RBIs to earn his second consecutive All-Star selection in . His production fell off considerably in the second half of the season (he hit only four home runs after the All-Star break), and ended the season batting .234 with 52 RBIs. Though they finished the season in fourth place, Chicago finished only three games back of the first place Boston Red Sox
, and battled Boston, the Detroit Tigers
and Minnesota Twins until the final week of the season. On a team loaded with pitching and short on offense (no regular batted over .241), the team's lack of offense possibly cost the White Sox the American League
pennant.
To alleviate this problem, the White Sox imported perennial .300 hitter Tommy Davis
, along with pitcher Jack Fisher
and two minor leaguers, from the New York Mets for Agee and Al Weis
.
Agee was beaned by Bob Gibson
on the very first pitch thrown to a Mets batter in spring training . At the beginning of the regular season, he went 0 for 10 in a 24-inning affair with the Houston Astros
that saw his batting average go from .313 to .192. It led to an 0 for 34 slump that brought his average down to .102. For the season, he batted .217 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
, one of which went halfway up in section 48 of the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium
, a feat that was never matched. Expos right fielder
Mack Jones
says the ball was still rising when it came into contact with the stands. To commemorate the homer, there was a painted sign in that section of the stadium with Agee's name, uniform number, and the date. He also had his first four hit
game on May 2 (4 for 4 with a walk and a home run).
By May 21, Agee was batting over .300, and the Mets won their third game in a row for a .500 winning percentage 36 games into the season for the first time in franchise history. This was followed by a five- game-losing streak that saw the Mets fall into fourth place in the newly aligned National League East
.
The Mets then went on an eleven-game-winning streak that included a two-home run, four-hit performance by Agee against the San Francisco Giants
in the final game of the streak. By this point, the Mets were in second place, seven games back of the Chicago Cubs
.
The Mets were two and a-half games back on September 8 when the Cubs came to Shea to open a crucial two game series with the Mets. Cubs starter Bill Hands
knocked down the first batter he faced, Agee, who had been moved into the lead-off spot in the line-up, in the bottom half of the first inning. Jerry Koosman
hit the next Cubs batter he faced, Ron Santo
, in the hand, breaking it. Agee himself retaliated by hitting a two-run home run in the third, and scored the winning run of the game on a Wayne Garrett
single
in the sixth inning.
The Mets swept the Expos in a double header
on September 10. Coupled with a Cubs loss, the Mets moved into first place for the first time ever during the 1969 season. The Mets
would not relinquish their lead from this point. On September 24, the New York Mets clinched the NL East as Donn Clendenon
hit two home runs in a 6-0 Mets win over Steve Carlton
and the St. Louis Cardinals
(who struck out a record nineteen Mets nine days earlier in a losing effort). For the season, Agee batted .271 while leading his team with 26 home runs, 97 runs scored and 76 RBIs. Along with Cy Young Award
winner Tom Seaver
and Cleon Jones, he was one of three Mets to finish in the top ten in NL MVP balloting, and was named the Sporting News' NL Comeback Player of the Year.
in the 1969 National League Championship Series
. The Mets were heavy underdogs
heading into the World Series
against the Baltimore Orioles
. In Game 3, with the series tied 1-1, Agee had what Sports Illustrated
called the greatest single performance by a center fielder in World Series history. In the first inning, Agee hit a leadoff home run off Jim Palmer
for what would eventually be the game winning hit and RBI, as the Mets shut out the Orioles, 5-0 (Interestingly, two other Mets would also hit Game 3 lead-off home runs in subsequent World Series: Wayne Garrett in the 1973 World Series
and Lenny Dykstra
in the 1986 World Series
). In the same game, Agee also made two incredible catches that potentially saved five runs. The first was on a two-out line drive to left center field by Elrod Hendricks
with two runners on base. Agee sprinted across the outfield and caught the ball in the webbing of his glove just before crashing into the wall. The second catch was on a fly ball hit by Paul Blair
with the bases loaded in the seventh inning off Nolan Ryan
(the only time Ryan appeared in a World Series game in his 27-year Hall of Fame career). Agee sprinted towards the right center field warning track. When the wind blew the ball down and away from him he lunged into a headfirst dive for the catch. He rolled on the warning track but held on to the ball. With Blair rounding second base moments after the catch, Agee may have saved an inside-the-park, grand-slam home run.
from April 16 to May 9. He enjoyed one of the finest games of his career on June 12, when he went four for five with two home runs and four runs scored, and hit for the cycle on July 6. Agee displayed his spectacular and daring base running in the 10th inning in the NY Mets 2-1 win over the LA Dodgers when he stole second, took third on a wild pitch and surprised every one when he stole home for the victory! For the season, Agee batted .286, and established a Mets season record for hits with 182, runs with 107, and stolen bases with 31. He also won his second Gold Glove award, making him the first African-American to win a Gold Glove in both leagues.
Chronic knee injuries hampered Agee in and , though he still batted .285 and tied for the Mets lead with fourteen home runs in 1971. In 1972, he finished second on the Mets with 47 RBIs despite batting only .227.
and Buddy Harris. He faced the Mets for the first time in his career on April 24, and went two for three with a walk and a run scored in the Astros' 4-2 victory. He was batting .235 with eight home runs and fifteen RBIs when the Astros dealt him to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 18, who were in a battle with the Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates
in the NL East. Following the season, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers
, but was released during Spring training. Though he never made a regular season appearance with the Dodgers, his final baseball card
was #630T in the 1974 Topps
Traded series, which depicted him as a Dodger.
along with several other members of the 1969 Mets.
Agee had a heart attack
while leaving a Midtown Manhattan office building in the late morning on January 22, , and died of at Bellevue Hospital Center
in Manhattan, New York at age 58. He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and a daughter, Janelle. He was posthumously inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame
in .
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
most noted for making two of the greatest catches in World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
history, both of which occurred in game three of the 1969 World Series
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
.
Cleveland Indians
Agee was born in Magnolia, AlabamaMagnolia, Alabama
Magnolia is an unincorporated community in Marengo County, Alabama, United States.-Geography:Magnolia is located at and has an elevation of ....
and played baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football at Mobile County Training School with future New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
teammate Cleon Jones
Cleon Jones
Cleon Joseph Jones is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who is best remembered as the man who caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" improbable World Series Championship over the Baltimore Orioles....
. After one season at Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
, Agee signed with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
for a $60,000 bonus.
After two seasons in the Indians' farm system, Agee received a September call-up to Cleveland in . With the Indians already behind 11-1 to the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, Agee made his major league debut on September 14 at Metropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
pinch-hitting for pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Bill Dailey
Bill Dailey
Dailey spent almost nine full years in minor league baseball before his recall by the Indians in August 1961. In Dailey's one full Major League season — with the Twins — he appeared in 66 games played , compiling a 6–3 record and a 1.99 earned run average. His 21 saves ranked third in the league...
in the ninth inning. He received September call-ups to the majors the following two seasons as well, playing a total of 31 games with the Indians in which he batted .170 with one home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
and five runs batted in. Following the season, he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
with Tommy John
Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history...
as part of a three team blockbuster trade between the Indians, ChiSox and Kansas City Athletics that returned All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
Rocky Colavito
Rocky Colavito
Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito, Jr. is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Cleveland Indians. He wore a #6, #7 or #21 jersey during his MLB career...
to the Indians.
Chicago White Sox
Agee batted just .226 with the Pacific Coast LeaguePacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
's Indianapolis Indians
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
, and .158 in ten games with the White Sox in . After earning the starting center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
job in Spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
, he hit a two-run home run in the season opener, and was batting .264 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs to be named the White Sox's sole representative at the 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 37th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 12, 1966 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri...
. He ended the season with a .273 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, 22 home runs and 86 RBIs to earn American League Rookie of the Year honors, while his defense in center field earned him a Gold Glove. Although he was technically in his 5th major league season, MLB's classification of a rookie is determined by plate appearances and time on a major league roster. Agee's September call-ups had been so brief and his playing time so scarce that he was still eligible for the award.
Agee was batting .247 with ten home runs and 35 RBIs to earn his second consecutive All-Star selection in . His production fell off considerably in the second half of the season (he hit only four home runs after the All-Star break), and ended the season batting .234 with 52 RBIs. Though they finished the season in fourth place, Chicago finished only three games back of the first place Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, and battled Boston, the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
and Minnesota Twins until the final week of the season. On a team loaded with pitching and short on offense (no regular batted over .241), the team's lack of offense possibly cost the White Sox the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant.
To alleviate this problem, the White Sox imported perennial .300 hitter Tommy Davis
Tommy Davis
Herman Thomas Davis, Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder and third baseman. He played from 1959-1976 for ten different teams, but he is best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During an 18-year baseball career, Davis batted .294 with 153 home runs, 2,121...
, along with pitcher Jack Fisher
Jack Fisher
John Howard Fisher was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on June 24, 1957. He played for the Orioles , San Francisco Giants , New York Mets , Chicago White Sox , and Cincinnati Reds...
and two minor leaguers, from the New York Mets for Agee and Al Weis
Al Weis
Albert John Weis is a former Major League Baseball infielder.Weis grew up in Bethpage, New York, and graduated from Farmingdale, New York, High School in 1955...
.
New York Mets
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
on the very first pitch thrown to a Mets batter in spring training . At the beginning of the regular season, he went 0 for 10 in a 24-inning affair with the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
that saw his batting average go from .313 to .192. It led to an 0 for 34 slump that brought his average down to .102. For the season, he batted .217 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
Amazin' Mets
Agee got off to a hot start in . He enjoyed his first career multi-home run game in the third game of the season, against the Montreal ExposMontreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
, one of which went halfway up in section 48 of the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
, a feat that was never matched. Expos right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
Mack Jones
Mack Jones
Mack F. Jones , nicknamed "Mack The Knife", was a Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves , Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Jones was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as a...
says the ball was still rising when it came into contact with the stands. To commemorate the homer, there was a painted sign in that section of the stadium with Agee's name, uniform number, and the date. He also had his first four hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
game on May 2 (4 for 4 with a walk and a home run).
By May 21, Agee was batting over .300, and the Mets won their third game in a row for a .500 winning percentage 36 games into the season for the first time in franchise history. This was followed by a five- game-losing streak that saw the Mets fall into fourth place in the newly aligned National League East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
.
The Mets then went on an eleven-game-winning streak that included a two-home run, four-hit performance by Agee against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
in the final game of the streak. By this point, the Mets were in second place, seven games back of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
.
The Mets were two and a-half games back on September 8 when the Cubs came to Shea to open a crucial two game series with the Mets. Cubs starter Bill Hands
Bill Hands
William Alfred "Bill" Hands, Jr. , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1965-1975. Hands' best season came in 1969 with the Chicago Cubs, when he won 20 games....
knocked down the first batter he faced, Agee, who had been moved into the lead-off spot in the line-up, in the bottom half of the first inning. Jerry Koosman
Jerry Koosman
Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...
hit the next Cubs batter he faced, Ron Santo
Ron Santo
Ronald Edward Santo was an American professional baseball player and long-time radio sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974, most notably as the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time All-Star, he was a powerful hitter who was also a good defensive...
, in the hand, breaking it. Agee himself retaliated by hitting a two-run home run in the third, and scored the winning run of the game on a Wayne Garrett
Wayne Garrett
Ronald Wayne Garrett was the New York Mets starting third baseman from 1972 through 1975. Garrett also saw occasional duty as a second baseman and as a shortstop....
single
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
in the sixth inning.
The Mets swept the Expos in a double header
Doubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
on September 10. Coupled with a Cubs loss, the Mets moved into first place for the first time ever during the 1969 season. The Mets
1969 New York Mets season
The New York Mets season was the eighth season for the Mets franchise, which played its home games at Shea Stadium. Managed by Gil Hodges, the team went 100-62, finishing first in the newly-established National League East by eight games over the Chicago Cubs...
would not relinquish their lead from this point. On September 24, the New York Mets clinched the NL East as Donn Clendenon
Donn Clendenon
Donn Alvin Clendenon was a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the Amazin' Mets.-Early life:...
hit two home runs in a 6-0 Mets win over Steve Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
and the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(who struck out a record nineteen Mets nine days earlier in a losing effort). For the season, Agee batted .271 while leading his team with 26 home runs, 97 runs scored and 76 RBIs. Along with Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner Tom Seaver
Tom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
and Cleon Jones, he was one of three Mets to finish in the top ten in NL MVP balloting, and was named the Sporting News' NL Comeback Player of the Year.
1969 World Series
Agee batted .357 with two home runs and four RBIs in the Mets' three game sweep of the Atlanta BravesAtlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
in the 1969 National League Championship Series
1969 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 4, 1969 at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Mets struck first in the second off Phil Niekro when Jerry Grote singled in a run and Ken Boswell scored on a passed ball by Braves catcher Bob Didier...
. The Mets were heavy underdogs
Underdogs
Underdogs is the second full-length album released by the Matthew Good Band in 1997, as a follow-up to the 1995 album Last of the Ghetto Astronauts...
heading into the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
against the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. In Game 3, with the series tied 1-1, Agee had what Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
called the greatest single performance by a center fielder in World Series history. In the first inning, Agee hit a leadoff home run off Jim Palmer
Jim Palmer
James Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
for what would eventually be the game winning hit and RBI, as the Mets shut out the Orioles, 5-0 (Interestingly, two other Mets would also hit Game 3 lead-off home runs in subsequent World Series: Wayne Garrett in the 1973 World Series
1973 World Series
The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions....
and Lenny Dykstra
Lenny Dykstra
Leonard Kyle "Lenny" Dykstra , nicknamed "Nails" and "Dude", is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. Dykstra played for the New York Mets during the late 1980s before playing for the Philadelphia Phillies during the early 1990s....
in the 1986 World Series
1986 World Series
The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...
). In the same game, Agee also made two incredible catches that potentially saved five runs. The first was on a two-out line drive to left center field by Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks was a catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. Hendricks played during a 12-year career that lasted from through for the Baltimore Orioles , Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees...
with two runners on base. Agee sprinted across the outfield and caught the ball in the webbing of his glove just before crashing into the wall. The second catch was on a fly ball hit by Paul Blair
Paul Blair (baseball)
Paul L. D. Blair is a former outfielder who spent seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles , New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds...
with the bases loaded in the seventh inning off Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
(the only time Ryan appeared in a World Series game in his 27-year Hall of Fame career). Agee sprinted towards the right center field warning track. When the wind blew the ball down and away from him he lunged into a headfirst dive for the catch. He rolled on the warning track but held on to the ball. With Blair rounding second base moments after the catch, Agee may have saved an inside-the-park, grand-slam home run.
1970-1972
Agee began the season by going on a twenty-game hitting streakHitting streak
In baseball, a hitting streak refers to the number of consecutive official games in which a player gets at least one base hit.According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is ended when a player has at least 1 plate appearance and no hits...
from April 16 to May 9. He enjoyed one of the finest games of his career on June 12, when he went four for five with two home runs and four runs scored, and hit for the cycle on July 6. Agee displayed his spectacular and daring base running in the 10th inning in the NY Mets 2-1 win over the LA Dodgers when he stole second, took third on a wild pitch and surprised every one when he stole home for the victory! For the season, Agee batted .286, and established a Mets season record for hits with 182, runs with 107, and stolen bases with 31. He also won his second Gold Glove award, making him the first African-American to win a Gold Glove in both leagues.
Chronic knee injuries hampered Agee in and , though he still batted .285 and tied for the Mets lead with fourteen home runs in 1971. In 1972, he finished second on the Mets with 47 RBIs despite batting only .227.
Astros, Cards & Dodgers
Following the 1972 season, Agee was traded to the Houston Astros for Rich ChilesRich Chiles
Richard Francis Chiles was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. Chiles was drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft and he played six seasons in the major leagues between 1971 and 1978.-External links:...
and Buddy Harris. He faced the Mets for the first time in his career on April 24, and went two for three with a walk and a run scored in the Astros' 4-2 victory. He was batting .235 with eight home runs and fifteen RBIs when the Astros dealt him to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 18, who were in a battle with the Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
in the NL East. Following the season, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, but was released during Spring training. Though he never made a regular season appearance with the Dodgers, his final baseball card
Baseball card
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on some type of paper stock or card stock. A card will usually feature one or more baseball players or other baseball-related sports figures...
was #630T in the 1974 Topps
1974 Topps
-Baseball:-Parallel Sets:Since 1965, the Canadian candy company O-Pee-Chee produced virtually identical, but smaller, sets identical to the Topps issue of the same year. The Canadian printed cards were printed on grey cardstock and featured French and English text on the reverse...
Traded series, which depicted him as a Dodger.
Retirement
After retirement, he operated the Outfielder's Lounge near Shea Stadium. Agee was also known as the most active former Met, taking part in many charitable events and children's baseball clinics around both the New York area and Mobile. He appeared as himself in a episode of Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
along with several other members of the 1969 Mets.
Agee had a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while leaving a Midtown Manhattan office building in the late morning on January 22, , and died of at Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital Center, most often referred to as "Bellevue", was founded on March 31, 1736 and is the oldest public hospital in the United States. Located on First Avenue in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, Bellevue is famous from many literary, film and television...
in Manhattan, New York at age 58. He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and a daughter, Janelle. He was posthumously inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame
New York Mets Hall of Fame
The New York Mets Hall of Fame was created in 1981 to recognize the careers of former New York Mets players, managers, broadcasters and executives. There are presently 25 members...
in .
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- Hitting for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...