Cal Koonce

From The Met Wiki

Cal Koonce was a pitcher for the Mets from 1967 to 1970. He pitched 246 and two-thirds innings in 119 games as a Met. Koonce's won-lost record was 15-12 during his four seasons in New York.

Cal was acquired by the Mets from the Chicago Cubs on August 2, 1967. Twelve days later, he pitched a 6-1 complete game over the Pittsburgh Pirates for his first Mets win. Koonce got credit with a win in the Mets' 5-3 victory at Philadelphia on August 16. Cal also pitched a 2-0, five-hit shutout over the eventual World Champion Cardinals at St. Louis on August 29.

In 1968, Koonce had an earned run average of 2.42 in 55 games of pure relief for the Mets. He lost his first four decisions of the season before winning his next six for a 6-4 record. Cal recorded wins in three consecutive appearances in August and pitched a combined shutout with Ron Taylor for a 2-0 win against the Reds at Shea Stadium on August 29, the first anniversary of his shutout in St. Louis.

Koonce had the unfortunate distinction of being the first pitcher ever to be charged with a loss to the Montreal Expos on April 8, 1969. However, he ended up with a 6-3 record with 7 saves during the Mets' championship season. Like the previous year, Koonce recorded all of his defeats before winning his final six decisions. On April 10, Cal got the save in the Mets' 4-2 win over the Expos at Shea. He was the winning pitcher in a critical game at Chicago on July 16, pitching five shutout innings of relief in the Mets' 9-5 victory over the Cubs. Koonce's last win of the '69 season came on August 24 with three innings of two-hit scoreless relief in the Mets' 7-4 victory over the Dodgers at Shea.

Cal appeared in 13 games for the Mets in 1970. He was sold to the Boston Red Sox on June 8. Koonce pitched in 36 games for Boston before his release from the team on August 17, 1971.