Duffy Dyer
From The Met Wiki
Donald Robert "Duffy" Dyer was a catcher for the New York Mets from 1968 to 1974. He played in 375 games with the Mets, hitting 16 home runs with 97 runs batted in. Duffy was a member of the Mets' championship teams in 1969 and 1973.
Dyer was drafted by the Mets out of Arizona State University in 1966. He played his first major league game on September 21, 1968 for the Mets in Philadelphia. Duffy got his first major league hit (a single) off Chris Short in the fifth inning of the game.
Duffy was on the Mets' 1969 Opening Day roster. In the season opener, he hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning off Don Shaw in the Mets' 11-10 loss to the Expos at Shea Stadium. It was the only home run by a Mets' pinch-hitter during the team's World Championship season. Duffy singled to drive in the winning run in the Mets' 4-3 victory over the Giants at Shea on May 30. He hit a three-run homer for all the Mets’ scoring in a 3-2 victory over the Padres in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on August 17. Dyer also had a single and two RBIs in a 5-3 Mets win over the Pirates in a doubleheader opener on September 21 at Shea.
Dyer played in 59 games in 1970. He collected 31 hits during the year. In the second game of a doubleheader at Shea on May 31, Duffy drove in the winning run with a single in the 14th inning to give the Mets a 4-3 victory over the Astros. He hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning for a 12-10 Mets triumph over the Cubs at Chicago on June 23. Dyer hit a home run in a 4-2 Mets win in the second game of a twinbill at Atlanta on August 14. He also had a game-winning, two-run single in the sixth inning in a 3-1 Mets victory over the Phillies in a doubleheader nightcap on September 9 at Shea.
In 1971, Dyer accumulated 54 total bases and 13 runs scored for the season. At San Diego on May 29, he had two doubles and a triple in the Mets 2-1 win over the Padres in the second game of a doubleheader. Duffy got a two-run single in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 7-6 victory over the Phillies in a twinbill opener on June 20 at Shea. He singled twice, doubled and drove in a run in the Mets’ 8-0 triumph over the Expos in a doubleheader nightcap at Shea on July 5. Dyer homered in a 7-1 Mets victory at Philadelphia on September 3. He also had three singles in the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Pirates on September 26 at Shea.
The 1972 season was Dyer’s most productive. He had eight home runs and 36 RBIs in 94 games played on the year. At Shea on May 7, Duffy hit a run-scoring double in a rally that produced an 8-6 Mets victory over the Padres. He had four singles in a 12-2 Mets win over the Expos on May 17 at Shea. Dyer had a double and a three-run homer in the Mets’ 5-2 triumph over the Braves at Shea on June 3. On July 31, he hit a tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning to give the Mets a 4-2 victory over the Expos at Shea. Duffy had two singles in a seven-run eighth inning that propelled the Mets to an 11-8 come-from-behind win at Houston on September 2. He also had an RBI single in the 9th inning for a 1-0 Mets triumph over the Pirates on September 18 at Shea.
Dyer played in 70 games for the Mets in 1973. He collected 35 hits in the team's pennant-winning season. At St. Louis on April 11, Duffy had a single and a run scored in a 5-4 Mets victory over the Cardinals. He had a three-run triple in a 6-5 Mets loss at Cincinnati in 10 innings on June 5. Dyer singled home the Mets' only run in a 1-0 win over the Astros on July 10 at Shea. He also hit a game-tying RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning in an eventual 4-3 Mets win over the Pirates in 13 at Shea on September 20. This clutch hit was Duffy's last appearance in a game during the year.
In 1974, Dyer appeared in 63 games. He collected 30 hits and 10 RBIs in his final season with the Mets. At Shea on May 22, Duffy had a two-run single in a 9-6 Mets loss to the Cubs. He singled twice and scored a run in a 7-0 Mets win over the Astros on August 29 at Shea. Dyer had two singles, a double and a run scored in the Mets’ 6-0 victory over the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on September 13. He also had a run-scoring triple for his final hit as a Met in the team’s season-closing 3-2 defeat to the Phillies in 10 innings on October 2 at Shea.
Dyer was traded to the Pirates for Gene Clines on October 22, 1974. During his four years in Pittsburgh, Duffy was a member of the Pirates' East Division championship team in 1975 and the catcher for John Candelaria's no-hitter on August 9, 1976. Dyer also played for the Montreal Expos (1979) and Detroit Tigers (1980-81) before starting a career as a minor league manager and coach for several major league teams.
