Duke Snider

From The Met Wiki

Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider played for the Mets in 1963. In 129 games, he had 14 home runs and 45 runs batted in for the season. Snider collected 86 hits and had a team-leading 56 walks in his only year with the Mets.

After 11 high-quality seasons with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Duke was acquired by the Mets just prior to the '63 season. During the year, he reached two personal milestones. Snider got a single for his 2000th career hit in the Mets' 7-4 loss to the Reds at Cincinnati on April 16. Also in Cincinnati, he hit his 400th career home run in the Mets' 10-3 win on June 14. Following homer No. 400, Mets' broadcaster Lindsey Nelson mentioned on the air that Duke was the first major league player ever to accomplish such a feat on color television.

Although his 400th was memorable, Snider's previous homer was his biggest hit as a Met. His 399th was a three-run blast with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the Mets a 3-2 win over the Cardinals on June 7. Duke also had two homers in the Mets' 5-3 loss to the Giants on May 3. Snider's three singles and two RBIs helped the Mets to a 7-3 win over St. Louis at the Polo Grounds on August 7. This accomplishment was overshadowed by teammate Jim Hickman, who hit for the cycle in the game.

Snider ended his career with the San Francisco Giants in 1964. He later became an English-speaking broadcaster for the Montreal Expos. Duke was elected the the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.