Joe Christopher
From The Met Wiki
Joe Christopher was an outfielder with the Mets from 1962 to 1965. He played in 485 games and compiled a batting average of .265 in his four seasons with the team. Joe hit 28 home runs and drove in 156 runs as a Met.
Christopher's major league debut came with the Pirates on May 26, 1959. He entered in the tenth inning of the famous game in which Pittsburgh's Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings at Milwaukee. Joe was also a member of the Pirates' World Championship team in 1960. He became a Met in the expansion draft on October 10, 1961.
In the Mets' inaugural '62 season, Christopher batted .244 in 119 games played. In 1963, he appeared in 64 games and came to bat a total of 149 times for a .221 average. In each season, Joe had a four-hit game against the Reds - September 14, 1962 at the Polo Grounds and September 8, 1963 at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. The Mets won both of these games.
Joe became one of the Mets most productive players in 1964. In the team's first season at Shea Stadium, Christopher led the Mets in many offensive categories. He had 163 hits and scored 78 runs (Mets' records at the time) in a team-high 154 games. In addition, Joe's 113 singles, 26 doubles, 8 triples and 76 runs batted in were leading totals for the Mets. His batting average was .300 for the season.
In '64, Christopher got a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Cardinals at Shea on May 8. Against the Phillies on June 20, he hit two home runs in the Mets' 7-3 win at Shea. Joe also hit a grand slam during an 8-run inning at Milwaukee that propelled the Mets' to an 8-4 win over the Braves on June 26.
Christopher's other outstanding moments from the '64 season include his double in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the Mets a 1-0 victory over the Reds in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 12. However, Joe's most productive day of the season was August 18, when he had 12 total bases with a double, two triples and a home run to lead the Mets to a 7-3 win over the Pirates at Shea.
In '65, Christopher batted .249 and hit 5 home runs with 40 RBIs. One of his homers came against the Dodgers' Johnny Podres on August 26 in the Mets' first win ever over Sandy Koufax. On September 1, Joe went 4-for-4 (2 singles, 2 doubles) in the Mets' 8-5 loss to the Astros at Shea. He scored the winning run in the Mets' 1-0 win over the Braves in 10 innings at Shea on September 12. Christopher also scored the winning run in the 12th inning for a 1-0 Mets victory over the Pirates on September 28 at Shea.
On November 30, 1965, Christopher was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Ed Bressoud. He played in 12 games for the Sox in 1966, the final year of his career.
