Mel Harder

From The Met Wiki

Mel Harder was the pitching coach for the Mets in 1964. He served under Casey Stengel in the Mets' first season at Shea Stadium.

Harder had a quality 20-year career as a pitcher with the Cleveland Indians. From 1928 to 1947, he had 223 wins and 1,161 strikeouts while posting a 3.80 earned run average. Mel pitched 181 complete games (including 25 shutouts) during his career. He also had his uniform number 18 retired by the Indians.

In the final year of his pitching career, Harder became the Indians' pitching coach. He held this position for 17 consecutive seasons, during which the Tribe won two American League pennants and the 1948 World Series. Mel came to the Mets' staff after a total of 36 years in a Cleveland uniform. He left the team after the '64 season.

In 1965 Harder served as the pitching coach for the Chicago Cubs. He spent the next three seasons on the staff of the Cincinnati Reds. In 1969, Mel concluded his 42-year major league career as the pitching coach for the original Kansas City Royals.