Mike Jorgensen
From The Met Wiki
Mike Jorgensen was a member of the Mets in seven of his seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball. He began his career with three years in New York and then returned to the Mets for four years after playing for other teams. Mike played in a total of 492 games and hit 21 home runs as a Met.
Jorgensen's first major league experience was with the Mets in 1968. Mike appeared in eight games and got to bat 14 times. He got his first hit off the Pirates' Bob Veale on September 14.
After spending all of 1969 in the minor leagues, Jorgensen played in 121 games for the Mets in 1970 and 1971. Mike hit 8 home runs and drove in 15 runs while batting .210 during these two years. He also scored 31 runs.
Jorgensen hit his first major league home run on April 26, 1970. It was a game-winning blast in the sixth inning off the Dodgers' Sandy Vance in Los Angeles. In 1971, Mike hit two home runs in the Mets' 7-2 win over the Dodgers at Shea Stadium on June 16. He also got a game-winning single in the ninth inning against the Phillies' Joe Hoerner for a 3-2 Mets triumph on September 12 at Shea.
On April 6, 1972, Jorgensen was traded with Tim Foli and Ken Singleton to the Montreal Expos for Rusty Staub. He spent the next five seasons in Montreal before his trade to the Oakland Athletics in 1977. Mike then finished the 1970s with two seasons as a Texas Ranger.
Jorgensen rejoined the Mets in 1980, coming over with Ed Lynch to complete an earlier trade for Willie Montanez. In his first year back in New York, Mike batted .255 in 119 games with 7 home runs and 43 runs batted in. Mike got a pinch-hit single that drove in the winning run in the ninth inning for a 2-1 Mets triumph over the Cardinals at Shea on June 5. He also hit a grand slam in the 10th inning for a 7-3 Mets win over the Dodgers on June 11 at Shea.
From 1981 to 1983, Jorgensen played his last three years with the Mets. He got 60 hits (including 6 home runs) and drove in 32 runs. Mike was sold to the Atlanta Braves on June 15, 1983. On the same date the following year, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1985, Jorgensen concluded his career with his only post-season appearances. He got to bat twice in the NLCS and three times in the World Series for the Cardinals. Mike went hitless in his five post-season at bats.
Notes
- Mike and Tom Seaver are the only players to play for the Mets in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
