Rico Brogna

From The Met Wiki

Rico Brogna was a first baseman for the Mets from 1994 to 1996. He batted .291 in 228 games with the team. Brogna had 403 total bases in his three seasons in New York.

Brogna appeared in 39 games for the Mets in '94. He had 7 home runs and compiled a batting average of .351 in the strike-shortened season. On July 10, he hit a two-run homer that proved to be the game-winner in the Mets' 5-1 victory at Los Angeles. Rico homered in the 11th inning to give the Mets a 10-9 win at St. Louis on July 26. In the Mets' 4-1 win over the Braves at Shea Stadium on August 2, Brogna had two singles and a two-run homer.

In 1995, Rico led the Mets in many offensive categories. He hit .289 with 22 home runs and 76 runs batted in to give him the team's triple crown for the year. Rico also led all Met players with 72 runs scored, 27 doubles and 240 total bases. His total of 143 hits was second on the team to Jose Vizcaino, who had 146.

On April 26, 1995, Brogna hit the first home run ever at Denver's Coors Field. On July 16, his run-scoring single in the 10th inning gave the Mets a 2-1 win over the Rockies at Shea. Rico also hit a two-run homer to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Astros on September 14 and homered twice (including a grand slam) in the Mets' 8-2 win over the Phillies on September 17.

Rico played in 55 games for the Mets in '96. He batted .255 with 7 homers and 30 RBIs. His best game of the year came on May 11, when he had a single, a triple and two homers in the Mets' 7-6 victory over the Cubs at Shea. Brogna's second homer came in the ninth inning to win it for the Mets. On June 22, he went on the disabled list with an injured shoulder and missed the rest of the season.

On November 27, 1996, Brogna was traded to the Phillies for Ricardo Jordan and Toby Borland. Rico played three full years in Philadelphia and spent the 2000 season with the Phils and Boston Red Sox. He finished his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2001.