Ron Swoboda
From The Met Wiki
Ron Swoboda was an outfielder for the Mets from 1965 to 1970. He had 69 home runs and 304 runs batted in during his six seasons with the team. Swoboda scored 246 runs as a Met.
In his rookie season of '65, Swoboda led the Mets with 19 home runs. He accumulated 91 hits for 169 total bases for the year. Ron hit his first major league home run as a pinch-hitter in the Mets' 7-6 loss in 11 innings to the Astros at Shea Stadium on April 14. He homered twice in a 4-2 Mets win over the Braves at Shea on May 8. In the second game of a doubleheader on August 22, Swoboda had three singles and an RBI in the Mets' 4-2 victory over the Cardinals at Shea.
In 1966, Swoboda played in 112 games during the season. He drove in 50 runs to match his total from the previous year. On July 4, Ron had a three-run homer and a two-run triple to lead the Mets to a 9-6 win in the opener of a twinbill at Philadelphia. He had a single, double, triple, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored in the Mets' 14-3 triumph at San Francisco on July 21. Against the Giants on August 4, Swoboda hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to give the Mets an 8-6 victory at Shea.
After two seasons as a left fielder, Swoboda shifted to right field in 1967. He appeared in 108 games at the position while hitting a career-high .281 with 13 home runs. At Pittsburgh on June 6, Ron hit a double, a triple and a game-winning home run for a 3-2 Mets victory in 10 innings to complete a doubleheader sweep. On June 27, he hit a three-run homer in the first inning to propel the Mets to a 5-2 win over the Pirates at Shea. Swoboda doubled and homered in a 7-2 Mets victory over the Astros in the second game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 19. He also had three singles and 4 RBIs in the Mets' 5-3 win at Philadelphia on August 16.
Swoboda homered 11 times in 1968. He also led the Mets with 6 triples and 59 RBIs for the year. On April 10 at San Francisco, Ron drove in all the Mets' runs with a single and a three-run homer in a 5-4 season-opening loss to the Giants. From April 19 to April 21, he homered in four consecutive games against the Dodgers at Shea, driving in seven runs. Swoboda hit a three-run homer in a 5-1 Mets win at Chicago on May 10. He had a single, homer and 5 RBIs in an 8-0 Mets victory over the Giants on August 20 at Shea. Ron also stole home to score the winning run for a 3-2 Mets victory over the Cubs on September 17 at Shea.
In the Mets' World Championship season of 1969, Swoboda had 118 total bases in 109 games played. He had 77 hits, 21 of which were for extra bases. Ron drove in three runs in an 11-3 Mets win at St. Louis on April 20. At Shea on May 30, he homered and drove in the tying run with an eighth-inning single in a 4-3 Mets triumph over the Giants. Swoboda also hit a three-run double to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 7-4 victory over the Dodgers at Shea on August 24.
During the Mets' run to the '69 East Division title, Swoboda provided some clutch hitting. He hit a grand slam to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Mets to a 5-2 win at Pittsburgh on September 13. Two days later, he had a pair of two-run homers off the Cardinals' Steve Carlton to give the Mets a 4-3 victory. Carlton had struck out 19 Met batters in the game. At Shea on September 23, Ron scored the winning run in the 11th inning in the Mets' 3-2 triumph over the Cardinals that clinched a tie for the National League East Division title.
In the '69 World Series against the Orioles, Ron had 6 hits in 15 at-bats for a .400 batting average. In Game 4 on October 15, he made a game-saving diving catch of Brooks Robinson's line drive in the ninth inning. The Mets won in the 10th, 2-1. The next day, he also drove in the winning run with an eighth-inning double in Game 5, giving the Mets their first World title.
In 1970, Swoboda batted .233 with 9 homers and 40 RBIs in his final year with the Mets. On May 26, he had a pair of two-run singles at Shea in the Mets' 5-1 win over the Cardinals. In a doubleheader opener at Shea, he hit two 2-run homers and a drew a bases-loaded walk in the Mets' 14-4 victory over the Astros on May 31. Ron also hit a grand slam in a 7-1 Mets win over the Expos on July 9 at Shea.
On March 31, 1971, Swoboda was traded to the Expos for Don Hahn. He played in 39 games for the Montreal team before being dealt to the Yankees. Swoboda ended his career in 1973 and went on to a career in sportscasting.
Notes
- In his career with the Mets, Swoboda walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the winning run 4 times:
