Todd Hundley
From The Met Wiki
Todd Hundley was a catcher for the Mets from 1990 to 1998. He played in 829 games and batted .240 in his nine seasons with the team. Hundley hit 124 home runs and drove in 397 runs as a Met.
In 57 games over the 1990 and 1991 seasons, Todd had 22 hits and 9 RBIs. He also scored 13 runs during his time with the Mets in the two years. On September 26, 1991, Hundley hit a pinch-hit home run to retie a game in the 14th inning against the Pirates at Shea Stadium. This was his first major league homer. Todd then became the Mets' regular catcher, playing in 123 games in the 1992 season.
In 1993, Hundley had 11 homers among his 95 hits and batted in 53 runs. In the Mets' first road game of the season, he drove home four runs with a single and a triple in an 8-4 win over the Rockies. Todd hit a grand slam in the Mets' 8-3 victory at Chicago on September 2. Twice during the season, he had four hits in a game. On September 12, Hundley had two doubles and two singles with two runs scored in the Mets' 5-0 win over the Cubs at Shea. Six days later, he had four singles and an RBI in a 3-2 Mets win in 10 innings in Atlanta.
Todd hit a total of 31 home runs in 181 games played over the strike-altered seasons of 1994 and 1995. In the '94 season opener at Chicago on April 4, he hit the second of back-to-back home runs with Jose Vizcaino in the Mets' 12-8 win over the Cubs. On May 1, Hundley had the first two-homer game of his career as the Mets defeated the Dodgers, 7-4, at Shea. Todd also homered twice in the Mets' 11-3 win over the Marlins at Florida on June 18. In the '95 season opener, he hit a grand slam in the first game ever at Denver's Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. Hundley drove in the winning runs with a double for a 10-8 Mets triumph over the Cardinals on April 28 at Shea. On May 4, he hit a grand slam to give the Mets a 5-1 win in 10 innings over the Expos at Montreal. On June 27, Todd singled home the only runs of the game in a 2-0 Mets victory at Florida.
The 1996 season was the finest of Hundley's career. He drove in 112 runs and was named to the National League All-Star Team. Hundley also became the first Mets player ever to break the 40-homer mark. His total of 41 for the year also set an all-time record for catchers. To begin the year, Todd hit a two-run homer to spark a Mets' comeback for a 7-6 Opening Day win over the Cardinals at Shea. He hit two 3-run homers in a 14-5 Mets win at San Francisco on May 18. Hundley also had two-homer games at Shea to lead the Mets to victory over the Braves (8-3) on June 10 and the Reds (9-4) on June 21. In the second game of a doubleheader on July 30, Todd hit his 30th home run of the season to give the Mets a 4-3 win over the Pirates at Shea and a sweep of the twinbill.
Hundley again led the Mets in home runs with 30 in 1997. He also batted .273, his highest for a full major league season (his average was .280 in strike-affected '95.) Todd had a single, a double, two homers and five RBIs in the Mets' 6-1 win at Colorado on May 5. He did exactly the same in a 10-1 win over the Reds at Shea on July 20. Against the Padres on August 22, Hundley hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning to tie a game eventually won by the Mets, 9-8, in the 11th.
Recovering from elbow surgury and with the arrival of Mike Piazza, Hundley's playing time was reduced to 53 games in 1998. In only two of these game was Todd behind the plate as he spent the season as a part-time left fielder. On September 16, he hit a pinch-hit homer in the 11th inning to give the Mets a 4-3 win at Houston. This was Todd's last home run with the team. Hundley appeared in his final game as a Met in Atlanta eleven days later.
On December 1, 1998, Hundley was traded to the Dodgers for Roger Cedeno. He played two seasons with the Los Angeles team and two more with the Chicago Cubs. Todd concluded his career with another season in Los Angeles in 2003.
