New York Mets: Five best right fielders in franchise history
2. Ron Swoboda
After all of these players that didn’t start out in Queens, we finally come to one that did. Ron Swoboda is also a World Series hero but we will get to that in a little bit. He debuted with the Mets in 1965 but actually started in left before moving over to right field in 1967. Swoboda started out with good power numbers as a 21-year-old in ’65, hitting for 19 home runs and 50 RBI in 399 official at-bats.
Fast forward to 1967 when Swoboda moved over to right field where he remained for the rest of his Mets days. He became less of a power hitter over the next two seasons but did record over 100 hits in each. He was consistent with driving runs in, accounting for at least 50 in each of those years. He still managed 52 RBI in 1969 even though some playing time went to Art Shamsky in right field.
So why is he a World Series hero? It was game four of the 1969 series against the Orioles. A rally was underway and Brooks Robinson lined one into the right center field gap. Swoboda had a long way to go but…turn up the sound and let him tell you about it:
What a play it was and the Mets went on to win the game in ten innings. The rest, as Mets fans are familiar with, was history. Ron Swoboda will have a place in Mets fans hearts until the end of time.