"I had an average career in the majors as a utility man. But I had two good weeks of baseball and they came in the 1969 World Series."
~ Al Weis – former Mets 2B ~
Those words were uttered by former Mets 2B Al Weis. Weis, from Franklin Square on Long Island, had a career .219 average, with only seven HR’s.
Mets Manager, Gil Hodges, told Weis, who was a switch hitter, that he would be better served only batting righthanded, because Hodges wasn’t going to use him much as a lefthanded hitter. Weis, who was a platoon player for the majority of his career, had started switch hitting to accentuate his speed, and get down the line quicker.
When speaking of Hodges, the 1969 Mets, and the platoon system Hodges employed, Weis said, "I came up in some critical times and he let me hit. He instilled a world of confidence in me. It was a fun time."
Weis, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox for $1,500 in 1959, owes his Major League Baseball career to none other than the United States.
Weis, who was a baseball and basketball player at Farmingdale High School, didn’t get any offers to play, so he decided to join the US Navy upon graduation.
While in the Navy, he learned aviation structural mechanics, which “takes care of the hydraulics of an airplane and the fuselage.”
While stationed in Norfolk, he joined both the base baseball and basket ball teams. The White Sox, who had a scout in the area covering servicemen, happened to notice Weis. Weis was asked if he would be interested in playing professional baseball when he got out, to which he replied, “Yes. Are you kidding me?”
The Mets obtained Weis from the White Sox, along with Tommie Agee, for Jack Fisher, Tommy Davis, and Billy Wynne.
Weis went on to become famous in Mets history by driving in the winning run against the Orioles in game 2 of the 1969 World Series, and knocked in the tying run with a HR in the seventh inning of game 5. The home run he hit was hit with a souvenir bat he received from Adirondack, with his name on it. The following is quoted from Rubin’s article:
‘Every player got a souvenir bat from Adirondack, Weis said. When he picked up his, “it really felt great. It didn’t have anything special on it, just my name. I took it and used it in batting practice and then in the World Series. Here’s the twist to the story - Weis had an endorsement deal with another bat company, Louisville Slugger. The Louisville rep was at the games in Baltimore and saw Weis using the competition’s bat and said, “Hey, you’re signed with us.” Weis replied, “The bat feels great.” The rep asked Weis to rub pine tar over Adirondack’s trademark blue stripe. Weis used the bat throughout the series. The bat and the ball he hit - he got it when Joe Pignatano gave the fan who caught it an autographed ball in trade - reside in Weis’ trophy case in his basement. ‘
Weis, now 71, lives in Chicago suburbs, where he is retired from a furniture company. When speaking of his miraculous World Series, Weis is amazed that people still remember, "I still get fan mail, about 10 letters a week. That makes me feel good - 40 years later."
No comments:
Post a Comment