Wednesday, November 5, 2008

#103T Mackey Sasser



IMPACT FACTOR 3/10: Sasser was a decent backup catcher for a number of years with the Mets. His impact factor is low because he never got many plate appearances.

1 comment:

Mike S said...

Alright, Mackey Sasser! My favorite player of all-time for a bizarre reason. I started collecting basbeall cards when I was six and, since my mom liked the Mets, I too became a fan. I wound up with the card of every player from the 1989 Topps set except for Sasser. Using 6/7-year old logic, I figured that since I didn't have Sasser's card, he must be the best player on the team since it was so hard to acquire. Who knew that I was actually thinking of insert cards three years before I knew what they were.

Anyway, Sasser was far from the best player on the team, but he was a solid hitter who rarely struck out and even more rarely walked. He was rather good in 1990, but an injury ended his season early and was pretty much it for his career. While Sasser had a strong arm (he snapped Vince Coleman's epic SB streak vs. NY), his famed mental block precluded Sasser from properly throwing the ball back to the pitcher (he dubiously inspired the character of the rookie catcher in Major League 2). The Mets brought in the likes of Charlie O'Brien and Rick Cerone to serve as RH-platoon hitters and defensive replacements before Todd Hundley took the job for good. However, my favorite Sasser memory is from a game he played in the OF in 1991 against San Diego in which Mackey's double was the lone hit against Greg Harris while he robbed two homeruns in the team's 2-1 loss. From what I've heard, Sasser finally got over his mental blocks (too late for his career in NY, unfortunately) and is now a successful college coach.