1978 TOPPS DOUG FLYNN
When I think of bad baseball players, I immediately think of Doug Flynn.
Want to win a bet with your friend? Ask him who the worst hitter in Mets history with 1,000 PA is and give him three guesses to pick the guy.
Despite what you might think from the subject of this piece, it’s not Flynn. It’s actually the guy who he was traded for – Tom Seaver. The Franchise posted an OPS+ of 18 in 1,139 PA with the Mets.
See, Flynn is even terrible at being terrible. For what it’s worth, he’s tied for second with a 57 OPS+ in his Mets career. Flynn’s lifetime slash line is .234/.264/.292 but if you watched it live, his results seemed even worse.
Flynn had one semi-redeeming quality and that’s the chicks liked him and his curly hair. Sure, sure Lee Mazzilli got all of the credit (and first crack, no doubt) from the ladies, but Flynn had his share of admirers, too.
One day I found out that June had a thing for curly-haired Flynn. Now, June was a hot chick who rocked a mini skirt and was a straight-A student. Throw in being a Mets fan and it pretty much made her “my type.”
Unfortunately, at this point in time, I was as good at talking to girls as Flynn was hitting a curveball. So it was an exciting discovery that I could talk to June about Flynn. The only down side was that you couldn’t say anything bad about him to her.
Like Flynn, I never even got to first base.
Last I knew, June went to St. John’s. I’m sure she’s happily married and has three kids and a dog. Meanwhile, Flynn bounced around to Texas than Montreal and finally Detroit.
And I grew up to host a Mets fan site. I think Flynn played a role in all of it.
Wasn’t he the #1 overall pick in the draft too?Him and Tim Foli,were two of the worst offensive players ever.
According to Baseball-Reference, Flynn was signed as an amateur free agent, meaning he wasn’t drafted at all.
I’ll speak for June and just mention Flynn’s 1980 Gold Glove. Back when awards for Mets were few and far between, that actually felt meaningful…
Yeah Brian,I confused him with Tim Foli,who WAS selected 1st overall and was a similarly pathetic offensive player.Foli was actually a little better..251 .283 OBP .309 Slugging.Both,of course,played for the Mets.
Gold glove winner. Three triples in one game. Inside the park home run. He was my favorite growing up. His defense was what won me over.
Foli could hit. Sadly, it was usually other humans or walls that Crazy Horse hit.