John Milner - New York Mets

New York Mets

Milner was drafted by the New York Mets in the fourteenth round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft out of South Fulton High School in East Point, Georgia, where he was All-State in baseball, football and basketball. He batted .307 with 58 home runs and 168 runs batted in over three seasons in their farm system before making his major league debut with the Mets in September 1971. He earned the job of "left-handed bat off the bench" on the opening day roster in 1972 by batting .296 with a team high three home runs during Spring training, and quickly moved into a platoon with Cleon Jones in left field. In the first game of a September 8 doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milner became the first Mets rookie in franchise history to record a five hit game. For the season, he batted .238 with a team high 17 home runs and 38 RBIs to finish third in National League Rookie of the Year balloting behind teammate Jon Matlack.

For 1973, Milner was moved to first base. He was leading his team with a .328 batting average, five home runs and thirteen RBIs when he suffered a hamstring injury against the Houston Astros on April 25, an injury that would plague him the rest of his career. He returned to the club in mid-May, but went into a 12-for-82 slump that saw his batting average fall to .216. He returned to form by the end of the season to lead his team with 72 RBIs and a career high 23 home runs as the Mets completed their improbable run to their second National League East crown.

The Mets pulled off the surprised victory over Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in the 1973 National League Championship Series, but lost in seven games to the Oakland Athletics in the 1973 World Series. Milner batted .250 in the post-season with three RBIs and four runs scored. Though he was not credited with an RBI, his at-bat in the twelfth inning of game two drove in two runs for the Mets' extra innings victory.

On September 11, 1974, Milner tied a major league record by making twelve plate appearances in the Mets' 25 inning marathon with the Cardinals. That season, he led his team in home runs for the third year in a row with twenty, and also led his team with seventy runs. For his career with the Mets, Milner batted .245 with 94 home runs and 338 RBIs. On December 8, 1977, Milner was part of a bizarre four team trade that saw him land with the Pittsburgh Pirates.