Major League Debut
Although he had never played AAA baseball, and although his performance at Jackson was not outstanding, Chapman had an excellent spring training in 1979 for the Mets and earned a spot as the Mets starting second baseman to begin the season. He replaced strong fielding but light hitting Doug Flynn, who was the Mets regular second baseman in 1978. Chapman's major league debut occurred on April 5, 1979 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He got 2 hits in 5 at bats in his debut. However, Chapman only batted .150 for the Mets in 80 at bats that season, relinquishing the starting second base job back to Flynn by late April. He was sent to the minors in May, returning to the Mets only in September after the minor league season ended.
Chapman played for the Mets AAA-league team, the Tidewater Tides of the International League for most of the 1979 season. He played 106 games as second base for the Tides, with a batting average of .241, a slugging percentage of .318 and an on-base percentage of .341.
From 1980 through 1983 Chapman played in AAA without getting back to the Major Leagues. He played with Tidewater in 1980, 1982 and 1983, and with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1981. During that time he played primarily second base, but also played a few games at third base, shortstop and outfield. He batted poorly in 1980 and 1981 but improved in 1982 and 1983. He also played for Tidewater at the beginning of 1984.
Read more about this topic: Kelvin Chapman
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