Lee Mazzilli
From The Met Wiki
Lee Mazzilli was an outfielder for the Mets from 1976 to 1981 and from 1986 to 1989. He collected 796 hits in 979 games with the team. Mazzilli had 1192 total bases as a Met.
Mazzilli was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 1973 free agent draft. He began his major league career with 24 games in September of 1976. In his second major league at bat, Lee hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the Mets’ 11-5 win at Chicago on September 8. He hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Pirates on September 20 at Shea Stadium. Mazzilli also had three hits in a 4-2 Mets win at Montreal on September 22.
In 1977, Mazzilli batted .250 with 6 home runs and 46 runs batted in. He played in a team-leading 159 games during the season. From April 29 to May 8, Lee had a .351 batting average (13-for-37) during a 10-game hitting streak. He singled three times, scored twice and drove in three runs in an 8-0 Mets win over the Reds on June 7 at Shea. Mazzilli had two run-scoring singles in the Mets’ 5-0 victory at San Diego on July 22. He singled home the winning run in the 14th inning for a 4-3 Mets triumph over the Dodgers on August 3 at Shea. Lee singled twice, doubled twice and had two RBIs in the Mets’ 7-1 win at Pittsburgh on September 27.
Mazzilli had 16 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 1978. He led the Mets with a .273 batting average for the year. At Shea on June 5, Lee had four hits and three runs scored as the Mets defeated the Dodgers, 9-8. He hit a grand slam for all the scoring of a 4-0 Mets victory over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 4. Mazzilli homered and had three singles in the Mets’ 10-4 win at San Francisco on August 30. He had two singles and two homers in an 8-5 Mets triumph at Los Angeles on September 3. Lee also had two singles, a double and a run scored in the Mets’ 2-0 win on September 17 at Philadelphia.
In 1979, Mazzilli had a Mets-leading 181 hits for a .303 batting average. He tied with Richie Hebner for the team lead in RBIs with 79. On April 7, Lee had a homer, two singles and three RBIs in the Mets’ 9-4 win at Chicago. He singled twice and drove in three runs in a 10-8 Mets victory over the Pirates at Shea on May 26. Mazzilli hit two homers for four RBIs in a 9-8 Mets win in 11 innings on June 30 at Chicago. He had three singles and an RBI in the Mets’ 2-1 triumph at Pittsburgh on July 31. Lee also batted .429 (33-for-77) during a 19-game hitting streak from August 28 to September 18.
Lee was a member of the National League All-Star team in ’79. At the Game in Seattle, he hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning. This was the first time that a Mets player ever homered in an All-Star Game. Mazzilli also drove in the winning run for the NL with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.
Mazzilli led the Mets with 31 doubles, 41 stolen bases and 82 runs scored in 1980. He had a team-leading 16 homers for the season. At Cincinnati on May 14, Lee had a single and a two-run double in the Mets’ 7-6 win in 10 innings. He singled home two runs and hit a solo homer in a 9-4 Mets victory over the Pirates at Shea on June 6. Mazzilli hit a home run in the Mets’ 2-0 triumph over the Pirates on July 10 at Shea. In a doubleheader on July 13, he had six hits (including two homers in the opener) and six RBIs as the Mets swept the Cardinals, 7-4 and 10-4, at Shea. Lee also had a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly in a 5-2 Mets win over the Expos at Shea on September 17.
In 1981, Mazzilli had 74 hits in 95 games played. He compiled 116 total bases in the strike-shortened season. In the season opener on April 9, Lee hit a home run as the Mets defeated the Cubs, 2-0, at Wrigley Field. He had two singles, a double and two RBIs in a 13-3 Mets win over the Phillies at Shea on May 25. Mazzilli hit a pinch-hit two-run double in a 7-4 Mets victory at Chicago on August 12. He hit two doubles in a 7-0 Mets win on September 29 at Philadelphia. Lee also singled home the winning run in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 2-1 triumph over the Cubs at Shea on September 30.
Just before the start of the 1982 season, Mazzilli was traded to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell. He split the ’82 season between the Rangers and Yankees. Lee played for the Pirates from 1983 to 1986. During the ’86 season, he rejoined the Mets.
Mazzilli played in 39 games over the last two months of the ’86 season. He had 16 hits for 25 total bases. Lee hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the Cardinals at Shea on August 16. He had a single, a double and three RBIs in the Mets’ 9-1 win over the Cards at Shea on September 23. Mazzilli also had two singles and a double in a 6-1 Mets victory over the Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on October 4.
In the ’86 National League Championship Series, Mazzilli set a record with five pinch-hitting appearances. He singled in Game 3 for his only hit of the Series against the Astros. Lee had a single and a run scored in Game 6 of the World Series against the Red Sox. He also singled and scored in Game 7 of the Series.
Lee batted .306 in 88 games in 1987. He had 24 RBIs and scored 26 runs during the season. On June 7, Lee hit a two-run double in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 5-4 win over the Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea. In the second game of the twinbill, he had a three-run homer and a two-run single in a 10-9 Mets loss to the Bucs. Lee had two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored in the Mets’ 8-3 win over the Phillies at Shea on June 21. He also had a two-run single in a season-closing 11-6 Mets victory on October 4 at St. Louis.
In 1988, Mazzilli had 17 hits for 19 total bases. He drove in 12 runs during the Mets’ division-winning season. At Shea on May 3, Lee singled home two runs in the first inning of the Mets’ 8-0 win over the Braves. He hit a game-tying single with two outs in the 10th before the Mets defeated the Cubs, 2-1, in 13 innings at Shea on June 2. Mazzilli had a run-scoring single in the 12th inning to give the Mets a 2-1 win over the Cardinals on June 13 at Shea. He doubled and scored in the Mets’ 6-4 victory over the Cardinals at Shea on June 15. Lee also went 1-for-2 in the ’88 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
Mazzilli played in 48 games for the Mets in 1989. On April 19, he hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning for a 4-2 Mets triumph over the Phillies at Shea. Lee singled home a run in the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Cubs at Shea on June 14. Against the Phils at Shea on June 23, Mazzilli singled, doubled and scored three runs in the Mets’ 9-3 victory. In his last at-bat as a Met, he got a game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth of the Mets’ 7-5 triumph over the Braves on July 22 at Shea.
Lee was claimed on waivers by Blue Jays on July 31, 1989. He had four homers and 11 RBIs in 28 games for the Toronto team en route to its ‘89 American League East Division title. Mazzilli appeared in three games for the Jays in the ’89 ALCS against the Athletics to conclude his playing career.
In the 2000s, Lee served on the Yankees’ coaching staff. He was also the manager for the Baltimore Orioles in 2004 and 2005.
