Valentino Pascucci

From The Met Wiki

Age: 31 (born November 17, 1978)

Position: First base / corner outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Number: None

Acquired: Minor League free agent

Contract: Minor League

Valentino (Val) Pascucci, "The Boss," is a Triple-A outfielder whom the Mets refused to call up in 2008, despite:

• The Mets' outfielders all going down with injuries
• The Mets using guys that can't hit as outfielders and pinch hitters
• Pascucci crushing the ball in the Minors that year, and in previous years

Ted Berg spent much of 2008 fuming about the Mets' refusal to call up The Boss. When the Mets missed the postseason by one game, Ted argued convincingly that bringing up Val would have likely saved them.

Val, like Chris Carter, was labeled a "Quad-A" player, too good for Triple-A, not quite good enough for the bigs.

The Mets let him go after 2008, got him back in February 2010, let him go again on April Fools' Day, and then reaquired him on May 14. Perhaps if Carter succeeds the Mets will reconsider the possibility that Pascucci can hit in the bigs. However, it's also quite possible that Val's time has passed. The 31 year old is coming off a fairly poor season after four straight AAA years with an OPS over 900.

Check out some of Ted Berg's posts on Val.