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Memories of
Dave Magadan

Dave Magadan
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 50 of 1218 players
Magadan
David Joseph Magadan
Born: September 30, 1962 at Tampa, Fla.
Throws: Right Bats: Left
Height: 6.03 Weight: 190

Dave Magadan has been the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup 12 times, most recently on September 30, 2020.

1b 3b

First Mets game: September 7, 1986
Last Mets game: August 8, 1992

Share your memories of Dave Magadan

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Coach HoJo 20
March 22, 2001
Solid player who could have done more for the Mets. If the Mets would have done more for him.

Mike Welch
May 28, 2001
Dave Magadan was a fantastic slap hitter. He could hit to all fields and was patient at the plate, taking more walks than strikeouts. His career with the Mets never took off for two reasons:

1) Lack of power as a corner player (1B or 3B) 2) Under average running speed

Mr. Sparkle
June 7, 2001
Kind of a dissapointing career considering most people thought he was going to be a solid every day player for a long time.

He's now the only remaining active player from the 86 champs and he was only a September call up. That's kinda sad. We need another ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Danny Erickson
August 16, 2001
Dave has always been a fine hitter. He was just a victim of something known as baseball predjudice. That is when a player doesn't hit many dingers. Perhaps, if they left Dave alone and let him play, maybe he would have supplied a little bit of power.

J. Eckert
March 31, 2002
Saw him at bat for first time on TV game, wondered how JFK Jr. had made it to Major League Baseball.

Larry Burns
May 22, 2002
Dave never panned out as expected. He was seen as being a solid everyday player. Instead he was a limited defensively, singles hitter who had to play a position that desperately needed power numbers. On top of that, I almost hated to see him get on base because he went station to station and completely clogged up the bases for those around him. Even with his limitations he was a positive guy, just not as great as advertised.

Larry Burns
May 31, 2002
I get it now, Dave was a fantastic hitter whose greatness is recognized by only a few chosen talent evaluators. He played 16 seasons, half with the Mets who continued to hope he would amount to something more than a singles hitter who could not catch a cold. Then he spent the next 9 seasons being bounced around 6 different teams, each, who like myself, lacked the insight into seeing that Dave was one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game. Magadan was a slow, completely one dimensional baseball player.

Mr. Sparkle
June 3, 2002
I don't care what his career stats are, Larry Burns' comments are right on the money. Dave was a one dimensional player who may have played a long time but is hardly memorable. I can think of a lot of guys who've palyed for the Mets and have amounted to a lot more than this guy, even in shorter time. Dave Magadan was only a hair better than Aaron Ledesma, another big time prospect who did nothing.

skip to my lou
April 1, 2003
Dave slow like Matt Grill to pick up check. No power, swing like woman. He so patient - saw him pinch hit in 86, bat still haven't left his shoulder. He so slow, Davey Johnson put him in game as pinch runner just for laugh. Oh Davey keels me

Logan Swanson
May 2, 2003
I liked Mags. I saw him over the course of his career. Had he been allowed to play every day circa 1990, I figure he could have hit 8 home runs, had 60-70 rbi, and batted around .300 every year. Those numbers are good, but Dave was not a franchise type-player, one who could carry you to championships, but he did give it his all every time he played. The Mets at that time were contenders, able to afford superstars at every position (though bad management decisions prevented that), and Dave was not of the caliber of Hernandez, Carter, etc.

Robo
June 26, 2003
You gotta feel sorry for Dave Magadan. He followed Keith Hernandez-- those are big shoes to fill. And I think he would have done an excellent job at it. He could hit in the clutch and Mets management never gave him a fair shake (i.e. Mike Marshall & Eddie Murray). As usual, the Mets got rid of a hard-working, offensively sound player for aging veterans. I still remember Mags coming up big in '86!

=Chuck=
October 25, 2006
Does anyone remember either the Post or the Daily News comparing Magadan's looks to a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Steve Winwood? Remember, this was the late '80s when both musicians were hugely popular. I think they even composited a photo of half Bruce's face with have Winwood's and put Mag's photo next to it. The likeness was uncanny.

Hank M
November 29, 2007
The first time I saw Dave was in the College World Series in 1983. Playing for the University of Alabama, he was getting a hit just about every time he came to bat. His performance in that CWS led the Crimson Tide to a second place finish behind only Texas, which had a starting rotation of four eventual major leaguers (including Roger Clemens.)

Dave's batting average that year was .525! When I heard that the Mets had taken him in the draft, I was thrilled. I figured they had a bona fide star on their hands.

His major league career got off to a good start in September of '86. He got a hit in his first at bat. He also got three singles and two RBI in the division clincher. It was very clear that this guy could hit.

Dave would have had a great career if it wasn't for one thing. It seems as though different kinds of offensive production are expected of players depending on their defensive positions. Since Dave was mainly a first baseman (from whom slugging is expected), it was believed that he should be hitting a lot of home runs instead of being the high average hitter he really was. Many, both in the organization and out, were disappointed with Dave because he wasn't a power hitter.

Is this kind of thinking really logical? Should a player be expected to provide a certain type of offense based on where he plays in the field? Dave might have been victimized by this belief. If his hitting ability wasn't looked at incorrectly, I believe that he could have become a National League batting champion - something the Mets have never had in their history.

VIBaseball
November 25, 2010
I enjoyed watching Dave Magadan hit. Despite his lack of power (or probably because of it), he was an artist at the plate. I remember how he had very deft bat control, much like a golfer hitting a chip shot. He would take a ball that was low and outside and serve it over the third baseman's head with a neat little flick of his wrists.

VIBaseball
August 11, 2015
Fun facts about Dave Magadan: Lou Piniella is his first cousin and godfather, and the household language when he was a kid was Spanish.

Even in college and the minors, he bounced back and forth between third base and first base. His hitting style was the same in those days -- he was never a long-ball hitter.

These days Dave is still a big-league batting coach. He's been with the Rangers since they hired him after the 2012 season.








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