Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Ron Hunt

mike
As a kid I was a Mets fan and a big fan of Ron Hunt.It was a tough pill to swallow when Ron finished second to Pete Rose in the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year voting. It was even tougher when the Mets traded Ron after the 1966 season. He should have been a Met his entire career. You had to love his win at all costs style of play. Ron runs a very successful baseball school near his hometown.

Richard Kissel
First Met elected to the All Star Team. I can remember listening to that 1964 game on the radio from upstate New York. I got his autograph at the Polo Grounds at a game in 1963. I was 7 and the runway to the clubhouse went through the bleachers. Tough as nails guy; uniform always dirty. He has given back to the game by teaching youngsters. A real role model.

Frank
I remember going to the first Met win of 1963 at the Polo Grounds, I think they were playing the Braves. Ron won the game with a double to left. In those days, every Met win was a really BIG DEAL. I also remember reading that he had a lot of bad allergies to dust and flowers. He really was the first Met star. I was shocked when they traded him.

Won Doney
Correction for Richard Kissel: Ron Hunt was not the first Met elected to the All Star team. He was the first to start an All Star game. The first was actually Richie Ashburn in 1962.

Mike Tenenbaum
August 3, 2001
Correction to Won Doney: Ashburn and Snider were SELECTED to the All-Star team. Hunt was the first player ELECTED [by the players] to the All-Star team.

In spring of 1963 Howard Cosell went on record stating that Ted Schreiber and Ron Hunt should consider packing it up and head back home because Larry Burright had the second sacker job all sewn up.

Of course, Hunt went on to start for the NL All-Stars in 1964 and beame on of the all time fan favorites at Shea.

Joe
November 27, 2001
In the '65 season, Ron was injured on a doubleplay when a Cardinals utility infielder named Phil Gagliano took him out at second. Ron separated his shoulder and ended up being out of the lineup for quite a while. For the rest of his career, Phil Gagliano would be booed loudly whenever his name was announced at Shea Stadium, even long after Ron Hunt had been traded.

Charlie
December 12, 2001
Wasn't Ron Hunt the all-time leader in getting hit by a pitch until Don Baylor came along?

Mr. Sparkle
May 25, 2002
Ron is the one guy who played before my time that I wish I saw play for the Mets. He seemed to be a gamer who always played hard from everything I read. I don't really remember him playing for other teams though. He said that the worst thing that ever happened in his career was being traded away from the Mets. I'd take him in a second over Roberto Alomar.

Bill C.
June 24, 2002
Ron Hunt may just be my favorite Met player of all time. No, he didn't have all the tools nor was he one of the "greats," but he had heart and hustle. His desire was second to none. He made things happen on the field and he wasn't afraid to get dirty or hurt. The game was interesting when he was around.

Joe Figliola
August 7, 2002
Here's an idea: How about inducting Ron Hunt into the Mets Hall of Fame?

If any homegrown Met player best represented an otherwise "growing pains" period, it would likely be him. He was scrappy, exciting, and would do anything to get on base and help this team win. And I also think that a Hall of Fame of any kind should pay tribute to those who were outstanding in the early years as well as during the triumphant moments.

Stengel and Weiss were architects of that period. The Hall needs a player, and Ron fits the bill.

I also hope that Ron's bad-mouthing of Tom Seaver in a newspaper article several years ago hasn't factored in the Mets' decision not to honor him.

Stan
August 21, 2002
Ron Hunt was by far and away my favorite Met player when I was a kid. He was like a "mini Pete Rose"...always hustling. What was really exciting for me was that when I opened my very first pack of baseball cards, there was Ron Hunt's 1965 card! I also remember that Rick Wise was in that pack. My first trip to Shea (in 1966) as a 10 year old was a bit disappointing, as Ron didn't play that day. The Giants pitched 20 game winner Gaylord Perry, and Chuck Hiller, a lefty batter, played second. I wish that Ron had played longer with the Mets, so he could have shared in the great 1969 season!

Alan
August 27, 2002
I guess my vote as Ron Hunt being the 2nd. baseman for the 40th anniversary team wasnt enough. Who showed more guts, desire and will to win than did Ronnie? No one! He should be the 2nd. baseman with fonzie at 3rd.

Bill Deegan
October 11, 2002
Ron was the Lenny Dykstra of his day. He never let up or gave up.

Metsmind
December 24, 2002
As I once told Ron on Art Rust's radio call in show (pre-WFAN days), in 1966 Ron Hunt became my very first sports hero. Then I heard about this guy named Willie Mays. Ron didn't find my delivery too funny.

Bob R.
January 9, 2003
Ron was the first star player on the Mets (not counting the washed-up stars like Berra, Spahn, Snider, Hodges etc.) He belongs to that breed of player like Pete Rose and Brett Butler who aren't as talented as some, but more than make up for it with hustle and grit. I mostly remember him for all the times he got hit by pitches, especially as a Montreal Expo. The guy had it down to a science. He'd take one for the team any time. Attaboy Ron!

Anthony V
February 11, 2003
Ron Hunt and his wife Jackie run a baseball camp called the Independent Eagles Baseball Association, located in Wentzville, Missouri. He is a hands on coordinator and tutor there, not just a figurehead. Find out at www.rheba.com.

Ed K
November 27, 2003
Hunt was THE Mets franchise player back then, and was as revered as Mike Piazza has been in recent years. He was every bit as good as his rival Pete Rose in the early years and unlike Rose was always a credit to the game. For some reason, Casey Stengel wanted to convert Hunt from 2B to 3B. Given Hunt's limited power, it never made sense to me especially when he was the starting NL all-star second baseman. It really was a shame that the Mets traded him away. If he had been around for 1969, he'd be remembered as a better, earlier version of Wally Backman.

Feat Fan
June 15, 2004
Always hustling!!!

Hunt once said, "Some people give their bodies to science; I give mine to baseball."

Feat Fan
July 1, 2004
Originally signed by the Milwaukee Braves, Hunt was purchased by the Mets prior to the 1963 season. He made the jump to the majors from Austin of the Texas League.

"The Mets were using me as a bullpen catcher," he recalls. "During spring training, Casey Stengel told me to come to him rather than going to the press if I ever had any problems."

That's exactly what the brash rookie did.

"Larry Burright wasn't doing too well," Hunt said. "I went up to Casey after a game in the Polo Grounds and said This is Ron Hunt, number 33. I'm not a bullpen catcher. I can play second base. If you want me to go to the minors every day until you need me, I'll do it."

Hunt's boldness paid off.

"I guess Casey took a liking to me," Hunt laughed. "He said, `Do you want to play that badly, son? You're in the lineup tomorrow."

Hunt took advantage of the opportunity and ended the season with a .272 average in 143 games. He finished second to Pete Rose in the N.L. Rookie of the Year balloting.

Maxwell Kates
July 13, 2004
Ron Hunt sent me what was perhaps the funniest reply for an autograph request I've ever received by mail. He inscribed "Please ask your dad to send $10 to the Ron Hunt Ducks Baseball Association per item. Also send Sharpie. Sincerely, Ron Hunt." He only signs for pay? Remarkably so. Maybe that's why he wrote his name twice in the letter he sent me. All those beanballs saved me twenty bucks!

Jonathan Stern
July 13, 2004
My father predicted that Ron Hunt would have a better and longer career than Pete Rose. Well, at least Hunt didn't bet on baseball.

KMT
February 12, 2005
Before my time as a Met fan. I look at his stats, and wonder what the Met brass could have been thinking! With no home grown talent available, we trade him for a lame T. Davis. I remember him with the Expos the year he got plunked so many times. I was 9 years old then and still remember thinking there had to be a better way to get on base than that! Am I wrong remembering a game against the Cardinals in late September 1974. I believe that Hunt and Jim Hickman both pinch hit for the Cards in this game and that's how they ended their careers. Two baby Mets finishing away from where they should have!

Jonathan Stern
February 25, 2005
Tug McGraw hit Ron Hunt with a pitch during an Old-Timers' game at Shea. We'd have been disappointed if he hadn't. Hunt laughed as he jogged towards first base.

jim conway
January 26, 2006
Like just about everyone else in Queens back in the day, Ron Hunt was my favorite player. Ron's hustle paid off for the Mets but also it taught us kids a valuable lesson as well. Give it your all and you will get back even more in return. Just like Ron Hunt's career. After all, we never forgot him while others have kind of faded away.

blue and orange
March 25, 2006
On April 19, 1963, Ron Hunt beat the Milwaukee Braves with a hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mrs Joan Payson sent a bouquet of flowers to the clubhouse for his wife in gratitude. They go to Hunt and he has a sneezing spell; Hunt had terrible allergies and had to have the flowers taken away.

Mr. Ed
September 16, 2006
Ron Hunt WAS the first Met ELECTED to the All-Star Game Richie was not elected as a starter as elected players were, but Ashburn was the first Met SELECTED to be on the team!

don
September 22, 2007
I was 13 when I went to the Polo Grounds to see the Mets play the Dodgers in 63. As each of the players stopped to sign autographs before the game, I asked them to hit a home run for me. For some reason I forgot to ask Ron. So, as he started to leave I yelled out, "Hey Ron, hit a home run for me". Ron turned around, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up. The Mets lost that day 3 to 2. It was 3 to zip until Ron's two run blast in the bottom of the ninth. I always remember that as my home run.

RF Mojica
December 18, 2007
I'm not old enough to remember Ron Hunt as a Met. I remember him with the Expos. The Expos were a favorite team of mine for a while when they first came in the league, probably because of the novelty of them being from Canada, and because I liked their uniforms. Ron Hunt was one of my four or five favorite players when I first started watching baseball, and the only National Leaguer among them. (The others being Yaz, Catfish Hunter, Denny McLain, Brooks Robinson, Frank Howard and Harmon Killebrew.) I was always watching when the Expos played the Mets on channel 9 and always rooting loudly for them and, especially, Ron Hunt.

I remember a double header the Expos played against the Mets. The teams split the two games and on Kiner's Korner after the second game, the guest was Teddy Martinez! To my peevish, childish mind, this was a gross insult to my team and until I got a little older and more mature, I held a bitter grudge against Kiner, Teddy Martinez and the entire Mets organization for not having a deserving Expo on instead. Imagine my shock and bitterness when we traded our best player, Rusty Staub, to the Mets for three scrubs (and all baseball fans knew what a Met farm phenom meant in those days—think of Don Bosch!). It turned out to be a pretty good trade for us, at least until we traded Singleton for a washed up Dave McNally, but at the time I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a practical joke. I actually didn't believe it when I heard it on the radio.

steve
November 24, 2010
Been a fan since 1962. Ron Hunt is still my all time favorite Met. He was a very good player who played the game hard and with passion. There wasn't a lot to cheer about in the old days but Hunt made us proud. I felt terrible when they traded him after the 66 season. I wish he would have been there in 69 and had the opportunity to play for Hodges.

steven
July 23, 2011
MY favorite All-Star Memory? 1964. Ron Hunt: first Met ever voted to the starting team. Gets the NL's first hit. I am in my basement with my bat in my hand after school. (I was 10.) So thrilling I almost cried for joy.

pockmarx
July 7, 2012
Hunt was seen as the New York Mets first "real player", a guy who started and had success with his first team. I had hoped that along with Donn Clendenon, the Mets would trade for Hunt during the deadline in 1969. He probably could have been had at that time, he would have helped that team and he certainly deserved to come along for the Big Win in '69. I loved that he hated Bob Gibson. When he was in the minors one season with the Braves organization, he hit about .190. The next season with the same team he hit over .300, showing his determination to improve. Limited ability. Maximum effort.

Paul (sitting in 30C #2) @Shea in '64
January 23, 2013
A solid ballplayer! Too bad Rose beat out Ron Hunt for ROY in '63. #33 was a solid all-star in "64 at Big Shea and '66 at Busch II (his home town). Little known fact: Ron's name was mentioned in dialog of a Twilight Zone episode in '63 and he told Bob Murphy on air that when he was on the DL his biggest challenge was controlling his eating when laid-up at home prior to 1966 all-star game. I still have his BB cards in my collection. He looked sharp in uniform with NY Worlds Fair patch in 1964.

Steve Green
February 15, 2013
a) Hunt getting three hits off Warren Spahn one game -- ropes; maybe a couple of doubles -- as if Spahn were just a BP pitcher.

b) His batting style was described as holding the knob of the bat on his belt buckle.

c) His 1964 All-Star Game hit (at Shea) was a single past third, off another favorite of mine who later became a Met late in his career -- Dean Chance.

d) '33' was a cool uniform number. Our pickup softball team once got a slew of old woolen jerseys left for decades in someone's attic. I quickly cadged 33 from the pile, lol.

e) Mildly disagree about the Dykstra comparison, although it has a lot of validity. Wally Backman was more of a dogged resemblence, imo.

L
July 12, 2013
They were having an opportunity to meet Ron Hunt before a Mets game when I was maybe 12. My Dad bought game tickets, but the special event was sold out. He called them and begged for tickets as Ron was my favorite player. He got them and it was a great time. I am loving all of these memories associated with the All Star Game.

Raymond Malcuit Jr.
December 28, 2017
Did Ron Hunt get into a fight with Ed Bailey one time back in 1964?

Flitgun Frankie
December 31, 2020
Met fans have long memories. Recently, listening to recordings of broadcast of old Met games, heard one where, just coming back from a previous injury, Ron Hunt got run into by Phil Gagliano on a play at second base. From the radio description, it didn't sound like a dirty play, but just a typical baseball play, except that Ron Hunt got hurt and had to be replaced. Before the game was even over, it was announced on the radio that Hunt had suffered a shoulder separation and would need surgery and would likely miss several months of action. A lot of fans attending the game probably heard this announcement on their portable radios (I don't know if they put it up on the scoreboard), and since the game was still in progress, next time Phil Gagliano came up to bat, he was roundly booed.

So, listening to a game from three or four years later, around 1967 or so, when Ron Hunt was no longer a Met, Gagliano comes up to bat for the Cardinals in a game at Shea Stadium, and he was still getting roundly booed. I see from his record that he finished up his career playing for Cincinnati (I remember him playing with the Red Sox), and he played in 3 games vs. the Mets in the 1973 NLCS. I wonder if Met fans were still booing him at that point.

Richard Morgan
February 2, 2021
Does anyone else remember (I saw it on tv) Ron Hunt's inside-the-park HR on June 5th 1966? I recall Wes Parker was playing CF for the Dodgers. Hunt hit what looked like a solid single to center that hit a rock and bounced over Parker's head to the deepest park of the ballpark for an inside the park HR.