Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Jeff Keppinger

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Mets
Statistics

Situational
Statistics

Jeff Keppinger
vs. the Mets

Jeff Keppinger
vs. Other Teams

Ballpark
Statistics

Monthly
Statistics

Game Log

Memories of
Jeff Keppinger

Jeff Keppinger
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 565 of 1252 players

Jeffrey Scott Keppinger
Born: April 21, 1980 at Miami, Fla.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.00 Weight: 180

Jeff Keppinger was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on March 21, 2019.

First Mets game: August 20, 2004
Last Mets game: October 3, 2004

Share your memories of Jeff Keppinger

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

VIBaseball
October 10, 2004
I'm a little surprised no one else has kicked off the memories yet, since we saw a lot of this guy with Reyes and Matsui both out of action after the wheels fell off this season.
I think Jeff is not half bad at all. He's shown a little pop with the bat, and I haven't seen that he's a defensive liability. What do other observers say?
The thing I'd like to know is whether he can play short and/or third, which would help his usefulness on the roster for next year.

David
October 20, 2004
Had one homer run in a year in the minors, and three in a month with the Mets. Jeff was said to be awful on D, but he looked really sharp. Keppenger always puts the ball in play only three strikeouts. I'd make him the utility man, and dump useless Joe Mcewing.

DKingman26
November 16, 2004
Won the MVP at the 2004 Double-AA All-Star game in Bowie, MD. I was there- Jeff looked sharp. Was with Pittsburgh's affiliate at the time, then came over in the Benson deal two weeks later. A lot of promise!

KMT
October 13, 2005
I hope he gets over his broken kneecap before next season starts! I can't stand it any longer. Matsui and Cairo are not the answers at 2nd base. I keep reading how the Mets have Jeff pegged as a utility guy and I think that's crazy! He may not have the range of the quicker 2nd baseman in baseball, but anything he gets to he grabs! His hitting throughout his minor league career shows his .284 last season was no fluke! I'd take that in a heartbeat compared to what we have out there now!

Steve
May 10, 2007
I had thought he stood a chance to be a utility player a la McEwing but then he got hurt and the new regime was more enamored of others. At least he's back in the big leagues, having, from what I heard, just been called up by the Reds after having performed adequately in a late-season stint with KC last year.

John
October 1, 2007
I wish we had kept this guy. He had a good utility season for the Reds, and frankly, I'm not a big Gotay fan.

Mr. Sparkle
June 25, 2008
No one was upset when we traded this guy for Gotay and yet everyone got upset when Gotay got cut. Keppinger is a hit machine for the Reds and a guy the Mets could have used. We gave up on him way too soon.

Metsmind
July 22, 2008
Jeff Keppinger's career is one real mystery. How many GM's / field managers of floundering teams decided that Jeff couldn't help his squad?
He came up in Aug '04, not as a regular late season call up, but to play, as not only Matsui and Cairo were down, even Danny Garcia (who was rated ahead of Jeff too) got hurt and the Mets were "stuck" playing Keppinger, the throw in to the Benson trade. He outplayed expectations, but did not move up anyone's depth chart. He went to Mets spring training the next 2 seasons and outhit everyone in both camps but made neither team, largely due to knee and wrist injuries he sustained at inopportune moments.
When he finally started playing and hitting at AAA, the Mets ignored him. His agent BEGGED them to trade him, and thus the Gotay deal was made. But the Royals, like the Pirates and lowly Mets of that period, sent him to the minors as well. At Omaha he finally became that "hitting machine" referred to by a previous poster. KC begrudgingly called him up late season. The Royals were committed to Angel Berroa (yet another where are they now), so they gave him to the equally unsuccessful Reds for Russ Haltiwanger. And Cincy promptly sent him to Louisville!
But hit hit hit is all Jeff Keppinger did. At Omaha and Louisville he played a different position (inf and OF) nightly, just to be in the lineup. And finally his perseverance is paying off. This year's injury is a shame, as this is a guy whose time has come.

John O'Hare
August 17, 2008
Liked this guy from the beginning. If the Mets had kept him, we would not have gotten Luis (where is he now?) Castillo and then sign him for 4 years! Hindsight is 20/20, but come on!

Aase2Zim
November 3, 2010
Don't be surprised if Jeff Keppinger is picked up at some point as an option at second, or as a spare part off the bench. He is a Sandy Alderson-type player: High OBP, more walks than strike-outs, etc. Marco Scutaro is another one that might make his way back to the Mets with Alderson in charge.

Anthony Vasquez
August 14, 2011
Jeff Keppenger for what ever reason was never given a chance by Willie or Omar. I saw how the Mets treated this guy was an indictment of Omar and Willie. I am glad he got a chance to play elsewhere and if you look at his stats against the Mets it tells you about the intelligence of Willie and Omar.

pockmarx
April 24, 2012
I agree with Anthony. Keppinger was buried by Willie Randolph. Hit for high averages in the minors, hardly struck out, played a decent second base, came cheaply and yet never got a chance while the usual "glove men" with their .202 averages played ahead of him. A Ron Hunt type throwback who made the most of limited ability.

Alex
October 31, 2023
My 14-year-old self thought rather highly of Keppinger (he hit .337 in the minors in 2004 and 2005! He hit well for the big club in 2004!), so to this day I still think he should have gotten a longer look in New York. He did end up forging a solid big league career, but the guy we got in return for him gave the Mets a pretty good year, too—Ruben Gotay.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it's pretty crazy to think we traded Jose Bautista (THAT Jose Bautista) and Ty Wigginton for him (and Kris Benson).