Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Peter Hamner

david lozano
September 2, 2008
Teammate on the Lynchburg Mets. Converted infielder, became a good pitcher. Always stirring up the pot. Had a name for everybody.

leon@ friends
July 2, 2011
Good competitor with a excellent sinker. Me and my friends use to watch every game. They were a lot of fun to watch. Pete was the closer and would come in and get the ground ball. He was a crowd favorite. I see he kind of kicked around the minors for a few years. He had the stuff to pitch in the majors, but someone has to put you in the position to do so. My friends and I talk about who we saw go to the majors and who we saw not go. And we just shake our heads. Neil Allen; what a joke. Pete did not walk guys he just got the ground ball. You would have been perfect for the 1986 World Champ Mets. GREAT MEMORIES!

Briley
July 2, 2011
Remembered as a guy that was always in the mix. Signed as a everyday player but was converted to a pitcher. Much better everyday player than a pitcher. Not sure what he hit. If I am right he was used as a relief pitcher who did not throw very hard. Not sure where he is at now but I am sure he is better off with a real job.

Dan Gartrell
March 18, 2012
Pete has an air about him that is truly lost in today's professional sports. He doesn't talk much about his past career, but his athleticism is clearly evident in his kids. Check out Courtney Hamner's stats at JMU for just a small example. I wish I could have seen him play back in the day. Pete is currently a successful business owner. I'm proud to call him my friend and mentor.

Corky
July 6, 2012
Was an adequate Wausau Mets fan and got to see Pete pitch some in Wausau of the Midwest League. Was used mostly as a reliever. Stayed on the disabled list most of the time with elbow problems. Everyone in the stands would hold their breath when Pete came in. He and another pitcher maned Gene Bardot were both used in the late innings out of the bullpen. Both were notorious for coming in a giving up the starting pitcher's runs but never their own. Pete was a converted third baseman who could not hit according to sources and was a mediocre pitcher. When I think back I would rather see Bardot in the late innings instead of Pete. Pete was apparently buried in the lower minor leagues where I think he belonged.

Burly
October 18, 2015
My memories of Pete go back a long way and are great ones.

My first meeting of Pete was when were were both playing 13 - 15 year old Babe Ruth Baseball in Falls Church, VA in 1970. He was 13 and I was 14. He came to bat against a 15-year-old pitcher and ripped a line drive double down the left field line and I knew he was a special player at that point. His 13-year-old All-Star team won the VA state tournament. The next year, he was 14 and made the same 15-year-old All Star team I was on. Again, we won the VA state tournament with Pete being a huge part of that team. When he was 15, he repeated the feat again.

We continued to play with, or against each other during summer leagues, but we attended separate High Schools.

Pete signed with the Mets after his Senior High School season in 1974 when his American Legion team won the AL World Series. During the off seasons, Pete would drive over to George Mason University to work out with our College team. Ironically, Pete and I competed against each other in the Minors (Carolina League) in 1978 when he was with the Lynchburg Mets and I played with the Alexandria Dukes. Great memories for sure. He still kids me about the foul ball home run that Mets catcher Jodie Davis hit against us to win the game.

Several years after we were both released, we joined up with our childhood and college buddies to play in the local adult Baseball Leagues in Virginia and Maryland for a team called the Springfield Rifles. We dominated for many years thanks to Pete's contributions.

Pete and I are both well into our 50's now and we are still the best of friends. We talk weekly and we play golf together. I knew his family when we grew up and they were great people from a military background. I know his family now and he and his wife Martha have done a great job raising their 3 athletic children (2 girls who both played college basketball and a son who is currently playing college baseball). When we get together, we still talk about the times we shared in the minor leagues and with the Springfield Rifles.

Pete was always successful on the baseball field and is also very successful in life as he runs his own company. Great times with Pete for sure with many more to come.