5 sometimes forgotten members of both 1969 and 1973 Mets World Series squads

4) Duffy Dyer

Duffy Dyer was a rookie in 1969. Most thought of him as the No. 2 catcher behind Grote. But, in reality, he was the No. 3 guy on the depth chart behind veteran and lefty swinging J.C. Martin. He managed to get one appearance and one at bat in the ’69 Series but did not enter a game in the ’73 Series.

With Grote entrenched as the No. 1 catcher, Dyer did not have much of a chance to get playing time. Grote, a great defensive catcher, was able to get some playing time at third base when needed as a result of injuries to teammates. Dyer was not very versatile. In fact, in his only appearance out from behind the plate, he committed a very costly error in right field on his first and only chance. That was the end of his playing the field without the gear.

Dyer appeared in 29 games in 1969 and got 74 at bats. He hit .257 with 3 HR and 12 RBI. In 1973, he played in 70 games and accumulated 189 at bats, but he had a dreadful season, his worst in the Majors, batting .185 with 1 HR and 9 RBI.