RIP Claudell Washington, 1954-2020

[G-Fafif]

Claudell Washington, who hit three homers in one game for the Mets forty years ago this month, has died at 65.

[Benjamin Grimm]

https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Large/Baseball/85/85-23441RepFr.jpg>



In a way he was an early-day Richard Hidalgo. Short-term Met with an impressive home-run feat.

[MFS62]

RIP

Later

[Frayed Knot]

I remember him mostly for the guy with the classic trim-waisted, wide-shouldered build.

Listed at a nothing-special (for sports anyway) 6' 0" / 190, but you know that when a room full of professional athletes would make jokes about him forgetting

to take the hanger out of his shirt prior to putting it on that, even among a mostly well-built group of guys, his physique stood out.



A 17 year career is longer than I would have guessed. Coming up two months prior to turning 20 y/o, in the midst of the early '70s A's teams, helped in that regard.

Not as home-runny as you'd like (particularly if playing today) for a LH-hitting corner OF [164 for his career and never more than 17 in a season], but over 300 SBs,

a pair of AS appearances, and an OPS+ of 106 doesn't speak too poorly of a career which, sadly, ended with his second stint in the Bronx.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Large/Baseball/85/85-23441RepFr.jpg> In a way he was an early-day Richard Hidalgo. Short-term Met with an impressive home-run feat.

Hidalgo crossed my mind, too. Those unrumored power hitter pickups are always a boost to morale.



As evidenced by Claudell getting a 1981 Mets card, it seemed he'd stick around, at least until Ted Turner swooped in.

[Edgy MD]

Added a late summer jolt of offense for a team that was starving for runs. For that reason I'll always associate him with fellow mid-season-arriving corner outfielders like Richard Hidalgo, Bobby Abreu and even Yoenis Céspedes. Veteran sluggers with great-but-sometimes-erratic arms all.



Jeff Conine and Shawn Green also kind of fit in this category, but they actually made good hitting teams worse.



Claudell became a free agent after his tenure with the Mets, and ended up being a high-priced consolation prize, going to the Braves at a pretty good salary after they lost the Dave Winfield sweepstakes. One GM, asked about the high price of talent in the context of the Winfield contract, answered that the real problem was the high price of mediocrity, referring implicitly to Washington.

[batmagadanleadoff]

First member of the exclusive Mets "Typewriter" Club to pass away. (Charter member - Shaun Fitzmaurice; newest member - Austin Jackson; only member to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated - Clint Hurdle)

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I believe he was the first guy Frank Cashen traded for. I could be wrong about that. Remember that 3 hr game

[Edgy MD]

I remember Ralph telling a story in the booth about the new Mets PR guy Jay Horwitz getting a call from his mother, saying, "Hey that new guy the Mets got is pretty good!"



Jay asked who she was referring to and his mom said "Claudell Irvington."

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I believe he was the first guy Frank Cashen traded for. I could be wrong about that. Remember that 3 hr game

I think this is correct, and that was the only trade of the 1980 season.

[G-Fafif]

http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/06/11/a-stud-with-no-name/Memories of Claudell Washington.

[G-Fafif]

[Edgy MD]

That's a terrific memorial essay to Claudie.



Not for nothing, but I think it may help Faith and Fear reach the billion-strong readership it deserves if it had a larger text size and a few illustrations to break up the text.



I realize that may be taking youse off your brand, but physically dense text can intimidate the reader, and scare them into thinking the prose itself is harder to penetrate than it actually is.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I got an e-mail today, quoting this UMDB memory from 2001, without further comment.



I'm thinking that the sender might have been thinking that this is racist?



http://leaptoad.com/mets/profile.php?PlayerCode=0308&tabno=7Memories of Claudell Washington

007 November 3, 2001 The biggest nostrils I've ever seen. Must've picked his nose with his bat.

[whippoorwill]

Sweet smile. That I also remember