This Date In Mets History: August 18 — Agee Inducted into Mets Hall, Birthday Misches for Pat

On August 18, 2002, the Mets inducted the late Tommie Agee into the team's Hall of Fame. An integral part of the 1969 World Champions, Agee combined power and speed with great defense. All three tools were on display in that fateful season. Installed in the lead off spot, Agee paced the team with 26 home runs and made two tremendous catches in Game Three of the World Series. In 1970, he became the first Met to win a Gold Glove and the first to steal 30+ bases. Knee injuries began to slow him in 1971 and ultimately forced him to call it career at age 30. In retirement, Agee remained an active member of the Mets goodwill brigade and the Queens community, going so far as to open a restaurant, Outfielder's Lounge, about a block away from Shea Stadium. Sadly, Agee died of a heart attack in January 2001 at the too young age of 58.

Birthdays

• Terry Blocker is 53. The Mets' first round pick in the 1981June Amateur Draft, Blocker was selected fourth overall, in front of future Shea fixtures Kevin McReynolds (sixth), Daryl Boston (seventh), and Ron Darling (ninth). Blocker broke camp with the big club in 1985, but hurt his knee in an outfield collision with Danny Heep (gifting Terry Pendleton an inside-the-park grand slam in the process), and never played for the Mets again.
• Pat Misch (2009-2011) is 31. A lefty with pun-friendly name, "swing and Misch" seems to have been the favorite among beat writers during Pat's tenure with the Mets. It's too bad he didn't throw harder, because "Heat-seeking Misch-ile" would have made for a great animated scoreboard graphic.

Transactions
The Mets signed Brett Butler away from the Dodgers on April 11, 1995. Seventeen weeks later, on August 18, they traded him back Los Angeles for minor leaguers Dwight Maness and Scott Hunter. Normally, the Dodgers have a 90-day return policy on all players, but they were willing to make an exception for a center fielder will good OBP skills.

Game of Note
Ron Hunt led off the Mets' half of the first on August 18, 1966 by hitting a grounder to Pirates' third baseman Jose Pagan, who muffed it for an error. In the fourth, pitcher Rob Gardner tapped one Pagan's way and he booted that one, too. One batter later, Eddie Bressoud did the same and again the bumbling Bucco couldn't pick it cleanly. Cleon Jones followed by rapping with yet another worm burner in Pagan's general direction. If you've noticed the trend, then it'll come as no surprise to hear that Pagan failed to field that one, too. All told, Pagan committed three errors in the inning to set an ignominious major league record, and his four miscues total tied the 20th century mark for most in a game. The Mets plated six unearned runs as a result of the Swiss cheese D and handily defeated the Pirates 9-5.

Amazin'-ly Tenuous Connection
Jimi Hendrix closed out three days of peace and music at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair with a 16-song set on this date in 1969. Among the hits played by Hendrix was Voodoo Child (Slight Return), a song Mike Piazza would later appropriate as his at-bat music.