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UnforMETable, Episode 12: Rick Ownbey

Considered the first wave of 80’s Mets pitching phenoms, Rick Ownbey instead became part of one of the great trades in team history

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Welcome to UnforMETable, a new show from Amazin’ Avenue that looks back on less heralded, more obscure, but quintessential Mets players from the past

This week, Rob Wolff travels back to 1983, when the Mets had a group of young starting pitching on the cusp of the major leagues. Rick Ownbey was considered the most major league-ready of these as he excelled in a AAA rotation with Ron Darling and Walt Terrell, while further down in the minors a recent first round pick named Dwight Gooden was just starting his journey.

Ownbey would make his debut before any of them, and while his major league career was less extensive or notable, he would soon be a piece in a trade that would bring in a Mets icon that would be the centerpiece of that 1980s squad—Keith Hernandez.

As always, you can listen or subscribe to this and all of our wonderful Amazin’ Avenue Audio podcasts through Apple Podcasts, where we encourage you to leave a review if you enjoy the show. It really helps! And you can find us on the Stitcher app, or listen through the embedded player below.

If you’ve got an idea for a player to be featured on UnforMETable, let us know in the comments.

Make sure to follow Rob on Twitter (@WolffRR), and you can now follow the show, too (@unformetable). Tune in next week for another tale from the Mets’ past.