Tommie Agee

Infobox MLB retired
name=Tommie Agee
position=Outfielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date|1942|8|9
Magnolia, Alabama
deathdate=death date and age|2001|1|22|1942|8|9
New York, New York
debutdate=September 14
debutyear=by|1962
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=September 30
finalyear=by|1973
finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.255
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=130
stat3label=Stolen bases
stat3value=167
teams=
* Cleveland Indians (by|1962-by|1964)
* Chicago White Sox (by|1965-by|1967)
* New York Mets (by|1968-by|1972)
* Houston Astros (by|1973)
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1973)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1966, 1967)
* World Series champion (1969)
* 2x Gold Glove Award winner (1966, 1970)
* 1966 AL Rookie of the Year
* 1969 NL Comeback Player of the Year

Tommie Lee Agee (August 9,1942 in Magnolia, Alabama - January 22,2001 in New York City) was a center fielder most noted for making what were arguably two of the greatest catches in World Series history, both of which occurred in the same game. Agee was the by|1966 Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star, and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, and he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in by|2002. His major league career was split between five teams: Cleveland Indians (1962-64), Chicago White Sox (1965-67), New York Mets (1968-72), Houston Astros (1973) and St. Louis Cardinals (1973).

Tommie Agee was a star at Grambling State University and was signed by the Indians for a $60,000 bonus. He made only a few token appearances for the team over the next few years before being traded to the White Sox before the by|1966 season. That year, a solid season in which he had 98 runs, 84 runs batted in, and 44 stolen bases, earned him the Rookie of the Year award, a Gold Glove, and a trip to the 1966 All-Star game.

His follow-up performance the next year was not nearly as impressive, despite another all-star selection: on a team loaded with pitching and short on offense (no regular batted over .250), he batted .234 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. The team's lack of offense possibly cost the White Sox the American League pennant; they had battled with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox (the eventual AL champions) until the final week of the season. At the end of the season, Agee and Al Weis were traded to the New York Mets in a six-player deal, with four players (among them Tommy Davis and Jack Fisher) going to the White Sox. The trade re-united Agee with childhood friend Cleon Jones.

Agee's first season in New York (by|1968) was also a disaster: he was beaned by Bob Gibson on the very first pitch he saw in spring training and went 0-34 at the beginning of the season on his way to a .217 batting average and only 17 RBIs.

The by|1969 Mets were known as the "Miracle Mets" for their turnaround in the National League, and Agee's personal turnaround played a big part. On April 10, 1969 in a game against the "new" team, the Montreal Expos, he hit a tremendous home run halfway up in the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium, a feat that has not been matched before or since. Jones says the ball was still rising when it came into contact with the stands. To commemorate the homer, there is a painted sign in that part of the stadium with Agee's name, uniform number, and the date. That season, he hit 26 homers. scored 97 runs, and played brilliant defense.

In the 1969 World Series, he was instrumental in the Mets' victory in [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_69ws_gm3_balnym Game 3] , which Sports Illustrated said was perhaps the greatest single performance by a center fielder in Series history. In the first inning of Game 3, Agee hit a leadoff home run off Jim Palmer for what would eventually be the game winning hit and RBI, as the Mets shut out the Orioles, 5-0. (Interestingly, two other Mets would also hit Game 3 lead-off home runs in subsequent World Series: Wayne Garrett—a teammate of Agee on the 1969 Mets—in the 1973 World Series and Lenny Dykstra in the 1986 World Series.) In the same game, Agee also made two incredible catches that potentially saved five runs. The first was a two-on, two out liner to left center by Elrod Hendricks, for which Agee had to sprint across the outfield and snare the drive in the webbing of his glove, a millisecond before he hit the wall. The second catch was on a fly ball hit by Paul Blair with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, for which Agee had to sprint toward the right center field warning track. As Agee zeroed in on the ball, the wind blew it down and away from him, forcing him to lunge into a headfirst dive to snare the sinking liner, after which he rolled in the warning track but held onto the ball. At that moment, Blair was rounding second. Had Agee missed the ball, the Orioles might have had an inside the park grand-slam home run. On an historical note, Blair's drive came off Nolan Ryan, who had just entered the game to relieve Mets' starting pitcher Gary Gentry. This would be the only time Ryan would appear in a Fall Classic game in his 27-year career.

This game was the turning point in the 1969 World Series, and to many, the high point of Agee's career. He remained productive over the next two years and stitched together a 20-game hitting streak in by|1970, hitting .286 and in 1971 hit .285. He was traded to the Houston Astros after the 1972 season, a year in which his performance fell off sharply.

After retirement, he operated the Outfielder's Lounge near Shea Stadium. Agee was also known as the most active former Met, taking part in many charitable events and children's baseball clinics around the New York area. In 2001, Tommie Agee died of a heart attack at age 58.

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Hitting for the cycle

External links

* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Agee.Tommy.Obit.html The Deadball Era (obituary)]
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Cards/AgeeTommie_card.html The Deadball Era (image)]
* [http://www.armchairgm.com/index.php?title=Tommie_Agee Player Profile on ArmchairGM]
* [http://www.ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0160 Ultimate Mets Database]