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RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

G-Fafif Oct 03 2023 02:56 PM

Almost Original Met Joe Christopher has died today at age 87. The baseball pride of the U.S. Virgin Islands hit an even .300 for the Mets in 1964, his best year of the four he spent in orange and blue.

MFS62 Oct 03 2023 03:04 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 03 2023 03:07 PM

I liked him on the Pirates and was happy when the Mets got him. RIP Later

roger_that Oct 03 2023 03:05 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Aw. A superstar in 1964. Had a year Bill James compared to a typical Roberto Clemente season. Which is slightly ironic, since JC was the rightfielder for the Pirates, subbing for Clemente, over whose head Joe Adcock hit his HR ruining Harvey Haddix's 13-inning perfect game.

MFS62 Oct 03 2023 03:09 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

=G-Fafif post_id=138756 time=1696366604 user_id=55] Almost Original Met Joe Christopher

Why almost original? He was the #10 pick in the 1961 Expansion Draft. That's original to me.

Later

Benjamin Grimm Oct 03 2023 03:14 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Link please? It's not official until it's in the UMDB, so for the moment, Joe Christopher remains the seventh oldest living Met.

G-Fafif Oct 03 2023 03:25 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

=MFS62 post_id=138761 time=1696367370 user_id=60] =G-Fafif post_id=138756 time=1696366604 user_id=55] Almost Original Met Joe Christopher

Why almost original? He was the #10 pick in the 1961 Expansion Draft. That's original to me.

Later


Wasn't on the Opening Day roster and didn't play as a Met until May — but I also understand that's a fussbudget distinction.

G-Fafif Oct 03 2023 03:29 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Link please? It's not official until it's in the UMDB, so for the moment, Joe Christopher remains the seventh oldest living Met. Reported by his daughter Michelle on Facebook. He was living in Bel Air, Md.

roger_that Oct 03 2023 07:46 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Wasn't on the Opening Day roster and didn't play as a Met until May The UMDB doesn't list such roster additions and subtractions on their "transactions" page. Where did you find this bit of info? It would be interesting to see call-ups, DL appearances. etc.

stevejrogers Oct 03 2023 08:46 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Wasn't on the Opening Day roster and didn't play as a Met until May The UMDB doesn't list such roster additions and subtractions on their "transactions" page. Where did you find this bit of info? It would be interesting to see call-ups, DL appearances. etc. Either Greg has access to the 1963 Media Guide, it's in Dennis Dagastino's (RIP) book, or a similar but smaller booklet type publication that came out in the late 1980s that chronicled Met comings and goings.

G-Fafif Oct 03 2023 09:32 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

The Original Mets roster is included in the heavily researched A Year in Mudville by Dave Bagdade, who notes Christopher was one of the final cuts of Spring Training. Joe began the year in Syracuse.

roger_that Oct 04 2023 05:59 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

=G-Fafif post_id=138793 time=1696390364 user_id=55] The Original Mets roster is included in the heavily researched A Year in Mudville by Dave Bagdade, who notes Christopher was one of the final cuts of Spring Training. Joe began the year in Syracuse.

Cool. Does he go into detail? The date Christopher was called up, who he replaced on the roster, what happened to the player replaced (cut, DL, sent to AAA, sent to AA, sold, etc.)?

Edgy MD Oct 04 2023 09:09 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Died with a comfortable lead on Akeel Morris for the title of "Greatest Met from the US Virgin Islands."

G-Fafif Oct 07 2023 06:35 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Something for Joe.

MFS62 Oct 07 2023 06:54 PM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Something for Joe. Thank you. Baseball was more than his stats to us. He was fun. Later

roger_that Oct 08 2023 03:23 AM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Something for Joe. Nice. Here's another extensive obit for JC: [url]joe-christopher-was-my-friend Thanks for clarifying who (Gus Bell) was dropped from the roster to make room for JC, and when: the 26-year-old was sent to Syracuse to start 1962. But by May, once Bell was identified as the player to be named later in the trade that brought Frank Thomas to the Mets from the Braves (never mind that Bell had played alongside Thomas for more than a month as a Met), Christopher was promoted to the bigs. The Mets employed 45 players in 1962. Joe was the 35th to debut, on May 21.

G-Fafif Oct 08 2023 08:19 AM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Here's the link to George Vecsey's remembrance. https://www.georgevecsey.com/home/joe-christopher-was-my-friend

roger_that Oct 08 2023 11:07 AM Re: RIP Joe Christopher, 1935-2023

Here's the link to George Vecsey's remembrance. https://www.georgevecsey.com/home/joe-christopher-was-my-friend That's what I posted. But mine doesn't open up for some reason, so thanks. Anyone got a free link to the NYTIMES obit?