NEW YORK (AP) — Former teammates Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine, who have maintained their close friendship across decades and represented different chapters in New York Mets history, were honored with induction into the franchise’s Hall of Fame during ceremonies held prior to Saturday’s matchup with the Miami Marlins.
The longtime friends demonstrated their enduring bond by completing each other’s thoughts during the ceremony.
“When we were rooming together, we couldn’t imagine us sitting in the room at nighttime and saying …” Mazzilli said before Valentine interrupted him.
“Because we never sat in the room at nighttime,” Valentine said with a laugh.
“Fifty years from now, we’re going to be in the Mets Hall of Fame?” Mazzilli finished. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
A Brooklyn-born player chosen by the Mets during the first round of the 1973 draft, Mazzilli served as a reserve outfielder for the 1986 World Series championship team — almost ten years after becoming one of the organization’s primary draws during the difficult period following the departure of pitcher Tom Seaver.
During his tenure with New York from 1977 through 1980, the switch-hitting player compiled a .277 batting average along with 53 home runs, 262 RBIs and 117 stolen bases while the team averaged 97 defeats each season.
Mazzilli achieved a franchise milestone by becoming the first Mets player to connect for a home run during an All-Star Game, delivering the equalizing blast in the eighth inning of the 1979 Midsummer Classic — before also drawing the decisive bases-loaded walk one inning later that helped secure the National League’s 7-6 triumph.
“The lean years of the ’70s — I look back at it, but for me, they were special,” said the 71-year-old Mazzilli. “This was where I was born and raised. Play in your backyard, it meant a lot.”
Valentine, now 76, joined the Mets’ unsuccessful rebuilding effort on June 15, 1977, when the versatile player was obtained from the San Diego Padres in exchange for power hitter Dave Kingman, the same day Seaver was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.
While working to overcome the broken leg injury he sustained in 1973, Valentine posted a .222 batting average across 111 games as a Mets player before leaving a much more significant mark as the team’s dynamic manager from August 1996 through 2002.
The Connecticut native from nearby Stamford guided the Mets to their first consecutive playoff berths in 1999 and 2000, culminating with a World Series appearance in 2000, where they were defeated by the crosstown Yankees in five games.
“To do a couple of playoffs and light this city on fire — how lucky was I?” Valentine said.
Valentine’s management style was most clearly demonstrated during difficult periods both on the diamond and away from it.
His most memorable baseball incident occurred on June 9, 1999, when he sneaked back to the dugout wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mustache crafted from eye black after receiving an ejection during the 12th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Mets prevailed 5-4 in 14 innings — marking the fourth victory in a season-rescuing 40-15 run that commenced right after general manager Steve Phillips dismissed three of Valentine’s coaches.
“I ought to be remembered as the guy who shared — the guy who tried to understand his players and give everything I have to them,” Valentine said. “And then I wanted to have the people who were paying (for) tickets to come to the show kind of appreciate the product, you know?”
Valentine also took a leading role in the Mets’ community efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when he worked continuously as Shea Stadium became a coordination center for relief operations.
“To be unified in an effort to bring the city back and by God we did it,” Valentine said. “How lucky am I to be a part of all that?”
The Mets additionally recognized late team photographer Marc Levine, who passed away in July 2024, with the organization’s Hall of Fame achievement award. John Ricco, a veteran front office staff member, presented a mosaic composed of photographs captured by Levine to his widow, Stephanie, and daughter, Samantha.
