Wayne Garrett

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Ronald Wayne Garrett (born December 3, 1947 in Brooksville, Florida), was the New York Mets starting third baseman from 1972 through 1975. Garrett also saw occasional as a second baseman and as a shortstop.

Garrett was a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets who upset the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series and was the starting third baseman for the 1973 National League Champion team that lost the World Series to the Oakland Athletics in seven games. Garrett hit two home runs in the Series, including a leadoff home run in Game Three. However, he also tied Eddie Mathews' 1958 World Series record by striking out 11 times. He also made the final out of the Series, popping out to shortstop Bert Campaneris in the ninth inning of Game Seven with the tying run on base.

His major league career spanned from 1969 to 1978. The other Major League Baseball teams that he played for in addition to the Mets were the Montreal Expos and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Baseball ran in the Garrett family; Wayne Garrett's brother, Adrian, played for the Chicago Cubs, the Oakland Athletics, the California Angels and the Atlanta Braves, mostly as a catcher, first baseman and outfielder. Wayne's other brother, Charlie, also played baseball in the Braves farm system.

[edit] Trivia

Garrett's leadoff home run in Game Three of the 1973 World Series is one of three in New York Mets Fall Classic history. Tommie Agee hit one in the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles; Lenny Dykstra achieved his feat in the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Coincidentally, their leadoff home runs, like Garrett's, also occurred in a Game Three.