The Greenville Mets was the name of an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

minor league baseball franchise representing

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, that played for the and seasons in the Class A

Western Carolinas League file:John Henry Moss.png, Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in Am ...

. It played its home games at Meadowbrook Park and produced future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

king

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

as well as another hurler,

Jerry Koosman Jerome Martin Koosman (born December 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between and . Koosm ...

, who would go on to star on the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

"Miracle Mets" team. Greenville was represented in the WCL from 1963–1972, taking its nicknames from its various parent organizations. The Mets succeeded the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

as the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

parents of the Greenville franchise after the campaign. Koosman played on the 1965 club, posting a lacklustre 5-11 won/lost record and an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 4.71. But Ryan dominated the 1966 Western Carolinas League. He won 17 games, lost only two, and struck out 272 batters in 183

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

pitched. The Greenville Mets also produced future MLB players

Duffy Dyer Donald Robert "Duffy" Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager of the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League collegiate summer baseball league. He played in Major League Baseball as a c ...

Ed Figueroa Eduardo Figueroa Padilla (born October 14, 1948) is a former professional baseball player. Listed at 6' 1" , 190 lb. , Figueroa batted and threw right handed. He was born in Ciales, Puerto Rico. Figueroa is the only pitcher from Puerto Rico to w ...

and

Dick Selma Richard Jay Selma (November 4, 1943 – August 29, 2001) was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1974. He played for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Calif ...

, among others. The Mets moved to the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

in 1967 and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

became parents of the Greenville WCL club. {, border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #F9F9F9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;" , - style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Attendance !! Manager , - align=center ,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, , 44-80 , , Eighth , , 30,250 , , Ken Deal , - align=center ,

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, , 86-40 , , Second , , 59,078 , ,

Pete Pavlick Peter Pavlick, Jr. (January 16, 1926 in Bayonne, New Jersey, USA – September 5, 1990) was a minor league baseball manager who is notable for leading the Georgia State League's Sandersville Giants to a co-league championship in 1955. He also pla ...

References

* Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 3d edition. Durham, N.C.:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

, 2007.

External links

Western Carolinas League (A) Encyclopedia and History

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

] Defunct Western Carolinas League teams Sports in Greenville, South Carolina Sports clubs established in 1965 Sports clubs disestablished in 1966