OTD 1998: Mets Sign Robin Ventura

On December 1st, 1998, the Mets signed third baseman Robin Ventura to a four year, $32 million contract. Ventura would go on to etch a mark in Mets’ history, particularly with one incredible at-bat in the 1999 postseason.

Ventura had played 10 seasons for the White Sox when the Mets signed him, posting a collective slash line of .274/.365/.440 with 171 home runs and a 117 OPS+. While Ventura was a good offensive player, he was an outstanding defender. He won five Gold Gloves with the South Siders, and added one more in 1999 with the Mets.

Ventura combined with Rey Ordonez, Edgardo Alfonzo, and John Olerud to create one of the best, if not the best, defensive infields in the history of baseball. That infield made just 33 errors combined in the 1999 season.

Looking at the Total Zone defensive metric, the 1999 Mets’ infield had a combined number of 81, second to only the 1975 Baltimore Orioles’ 83 mark.

Note that the collective TZ metric does include all players who played the infield, including backups. If you were to look at the individual TZ numbers for the 1999 Mets’ infield starters versus those of the starters for the 1975 Orioles, the Mets’ starting infielders combined for an 81 TZ, while the Orioles’ starters combined for 72 in the metric.

As a Met, Ventura hit .260/.360/.468 with 77 home runs and an OPS+ of 113 over three seasons. He was traded to the Yankees for David Justice after the 2001 season.

Ventura had a knack for hitting with the bases loaded, slugging 18 grand slams in his career. In his sentinel moment as a Met, he hit a grand slam that really wasn’t a grand slam.

On a rainy night at Shea Stadium in Game Five of the 1999 NLCS, Ventura stepped to the plate with the score tied, one out, and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th inning.

With the Mets teetering on post season elimination, Ventura did his specialty.

His heroics will forever be known as the “grand slam single”. However, Ventura’s “single” goes down for many as a top-10 memory in Mets’ history.

Ventura played for the Yankees and Dodgers after leaving the Mets. He retired after the 2004 season.

He managed the White Sox from 2012-2016, compiling a 375-435 record.  Ventura is currently coaching baseball for Oklahoma State as an assistant coach.