Early Seventies Mets Prospect: Randy Bobb (1970)

Mark Randall Bobb was born New Year's Day 1948 at Verdugo Hills, California, right outside Los Angeles.

He was first drafted out of high school but chose to attend Arizona State University where he played for the Sun Devils baseball team in 1967 along with future 1969 Met Gary Gentry & pitcher Larry Gura.

Out of Arizona State Bobb was chosen as a first round pick (second pick overall) by the Chicago Cubs the next year. He went right through the ranks of the minors that year & was brought up in September. The catcher got action behind Cubs main backstop Randy Hundley in seven games in 1968 getting his only career hit in his second career game, coming against the Atlanta Braves. He spent 1969 in the minors, getting called up in again September after the Amazing Mets had taken over first place from the Cubs.

At the end of Spring Training 1970, Bobb was traded to the New York Mets for 1969 World Series Game #4 hero; J.C. Martin. The Cubs Manager at the team, the legendary Leo Durocher, said Bobb took the news badly when he told him about the trade. Meanwhile the Mets used Duffy Dyer as their second string catcher behind main backstop Jerry Grote in 1970. Between the two of them they caught single every game of the season.

Bobb spent the rest of the year at AAA Tidewater batting .228 in 17 games. He began 1971 at AA Memphis (42 games) then was back at Tidewater (42 games) where he hit .268 with 8 HRs. He went back to the Cubs organization, as well as the White Sox minors in 1973, but never made the major leagues again.

Retirement: After baseball he went into the carpentry business for the next decade. Sadly in 1982, at the age of just 34, he passed away after suffering a ruptured aorta as a result of being involved in a car accident.