Timo Perez: 2000 NL Champion Mets Outfielder: (2000 - 2003)

Timoniel M. Pérez was born April 8, 1975, in the Dominican Republic. The five-foot nine left-handed outfielder began his pro baseball career in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp, from 1996 through 1999.

Timo was never a power hitter even with the short fences in Japan, he never hit more than five HRs. In 1998 he hit his best .296 for Hiroshima playing in 98 games.

MLB Career: Timo was brought into the New York Mets organization in 2000, thanks to Bobby Valentine who had known Perez from his own Japan days. 

Timo played just eight games with the A ball St. Lucie Mets, batting .355 before getting pushed up to AAA Norfolk. At Norfolk he hit .357 with six HRs 17 doubles seven stolen bases & 37 RBIs playing in 72 games. That September he got the call up to the Mets big league team.

Mets Career: He debuted on September 1st, getting a hit in his first MLB at bat as a pinch hitter in 6-5 loss in St. Louis. He attempted to steal second base but was thrown out.

Inside the Park HR: On September 24th, in the top of the 3rd inning he hit what would be his first career HR. It was an inside the park HR off the Phillies Bruce Chen coming in a Mets 3-2 victory in Philadelphia.

From September 23rd to September 29th in a five-game span, he scored nine runs, with a run scored in each game. In his last six games he collected eight hits as well helping the Mets catch the wild card title.

Timo hit .286 (14-49) in 24 games that September with four doubles, a triple, three RBIs & 11 runs scored. 

2000 Post Season- NLDS: When Derek Bell went down with an ankle injury in Game #1 of the NLDS, Perez came into the game in the 7th inning. He now found himself in the top of the Mets line up playing the outfield the rest of the 2000 post season.

In Game #2 Perez had three hits, in the Mets 5-4 victory. In the 2nd inning he singled with the bases loaded off Sean Estes, scoring Jay Payton & Mike Bordick putting the Mets up 2-0.

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium (which centerfieldmaz was in attendance) with the Mets down 2-0, in the 6th.
inning Timo's base hit off Russ Ortiz scored Mike Bordick putting the Mets on the board with their first run. 

They would later win the game, on Benny Agbayani’s 13th inning walk off game winning HR.

Timo became an instant hero at Shea Stadium and a fan favorite. He was another example of Bobby Valentine catching lightning in a bottle and playing the right hand at the right time. 

In the final Game #4 clincher game he doubled in the 5th inning off Mark Gardner, then scored the first run of the game on Edgardo Alfonzo's double. The Mets won the game 4-0 & advanced to the NLCS.

In the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants, Perez hit .294 (5- 17) scoring two runs and driving in three runs. 

2000 Post Season- NLCS: In the 2000 NLCS win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Perez started out Game #1 with a led off double and scored the first run of the series on a Mike Piazza's double in the Mets 6-2 win at Busch Stadium.

In Game #2 with the score tied 3-3 in the 8th inning, Perez singled off Matt Morris with two outs. Edgardo Alfonzo then blooped a single to short left center & Perez scored all the way from first with the go ahead run. 

The Mets went ahead 5-3 but the Cards tied it up before the Mets scored again on Jay Payton's RBI single in the 9th inning, getting the win to lead the series 2-0 going back to New York.

In the Game # loss, he collected another hit & scored another run.

In Game #4 at Shea Stadium, he led off the Mets 1st inning with a ground rule double off Darryl Kile & scored on Edgardo Alfonzo's double. In the 2nd inning he collected another hit, a single then scored the Mets fifth run on Todd Zeile's two run double.

In the 4th, he led off with a walk & scored on Mike Piazza's HR. Timo had two hits in the game, with a walk & three runs scored in the Mets 10-6 win.

In the Game #5 series clincher, Shea Stadium was literally rocking (centerfieldmaz was in attendance) as 55,695 fans went wild as the Mets advanced to the World Series. 

In the 1st inning, Timo led off with another base hit, then stole second & scored on Edgardo Alfonzo's base hit. In the 4th he singled again, both hits off Pat Hentgen, advanced on Mike Piazza's double then scored on Todd Zeile's double. 

The Mets went on to a 7-0 win behind Mike Hampton's shut out. Perez caught the last out of the game in centerfield.

Overall, in the NLCS, Timo batted .304 with seven hits (7-23) with two doubles, two stolen bases and eight runs scored, as the Mets advanced to the World Series.

2000 World Series: In the 2000 Subway World Series, Timo was exposed that he had trouble hitting curveballs. He struck out four times and only hit a dismal .125. His downfall started on a horrible base running mistake in Game # 1 that cost the Mets the game.

In the 6th inning, Perez led off with a double off Andy Pettitte in a scoreless game. While on first base, Todd Zeile hit a long fly ball that Perez & everyone else thought to be a HR. He slowed down to watch the ball in flight, but the ball hit off the outfield wall and ended up staying in the park. 

Perez’s was then thrown out at home plate trying to score. The run possibly would have avoided the game going into extra innings. Had the Mets won the first game, it could have changed the tone & outcome of the Series.

Perez would collect just one more hit in the next four games, as he singled in Game #4 then scored on Mike Piazza's HR.

In the post 2000 season, Perez batted .241 with 14 hits & 2 walks in 56 at bats with three doubles three RBIs & 11 runs scored.

After the Pennant: In 2001 he began the season with the Mets. On April 6th he hit his first HR which came in a Mets 10-6 loss. In April he started out well batting .290. In May he drove in seven runs but had his average fall of to .250. 

On June 20th he hit his second HR of the year, then walked with the bases loaded in the 2nd inning in a Mets 4-3 win over the Expos. That month he drove in eight runs, scored 11 runs & hit six doubles.

In July he struggled, batting just .172 as the defending NL Champs found themselves eleven games under .500 at twelve games back in mid-July.

Timo was sent to AAA Norfolk. There he hit well, batting .359 in 48 games. He returned to the Mets in September & hit a HR in his third game back. After the September 11th attacks when play resumed, Perez hit a HR in the first series back at Shea Stadium against the Braves. It came the night after Mike Piazza's classic 8th inning HR on September 21st.

Perez finished the year batting .247 with 59 hits 9 doubles one triple 5 HRs 22 RBIs & 26 runs scored with a poor .287 on base in 85 games.

2002: He returned the next season & got off to a good start in April as he batted .351 seeing action in 13 games as the team's main centerfielder.

In May he hit safely in ten of twelve games, collecting four doubles in the month. In the first ten games of June, Perez hit three HRs drove in 11 runs had 15 hits & raised his average to .343. On June 11th he had a four hit games with an RBI double & RBI single in a 10-8 Mets loss to the White Sox.

He would have three games in July where he drove in three runs, two of them coming against the Florida Marlins. He continued to hit well thru the season keeping his batting average up over .300 until late August. 

In September he slumped off but an eight-game hit streak helped him keep his average near .300. 

Perez had his best season for the 5th place Mets, batting .295 second to Edgardo Alfonzo, with 131 hits leading the club with 27 doubles & six triples. He had 47 RBIs with 52 runs scored &stole ten bases. Timo posted a .331 on base % with a .768 OPS playing in 122 games.

In the outfield he had nine assists posting a .979 fielding %, making six errors turning three double plays.

2003: After a slow start in April, he batted .310 in May. Timo didn't hit his first HR until June 13th in a 7-3 win in Anaheim. On July 6th in a 7-5 win over the Reds, he had a three-hit day, hitting a three run HR in the top of the 8th inning off Cincinnati's Todd Van Poppel that tied the game. The Mets went on to win it 7-5 in the ninth. 

At the end of that month, he drove in runs in four straight games, coming in a loss to the Reds then a three-game series vs. Milwaukee.

Four RBI Game: On August 16th Perez had a career high four RBI Day in a 13-4 win over the Rockies at Shea Stadium. In the Mets six run 2nd inning, he added a two run double off Jose Jimenez, giving the Mets an 8-2 lead. He added an RBI single in the 6th & had a sac fly in the 1st inning.

On September 1st he broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 7th inning, in a game against the Atlanta Braves, driving in Roger Cedeno with what would be the games winning run.

Perez batted .269 dropping off 26 points from the previous year. He was second in the league in sac flies (9). In 127 games he hit four HRs with 21 doubles 42 RBIs a .301 on base % & 32 runs scored.

After the season ended, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Matt Ginter. Ginter would pitch 15 games in his Met career going 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA.

Post Mets Career: Perez batted .246 with 5 HRs 40 RBIs, playing in 103 games for the Chicago White Sox in 2004. He was a reserve outfielder on the White Sox 2005 World Championship team, although he hit just .218 in 76 games. 

2005 Post Season: He saw action in two post season games, going 0-2. He got one at bat in the World Series win over the Houston Astros.

In 2006 he signed with the Cincinnati Reds but had his contract soon purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals. Timo played a small role on the 2006 Cardinals Championship team, batting .198 in 23 games, seeing no post season action.

In 2007 he moved on to play with the Detroit Tigers organization appearing in 29 games. He then went to the Mexican league & the Los Angeles Dodgers organization through 2010.

In January of 2011 he once again signed with the Detroit Tigers & was released in October.

Retirement: In 2012 he played with the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.

Career Stats: In his eight-year career he batted .269 with 449 hits 91 doubles 10 triples 26 HRs 126 RBIs, 23 stolen bases & 187 runs scored. He struck out 159 times walked 92 times posting a .308 on base % & .690 OPS. 

In the outfield he played 479 games making 16 errors with 37 assists & 10 double plays, posting a .983 fielding %.