Former Mets Hitting Coach: Dave Engle (2001-2002)
Ralph David Engle was born on November 30th, 1956 in San Diego California. The six foot three, right hand hitting Engle began his career as an outfielder but was converted over to a catcher. He attended the University of Southern California & won championships on the baseball & football teams in his junior year. In 1978 he was selected as a third round pick of the California Angels. In 1979 Engle was sent to the Minnesota Twins along with Ken Landreaux in exchange for Hall of Famer; Rod Carew. With the Twins he was a team mate of his brother in law; Tom Brunansky. By 1981 he was an outfielder for the Twins hitting .258 with 5 Hrs 14 doubles & 32 RBIs. He came in fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. In 1982 he was the first player to hit a HR in the new Metro Dome Stadium. Two years later in 1983, Engle was fully transformed into a catcher, he played in a career high 120 games, hitting a career best .305 with 8 HRs 22 doubles & 43 RBIs. In 1984 he made