Kurt Abbott: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Man (2000)

Kurt Thomas Abbott was born on June 2, 1969 in Zanesville, Ohio.  The five foot eleven right hand hitter, played second, short stop & the out field. Abbott attended high school in St. Petersburg Florida getting drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 15th round in 1989.

He spent four years in the A’s minor league system before having his best season in 1993 batting .319 at AAA Tacoma.

MLB Career: He got a brief 20 game call up. In that time, he hit 3 HRs with 9 RBIs batting .246.

Marlins Career: Abbott was traded to the Florida Marlins where he would be the team’s main short stop in 1994, with career highs in hits (107) HRs (17) & RBIs (60). He batted .255 but struck out 94 times (4th in the league) and made 15 errors (5th in the league). 

The next year he only hit 8 HRs & struck out 110 times making 19 errors (3rd most in the league).

By 1996 Abbott was suffering from vision problems & striking out way too often. Also in Florida, there was a young Edgar Renteria was ready to take over the Marlins short stop position. Abbott soon became his back up. He played at short stop & in the outfield during the Marlins 1997 Championship team, batting a career high .274.

1997 Post Season: Abbott went 2-8 in the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. In the NLCS he batted .375 with a double against The Atlanta Braves appearing in two games.

1997 World Series:  In the Fall Classic against the Cleveland Indians, he was 0-3 as a pinch hitter. The Marlins went on to win their first championship.

 After the World Series he was traded to the Oakland A’s, spending part of 1998 there. He was soon traded to the Colorado Rockies becoming their main second baseman batting .273 the rest of the year. After the 1999 season he was signed by the New York Mets as a free agent.

Mets Career: Abbott is almost a forgotten man, but he played in 79 games for the 2000 NL Champion Mets, at short stop & second base as a utility infielder. 

 On April 5th, he debuted as a Met, doubling as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning of a 4-0 loss to the Padres. Abbott started out getting hits in his first three Mets games. He played in 16 games that month, scored five runs & was batting .308 going into May. He saw more playing time, but went 5-39 in May as his average fell down to .200 entering June.

On June 8th he had one of his biggest moments, he hit a
dramatic walk off HR in the 10th inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles. The HR came off pitcher Juan Mercedes, in an interleague game, one of the first times the O's had visited Shea Stadium since the 1969 World Series.

On June 18th, he hit a three run HR off the Brewers Jason Bere in the Mets five run 3rd inning, leading to a 7-3 win.

On August 7th, Abbott delivered an 11th inning HR in off Jason Green in Houston, breaking a 5-5 tie & giving the Mets the 6-5 win over the Astros. He would a HR on September 28th, in an 8-2 win over the Braves.

When short stop Rey Ordonez went down for the season with injury, the Mets didn’t have enough faith to give Abbott the position, although he remained in a utility role. They traded away Melvin Mora to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran Mike Bordick. 

In 79 games, 157 at bats, Abbott ended up batting .260 with 6 HRS, 7 doubles 22 runs scored a .283 on base % & 12 RBIs. At short he made six errors in 128 chances turning ten double plays, while his batting average fell to .217. 

2000 Post Season-NLDS: In the 13 inning, Game #3 of the NLDS he came in the game in the 10th inning at short, then went 0-2, in the Mets 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. 

2000 NLCS: Abbott came in the 9th inning as a defensive replacement in Game# 1 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. He got the start in Game #2 & went 0-3 in the Mets win. 

2000 World Series: He saw action in all five World Series games, beginning in Game #1 as he hit a one out double in the 9th inning, but was stranded on second base.

His hit advanced Todd Pratt to third as the Mets were still leading 3-2, but failed to score in the inning for insurance. He went 0-3 in the next three games as a pinch hitter, getting the start in the fifth game going 1-3.

On one at bat, his bat shattered & the top part rolled over to short stop Derek Jeter.

Post Mets Career: The next year, Abbott signed as a free agent with the rival Atlanta Braves, appearing just six games at the MMLB level. He played in the minor leagues through 2003.

Career Stats: In a nine-season career he played in 702 games, batting .256 with 523 hits 109 doubles 62 HRs 242 RBIs & a .305 on base %.

The versatile fielder played 349 games at short, 173 games at second base, 43 games at third & 43 games in the outfield, as well as six games in the DH spot.

Retirement: After baseball he moved to Stuart Florida & became a sheriff's deputy, retiring in 2012.

Family: Kurt & his wife Candice have four children together.