Bubba Trammell: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Utility Player (2000)
Thomas Bubba Trammell was born on November 6, 1971, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was named after famed Tennessee football quarterback Bubba Wyche.
The young Bubba always wanted to be a baseball player. When he was 14 his father put a batting cage in the backyard & bought him an automatic ball feeder to pitch, as he would be in the cage eight hours a day & more.
The six foot three, right hand hitting outfielder attended the University of Tennessee. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1992 but did not sign. He was then drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1994 and did sign.
Trammell showed a lot of power in the minor leagues, hitting 27 HRs at AA Jacksonville in 1996 getting promoted to AAA Toledo where he hit six more HRs to end his year. The following year he hit 28 HRs with 75 RBIs including a big four HR game for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens.
Trammell showed a lot of power in the minor leagues, hitting 27 HRs at AA Jacksonville in 1996 getting promoted to AAA Toledo where he hit six more HRs to end his year. The following year he hit 28 HRs with 75 RBIs including a big four HR game for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens.
That November he was drafted by the newly formed Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 22nd round of the expansion draft. On March 31st, 1998, he made a pinch-hit appearance in the first game of Tampa’s history, vs his old Tiger teammates.
Mets Career: Trammell made his Mets debut at Shea Stadium on July 30th, 2000, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He got the start in left field & hit a three run HR, in his first Mets at bat. This led to him becoming an immediate Shea Stadium favorite, as the fans cheered for a curtain call. More importantly it led to a 4-2 Mets win.
On August 20th, he came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the 6th inning, facing Darren Dreifort with the Mets trailing the Dodgers 5-4. Trammel delivered with his second Mets HR, tying the game. Lenny Harris followed with a back-to-back HR, leading New York to a 9-6 win.
On September 3rd, he hit a two-run shot off the Cards, Dave Veres in St. Louis, driving in all three Mets runs although they lost the game 4-3.
2000 Post Season- NLCS: Trammell did not play in the NLDS win over the Giants.
In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning after Benny Agbayani doubled to put the Mets ahead 3-2. Trammell hit a sac fly scoring Joe McEwing who had come in to pinch run for Agbayani. The RBI was an insurance run in the Mets 4-2 victory.
After the Pennant: That December the Mets traded Trammell to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Donnie Wall who would go 0-4 in New York. The trade was another bad move by GM Steve Phillips after the Mets pennant season.
In 2001 for San Diego, Trammell went on to hit 25 HRs with 20 doubles 92 RBIs & bat .261 as a full-time player. He was voted the "Favorite San Padre" Award as well. In 2002 he hit 17 HRs with 16 doubles while driving in 56 runs, in 133 games although his average fell to .243.
Personal Issues & Dramas: Around that time, his mother & sister were both diagnosed with cancer. At around the same time, his great uncle & great grandfather were also hospitalized.
His marriage to his wife Melissa, with whom he has three children, also fell apart, as the two went through a messy divorce. She was living with a man she claimed was a platonic friend, Trammell confronted the man & threatened to kill him. She got custody of the kids & remarried.
Trammell soon began to suffer with a bout of depression that would end up help finishing off his playing career early. He also had
By mid April he was batting just .176 & was sent back down to the minors. That season at AAA Durham he hit .290 with 16 HRs in 57 games, returning to the Rays that July. He hit 12 HRs with 35 RBIs & a .286 average in 59 games.
In 1999 he played in 82 games hitting a solid .290 with 14 HRs with 19 doubles & 39 RBIs.
In 1999 he played in 82 games hitting a solid .290 with 14 HRs with 19 doubles & 39 RBIs.
At the 2000 trade deadline he was hitting .275 with 7 HRs (189 at bats) when Tampa sent him to the New York Mets. He came to New York along with relief Rick White in exchange for Jason Tyner and Paul Wilson.
On August 20th, he came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the 6th inning, facing Darren Dreifort with the Mets trailing the Dodgers 5-4. Trammel delivered with his second Mets HR, tying the game. Lenny Harris followed with a back-to-back HR, leading New York to a 9-6 win.
On September 3rd, he hit a two-run shot off the Cards, Dave Veres in St. Louis, driving in all three Mets runs although they lost the game 4-3. In 56 regular season at bats, in 36 games with the Mets he hit .232 with three HRs, two doubles and 13 RBIs posting a .345 on base %. Trammell played as a pinch hitter, and reserve outfielder one of Bobby Valentine's secret weapons off the bench, getting into his first post season.
In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals he went 0-3 striking out twice in three pinch hit at bats. Although Trammel’s time was very brief in New York, he must be remembered for having some big World Series hits in a Met uniform.
2000 World Series: In the World Series he saw action in four of the five Subway Series games.
In Game #1 Trammell came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning with the Mets down 2-0. He singled to left field off Andy Pettite scoring Benny Agbayani & Jay Payton with the tying runs. He was then left stranded on third base when Mike Piazza flew out to deep center, just missing a HR.
2000 World Series: In the World Series he saw action in four of the five Subway Series games.
In Game #1 Trammell came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning with the Mets down 2-0. He singled to left field off Andy Pettite scoring Benny Agbayani & Jay Payton with the tying runs. He was then left stranded on third base when Mike Piazza flew out to deep center, just missing a HR.
In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning after Benny Agbayani doubled to put the Mets ahead 3-2. Trammell hit a sac fly scoring Joe McEwing who had come in to pinch run for Agbayani. The RBI was an insurance run in the Mets 4-2 victory.He would drive in three runs in just five at bats. He was tied for second with teammate Jay Payton (and two AL New York players) behind Mike Piazza with the most RBIs in the Series.
After the Pennant: That December the Mets traded Trammell to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Donnie Wall who would go 0-4 in New York. The trade was another bad move by GM Steve Phillips after the Mets pennant season.In 2001 for San Diego, Trammell went on to hit 25 HRs with 20 doubles 92 RBIs & bat .261 as a full-time player. He was voted the "Favorite San Padre" Award as well. In 2002 he hit 17 HRs with 16 doubles while driving in 56 runs, in 133 games although his average fell to .243.
In March of 2003 he was traded to the AL New York team in exchange for Rondell White. Trammell played 22 games batting .279. He then suffered a meniscus injury.
Personal Issues & Dramas: Around that time, his mother & sister were both diagnosed with cancer. At around the same time, his great uncle & great grandfather were also hospitalized.
His marriage to his wife Melissa, with whom he has three children, also fell apart, as the two went through a messy divorce. She was living with a man she claimed was a platonic friend, Trammell confronted the man & threatened to kill him. She got custody of the kids & remarried.
After ten brief games at AAA in 2004, he did not return to play again for three years. After recovering from his depression, he returned for one more season in the minor leagues in 2007 in the Orioles organization. He did not make it back onto the big leagues.
Career Stats: In his seven-year career, Trammell was a lifetime .261 hitter, with 469 hits 82 HRs, 96 doubles, 7 triples & 285 RBIs with a .339 on base % in 584 games.
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