Todd Pratt: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Back Up Catcher (1997 - 2001)

Todd Alan Pratt was born on February 9, 1967, in Bellevue, Nebraska. The six foot three 195-pound catcher attended high school in Chula Vista, California getting drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 1985 draft. 

He played seven seasons in the minor leagues, never hitting well until he was traded to the Phillies organization. In 1992 he batted .327 overall in their minor leagues at the AA & AAA levels. 

In 1992 he got a late July call up & would hit his first MLB HR in his third career game. He would also have a four RBI game on August 29th.

Pratt would play three seasons in Philadelphia, mostly in a backup catcher role to Darren Daulton. He was a member of the 1993 NL Champion Phillies batting .287 with 5 HRs & 13 RBIs in 33 games played. 

1993 Post Season: Todd got one post season at bat in the NLCS win over the Braves. The Phillies lost the World Serie to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.

In the 1994 strike shortened season, he hit just .196 in 28 games then signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs. He played one season there, in just 25 games. Pratt signed with the Seattle Mariners but was released at the end of Spring Training. 

Out of Baseball: Pratt had no takers & found himself out of baseball. In 1996 he worked at Bucky Dent's Baseball Academy in Delray Beach Florida. 

Mets Career: In 1997 Pratt caught a big break when he was signed by the New York Mets. 

He was sent right up to AAA Norfolk where he became the team's regular catcher, there he batted .300 with 9 HRs in 59 games getting called up to the Mets that summer. 

HR In Mets Debut: On July 4th, Pratt debuted as a Met at Shea Stadium in a 6-2 win over the Florida Marlins. In the 2nd inning, in his first Mets at bat, he hit a two run HR off future Al Leiter. He & Leiter would be battery mates the next season. Pratt got three hits that day, driving in another run while helping Rick Reed to a 6-2 victory. 

Four games later he hit his second HR, as Todd would drive in runs in five of his first six games with the Mets earning a spot as a backup catcher to Todd Hundley. On July 17th he collected a pair of RBI singles vs. the Cubs where Butch Huskey's walk off hit won it 4-3. 

On August 7th, he had a two hit three RBI Day in a 12-4 win over the Colorado Rockies at Shea Stadium. Later that month he added another multi-RBI game in a 13-6 win in Baltimore. 

In 39 games played (106 at bats) Pratt put up a solid .283 average with 2 HRs 6 doubles 19 RBIs a .372 on base % & .768 OPS for the ’97 Mets. In 36 games behind the plate, he threw out 48% of runners trying to steal. The Mets finished 88-74 in Bobby Valentine's first full year as manager, their best finish in seven seasons.

1998: This season, Pratt had a lot of competition at the catcher position with guys like Alberto Castillo, Jorge Fabregas & Tim Spehr. They would all see time behind the plate at some time or another as the team's main backstop, Todd Hundley was out with injury most of the year.

Six RBIs in Two Games: On May 5th, in his first game back with the Mets Pratt hit a three run HR off Arizona's Scott Brow helping New York to a 9-1 win over the Diamondbacks. 

The next day he drove in three more runs with an 8th inning bases loaded triple in another Mets 8-2 victory over Arizona at Shea Stadium. For Pratt it was six RBIs in his first two games of the 1998 season.

Mets Get Mike Piazza: On May 23rd, the Mets acquired the future Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza. At that time, Pratt was on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. The Mets began with Alberto Castillo as the backup catcher. 

Pratt didn't know where his future stood with the Mets, he would make three trips to AAA Norfolk over the course of the season. But he hit well at Norfolk & Castillo never hit at the big-league level. Eventually Pratt settled into the backup role behind Piazza & would remain in that role into the 2001 season.

Pratt rejoined the Mets in late June. On June 22nd, in his first game back he hit a pair of doubles in a win at Baltimore.

On July 2nd he hit a three-run, 5th inning HR off the Blue Jays Pat Hentgen in an 8-1-win in Toronto. That July, in 17 games he batted .345 (10-29) with four doubles, a HR & eight RBIs.

On August 4th at Shea Stadium, with the Mets down 4-0 to the Giants, Pratt started a 6th inning rally with a two-run single off Rich Rodriguez. He then scored the tying run that inning in the eventual 7-6 Mets victory. At that point he was batting .327. 

On August 10th, he was optioned back to AAA Norfolk & returned on August 28th. He played one game at catcher collecting a hit in two at bats & was 2-12 as a pinch hitter that September. The Mets won 88 games again & missed a wild card spot losing their last game of the season, but things looked bright for the future. 

Overall Pratt only caught 16 games that season, throwing out 44% of the base runners attempting to steal on him & made just two errors. Todd was used at first base for three games & in a pinch hitter role, overall appearing in 41 games. 

At the plate he hit .275 with 2 HRs 9 doubles & 18 RBIs with an 818 OPS in 69 at bats. Pratt was far better than any of the other Mets back up catchers. 

1999 Mets Wild Card Season: Pratt saw action right away in the first month of the season, playing in 17 games as Mike Piazza was on the DL. 

From April 9th thru April 17th, he had a career best eight game hitting streak. From April 10th thru April 23rd, he drove in 11 runs in 12 games batting .333 in that time with 15 hits, three HRs & 11 RBIs. Overall, he batted .333 in April.

HRs in Back-to-Back Games: On April 21st & 22nd, Todd hit HRs in back-to-back games at Cincinnati. On April 22nd, his third HR of the season came off Brett Tomko in a 41 Mets win.

In May he slumped to bat just 1.58. From June 24th to July 1st, he collected seven hits to raise his average over .300. 

Multi- Three Hit Game: On July 1st in South Florida, Pratt matched his career high with three-hits in the game. He also drew a walk, scored a run & collected three RBIs with a two run & one run single in a 12-8 win over the Marlins.

At the end of the regular season, the Mets tied for a wild card spot with the Cincinnati Reds. In a
tie breaking game played at Cincinnati, they defeated the Reds advancing to the post season for the first time in 11 years.

When Todd got a chance to play in the backup role, he contributed batting his Mets career best .293, with 3 HRs 4 doubles & 21 RBIs. He drew 15 walks posting a .369 on base % & .754 OPS. Pratt had ten multi-hit games & five multi-RBI games as well.

Defensively behind the plate, he posted a .996 fielding % throwing out 27% of would-be base stealers. 

1999 Post Season- NLDS: In the NLDS win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pratt would have his finest career moment.

In the Game #2 loss at Arizona, he came to bat as a pinch hitter popping up to end the game.

As the series moved to New York, Mike Piazza sat out due to an injury. In Game #3 Pratt got the start behind the plate in the Mets 9-2 victory at Shea going 0-2 with a pair of walks.

 Walk Off Post Season HR: In Game #4 Pratt had gone 0-4 as he came to bat in the 10th inning facing Matt Mantei. With the score tied 3-3, with one out & no one on base Pratt drilled a long fly ball to centerfield. Arizona outfielder Steve Finley jumped up reaching over the fence to retrieve the ball. 

There was a brief moment of uncertainty as everyone held their breather, until it was determined that Finley came up empty. The umpire ruled it a HR, as the Mets won the game, clinched the series & advanced to the NLCS.

 

In one of the most exciting Mets post season HRs, Todd Pratt who was filling in for the future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza ended up being the hero with a walk off post season series clinching HR.

It was his only hit in the series going 1-8 in three games.

1999 NLCS: In the NLCS loss to the Atlanta Braves, he would get just two at bats & finish off four games a s a defensive replacement.

In the Mets Game #1 loss in Atlanta, Pratt had a 9th inning pinch hit RBI single off the troubled reliever John Rocker. 

In the Game #3 loss at Shea Stadium, Todd came to bat against Rocker once again in the 9th inning, this time striking out for the first out.

Robin Ventura's Walk Off Grand Slam Single: In the classic 15 inning epic Game #5 at Shea Stadium, Pratt came in as a defensive replacement for Mike Piazza in the top of the 14th inning. In the top of the 15th, the Braves broke the 2-2 tie on Keith Lockhart's triple taking a 3-2 lead. The Mets were already down three games to none, so a Braves victory would end the series in a sweep.

In the bottom of the 15th, with one out Pratt drew a bases loaded walk from pitcher Kevin McGlinchy, bringing in the games tying run.

Next, came Robin Ventura who blasted the famous "walk off grand slam single" to centerfield. 

 

Trivia: Todd Pratt was the reason why Ventura's hit only counted a single. Instead of rounding the bases, he ran over picking up Ventura erasing the possibility of the hit being ruled a HR. The winning run had already crossed the plate & scored so no damage was done in the outcome of the game. 

In Game #6 at Turner Field, Pratt came to bat in the top of the 10th inning. The score was tied at 8-8 with two men on & one out, he faced John Rocker once again. Pratt hit a sac fly to centerfield, scoring Benny Agbayani with the go ahead run. The Mets had come back from a 5-0 deficit almost forcing a game seven.

But Armando Benitez could not hold the lead, giving up a walk & a pair of singles as Atlanta went tied it up. The Mets lost the game & the series in the bottom of the 11th inning when Kenny Rogers walked in the games winning run. 

Overall, in the Post Season, Pratt played in seven games, going 2-10 (.200) with that famous HR & four RBIs.

2000 NL Pennant Season: Pratt returned with another solid back up year at catcher to Mike Piazza. He got off to his usual hot start hitting a three run HR off the Padres Dan Serafini in his first game although they took an 8-5 loss to the Padres. 

On April 30th he hit his second HR, coming at Coors Field in the Mets 14-11 win over the Rockies. He finished off a fine April batting .367. 

He missed two weeks of action in May but when he returned, he got hot, hitting HRs in three straight games.

Grand Slam: On May 30th, in a wild game in Los Angles, Pratt came to bat with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th inning. They entered the inning down by a run but were now ahead 6-5. Pratt delivered his first career grand slam, coming off reliever Terry Adams, as the Mets went on to a 10-5 win.

At the start of June, he hit another HR giving him four HRs over his last five games. Pratt would keep his average up over .300 through the middle of the month. On September 28th he had one last big regular season day with three hits & three RBIs in an 8-2 win over Montreal.

In the Mets pennant season, Pratt saw action behind the plate during interleague play as Piazza would often DH & when Piazza spent time on the DL during the summer. 

Behind the plate he was solid, making only one error in 71 games (.997 fielding %) throwing out 40% of would-be base stealers. At the plate he hit a career high 8 HRs in 80 games, while batting .275 with six doubles & 25 RBIs. 

2000 Post Season- NLDS: In Game #3 of the NLDS, Pratt came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 11th inning fling out to center field. He stayed in the game, that ended on Benny Agbayani's Walk off HR.

He did not appear in the NLCS win over the Cardinals. 

2000 World Series: In the subway World Series Pratt got the start behind the plate for Game #1, as Mike Piazza took the DH role. 

 

Tying World Series Hit by Pitch Record: In the top of the 3rd inning, Pratt was hit by a pitch from Andy Petit to start the inning. Later in the top of the 9th, he was hit again, this time by Mariano Rivera. The two hit by pitched tied a World Series record done three times before.

In the top of the 7th inning walk, he also drew a walk off Pettit to load the bases for Bibba Trammel who tied the game with a two-run single. Pratt tied the game scoring on Edgardo Alfonzo weak ground ball to third base.

 

As history would have it, Armando Benitz blew the lead in the 9th once again sending the game to extra innings. The Mets went on to lose it in the bottom of the 12th.

In Game #2 in the Bronx, Piazza was back behind the plate & Lenny Harris got the DH spot. Pratt would not play again in the series.

In the 2000 post season he went 0-3 with a walk & a run scored, appearing in just two games. 

After the Pennant: In 2001 he began the year with the Mets but struggled, batting just .163 through late July. Long time Mets minor leaguer Vance Wilson took over the backup catching role & Pratt's time was nearing its end. 

On July 20th, in what was his last game as a New York Met, he hit a HR against the Phillies, driving in the only Met run in a 10-1 loss. 

On July 23rd he was traded to the Phillies in exchange for catcher Gary Bennett who would play only one game as with the Mets. 

Mets Career Stats: In his five years with the Mets Pratt batted .265 with 147 hits 30 doubles 17 HRs & 87 RBIs. He struck out 151 times, walked 67 times with a .354 on base % & a .769 OPS. Behind the plate he caught 206 Mets games (18th on the all-time list) while playing in 276 games.

Post Mets Career: In 35 games with the Phillies, he hit .204 & ended the season batting a career low .185,

Pratt would spend parts of the next five seasons in Philadelphia, primarily as Mike Lieberthal's backup catcher. The Phillies would have two second place & two third place finishes in Pratt's time there.

In 2002 Pratt hit a career high .311 with 11 doubles 3 HRs & 16 RBIs while playing in 39 games, 34 behind the plate. On July 1st he stole two bases off Mike Piazza in a win over the Mets. It matched a career high, as he had stolen two bases in a game in 1999 with the Mets. 

In 2003 he drove in 20 runs & batted .272 playing in 43 games, 35 at catcher & six at first base. 15 of his 34 hits were extra base hits. On June 21st, he hit a walk off HR in a win over the Red Sox. For the second straight season he also had HRs in back-to-back games. 

In 2004 he was ejected twice, the first time for fighting & the second for arguing balls & strikes. In 267 chances behind the plate, he did not commit an error & had made just one error in the past three seasons.

 2005 he hit 7 HRs with 23 RBIs batting .251. For 2006 he signed with the Atlanta Braves in what would be his last year as a player. In 62 games he batted .207 playing behind Brian McCann. 

In 2007 he was given a spring training invitation by the AL New York team but did not make the cut.

Career Stats: In his 14-year playing career Pratt played in 662 games batting 251 with 404 hits 49 HRs 84 doubles 3 triples & 224 RBIs. He drew 208 walks struck out 454 times with a .344 on base % & a 741 OPS. 

Defensively he posted a .993 fielding %, throwing out 27% of base runners in 553 games behind the plate. 

Retirement: After his retirement he was named in the Mitchell Report as a user of performance enhancing drugs. Pratt coached at the West Georgia Technical College for five years.

Coach: In 2018 he managed the Class A-Greensboro Grasshoppers, then in 2019 he was named manager of the Jupiter Hammerheads both Miami Marlin affiliates.

Family: Todd & his wife Tracy have four children & reside in Douglasville, Georgia.