Lee Mazzilli: Popular Italian / American Mets All Star (1976-1981 / 1986-1989)

Lee Louis Mazzilli was born March 25, 1955, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn New York. His grandfather was born in Bari, Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea in the southwestern Puglia region of the country. He immigrated to New York & worked in a piano factory.

Lee’s father Libero became a welterweight boxer & lived in the same three-room Brooklyn apartment until his passing in 2007.

Speed Skater: As a child Lee not only played baseball but also won three straight national speed-skating championships. 

Mazzilli attended Lincoln High School
in Coney Island, famous for such alumni as Mel Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, John Forsythe, Lou Gossett Jr., Buddy Rich, Arthur Miller, Leona Helmsley, as well as many other including the doo wop group; the Tokens of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” fame. Former Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa also attended the school.

In 1973 after graduating, Mazzilli was chosen as the reigning NL Champion Mets first round draft pick, the #14 pick overall. He began his career at A ball in 1974 batting .269 with 46 stolen bases & 11 HRs for the Anderson Mets in the Western Carolina League. 

A Ball Visalia: In 1975 he was still at A ball & stole seven bases in a seven-inning game for the Visalia Mets in the California League. On the season he stole 49 bases while batting .281 with 13 HRs & 52 RBIs. 

AA Ball: In the bicentennial year of 1976 he was promoted to AA ball, where he soon hit .292 with 13 HRs & 43 RBIs at Jackson. He was so impressive & the Mets hungry for homegrown new talent, promoted him right up to the majors at the end of the season.

Mets Debut 1976 Season: On September 7th, 1976, Lee Mazzilli debuted at Wrigley Field in Chicago, going 0-1 as a pinch hitter, in a 11-0 win against the Cubs. 

Quotes - Lee Mazzilli: “I remember walking into that tiny locker room. I was in total awe of the
players. Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Buddy (Harrelson). Joe Torre took me under his wing. He said, “You sit by me today at the end of the dugout.”

The next day, in his just second career game, he hit a three-run pinch hit HR off the Cubs Darold Knowles, in an 11-5 Mets win quickly living up to the hype surrounding him. 

Mazzilli was promoted as the hometown star prospect ball player, a Mets future outfield star. He had matinee idol looks that appealed to the young ladies. 

The front office called him the next Willie Mays. Mays a Mets coach at the time helped Mazzilli with his fielding & taught him how to make his basket catches. All in all, the hype was to be a tough bill to live up to for the young man from Brooklyn. 

Walk Off HR: On September 20th, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mazzilli collected a hit & a walk as the game went into the bottom of the 9th inning with the Mets down 4-3. With one on & two outs, Mazzilli hit a walk off HR, off the Kent Tekulve, bringing a small ecstatic crowd at Shea to its feet. 

In 24 games in September 1976, he batted .195 with 15 hits 2 doubles 2 HRs seven RBIs & a .323 on base %

  

1977 Season: In Mazzilli's rookie year, Joe Frazier started out as the first Mets manager until he was fired after going 15- 30. Then Joe Torre took over the job. Mazzilli became the Mets everyday centerfielder although he was just 21-year-old. He often batted lead off as he had good speed and a good batting eye.

On Opening Day Mazzilli got one hit & scored a run batting leadoff spot at Wrigley Field in Tom Seaver's 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Mazzilli struggled his first month, finishing April batting .226 with just three RBIs. He did score 12 runs in the first 14 games.

To start out May, he went on a ten-game hit streak but then he fell off again finding himself batting .207 in early June. 

He didn’t hit his first HR until June 2nd, a three-run shot off the Expos Dan Warthen, helping the Mets to a 7-4 victory in Montreal.

On June 7th he had three hits driving in three runs, helping Tom Seaver to one of his last wins as a New York Met, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-0. On June 13th he had another muti RBI game collecting two hits & two RBIs in a 7-1 Mets win.

On July 12th, he doubled off the Cubs Rick Reuschel, scoring Mike Vail putting the Mets up 1-0. He tied up the game with a single in the 7th inning as the Mets went on to a 4-2 win. On July 22nd, he had two RBI singles in a 5-0 Jon Matlack shut out over the Padres.

Walk Off Hit: On August 3rd, Mazzilli had a 14th inning, walk off base hit against Mike Garman to beat the NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 win. 

He was learning to adapt to big league pitching thru the summer. He ended August hitting safely in 9 out of 10 games & by September would his best month of the season. Mazzilli had 33 hits during the month, driving in 17 runs while batting .295. 

On September 3rd, he started a streak where he would drive in runs in five straight games & six of seven. He hit two HRs in the first week as well, both in Mets losses. In the middle of the month, he had a streak of driving in runs in five of seven games. 

On September 27th, he had a four-hit day game with two doubles & two RBIs in a 7-1 Mets win over the Pirates.

Overall, on the season he played in 159 games batting .250 with 6 HRs 24 doubles 3 triples 66 Runs scored 46 RBIs & 24 stolen bases. He had a .340 on base % & a .679 OPS.

In the outfield he played the most games of anyone in centerfield in the National League (156 games) leading the league in put outs with 391. Mazzilli posted the third best fielding % in center at .993% (fourth best of all outfielders) making nine assists (5th best in the N.L.).

1978 Season: In 1978 on Opening Day he had two hits, including a 6th inning double, scoring Steve Henderson with an insurance run for Jerry Koosman, in the Mets 3-1 win at Shea Stadium. 

The next day he hit a three run HR off Montreal's Rudy May, in the bottom of the 8th inning, tying the game. Ed Kranepool would win it with a pinch hit walk off two run HR in the bottom of the 9th inning. On April 30th, Mazzilli's fourth inning RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds would turn out to be the game winning run.

Mazzilli would get hot from the start of May through the first week of June. He hit safely in 26 of 31 games raising his average to .315 by June 5th. 

On May 18th he drew an intentional 9th inning walk, in a game against the Atlanta Braves. He would end up scoring the winning run-on Steve Henderson's walk off hit. 

The next night in a game against the Phillies, he singled off former Met Tug McGraw in the 8th inning, tying up the game, the Mets went on to win 4-3. In the three games series Mazzilli collected eight hits.

In that stretch he had seven extra base hits, 19 RBIs and a pair of four hit games.

On June 17th, he had a two-run single & two run double off the Giants Bob Knepper in a 5-4 Mets win in San Francisco.
 

Grand Slam: In the Fourth of July double header against the Phillies, Lee hit HRs in both ends of the twin bill. In the first game Mazzilli's 8th inning grand slam off Larry Christensen were the only runs scored in the game, as Pat Zachary pitched a two hit 4-0 shutout.

Mazzilli hit a two run HR off Jim Lonborg in the second game 3-2 loss.

He came back to HR the next game as well. On July 8th, three games later he hit another HR in a 7-0 Mets win against the Chicago Cubs.

In September he drove in runs in the first four games of the month. 

First Met to HR From Both Sides of the Plate: On September 3rd, he hit a pair of HRs in Los Angeles, coming off Tommy John & Charlie Hough while driving in three runs in a 8-5 Mets win against the eventual NL Champion Dodgers. In that game he became the first Met to ever hit HRs from both sides of the plate. 

On September 20th, he collected two hits including his 16th HR of the year, driving in two runs while drawing three walks in a 7-6 win over the Cardinals.

Mazzilli finished the year leading the team in batting (.273) & slugging (.432%). He played in 149 games, with 16 HRs (second to Willie Montanez's 17) 28 doubles, 61 RBIs, 5 triples, and 20 stolen bases (second to John Stearns).

Matinee Idol: By now he was the star & most popular player on the bad team. The girls loved him, comparing him to other Italian / American stars of the day like John Travolta & Sylvester Stallone.

He would walk into the players parking lot in the right field section of Shea Stadium & the girls would jump on the fence at him. They were seeking autographs, pictures & even kisses. Mazzilli would shyly oblige his fans when possible & then get into his Cadillac driving off.

1979 Season: On Opening Day, he began the year with two hits & two runs scored in the Mets 10-6 win at Wrigley Field. 

In his second game, he collected three hits & his first HR driving in three runs win the Mets 9-4 win at Wrigley Field. 

He started out hitting safely in eight of his first nine games, batting .462 with 18 hits & 10 RBIs by mid-April. Although he cooled off thru the month, he was still batting .310 at the end of April. 

In May he batted .379 with 39 hits & ten extra base hits. He hit safely in 23 of 27 games with 14 multi-hit games. By the end of the month, he was among the league leaders batting .352.

1979 All Star Game Hero: At the All Star break he was hitting .320 and represented the Mets in the All-Star game in Seattle at the King Dome. Mazzilli did not start the game & ended up being the unsung hero of the 50th All Star game.

In the 8th inning he tied the game up with an opposite field solo HR off Cleveland’s Jim Kern. 

Then in the 9th inning with the bases loaded, Mazzilli drew a walk off the cross-town rival AL New York team's pitcher, Ron Guidry.  The walk scored Cincinnati’s Joe Morgan in what would be the games winning run. Quite an exciting day for young Mazzilli & a much needed highlight for Mets fans in a dismal era.

After the break he continued to hit well, On July 29th, Kevin Kobel & Ed Glynn combined for a two-hit shutout of the Cubs in a rain shortened game at Shea. Mazzilli led the charge with two hits & drove in two of the Mets four runs. On July 31st, he & Willie Montanez drove in the only two runs in a Mets 2-1 win over the Pirates.

In an August 4th double header, he drove in runs in both ends of a Mets double header split. On August 10th, Maz hit a three-run 9th inning HR against the Expos David Palmer, bringing the Mets within a run of the Expos in 6-5 loss. On August 14th, he tied a Mets record scoring five runs in a game, having a big day with a HR, a triple & two walks. 

AT the end of August, he enjoyed a 19-game hitting streak lasting into mid-September, as he raised his average to .317. 

He finished the '79 season leading the team in hits with 181 (9th best in the NL). He also led the team in hitting (.303) on base percentage (.395) which was 4th best in the N.L. & tied for the team lead in RBIs (79). The Mets finished last at 63-99, one game shy of 100 losses.

He finished with 96 walks (6th best in the league)

15 HRs 34 doubles 78 runs scored 34 stolen bases a .395 on base % & .785 OPS. 

Mazzilli played the third most games in centerfield in the N.L. (143) made 12 assists (3rd in the league) posted a .990 fielding % (5th in the league) & made 368 put outs (5th in the league).

1980 Season: In 1980 he began to play more at first base. The Mets acquired Jerry Morales & then brought up Mookie Wilson at the end of the season. 

In the month of April, he hit just .240 & only drove in a single run. He improved a bit to eleven RBIs in May, with three multi RBI games.

On May 6th he had a four-hit day in a 12-10 loss in Cincinnati. 

  
On June 9th he a solo hit HR off the Pirates Andy Hassler & had a two-run single with three-hits in a Mets 9-4 win over Pittsburgh. Mazzilli was contributing to many of the Mets one run victories by driving a run at some point in many of those game. 

His had his best month in July where he started out the month hitting HRs in four straight games. Two games vs the Cubs & two games against the Expos at Shea Stadium.

On July 10th he hit a HR off the Pirates John Candelaria in a 2-0 Pat Zachry Mets shut out. Mazzilli drove in nine runs in the first eight games of the month.

On July 13th he hit two HRs off the Cards Bob Sykes in the first game of a double header at Shea Stadium leading to a 7-4 win over St. Louis. In the second game he drove in two more runs as the Mets had a rare 1980 double header sweep. 

Mazzilli hit safely in 25 of 29 games raising his average thirty points to .295 bringing his on base % near .400. He had hitting streaks of six, seven & eight games that month while hitting eleven HRs & driving in 26 runs.

In August he kept his average up at .290 with an eight-game hit streak, seven multi-hit games & four multi-RBI games. On August 8th he tied up a game with the Cardinals with an RBI single off Bob Forsch, where the Mets went on to a 3-2 win.

In the final two months of the
season he drove in 30 runs although his batting average dropped off a bit. 

Five RBI Day: On September 14th he had a three hit, five RBI Day at Wrigley Field. In the 1st inning his RBI single tied up the game at two. He next added an RBI fielder choice.

In the 7th inning, he hit a two run HR off Dick Tidrow bringing the Mets within a run. In the bottom of the 9th he singled off Bruce Sutter tying up the game at seven. Steve Henderson won it with a three-run walk off HR as the Mets went on to a 10-7 win.

On September 17th, he had a four RBI Day in Montreal including a three run HR off Scott Sanderson in a 5-2 Mets win.

On the downside of a good season, he began to struggle with back problems which would haunt him for the rest of his career.

The Mets finished fifth that year (67-95) under manager Joe Torre. At the plate, Mazzilli led the team in most offensive categories once again. He led the team in HRs (16) doubles (31) stolen bases (41) RBIs (76) hits (162) runs scored (82) slugging (.431) games (152) & at bats (578). His 82 walks were 7th best in the NL as he posted a .370 on base %.

The versatile Mazzilli now played 92 games at first base, making 13 errors (2nd most in the NL) while adjusting to the position. 

1981 Strike Season: In 1981 the Mets opened up the season at Wrigley Field, Chicago. Mazzilli began the year with a solo HR off Cubs hurler; Rick Reuschel, leading to a 2-0 Mets win. But he then fell into a slump batting below .200 until late May. 

He started to hit better, driving in eight runs over a ten-game span to start out June. Then the MLB players went on strike & baseball stopped play for two months.

Baseball resumed in August & the Mets won six of seven games, with Mazzilli driving in key runs in three of those games. 

He had a good September driving a dozen runs, having his best week September 7th -
13th where he had two three hit games & a six game hit streak. 

Overall, in 1981 he played 95 games, but Mazzilli's back problems led him to a.228 average, with six HRs 14 doubles & 36 RBIs.

Due to the strike the season was split up in two parts with the Mets finishing fifth (17-34) & fourth (24-28), an overall fifth combined 41-62. 

Traded For Ron Darling: After the 1981 season the Mets were changing under new management & made a very unpopular trade (at that time). They sent Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for a young pitching prospect named Ron Darling & pitcher Walt Terrell. 

Mazzilli was still one of the most popular Mets on a time when the team was still bad. It certainly turned out to be a good trade baseball wise, Mazzilli was never again a full time mostly due to his back problems. 

Terrell contributed to the Mets for a number of years & of course Darling became the #2
man behind Dwight Gooden, leading the Mets to the 1986 World Championship. 

Darling legacy with the Mets continues to grow in his broadcasting career with the team as well.

Post Mets Career: In Texas, Mazzilli only played 58 games, spending six weeks on the DL. He then got traded to the A.L. NY team for Bucky Dent that August. 

By 1983, he found himself in Pittsburgh, playing with the Pirates for the next three & a half years into the 1986 season. There he was a reserve outfielder, first baseman & pinch hitter.

In 1985 he led all NL pinch hitters with 72 plate appearances, batting .286 with a .437 on base %. But in 1986 he struggled & was batting .226 when the Pirates released him.

Return To the Mets & the Championship: He was signed again by the New York Mets returning home to what was now the best team in baseball. A far distance from where they were when he left New York. 

On August 8th he received a warm hero’s welcome at Shea Stadium, when he came to bat as a pinch hitter in a 5-3 loss to the Expos.  

On August 13th he hit his first HR since returning to the Mets, it came off the Phillies Steve Bedrosian in Philadelphia in a 8-4 Mets loss. Three days later he hit his first HR back in New York at Shea Stadium, this time in a loss to the Cardinals. 

On September 23rd, he drove in a season high three runs with a two run double & RBI single in a 9-1 Mets win over the Cardinals.

In 39 games with the '86 Mets, he hit .276 with 16 hits 3 doubles 2 HRs & 7 RBIs. He drew 12 walks posting a .417 on base %.

1986 Post Season- NLCS: In the NLCS against the Houston Astros he set a record with five pinch hit at bats, but only got one hit. That base hit came in Game #3 in the 5th inning, at Shea Stadium off Bob Knepper.

1986 World Series: In the 1986 World Series he appeared in four games going 2-5. He went hitless as a pinch hitter n Games #2 & #3. His best Mets World Series moments came in the final two games. 

Game Six: In Game #6 Mazzilli led off the 8th inning with a pinch hit single off Boston's Calvin Schiraldi. He eventually scored the tying run of the game at that time, on Gary Carter's sac fly. 

He was in the hole, behind Howard Johnson, when Mookie Wilsons grounder went through Bill Buckner's leg. 

In the 6th inning of Game #7 with the Mets down 3-0, he started the game tying rally with a pinch hit single off Bruce Hurst. 

Mazzilli would come around to score on Keith Hernandez big two run single, making it a 3-2 game. After being a young star on the last place Mets teams, Mazzilli basked in the glory of the Mets being World Champions, well deserved.

After the Championship: By 1987 Mazzilli had
become the league’s best pinch hitter, tying for the league lead with 17 pinch hits. 

On a June 7th double header, he got a start in the outfield & drove in three runs with a bases clearing double. In the second game he hit a three run HR & drove in two more with a base hit, giving him a career best five RBI Day. 

Overall he batted .306 in 124 at bats, 3 HRs 8 doubles & 24 RBIs.

1988 NL Eastern Champs Season: Then in 1988 he dropped to a .147 average, as his career winded down. His last regular season game with the Mets was on July 22, 1989.

1988 Post Season NLCS: He still saw action in the 1988 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting three plate appearances. In Game #4, he got a 12th inning, pinch hit base hit off Tim Leary. 

The Mets loaded the bases in the 5-4 game, but Darryl Strawberry & Kevin McReynolds both popped up to end the game. It was his last career Mets hit. In Game #7 he was hit by a pitch in the 9th inning & stole second in the 6-0 loss.

Post Mets Career: He was put on waivers and claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays, where he played just 28 games retiring at the end of the season.

Mets Career Stats & All Time Leader Board: In his ten-year Mets career Mazzilli played in 979 games (11th most in Mets history). He is 5th all time playing in 572 games in center field. 

He is sixth all time in stolen bases (152) tenth in walks (438) eleventh in Mets games played (979) thirteenth in triples (22) fifteenth in hits (796) & doubles (148). He is 21st in RBIs (353). Mazzilli hit 68 Mets HRs & batted .264 with a .359 on base % & .753 OPS.

Career Stats: In a 14-year career he hit .259 with 1068 hits 93 HRs, 191 doubles, 24 triples 642 walks 197 stolen bases & 460 RBIs. He posted a .359 on base % & .744 OPS. 

In the outfield he posted a .986 fielding % with 48 assists making 28 errors in 2009 chances.

Retirement: After his playing days, he did

some radio broadcasting to start his post playing career. 

Acting Career: His good friend, actor Dan Lauria (the father in The Wonder Years) suggested he try acting. Mazzilli took some classes & "The Italian Stallion" got the part of Tony in Tony & Tina's Wedding (October 1992 - January 1993). 

He co-starred with actress Sharon Angela, who went on to The Sopranos fame.

After that he went into the restaurant business in the mid nineties, as a partner in Lee Mazzilli's Sports Café located in Manhattan at 70th St & Amsterdam Ave.

Managing/Coaching career: Mazzilli returned to baseball as coach under his old skipper Joe Torre with the A.L. New York cub (2000-2003).

MLB Manager: He was manager of the

Baltimore Orioles from 2004 to 2005. In 2004 his Orioles finished third 78-84. 

In 2005 the team had early success spending two months in first place before falling off to fourth place by seasons end, when Mazzilli was fired.

 SNY Analyst: He returned to the Mets in 2007 as the

lead studio analyst for Sports Net New York. He remained in that position for two years 2007-2009.

Honors: Mazzilli was honored by the Brooklyn Cyclones on “Lee Mazzilli Italian Night” in 2007. A Mazzilli bobble head doll was issued to fans. 

The popular Mazzilli, was on hand for the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium in 2008. He also attended the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 Mets World Championship team at Citi Field in 2016.

Quotes- Lee Mazzilli: “I got a lot of memories at Shea, so when they tear it down part of its being torn down with me.”

Family: Lee's brother introduced him to Danielle Fouquet of the New York edition of PM Magazine in 1981. They were married in 1984 & have three children. 

Lee & Danielle have three children. Their daughters Jenna is a Connecticut school teacher & Lacey worked for the A.L. NY club as an on-air host.

Their son LJ Mazzilli played in the New York Mets organization, reaching as high as AAA with the Las Vegas 51's.