Todd Hundley: Former Mets Catcher Who Caught Third Most Mets Games Behind the Plate (1990 - 1998)

Todd Randolph Hundley was born May 27, 1969, in Martinsville, Virginia to his parents Betty & Randy Hundley. Todd is one of four children. That year his father Randy Hundley was the catcher of the Chicago Cubs, who were battling the Amazing New York Mets for first place. 

The day after Todd was born, his father Randy hit a grand slam & drove in five runs in a Cubs win against the San Francisco Giants in Candlestick Park.

The five foot eleven, catcher, was drafted in the second round of the 1987 amateur draft by the New York Mets. He was highly touted prospect right from the start of his career, even throughout his school days while growing up in Illinois.

After playing in A ball briefly 1987-1989, he was sent to AA Jackson in 1990. 

Mets Debut: He was pushed right up to the major leagues, making his debut on May 18th, 1990 batting eighth & catching Frank Viola in a 6-3 Mets loss at San Diego. Hundley arrived with a lot of hype & anticipation.

At first he showed great defensive skills, but just like in his minor league start, he didn’t hit right away. In his first career game he doubled off the Padres, Bruce Hurst in his second at bat.

But from there he batted just .167 through the end of July & was sent back down to AA Jackson to work things out. He returned at the end of August & in limited time through the end of the season batted .209 with six extra base hits, all doubles.

1991: In 1991 he spent most of the year at AAA Tidewater, where he batted .273, leading the club with 14 HRs & 66 RBIs. He arrived back with the Mets that September. 

On September 26th, he hit his first career HR, coming off the Pirates Bill Landrum, in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium. In 21 games he batted .133 (8-60) with one HR & seven RBIs.

1992: In 1992 he got the job as the Mets main catcher ahead of Charlie O'Brien & Mackey Sasser for new manager Jeff Torborg. The Mets finished a disappointing fifth going 72-90.

In late April he hit HRs in back-to-back games he played in but didn't hit another HR until a month later. Hundley didn't get over the .200 batting mark until the start of August as he struggled at the plate through the whole season. 

In late June he drove in runs in four straight games, with three multi-RBI games, his most productive point of the season. Hundley batted just .209 with 17 doubles 7 HRs & 32 RBIs with a .256 on base %.

Defensively he caught 121 games posting a .996 fielding % (both fourth best in the NL) with 700 put outs (third in the NL). He also allowed 89 stolen bases (second most in the NL). 

1993: In the second game of the season, he collected three hits in a 6-1 win over the Rockies. On April 13th in Colorado, he had a four RBI Day leading the Mets to an 8-4 win over the Rockies. On the next home stand against the West Coast teams, he hit HRs in three straight games, while driving in runs in four straight games over San Francisco & San Diego.

At the end of June, he was still struggling at the plate batting just .219 with 7 HRs & 21 RBIs for the last place Mets. New Mets manager Dallas Green who replaced Jeff Torborg told Hundley he had to hit to stay in the lineup. Todd made adjustments; he got a bigger bat & started to pull the ball more.

On July 10th, he hit his 8th HR of the year, a two run HR off LA's Pedro Astacio having a four RBI Day in a 7-6 win over the Dodgers at Shea Stadium. 

It took another month before he hit another HR & was battling just to stay above the .200 mark into September.

Grand Slam HR- Five RBI Game: On September 2nd, he hit his first career grand slam HR, coming off Juan Guzman at Wrigley Field. He added an RBI single in the 9th inning in the Mets 8-3 Met win.

In 1993 he batted .228 with 17 doubles 11 HRs & 53 RBIs. He struck out 62 times & walked 23 times with a .269 on base % & .626 OPS. Behind the plate he allowed 101 stolen bases (second in the NL) & made eight errors (fifth most in the NL).

1994 Strike Shortened Season: Hundley began the year with two hits & an Opening Day HR in a wild 12-8 Mets win at Wrigley Field in Chicago. 

On April 9th, he hit his second HR in the first three games, with a two-run shot off Pete Harnisch in an 8-2 win at Houston. When the Astris came to Sea, Todd homered off Darryl Kile in a 4-2 Mets win & had driven in two runs the game before. He closed out the month hitting three HRs in the final five games of April having his best month in that point of his career, with six HRs, 13 RBIs & a .333 batting average entering May.

On May 1st he hit a pair of solo HRs against the Dodgers leading the Mets to a 7-4 win at Shea Stadium. In that series at Shea, he had five hits off Dodger pitching, with three HRs & five RBIs.

Multi HR Game: On June 18th, he hit had another multi-HR game at Florida. He hit HRs off Pat Rapp & Jef Mutis driving in four runs of the 6-1 win over the Marlins. 

The baseball strike ended the season that August, Hundley batted .237 on the year, but showed some improved with power, hitting 16 HRs with 10 doubles & 42 RBIs playing in 91 games posting a .746 OPS.

Injuries would nag Hundley throughout his career. He himself said he was overmatched early in his career as his hitting developed slowly. The Mets organization, as well as the fans had patience with him, since the potential always seemed to be there. He was one of the better players in a bad era of Mets history. 

1995: He started the season healthy & on Opening Day in Colorado, he had four hits with a three run HR off Bill Swift in the 11-9 loss at Coors Field. On April 28th, he came to bat with the Mets down 8-7 to the Cardinals in the bottom of the 7th inning. His two run double off Rene Arocha put the Mets ahead 9-8 in what were the games winning runs.

Pinch Hit Grand Slam HR: On May 5th, Hundley came to bat with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning, as a pinch hitter in a 1-1 tie with the Expos in Montreal. He hit his second career grand slam HR, hitting it off pitcher Bryan Eversgerd leading the Mets to a 5-1 win.

Hundley hit three HRs in the first week of May & was batting .324. He kept his batting average up over .290 going into June. 

On June 18th he hit a three run HR, while driving in four runs in a 10-4 win over the Astros at Shea.

In July he hit five HRs in his first eight games of the month, with six RBIs. Hundley hit HRs in all three games of a series with the Reds at Shea Stadium. He then hit two more in a three-game set at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium.

On July 22nd he got injured & would go on the DL for six weeks, putting a big halt to what was looking like a pretty good season. He returned in September hitting two HRs with eight RBIs in the month.

In 1995 he hit .280 with 15 HRs 11 doubles & 51 RBIs. His on base % improved (.382%) as he drew more walks (42) & posted a .865 OPS.

Although the Mets finished under .500 (69-75) they finished in second place behind the Atlanta Braves, who went on to win the World Series.

1996: In the 1996 season Opener at Shea Stadium, Hundley hit a 4th inning two run HR off the Cardinals Andy Benes in the 7-6 Mets win over St. Louis. 

After hitting two more HRs on the first road trip of the year, Hundley returned to Shea Stadium & blasted HRs in back-to-back games against the Houston Astros. 

He then added a HR in each of the next two series against the Colorado Rockies & Cincinnati Reds. Overall, he had a good April, with eight HRs & 21 RBIs while batting .305.

Seven RBI Game: On May 18th he had huge day in San Francisco, as he bashed two three run HRs & drove in seven runs. In the 4th inning he homered off Jose Bautista & then in the 9th inning he homered off Doug Creek.  In the 3rd inning he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in another run.  The Mets beat the Giants 14-5. 

That week Todd hit four HRs in a four-game span while driving in seven runs. In the first two weeks of June he had five multi-hit games, with hit six HRs & 18 RBIs.

On June 4th he hit a 1st inning two run HR, off the Braves Jason Schmidt in Atlanta. He drove in five runs that day in the Mets 12-6 win. 

Multi HR - 5 RBI Game: On June 10th, when the Braves came to Shea Stadium, Hundley had a big four hit game, hitting a pair of HRs driving in another five runs in an 8-3 win.

On June 13th he hit a 7th inning lead off HR off Andy Bene in St. Louis. The next batter Jeff Kent followed with a solo HR of his own, leading the Mets & Robert Person to a 2-1 win.

Multi HR Game: On June 24th, Hundley had his third multi-HR game, hitting HRs off the Reds Roger Salked & Kevin Jarvis. He drove in four runs in the Mets 9-4 win over the Reds at Shea Stadium. 

 In July he hit HRs in three games of a four-game series at Montreal. That week he drove in runs in six straight games as well.

1996 All Star Game: That July he was named to his first All Star team. In the All Star Game in which Mike Piazza was the MVP, Hundley went 0-1 in an 8th inning at bat. The NL won the game 6-0 in Philadelphia.

 In the month he hit ten HRs & drove in 22 runs in the month, capped off with four round trippers in the last week of the month. 

Walk Off HR: On July 30th in the second game of a double header sweep over Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium, Todd he hit a walk off game winning HR off Jon Leiber in the bottom of the 12th inning. It was also his 30th HR of the season, reaching that milestone for the first time in his career.

Five RBI Game: On August 1st, in a 13-9 loss to the Pirates at Shea, Hundley had another five RBI game. He started out with a two-run single in the Mets six run 5th inning. In the 8th inning he then hit a three HR off Dave Wainhouse for his 31st HR of the season.

At the end of that homestand, Hundley hit HRs in back-to-back games with the Cardinals, then another in the first game of a series at Wrigley Field.

He would hit six HRs in the first eleven days of the month & drove in twenty runs that August while batting .304.

He cooled off in September driving in just ten with three HRs but they were all milestones.

On September 2nd, he hit a HR off the Dodgers Pedro Astacio in Los Angeles. The HR tied Darryl Strawberry for the Mets single season mark of 39, set in 1987.

Mets Single Season HR Record: On September 8th in a 6-2 win over the Braves in Atlanta, Hundley hit his 40th HR of the year to pass Darryl Strawberry for the Mets single season HR mark. In the 7th inning with one out, he connected off Joe Browski for the record setting HR.

Most HRs Hit by a Catcher in a Single Season: On September 14th, in the 7th inning at Shea Stadium, Hundley hit his 41st HR of the year, a three-run shot off the Braves Greg McMichael tying up the game. The HR passed Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Roy Campanella for most HRs in a season by a catcher. 

That 41 HR mark would also be a Mets record, until Carlos Beltran tied it in 2006. It was later broken by Pete Alonso in 2019.

In 1996 he had his career year, setting records for most HRs by a catcher & most by a Met with 41. Todd had career bests with 32 doubles 112 RBIs 140 hits 85 runs scored & .943 OPS.  He also drew 37 more walks than the previous year with 79 (9th most in the league) He also played a career high 153 games & had 540 at bats. 

Behind the plate he was second in the NL assists (72) & third in put outs with 700. That season he struck out 146 times & would strike out over 100 times three times in his career.

Bobby Valentine Era: The 1996 Mets finished up in 4th place (71-91). Back in late August manager Dallas Green was replaced by Bobby Valentine beginning a new Mets era. 1996 was a tough act for Todd to follow & although he did put up good numbers in 1997, it wasn’t the same.

There were changes in New York as Bobby Valentine was now the manager for the entire season running things his way. He publicly criticized Hundley for drinking, smoking & partying too late in the New York night clubs. 

SNL Trivia:  In 1997 Hundley even did a cameo sketch on Saturday Night Live appearing in a scene baseball dreams with Will Ferrel, Helen Hunt & Chris Kattan as well as MLB players Greg Jeffries, Cliff Floyd, Todd Zeile, Scott Rolen, Mark Grudzielanek, Mary Cordova, Jeff Vassero, Rondell White & Mike Sweeney.

Needless to say, Valentine & Hundley did not get along too well.

1997 Season: On Opening day in San Diego, the Mets took a 12-5 beating, but Hundley highlighted the Mets offense with a two run HR off Joey Hamilton. 

Mets Trivia: Hundley hit HRs in four straight Mets Opening Days from 1994-1997.

Multi HR 5 RBI Game: On April 23rd Hundley hit HRs off the Reds Mike Morgan & Kevin Jarvis. He also collected an RBI single, driving in five runs in a 10-6 win in Cincinnati. 

Player of the Week Award: In the first eight games of May, Hundley hit four HRs & drove in 14 runs with nine hits winning the NL Player of the Week Award. 

Multi HR 5 RBI Game: On May 5th at Colorado Coors Field, Hundley hit two more HRs, a three-run shot coming off Kevin Ritz & a solo shot off Mike Munoz. He added an RBI double as well to have another five RBI Day in this 6-1 Mets win. 

The next night he hit his tenth HR of the year & drove in three more runs, although the Mets lost 12-11 in a Mile High scoring contest. He continued to hit well, with another seven HRs in June & seven multi-hit games. 

First Subway Series Game: On June 16th the Mets played their first regular season game against the AL New York team in the Bronx. Hundley was the batterymate of Dave Mlicki who threw a 6-0 shut out for the win. Hundley drew two walks & scored a run. In the 1st inning, Hundley stole home plate during a run downplay on Butch Huskey during an attempted pick off from Andy Pettitte at first base. 

In July he got his average over the .300 mark, adding another two HR, five RBI Day on July 20th against the Reds in a 10-1 Mets win at Shea. 

1997 All Star: Todd was one of four catchers named to the NL All Star team, with Mike Piazza getting the start. He did not play in the AL's 3-1 win at Cleveland's Jacob Field.

Five RBI Game: On July 20th in a 10-1 win over the Reds, Todd started off with an RBI double in the 1st inning. In the 3rd inning he hit a solo HR off Kent Merker. Later in the 6th, he hit a three-run blast off Felix Rodriguez, giving him a five RBI game.

From August 9th to the 23rd, in a span of 13 games he hit five HRs & drove in 12 runs, with two big games against the Padres at Shea Stadium.

On August 22nd, Hundley hit a two run HR in the bottom of the 9th inning off Trevor Hoffman sending the game into extra innings. Hoffman gave up five HRs all season & was just developing into the Hall of Fame Closer he became. The Mets won the game in extra innings.

Grand Slam HR: The next day, Hundley came to bat in the bottom of the 7th inning with the Mets leading 4-3 facing Sean Berman. He hit his third career grand slam HR leading the Mets to a 9-5 win.

 The 1997 Mets improved to a third-place finish, under Bobby Valentine. They were 88-74 which was their best record in seven years.

Hundley would make his second All Star team, hit 30 HRs with 21 doubles 86 RBIs & hit for a
better average (.273). He posted career highs in on base % (.394%) & walks (83). Behind the plate he threw out 24% of would-be base stealers.

1998: Hundley had a career threatening elbow injury that put him on the DL for a long while. Next thing he knew the Mets acquired Mike Piazza, and although the team said Hundley was still in their plans the writing was on the wall. Piazza was here to stay and change the face of the organization.

Hundley returned to action in mid-July, getting a hit in his first game back. The Mets tried to make him into an outfielder & played him in left field for 34 games. The experiment) didn’t work out, as he made five errors in 49 chances (4th most for left fielders). 

 On August 10th he hit his first HR of the season, it came in St. Louis off Matt Morris breaking a 2-2 tie leading the Mets to a 4-2 win. On September 16th, Mike Piazza hit a three run HR off Billy Wagner in Houston to send the game into extra innings. In the top of the 11th, Hundley came to bat as a pinch hitter & homered off Sean Bergman in what was the game's winning run. It was Hundley's last highlight in a Mets uniform & his final Mets HR. 

In 1998 he played in 53 games, just two at catcher, batting .161 with 3 HRs &12 RBIs & a .527 OPS. On December 1st, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Roger Cedeno & Charles Johnson.

Mets All Time Leader Board: In his Mets career Hundley played in 829 games (19th on Mets all-time list) with 124 HRs (10th all time) 397 RBIs (15th all time) 118 doubles (22nd all time) & 612 hits (27th all time). He struck out 624 times & walked 299 times with a .323 on base % & a .761 OPS.

Hundley has caught the third most games all time in Mets history with 745.

Post Mets Career: In L.A. he did hit 24 HRs two years in a row, but only drove in 55 runs and batted a lowly .207 in 1999.

In 2000 he brought his average up to .284 with 24 HRs & 70 RBIs playing in only 90 games. That season he became the first visiting player to hit a home run into McCovey Cove at San Francisco’s new Pac Bell Park. 

He went to his dad’s old team the Chicago Cubs in 2001, and like father like son became the team's catcher sharing time with Joe Girardi. In two years at Wrigley, he averaged 14 HRs but only managed to hit a bat .211 in 2002. He had an ugly situation & angered the Cubs fans when they got on him when he wasn't hitting. 

Dramas: In a game against the Cincinnati Reds, he gave the fans the middle finger after rounding third base on a HR. He said he aimed it at the Reds fans who were heckling him but no one seemed to buy the story.

 He had one final chance at a comeback in L.A. playing in 21 games in 2003 but was done after hitting .189.

In 2005 he was arrested while driving under the influence with his two daughters in the back seat of his Hummer. Hundley had been taking Vicodin for pain.

In 2007 Hundley was named in the Mitchell Report for steroid use.

Career Stats: In his 14-year career Todd batted .234 with 883 hits 167 doubles 7 triples 202 HRs & 599 RBIs. He struck out 988 times & drew 453 walks with a .320 on base % & .763 OPS.

Behind the plate he caught 1096 games behind the plate (96th all time) with 6535 put outs (73rd all time). 

He has a lifetime .988 fielding %, throwing out 25% of would-be base stealers, while allowing 793 stolen bases (64th most all time). 

In 2020 he made his first visit to Citi Field & sat down with Howie Rose to talk about his Mets career. He wanted to meet Pete Alonso after Alonso had broken his Mets single season HR record.

Family: Todd has been married twice. First to his high school sweetheart, Tiffany. Thay married in 1990 & have four children together- two girls & two boys. They were divorced in 2005. 

In March 2006, he married his second wife Jodi, in Sulphur Springs, Virginia.

Todd Hundley's father: Randy Hundley:

Cecil Randolph Hundley known as Randy with the nick name of Rebel. He began his career with brief appearances for the San Francisco Giants in 1964 & 1965. 

In December of '65 he was involved in a big trade going to the Chicago Cubs along with New Jersey born pitcher Bill Hands, for Don Landrum & Lindy McDaniel.

Hundley came in fourth in 1966 for the Rookie of the Year voting, hitting a career high 19 HRs with 22 doubles & 63 RBIs batting .236.

He then was the Chicago Cubs main catcher from 1966- 1973 before moving on to the Minnesota Twins (1974) San Diego Padres (1975) & back to the Cubs (1976 & 1977) finishing his career in 1977.

Career Stats: He was a lifetime .236 hitter with 813 hits 82 HRs 118 doubles 13 triples & 381 RBIs. 

He had one of his best seasons in the classic 1969 season, his Cubs falling to the Amazing Mets in that summers' pennant race. Hundley had 18 HRs 15 doubles 64 RBIs & a .255 batting average. 

He was a one time Gold Glove winner (1967) & All Star catcher (1969) with great defensive abilities. He threw out 50% of would be base stealers four different times in his career, leading the league twice in throwing out base stealers.

From 1966-1969 he led the league each year in most games behind the plate. 

He would also lead the league in assists twice (1966/1969) put outs once (1967), caught stealing % once (1974) & fielding one time as well (1972).

In 14 seasons total he threw out 42% of runners trying to steal, while posting a .988 fielding percentage (80th all time) in 1026 games caught.

Retirement: Randy has been a part time radio broadcaster for the Cubs for many years.