Mackey Sasser: Late 1980's -1990's Mets Catcher (1988 - 1992)

Mack Daniel Sasser was born August 3, 1962, at Fort Gaines, Georgia. The six-foot one left-handed batter attended Troy State University. There he still holds the school record for most at bats by a player making it to the big leagues. 

Sasser was originally an outfielder, getting drafted in the fifth round of the 1984 draft by the San Francisco Giants.

In 1985 at A ball Fresno, he was fourth in the California league in batting (.338) & fourth in RBIs (102). He hit .293 the next year at AA Shreveport, getting promoted to AAA Phoenix in 1987 where he continued to hit, batting .318.

MLB Debut: That year he also made his MLB debut with the Giants but was soon traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Don Robinson & cash on July 31st. 

He finished the season batting .185 playing in just 14 games at the big-league level. In the off season he was sent to the New York Mets for prospect Randy Milligan.

1988 NL Eastern Champion Season: In Spring Training 1988, Sasser impressed the Mets so much, he beat out Barry Lyons for the backup catching job, behind Gary Carter. 

On April 10th, Sasser made his Mets debut as a defensive replacement in a 4-3 Mets win at Philadelphia.

On April 19th, he got his first Mets hit as a pinch hitter at Shea Stadium in a 10-2 loss to the Phillies. The next night he got his first start behind the plate, catching Bobby Ojeda in a 5-4 loss at St. Louis. Sasser collected two hits including a double.

From May 14th to May 29th, Sasser drove in a run in three of the four games he played in & kept his average at .300 until the end of May. On May 14th he hit his first career HR, it came in San Francisco off Mike Krukow in a 3-2 loss. 

In 25 games in June & July Sasser drove in ten runs hitting five doubles.

On June 29th, Sasser had a 6th inning, pinch-hit sac fly bringing in Keith Miller to tie up a game in Pittsburgh. The Mets won the game in 11innings over the Pirates.

On July 1st, in the first game of a double header at Shea Stadium, the Mets & Astros were tied at two in the bottom of the 7th inning. Sasser hit the first triple of his career, driving in Darryl Strawberry in what was the games winning run.  

On July 22nd he hit a pair of double driving in wo runs in the Mets 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.

From there he batted just .179 in 14 games to the end of August.  But in September, he hit better, in the last week of the regular season, Sasser had three straight multi-hit games, with seven hits.

Multi- Four RBI Game: On September 25th, Sasser had his season best, four RBI game in a 9-7 win in St. Louis. He collected three hits, with a pair of RBI singles & a two run double. 

Sasser finished the regular season batting .285 with one HR, ten doubles, a triple & 17 RBIs. He posted a .313 on base %.719 OPS in 60 games played. 

In 42 games behind the plate he made six errors, posting a .970 fielding %. He threw out 22% of base runners attempting to steal & turned two double plays. Mackey did not play in the post season, NLCS loss to the Dodgers.

1989: This season, the aging Gary Carter spent the majority of time on the disabled list, seeing action in just 50 games. Barry Lyons would play in 76 games as the team's main catcher, as Sasser saw time in 62 games behind the plate.

On May 13th, he hit his only HR of the year, coming off the Padres Ed Whitson in a 3-2 Mets win at Shea. 

Sasser started seeing more playing time in June & got his average up to .285 by the end of the month. From June 10th to June 24th Sasser drove in runs in six of nine games including four straight games with an RBI.

From July 18th to July 27th, Sasser had another hot streak where he drove in seven runs with six hits, over a six-game stretch keeping his average above .300. 

The 1989 Mets fell out of first place in May & although they stayed close, they never could catch the Chicago Cubs finishing six games back.

In 182 at bats, he batted .291 with one HR, 14 doubles & 22 RBIs. Sasser posted a .316 on base % & .722 OPS. Defensively, Sasser improved to a .992 fielding % making three errors & threw out 29% of runners attempting to steal.

1990: The Gary Carter era in New York was over by 1990. At first Barry Lyons won over the main catcher’s job, but he struggled through injuries opening the door for Sasser. Sasser was a better hitter than Lyons as well & he took over the position once again. 

On May 6th in the night cap of a double header sweep over the Astros at Shea, Sasser helped the Mets come back from a four-run deficit, hitting a three run HR off Mark Portugal to tie the game in the 6th inning. The Mets hit five HRs in the 7-6 win. On May 11th, he doubled off the Dodgers Mike Hartley driving in two runs in a 9-4 win over the Dodgers at Shea. 

From June 22nd to July 20th, Sasser batted .417, collecting 20 hits & 11 RBIs hitting safely in 14 of 17 games.

Multi- Four RBI Game: On July 6th, he had a season best four RBI game in a 10-3 Mets win over the Braves in Atlanta. In the 9th inning he hit a three-run HR off Rusty Richards as well as having had an RBI single in the Mets six run 8th inning.

The following day he came back with a three run double off John Smoltz, driving in all the Mets runs in the 4-3 loss.

Home Plate Collision Drama: On July 8th, in a 2-1 win over the Braves at Atlanta he had a career changing experience. 

In the bottom of the 4th, with the Mets up 2-0, the Braves Francisco Cabrera doubled off Frank Viola. 

Ron Gant scored but then Sasser got run over during a home plate in a collision with Jim Presley. Presley was out keeping the Mets ahead 2-1. 

Sasser had already had earlier home
plate collisions which would contribute to his mental troubles. After that point in the season, Sasser developed a serious mental problem where he would double pump his arm on his throws back to the pitcher.

Strangely the condition didn’t seem to affect him throwing out base runners who were attempting to steal. As the double pump problem continued, neither he nor the Mets medical staff could figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, Mackey Sasser will always be remembered for this.

Multi HR Game: On July 24th, Sasser had his only multi-HR game of his career. In the 7th inning with the Mets down 4-0, he homered off Pat Combs, a two-run shot making it 4-2. In the 8th inning, after Howard Johnson tied the game with a two run double, Sasser hit his second two run HR of the game. It came off former Met Roger McDowell putting the Mets ahead 6-4. They would go on to a 7-4 win.

Grand Slam HR: On July 29th, Sasser hit the only grand slam HR of his career. It came in the 5th inning off the Cardinals Jose Deleon, helping Doc Gooden to a 6-0 shutout in front of 42,000 at Shea Stadium. 

Sasser was hitting well enough to peak at .350 in early August. He leveled off to .307 to end the season, second to Dave Magadan on the ballclub.

The Mets finished second once again, this time four games behind the Pirates.

Sasser hit six HRs with 14 doubles & 41 RBIs. He posted a .344 on base % & .770 OPS in 270 at bats playing in 100 games. Sasser caught 87 games that season, leading all NL catchers with 14 errors, while posting a .975 fielding %. He threw out 29% of would-be base stealers.

1991: By now the double clutch throwing issue was becoming a real problem. At first, he tried psychotherapy & yoga exercises but neither one worked. The Mets brought in veteran catcher Rick Cerone to split the catching duties with Sasser. 

The Mets wanted Sasser's bat in the lineup. They tried putting him in the outfield for 21 games. There he posted a .967 fielding % & made three assists. Sasser also tried to play 14 games at first base.

On May 31st he hit a three run HR in St. Louis helping the Mets to a 10-5 win. 

Walk Off Sac Fly: On July 17th, Mackey hit two sac-fly RBIs in a 6-5 win over the Giants at Shea. In the bottom of the 9th, with the score tied 5-5, he hit a down the right field line off pitcher Dave Righetti. Greg Jefferies scored from third base for the dramatic win. 

Multi- Five RBI Game: On July 20th, Sasser had a career best five RBI game, coming in a 11-7 loss to the Dodgers at Shea. Sasser also had a season best four hit game, with three singles & a pair of RBI singles. In the 9th inning he then hit a two run HR off Jim Gott to total five RBIs. 

Once again Sasser was hitting over .300 into the month of August. 

On August 26th Sasser broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the 10th inning at Houston, hitting an RBI double off Dwayne Henry leading the Mets to a 6-4 win over the Astros. 

In September he drove in eleven runs, but there was no pennant race for the Mets. They had fallen to fifth place having their worst season in almost a decade. Manager Bud Harrelson got fired toward the end of the season, replaced by interim manager Mike Cubbage.

Overall, in 96 games Sasser batted .272 with 5 HRs  14 doubles, two triples & 35 RBIs. He posted a .298 on base % & .714 OPS. In 43 games behind the plate he threw out 33% of would-be base stealers, posting a .994 fielding %.

1992: By 1992 the Mets were on hard times. They fell to 72-90 in fifth place. Sasser's average fell to .241, plus the Todd Hundley era was about to begin behind the plate for the Mets. Sasser played in 92 games with two HRs, six doubles, 18 RBIs a .248 on base % & .575 OPS. 

Sasser was granted free agency; the Mets didn't pursue him & he signed with the Seattle Mariners.

Post Mets Career: In 1993 at Seattle, Sasser backed up catcher Dave Valle, batting .218 in 83 games. In 1994 he was demoted to a third string catcher, seeing action in just three games of the strike shortened season.

In 1995 he was signed by the Padres but was released. He signed with the Pirates seeing action in just 14 games batting .154. 

At the age of 33 he retired from the game.

Career Stats: In a nine-season career he batted.267 with 317 hits 16 HRs 69 doubles 7 triples & a 156 RBIs. He struck out 104 times with 55 walks posting a .296 on base % &.673 OPS. 

Defensively behind the plate he caught 283 games, making 25 errors in 1515 chances with a .987 fielding %. He turned nine double plays & threw out 27% of would-be base stealers. Sasser also played 69 games in the outfield, 24 at first base 2 at third & 19 games as a DH.

Retirement: From 1997-2022, Sasser was a long-time baseball coach at Wallace Community College in Alabama. From 2011 -2022 he also served as athletic director.

In retirement, he was still having problems with the throwing & it was occasionally interfering with him throwing batting practice.

Therapy: A friend suggested he seek help from a Long Island psychotherapist. In 2007 he finally appeared to have worked out the issues. 

A psychological mental block had occurred from the home plate collision in 1990. Other situations earlier in his life also contributed. Through therapy Sasser believes he is finally cured of the problem.

Family: Sasser & his wife Terra, live in Dothan Alabama, with their children.