Dave Magadan: Former late 1980's Mets First Baseman (1986 - 1992)

David Joseph Magadan was born September 30, 1962, in Tampa, Florida. His father Joe & Mother Alice were both of family backgrounds from Spain. The Magadan's had three children Diana, Joe Jr. & David.

In 1980 Magadan was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox but chose to go to college at the University of Alabama instead. 

Crimson Tide Career: In his college days, he was All American, College Player of the Year & won the Golden Spikes Award. In 1983 he became a full time third baseman & set many school records. His Crimson Tide team went to the College World Series losing to the University of Texas, to a pitching staff that had Calvin Schiraldi & Roger Clemens on board.

In 1983 Magadan got signed by the New York Mets, as a second-round pick.

Magadan was pure natural hitter, batting well over .300 at all minor league levels, getting a cup of coffee to the big leagues in September of 1986. 

Mets Career:  On September 7th, Dave Magadan came up as a third baseman & first baseman.

He came in as a pinch hitter for Kevin Elster getting his first big league hit, a single off Ed Wonja. He would make another pinch-hit appearance six days lets going 0-1.

Mets Clinch the NL East: On September 14th the Mets clinched the 1986 NL East title. Keith Hernandez was nursing an injury, so Magadan was put in the first base position to fill the role.  In the bottom of the 3rd inning, with two men on Magadan singled to off the Cubs Dennis Eckersley bringing in the Mets first run.

 In the 5th, Magadan singled off Eckersley again with two men one, bringing in Len Dykstra with the Mets third run. Dave went 3-4 with two RBIs that night, as everything seemed to go well for the 1986 Mets. Keith Hernandez came into the game in the 9th inning for the final outs. Dwight Gooden went on to the 4-2 victory & the Mets won their first titles since 1973. All hell broke loose as fans stormed the field & took home anything they could get. centerfieldmaz was on hand for the celebrations taking home a few souvenirs.

Quotes- Dave Magadan: "I was just concentrating so much on not screwing up. You Never know how you'll react".

Magadan drove in another run the next night in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. In ten games that September, he went 8-18 batting .444 that September.

1986 Post Season: Magadan was not eligible for the post season. Magadan & some others didnt get a World Series ring. But Randy Myers stirred things up publicly, took the bill himself a\& the two got their Championship rings ten years later.

1987: With Keith Hernandez at first base & Howard Johnson taking over third base after the departure of Ray Knight, it was tough for Magadan to find a spot. But his bat couldn't be ignored, manager Davey Johnson even moved Hojo over to short stop for 38 games to get Magadan in the lineup.

Magadan missed Spring Training & the start of the season with a lump in his right armpit. On April 20th, Magadan hit his first career HR, a pinch-hit HR off the Pirates John Smiley in a Mets loss. On April 30th he hit his second HR, one of four Mets HRs in an 11-3 at Shea win over the Expos.

At the start of May he was batting .214 but raised his average up to .323 by June 1st. 

Multi- Three RBI Game: On June 21st, Magadan drove in a season high three runs, with an RBI single & two run double in an 8-3 Mets win over the Phillies. 

Five Hit Game: On July 24th Dave had a five-hit day in the night cap of a double header with the Astros at Shea. He collected five singles with an RBI in the season high five RBIs. On August 9th, he had a four-hit game in a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. Magadan had 13 multi- hit games on the season, with three or more hits four times.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On September 25th he matched his season high, three RBIs with a bases loaded three run double in a 10-2 Mets win over the Pirates at Shea.

The Mets could not repeat their championship of the previous year, finishing in what at the time was a very disappointing second to the St. Louis Cardinals on the final days of the season.

Overall, Magadan got into 85 games, hitting .318, with 3 HRs, a triple 13 doubles & 24 RBIs He drew 22 walks posting a .385 on base percentage & .829 OPS. 

He showed good patience at the plate, as he would most of his career & didn’t strike out much, just 22 times in 192 at bats. 

1988 NL Eastern Champion Season:  Magadan would begin the season playing at third base & being used as a pinch hitter. He had a bad start to the season, after twenty games he was batting just .209 at the start of June. 

That month when Keith Hernandez got inured Magadan saw the majority of the playing time at first base. With more plate opportunities he excelled, as he hit safely in 30 of his next 35 games, raising his average to .312 by July 23rd.

 Five RBI Double header: In a July 22nd double header sweep over the Braves at Shea, Magadan played both games collecting three hits with five RBIs. In the first game he had a two-run single off Paul Assenmacher & an RBI on a grounder. He singled off Assenmacher again in the second game driving in another of his two runs. That week he drove in runs in four straight games.

When Hernandez returned, Magadan was back at third & pinch hitting, occasionally filling in at first. With Howard Johnson at third & the arrival of Greg Jefferies in September, there was a lot of juggling around for manager Davey Johnson. Without a steady spot Magadan didn't hit as much after batting .356 in June, he fell off to .250 over July & August.

On September 12th, he tied up a game in the 6th inning with an RBI single off the Pirates Doug Drabek. Ron Darling held the Pirates down & Gary Carter won the game with a walk off HR off Jeff Robinson.

The Mets clinched the NL East on September 22nd & in just his third season, Magadan was heading to his second post season.

Magadan finished the regular season batting .277. He hit one HR with 15 doubles 39 runs scored & 35 RBIs. He posted a .393 on base % & .760 OPS. He played in 71 games at first posting a .988 fielding % & 48 games at third base making four errors in 83 chances. 

1988 Post Season-NLCS: In the NLCS loss to the Dodgers, he went 0-3 as a pinch hitter appearing in three games.

Quotes- Dave Magadan: " I really didn't feel like I was a part of it".

1989: As back issues & age began to haunt Keith Hernandez, Magadan got more time at first base, sharing it with Tim Teufel. He would get into 127 games on the year. At first base he played 87 games & at third base played 28 games.

He had a slow start batting .189 after his first 18 games. But from May 13th to May 30th, he collected 18 hits & raised his average up to .300.

Walk Off Hits & HR: On May 13th, in a tie with the Padres at Shea, he came into the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 11th inning with the bases loaded. Magadan singled off Greg Harris to bring in Kevin McReynolds home with the game winning walk off run. 

On June 2nd, in a 2-2 tie with the Pirates in the bottom of the 11th inning, he hit a walk off HR off Randy Kramer for another exciting Mets win. On June 15th, the Mets were down to the Cubs 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th. They loaded the bases off reliever Mitch Williams & Magadan tied the game with a two-run single in center field. The Mets won the game on Greg Jefferies Walk off single in the bottom of the 12th.

In the month of June, he hit .315 & drove in 15 runs. In July his average fell below .3000 as he dropped to .290. Five of his none multi- RBI games came in the final two months.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On August 1st, he drove in a season high three runs with a two run double off the Cardinals Dan Quisenberry. It came in an 11-0 Sid Fernandez shut out over the Cardinals. 

On August 19th Magadan hit a two run double off the Dodgers John Wetteland in a 4-1 win at Shea. On September 7th he drove in a pair in a 13-1 blow out of the Cardinals at Shea. Then had another multi- Rbi game in a loss at Pittsburgh the next week.

The 1989 Mets were as close 1.5 games in late August but eventually finished six behind the Chicago Cubs.

On the 1989 season Magadan batted .286, with 107 hits 22 doubles, 3 triples 4 HRs 47 runs scored & 41 RBIs. He struck out 37 times with 49 walks posting a .367 on base % & .760 OPS. 

At first base he posted a .991 fielding % making six errors. At third base he made one error in 44 chances turning four double plays in 28 games.

1990:  The Mets did not offer a contract to Keith Hernandez & signed Mike Marshall with intentions of him & Magadan fighting it out for the position. 

Mike Marshall started out with the job but was hitting just .225 getting dealt to Boston that July. 

After a slow start, Magadan was hitting .300 by June & became the Mets everyday first baseman.

On June 5th, he tied up the game with a 6th inning single off Drew Hall. The Expos went ahead the Mets tied it & went on to a 6-5 win in extra innings. 

From June 10th to June 27th, he hit safely in 15 of 16 games, collecting 30 hits in 64 at bats for a .469 average. He collected ten extra base hits, scored 21 runs & drove in 16. He raised his season average to a whopping .378.

Four Hit- Six RBI Day: On June 12th he had a huge day at Wrigley Field gathering up four hits with six RBIs. In his first at bat in the 1st inning, he homered off Mike Bielecki, a two-run shot. In the 2nd he added a sac fly & in the 3rd he tripled off Kevin Blankenship bringing in another run. In the 8th he collected his fourth hit & his sixth RBI of the day in the Mets 19-8 win. 

He got three more hits the next day in a wild 15-10 Mets win. 

Four Hit Game: On June 15th, he had another season high four-hit game with two doubles in a 7-5 win in Pittsburgh. In the three-game series with the Pirates he had eight hits.

On June 25th in St. Louis, he drove in the winning run in the top of the 9th inning with an RBI double off Lee Smith. He closed out the month with nine multiple hit games. He collected 35 hits in the month & batted .402 with a .485 on base %.

In July he had five three hit games & ten multi-hit games. On July 5th he homered off the Braves Charlie Leibrandt in a 9-8 Mets win at Atlanta. The next day he drove in two more runs in a 10-7 win.

The Mets Win the Damn Thing: On July 25th he hit a two run HR off Jeff Parrett & drove in another run with a base hit in the Mets five run 6th inning. This was the famous game where the Mets had a 9-0 lead. It was 10-3 in the 9th when the Phillies came within a run & Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy lost his call saying the Mets win the damn thing".

On July 27th, he had three hits with four RBIs in the Mets 10-1 win over the Cardinals. Through the month he had another 34 hits & ended July batting .349 fighting for the batting title. 

From August 14th to August 31st, he hit safely in 15 of 18 games. On August 16th, Magadan drove in two runs in Ron Darlings 4-2 win over Tim Belcher & the Dodgers. In the month he hit .284, his lowest monthly average since April, but Dave drew 23 walks to post a .417 on base %.

In September he was back competing for the NL batting title, hitting .320 with 32 hits & 22 RBIs in the month. The Mets entered September a half game up in first place but went 17-16 the rest of the way & finish four games behind the Pirates.

On September 12th, in the 1st inning Dave drove in both runs of a David Cone, three hit 2-1 win over John Smiley & the Pirates at Shea.

From September 25t
h to October 2nd, Dave collected 13 hits batting .448 with 11 RBIs. 

On September 25th in Montreal, he had his 15th multi- RBI game of the year, with a two-run single in the top of the 7th inning off Tim Burke to lead New York past the Expos 3-1. He would collect one more multi-RBI game in a loss to the Cubs on September 25th.

Third in the NL in Batting: On the season, Magadan hit .328 for the third best average in the NL. Willie McGee led with a .335 average & Eddie Murray was second with a .330 average. Magadan also posted the league's second best on base percentage (.417). 

He drew 77 walks (8th in the league) & had 10 sacrifice flies (5th in the league). Magadan collected 148 hits with 28 doubles 6 HRs 74 runs scored & 72 RBIs. He struck out 55 times with 74 walks posting career best a .874 OPS when playing a full season.

Overall, he played in a career high 144 games. At first base he led all first baseman with a .998 fielding percentage, making only two errors in 903 chances with 113 games at that position.

1991: Magadan would be the club's main first baseman for the final time. He would struggle at the plate this season, finding himself hitting .243 at the end of June.

Multi- Three RBI Games: On May 29th in an 8-1 win over the Cubs he collected two RBI singles off Rick Sutcliffe for a season best three RBIs. Two days later he matched that with a three run HR off Ken Hill in a win at St. Louis.

Four Hit Game: On July 16th, he collected a season best four hits in a 6-4 win over the Giants at Shea. He had four singles with a pair of RBIs in a Dwight Gooden victory. On July 31st he matched the four hits in a loss at Los Angeles, where he hit two doubles.

His season was cut short in September with an injury. 

His average dropped to a career low .258 with 108 hits, 23 doubles 4 HRs & 51 RBIs. He struck out a 50 times & walked 83 times, posting a .378 on base % & .721 OPS. 

That year the Mets had their worst season in eight years, they fired Bud Harrelson as they finished a disappointing 5th as the organization went into another dark era.

1992: The Mets had acquired Hall of Famer Eddie Murray to play first base. Magadan was moved over to third base sharing time with Bill Pecota, as Howard Johnson was moved to the outfield. At third base, he posted a .941 fielding percentage making 11 errors in 187 chances. 

The year was terrible, their free agent signings were a bust & they were called the worst team money could buy, as they lost 90 games under manager Jeff Torborg.

It would be Magadan's last season as a Met.

Walk Off HR: On May 9th, in a 2-2 tie with the Dodgers at Shea, Magadan came up facing former Met Roger McDowell with two on & two outs. He hit his first HR of the year a three-run walk off for the win. His three RBIs were a season high.

Magadan hit well in the first few months, remaining over .300 until late June. 

On July 21st at Shea, he helped the Mets comeback, with a 7th inning HR off the Dodgers Tom Candiotti. In the 8th inning he had an RBI single off John Candelaria to tie the game. He scored the go-ahead run-on Eddie Murray's two run double off Roger McDowell.

On July 28th, he matched his season high three RBIs, with a three run HR off the Phillies Mike Williams in an 8-6 win at Veterans Stadium. In August he suffered an injury & was shut down for the rest of the season.

 

On the year he hit .283 with nine doubles three HRs & 28 RBIs. He posted a .390 on base percentage & .736 OPS playing in 99 games. 

The Mets didn’t sign him that off season & granted him free agency, as Howard Johnson came back to third base after playing in centerfield the previous year. Magadan signed on with the expansion Florida Marlins as a free agent for 1993.

Mets Career Stats: Magadan is fourth all time in Mets career on base % (.391). He played seven years in 701 career Mets games (26th most all time) he had 610 hits (27th all time) 110 doubles (23rd all time) 11 triples 21 HRs 254 RBIs with 275 runs scored & a .292 average.

Post Mets Career- Marlins: In 1993 Magadan started the season with the Marlins, batting .286 with 4 HRs 12 doubles & 44 RBIs in 66 games before being traded to the Seattle Mariners for Henry Cotto & Jeff Darwin in June. In 79 games he hit .259.

In the 1994 strike shortened season, he was traded back to Florida for Darwin, playing behind Jerry Browne at third base. Browne hit .295 while Magadan batted .275.

Astro Career: Magadan then signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Houston Astros. In 1995 for the second place Astros, he became the main third baseman. Dave hit .313 with 24 doubles 2 HRs 51 RBIs 71 walks & a career high .428 on base %. 

In 1996 he played in just 78 games with the Chicago Cubs batting .254. 

A's Career: Dave went to the Oakland Athletics for two seasons (1997 & 1998) playing for manager art Howe. In 1997 with the fourth place A's he hit .303 with a .414 on base % in 128 games. The following year, he was limited to just 35 games with a sprain hand, as the A's finished fourth again. Dave still hit .321 in 109 at bats.

Padres Career: In 1999 he was a member of the NL Western Champion San Diego Padres, as a backup player, batting .274 with 2 HRs 12 doubles & 30 RBIs. He did not play in the post season. Magadan stayed in San Diego for three seasons finishing out his career there in 2001.

Career Stats: In his 16-year playing career (1582 games) he had 1197 hits, batting .288, with 218 doubles 13 triples 42 HRs 516 runs scored & 495 RBIs. He struck out just 546 ties in 4159 at bats. He drew 718 walks posting a .390 on base percentage & 767 OPS.

 At third base he played 709 games, posted a .951 fielding % with 71 errors in 1449 chances turning 84 double plays. At first base he played 593 games, posted a .994 fielding % making 28 errors in 4344 chances. He played three games at short & one at second as well.

Retirement- Coaching Career: After his playing days, he became a long-time pitching coach for the next twenty years. 

San Diego Padres Coach: His first hitting coach job came with the San Diego Padres (2003-2006). 

Boston Red Sox Coach: He then became the Boston Red Sox hitting coach (2007-2011) winning a World Series there in 2007, as his team batted .333 in the World Series.

In his first season as their batting coach the team improved in batting average (.269 to .279) slugging percentage (.435 to .444) and on base percentage (.351 to .362), leading the American League with 689 walks.

In 2008 they led the league in walks & on base % coming in second with a .280 batting average. In 2009 he was suspended for one game after arguing balls & strikes with umpire Bob Davidson, that season the Sox fell to 4th with a .270 batting average.

In 2010 the Sox were fifth in batting with a .268 average, but second in HRs, runs scored &
slugging.  In 2011 the Red Sox finished second in hitting with a .280 batting average. They were first in hits, runs, doubles, slugging & on base % in the AL. 

The Red Sox collapse at the end of the season got Manager Terry Francona fired as the team did not make the post season

In 2012 Magadan became hitting coach under new manager Bobby Valentine. The Red Sox finished fifth, their worst placing since 1993. 

In 2013 when John Farrell took over as manager & all new coaches were brought in.

Texas Rangers Coach: Magadan moved on to the Texas Rangers, as hitting coach under Manager Ron Washington. He remained there from 2013 to 2015, as the two parted ways.

Arizona D-backs Coach: He was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks for three seasons (2016-2018). In 2018 his team was one of the league's worst hitting teams batting .235. After the season the two parted ways.

After the d-backs batted a team total .235 one of the league's worst averages, he & the team parted ways.

Colorado Rockies Coach: Magadan went on to be hitting coach for his fifth team, as hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies (2019-2022). In his first season there his team had the best average in the NL. After finishing fifth in that category the next year, the finished second & third respectively. 

Family: Magadan is the cousin & godson of former MLB player & manager Lou Piniella. Pinellas mother & Magadan's father were sister & brother.

Dave has been married twice. He & his first wife Kelly have two sons together. In 2000 Dave married his second wife Monique, they have two daughters.