Hubie Brooks: Former Mets 1980's Infielder (1980-1984 / 1991)
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He played infield there on the 1977 NCAAA Championship team with future Atlanta Braves slugger Bob Horner, the 1978 number one draft pick overall.
The six-foot right hand hitting Brooks, was the New York Mets first round draft choice (third pick overall) in that same 1978 draft. The infielder was a great curve ball hitter with good speed on the base paths.
He hit .305 in 1979 at AA with Jackson earning a late season promotion to the AAA level. He hit .297 with 14 stolen bases at AAA Tidewater in 1980 before getting a late season promotion to Shea Stadium. The Mets were desperate for some talent & Brooks became quick fan favorite.
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Mets Career: Brooks made his debut at San Diego on September 3rd, batting in the 5th spot while playing at third base. In his third career game he got two hits scoring his first run in a 8-7 loss to the Padres.
On October 4th he hit his first career HR in a 5-2 win at St. Louis, in the final four games of the year he dove in five runs. In 1980, Brooks had 25 hits in 81 at bats, batting .309 showing a lot of promise for the future.
Strike Shortened 1981 Season: On Opening Day 1981 Brooks got his first hit of the year & then had a three-hit game on the second day of the season. In May he hit safely in 20 of 24 games bringing his average up to .340. He fell into a short slump and then the Players went on strike for the next two months.
When play resumed on August 10th, he had a fantastic week gathering 12 hits, with three HRs & seven RBIs. On August 11th he tied up a game in Chicago with an 8th inning sac fly. Later in the top of the 9th his double scored Ellis Valentine in what would be the game winning run. Brooks hit a HRs in the next games at Wrigley Field as well.
He hit another HR on August 16th & on August 22nd, he added a top of the 9th inning two run single off Doug Bair to help beat the Reds 7-5.
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In the 1981 strike shortened he did not disappoint batting .307 (8th in the league) with 21 doubles, posting the team’s best on base percentage (.345) and earning a spot on the Topps All Star Rookie team. He hit 4 HRs with 9 stolen bases 34 runs scored 2 triples & 38 RBIs in 98 games played. Brooks came in third behind Fernando Valenzuela & Tim Raines in the Rookie of the Year voting.
He was the Mets regular third baseman that season but led the NL in errors (21) at that position posting a .924 fielding %. He would make over 20 errors in each of the next four seasons, coming in the league's top three in errors three separate times.
1982: In mid-April he drove in five runs in a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, where the Mets took two of three.
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Two days later he helped the Mets to a 6-5 over the Dodgers with a 5th inning bases loaded base hit off Dave Stewart, that scored all three runners.
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This season, Brooks would stay healthy & play in over 150 games for the Mets becoming a steady everyday player for the next two seasons.
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He hit safely in 14 of 20 games that month & finished May batting .272 an increase of forty points in the month. The Mets became a better team on the June 15th deadline when they got Keith Hernandez in a trade with the Cardinals.
On June 23rd Brooks hit a three run HR off the Cardinals' Dave Von Ohlen, while driving in another run with a base hit, leading the Mets to a 7-5 win at Shea. On the 23rd. he hit a three HR off the Phillies John Denny but the Mets lost 8-4. On June 28th in the first game of a double header in St. Louis, Brooks had a five-hit day, including a double & RBI. in a 10-1 Met win.
On July 25th he helped the Mets rally from three runs down in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Atlanta Braves. Brooks drove in the first run of the inning, with a single off Steve Bedrosian & then scored the tying run on George Fosters double. Keith Hernandez also crossed the plate with the game winning run on that Foster double.
On August 7th, he had another four RBI Day, it came in a three-hit performance at Wrigley Field. In September he drove in runs in five straight games from the 15th through the 19th. On the last night of that stretch, he had a walk off game winning RBI single off the Pittsburgh Pirates closing ace Kent Tekulve.
On the season he hit .251 with 18 doubles 4 triples 5 HRs & 58 RBIs. Brooks stole just six bases, drew just 24 walks & posted a .284 on base.
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On May 15th, with the Mets down 5-4 to the Giants in San Francisco, Brooke hit a two-run 8th inning single off Renie Martin, to put the Mets ahead for good in the 7-6 win. On May 26th Brooks hit his 5th HR, coming off Orel Hershiser leading the Mets to a 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
On July 20th he singled off the Reds Jay Tibbs breaking a 2-2 tie & giving Dwight Gooden a 3-2 win. Brooks would contribute with RBIs in three straight Mets one runs that week.
On a twelve game August home stand he had 19 hits, including seven games with two or more hits. In that stretch he hit three HRs & drove in 13 runs right in the heat of the summer's pennant race. That month he drove in 23 runs overall & scored 15 runs.
On August 8th he had a big four hit day scoring four runs , although the Mets lost to the Cubs at Wrigley Field 7-6. On August 13th he had a big three hit day, with a walk & four RBIs in the first game of a double header in San Francisco.
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On September 12th, as rookie phenom Dwight Gooden broke the NL Rookie strikeout record, while striking out 16 Pittsburgh Pirates in a five-hit shutout, it was Brooks who supplied the offense driving in both Mets runs. (ceterfieldmaz was in attendance that night).
Hubie finished the year hitting 16 HRs, with 23 doubles, 73 RBIs, 61 runs scored and a .283 average. He had 45 games where he had more than one hit throughout the season. He almost doubled his based on balls as he drew a career high 48 walks raising his on base % to .341 %. He also played 26 games at short stop and was used as a pinch hitter by manager Davey Johnson.
Gary Carter Trade: In the off-season Brooks was the main chip in a blockbuster trade, going to Montreal along with along with catcher Mike Fitzgerald & Herm Winningham in exchange for Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.
Post Mets Career- Expos: In 1985 the Expos converted him to a full-time short stop & he became the first short stop since Ernie Banks to drive in 100 runs.
He was so valuable to his third place Expo team he came in 14th in the league's MVP voting. Brooks hit .269 with 13 HRs 34 doubles, 7 triples (9th in the NL) & 100 RBIs (6th in the NL) posting a .310 on base %.
In 1986 he had a great first half, batting .333 with 14 HRs making his first of two straight All-Star appearances. He went 0-2 in the NL's 3-2 loss at the Astrodome. After the break he played in only five more games as he tore a ligament in his thumb which ended his fine season. He played in only 80 games batting .340 with 14 HRs 18 doubles & 58 RBIs.
In 1987 he suffered a hair line fracture to his wrist just three games into the season. He returned in mid May & hit 7 HRs with 30 RBIs by the All-Star break, making the squad.
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He remained in Montreal through the 1989 season, that year his numbers fell off a bit 14 HRs & 70 RBIs but he still hit 30 doubles & batted .268 for the fourth place Expos.
Dodgers Career: He won the Dodger fans over early on by hitting a game winning three HR on Opening Day against the Padres Bruce Hurst in San Diego.
Trivia: At the time of his retirement, Brooks was the active player leader in games played (1645) without having been to the post season.
Career Stats: Brooks played 15 seasons batting .269 lifetime with 1608 hits 149 HRs, 290 doubles 31 triples 387 walks & 824 RBIs with a .315 on base %. With the glove he committed 90 errors playing at 516 games at third base, turning 80 double plays with a .936 on base %.
In the outfield he played 582 games making 35 errors with 32 assists & a .966 fielding %. Brooks also played 371 games at short stop, 13 games at first base & 7 games at second base.
The six-foot right hand hitting Brooks, was the New York Mets first round draft choice (third pick overall) in that same 1978 draft. The infielder was a great curve ball hitter with good speed on the base paths.
He hit .305 in 1979 at AA with Jackson earning a late season promotion to the AAA level. He hit .297 with 14 stolen bases at AAA Tidewater in 1980 before getting a late season promotion to Shea Stadium. The Mets were desperate for some talent & Brooks became quick fan favorite.
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Trivia: At first, he wore the uniform number 39 before taking over Ed Kranepool’s old uniform #7 which he became more familiar with.
On October 4th he hit his first career HR in a 5-2 win at St. Louis, in the final four games of the year he dove in five runs. In 1980, Brooks had 25 hits in 81 at bats, batting .309 showing a lot of promise for the future.
Strike Shortened 1981 Season: On Opening Day 1981 Brooks got his first hit of the year & then had a three-hit game on the second day of the season. In May he hit safely in 20 of 24 games bringing his average up to .340. He fell into a short slump and then the Players went on strike for the next two months.
He hit another HR on August 16th & on August 22nd, he added a top of the 9th inning two run single off Doug Bair to help beat the Reds 7-5.
On August 27th, he doubled off Brooklyn Born Joe Sambito, breaking a tie with the game winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning, to beat the Houston Astros.
In September he had a ten-game hit streak, including a four-hit day on September 20th in a Shea game against the Cardinals. Mookie Wilson won the game with a walk off HR.
Brooks closed out the year hitting safely in 13 of 15 games in mid-September finishing the month of September with 14 RBIs.
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He was the Mets regular third baseman that season but led the NL in errors (21) at that position posting a .924 fielding %. He would make over 20 errors in each of the next four seasons, coming in the league's top three in errors three separate times.
1982: In mid-April he drove in five runs in a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, where the Mets took two of three.
In May 3rd in Los Angeles, Brooks came to bat in the 12th inning with two on & the score ties. He singled off Steve Howe to bring in the go ahead run then later scored on Ron Gardinhire's ground out, helping the Mets to 6-3 win against the reigning World Champion Dodgers. On May 13th Brooks had a big three hit day in a game at Shea Stadium, as he drove in all four runs of Pete Falcone's & the Mets 4-2 win over Burt Hooton & the Dodgers.
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Two days later he helped the Mets to a 6-5 over the Dodgers with a 5th inning bases loaded base hit off Dave Stewart, that scored all three runners. He closed out May with a four-hit day at Shea in a May 30th win over Houston. On June 9th he grounded out in the bottom of the 9th inning but scored the game winning run off the Pirates reliever Kent Tekulve in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Brooks then missed over two weeks of action in June, with injury & then after a brief return missed three weeks in July.
He returned in August but never got back to top form the rest of the season. On August 6th, he collected three doubles & an RBI in a Mets loss at Pittsburgh. On September 25th, he drove in a run with a base hit off the Phillies Steve Carlton in the 4th inning, the run held up to be the game winner in the 2-1 Craig Swan victory. The next day he had three hits & drove in two runs in the Mets 6-4 win.
Brooks then missed over two weeks of action in June, with injury & then after a brief return missed three weeks in July.
He returned in August but never got back to top form the rest of the season. On August 6th, he collected three doubles & an RBI in a Mets loss at Pittsburgh. On September 25th, he drove in a run with a base hit off the Phillies Steve Carlton in the 4th inning, the run held up to be the game winner in the 2-1 Craig Swan victory. The next day he had three hits & drove in two runs in the Mets 6-4 win.On October 1st Terry Leach & John Denny pitched nine scoreless innings against each other in a game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. In the top of the 10th Porfi Altamirano came in to relieve Denny allowing a walk to Dave Kingman & a single to Gary Rajsich. Brooks followed with a base hit scoring the only run of the game in the 1-0 squeaker.
For the 1982 season his hitting fell off, dropping to a .249 average with two HRs 20 doubles a .315 on base % & 40 RBIs playing in 126 games.
1983: There Mets acquired Tom Seaver in the off season back after six years, Darryl Strawberry had his Rookie of the Year debut & the team also had a very strong minor league core that was ready to break through. It wouldn't come together until next year as this team won 68 games just three more than the previous season. The Mets finished 6th under managers George Bamberger who resigned & Frank Howard.
For the 1982 season his hitting fell off, dropping to a .249 average with two HRs 20 doubles a .315 on base % & 40 RBIs playing in 126 games.
1983: There Mets acquired Tom Seaver in the off season back after six years, Darryl Strawberry had his Rookie of the Year debut & the team also had a very strong minor league core that was ready to break through. It wouldn't come together until next year as this team won 68 games just three more than the previous season. The Mets finished 6th under managers George Bamberger who resigned & Frank Howard.
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This season, Brooks would stay healthy & play in over 150 games for the Mets becoming a steady everyday player for the next two seasons. A slow April had him batting just .233 at the end of the month. On May 6th, in a game against the Reds at Shea Stadium, Brooks came in as a defensive replacement in the 10th inning. After the Reds went ahead, Brooks homered to tie the game leading the Mets to a 13th inning victory on George Fosters three run walk off HR.
On May 16th he drove in three runs at Pittsburgh in a big 11-4 Mets victory. On May 20th, he drove in two runs in Neil Allen's six hit shut out over the Dodgers at Shea. On May 29th, in San Diego, Brooks singled in the top of the 6th inning, bringing in what turned out to be the game winning run off "The Count" John Montefusco beating the Padres 3-2.
On May 16th he drove in three runs at Pittsburgh in a big 11-4 Mets victory. On May 20th, he drove in two runs in Neil Allen's six hit shut out over the Dodgers at Shea. On May 29th, in San Diego, Brooks singled in the top of the 6th inning, bringing in what turned out to be the game winning run off "The Count" John Montefusco beating the Padres 3-2.
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He hit safely in 14 of 20 games that month & finished May batting .272 an increase of forty points in the month. The Mets became a better team on the June 15th deadline when they got Keith Hernandez in a trade with the Cardinals.On June 23rd Brooks hit a three run HR off the Cardinals' Dave Von Ohlen, while driving in another run with a base hit, leading the Mets to a 7-5 win at Shea. On the 23rd. he hit a three HR off the Phillies John Denny but the Mets lost 8-4. On June 28th in the first game of a double header in St. Louis, Brooks had a five-hit day, including a double & RBI. in a 10-1 Met win.
On July 25th he helped the Mets rally from three runs down in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Atlanta Braves. Brooks drove in the first run of the inning, with a single off Steve Bedrosian & then scored the tying run on George Fosters double. Keith Hernandez also crossed the plate with the game winning run on that Foster double.
On the season he hit .251 with 18 doubles 4 triples 5 HRs & 58 RBIs. Brooks stole just six bases, drew just 24 walks & posted a .284 on base.
At third base he posted a .950 fielding percentage turning 25 double plays & making 21 errors.
1984: the Mets were a much-improved team as Davey Johnson took over as manager. The Mets would go on to win 90 games (90-72) finishing in second place, as the young rookie pitchers Dwight Gooden, Ron Darlins & Sid Fernandez brought the Mets back into the spotlight.
Brooks had his best season with the Mets that year as well. He started out slow batting just .203 in the first month of the season, although he did hit three HRs & drove in eight runs.
Then in May he went on fire, he had a hit in every game he played in in that month.
Brooks had his best season with the Mets that year as well. He started out slow batting just .203 in the first month of the season, although he did hit three HRs & drove in eight runs.
Then in May he went on fire, he had a hit in every game he played in in that month.
Mets Hit Streak Record: Brooks set a Mets record at the time with a 24-game hitting streak, passing Mike Vails’ old mark of 23 set in 1975. The streak began on May 1st, with two hits in an 8-1 win over the Cubs. He had three straight two hit games, including a HR on May 4th in a 2-0 Ron Darling shut out over the Astros & Bon Knepper. Jesse Orosco finished off the 9th inning. On May 11th he drove in one of the two runs off Fernando Valenzuela, in Dwight Gooden's eleven strike out, four hit shutouts in Los Angeles.
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He was batting .306 when the streak ended in June & then he continued to hit safely in the next 8 of 11 games, having him hit safely in 32 of 35 games.
In June, he remained hot keeping his average well above the .300 mark. In the middle of the month, he hit HRs in three of four games, driving in runs in eight of nine games, with five multi-hit games.
On July 6th, Brooks hit a HR off the Reds Jeff Russel scoring the only run of the game helping Ron Darling to a 1-0 shutout.
On July 6th, Brooks hit a HR off the Reds Jeff Russel scoring the only run of the game helping Ron Darling to a 1-0 shutout.
On July 20th he singled off the Reds Jay Tibbs breaking a 2-2 tie & giving Dwight Gooden a 3-2 win. Brooks would contribute with RBIs in three straight Mets one runs that week. On a twelve game August home stand he had 19 hits, including seven games with two or more hits. In that stretch he hit three HRs & drove in 13 runs right in the heat of the summer's pennant race. That month he drove in 23 runs overall & scored 15 runs.
On August 8th he had a big four hit day scoring four runs , although the Mets lost to the Cubs at Wrigley Field 7-6. On August 13th he had a big three hit day, with a walk & four RBIs in the first game of a double header in San Francisco.
Over the next 16 games Brooks would drive in at least one run in thirteen of those games.
He began September with five hits in a double header sweep at Shea against the San Diego Padres. In that night cap he drove in three runs in the 10-6 Mets win. On September 9th he hit a three run HR leading the Mets to a 5-1 win over the Cubs at Shea Stadium.
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On September 12th, as rookie phenom Dwight Gooden broke the NL Rookie strikeout record, while striking out 16 Pittsburgh Pirates in a five-hit shutout, it was Brooks who supplied the offense driving in both Mets runs. (ceterfieldmaz was in attendance that night).
Hubie finished the year hitting 16 HRs, with 23 doubles, 73 RBIs, 61 runs scored and a .283 average. He had 45 games where he had more than one hit throughout the season. He almost doubled his based on balls as he drew a career high 48 walks raising his on base % to .341 %. He also played 26 games at short stop and was used as a pinch hitter by manager Davey Johnson.
Gary Carter Trade: In the off-season Brooks was the main chip in a blockbuster trade, going to Montreal along with along with catcher Mike Fitzgerald & Herm Winningham in exchange for Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.
He was so valuable to his third place Expo team he came in 14th in the league's MVP voting. Brooks hit .269 with 13 HRs 34 doubles, 7 triples (9th in the NL) & 100 RBIs (6th in the NL) posting a .310 on base %.
In 1986 he had a great first half, batting .333 with 14 HRs making his first of two straight All-Star appearances. He went 0-2 in the NL's 3-2 loss at the Astrodome. After the break he played in only five more games as he tore a ligament in his thumb which ended his fine season. He played in only 80 games batting .340 with 14 HRs 18 doubles & 58 RBIs.
1987 All Star Game: Brooks went 1-3 in the All-Star Game with a 13th inning single off Jay Howell in a scoreless game. He then scored on Tim Raines two run double, leading the NL in the 2-0 win.
In 1988 he hit 20 HRs & drove in 90 runs (9th in the league). After an injury to Larry Walker, he was converted from a short stop to play the outfield. He was not happy about the move, in his first year playing outfield he posted a .968 fielding % making nine errors.
In 1988 he hit 20 HRs & drove in 90 runs (9th in the league). After an injury to Larry Walker, he was converted from a short stop to play the outfield. He was not happy about the move, in his first year playing outfield he posted a .968 fielding % making nine errors.
But at the plate he drove in 90 runs with career highs in HRs (20) & doubles (35) while batting .279. That year he stuck out 108 times & would do the same the following season.
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He remained in Montreal through the 1989 season, that year his numbers fell off a bit 14 HRs & 70 RBIs but he still hit 30 doubles & batted .268 for the fourth place Expos.In the off season he signed as a free agent in his hometown of Los Angeles with the Dodgers.
Dodgers Career: He won the Dodger fans over early on by hitting a game winning three HR on Opening Day against the Padres Bruce Hurst in San Diego.
Later in April he hit HRs in three straight games & had a four RBI Day on May 6th in a loss to the Phillies. He hit HRs in back-to-back games at San Diego in June then again did it in Atlanta in August. The next day he homered against the Mets as well.
For the season Hubbie hit 20 HRs with 28 doubles & collected 90 RBIs, giving him his third career 90 plus RBI season. He batted .266 but struck out over 100 times for the third straight year.. After just one season in L.A.,he made a triumphant return to New York with the Mets in 1991 getting traded in exchange for Bobby Ojeda.
Return to the Mets:
He came back to a team on the demise since its Championship in 1986. Brooks only hit .238 and ended up being a huge disappointment like the rest of the 1991 team that finished in fifth place. That year the Mets fired manager Bud Harrelson at the end of the season. They would have five more straight losing seasons. Brooks did hit 16 HRs & drove in 50 runs, with 11 doubles & a .238 batting average.
It was a brief stay, after that season he was sent to the California Angels for Dave Gallagher.
He came back to a team on the demise since its Championship in 1986. Brooks only hit .238 and ended up being a huge disappointment like the rest of the 1991 team that finished in fifth place. That year the Mets fired manager Bud Harrelson at the end of the season. They would have five more straight losing seasons. Brooks did hit 16 HRs & drove in 50 runs, with 11 doubles & a .238 batting average. It was a brief stay, after that season he was sent to the California Angels for Dave Gallagher.
Mets Career Stats: Brooks spent six seasons with the Mets playing in 654 games. He batted .267 with 640 hits 96 doubles 12 triples 44 HRs 244 runs scored & 268 RBIs with a .318 on base %.
Post Mets Career: In California he only hit .216 and went to the Kansas City Royals in 1993. There he improved to a .286 average playing in 75 games (168 at bats). Brooks retired after the 1994 baseball strike.
Career Stats: Brooks played 15 seasons batting .269 lifetime with 1608 hits 149 HRs, 290 doubles 31 triples 387 walks & 824 RBIs with a .315 on base %. With the glove he committed 90 errors playing at 516 games at third base, turning 80 double plays with a .936 on base %.
In the outfield he played 582 games making 35 errors with 32 assists & a .966 fielding %. Brooks also played 371 games at short stop, 13 games at first base & 7 games at second base.
Retirement: Brooks lives outside the Los Angeles area.
In 2019 he joined the Mets alumni program & was reacquainted with the organization. As the game has changed since his day, the old school Brooks says he doesn't understand analytics or the idea of a pitch clock.
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