Randy Myers: 1988 NL Eastern Champion Mets Reliever & Three Time Saves Leader (1988 - 1989)
By 1983 he was considered a strong prospect getting from A ball Lynchburg to AA Jackson, averaging more than a strike out an inning. In 1985 he was promoted to AAA Tidewater posting a 1.84 making seven starts.
Mets Debut: Myers got a September 1985 call up & pitched the final two innings of the last game of the 1985 season, striking out two Expos in the 2-1 Mets loss, which was Rusty Staub's final career game.
Transition to Reliever: In 1986 with the Mets talented big-league staff, it was going to be tough for any minor leaguers to break through. So, at AAA Tidewater, Myers was transitioned into a reliever. He quickly became he Tides closer earning 12 saves striking out 79 batters in 65 innings but had 45 walks.
1986 Post Season & Championship Ring: Myers was not eligible for the post season. But as time went on, he brought the story for being snubbed on a ring public. Eventually he paid the bill as he & Dave Magadan got their rings ten years later.
1987: Myers began the year at AAA Tidewater but was called up & remained on the staff for good. In his first appearance on April 12th, he gave up four runs to the Braves in 12-4 Mets loss. On April 20th a Sid Bream HR led to a blown save against the Pirates. By the end of June, he was 0-3 with a 6.33 ERA.
His season was up & down as he was mostly used to set up Roger McDowell or Jesse Orosco. McDowell eventually took over the closer spot with 25 saves. Orosco would move on to the Dodgers in 1988 paving the way for Myers in a closer role.
He started out with an Opening Day save in Montreal, striking out two in 1.2 scoreless innings. Dwight Gooden earned the win. In April he saved four games & although he blew a chance on April 30th, he earned a win when a Reds error led to Howard Johnson scoring the winning run in Cincinnati.
On May 31st he finished up an extra inning game against the Dodgers, earning the win thanks to Kevin Elster's walk off HR. He then was the winning pitcher again, when Howard Johnson hit a 13th inning walk off HR off Frank DiPino & the Cubs on June 2nd.
After an August 12th outing where he gave up three runs & an August 19th one run outing, Myers went 15 games before giving up another earned run. He rolled along during the pennant race with nine saves from August 23rd to the end of the season, gathering up 19 strike outs in 16 innings, earning two more wins.
Post Season 1988 NLCS: In the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers Myers was the Game #1 winning pitcher a Dodger Stadium, as the Mets scored three times in the ninth inning on doubles by Daryl Strawberry & Gary Carter.
In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Myers came in to relieve Roger McDowell in the 8th inning with the bases loaded & the score tied 3-3. He walked Mike Sharperson to give LA the lead, then ended the inning getting Steve Sax to ground out.
Scioscia hit a HR to tie the game which the Dodgers went on to win in 12 innings when Kirk Gibson hit a HR off Roger McDowell, turning the series around. Myers did come in to pitch 2.1 scoreless in the 5-4 loss.
In July & August he would save 11 games while only blowing one save, maintaining a 1.88 ERA. Myers September faded away just like the Mets season, as he earned just two saves.
Post Mets Career- Reds: In 1990 Myers became part of the surprising Cincinnati Reds World Championship team. He joined Red's relievers, Rob Dibble & Norm Charlton becoming the “Nasty Boys trio” who were instrumental in the Reds Championship. The trio became infamous for throwing inside at hitters trying to intimidate them.
Post Season- 1990 NLCS: In the NLCS win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Myers collected three games. In Game #2 he pitched 1.2 innings finishing off the 2-1 win in Cincinnati.
1990 World Series: In the World Series, Lou Pinella’s Reds shocked everyone with a Series sweep over the mighty Oakland Athletics. In the World Series, the Nasty Boys pitched eight & two thirds scoreless innings allowing six hits overall. In Game #2 Rob Dibble was the winning pitcher.
Myers finished off the Game #1 & Game #3 victories. He then earned the save in the final Game #4 sealing the Championship. Myers came in relief of Jose Rijo in the 9th inning, getting the final two outs in the 2-1 win at Oakland.
Drama: In September 1995, just after giving up a HR at Wrigley Field, he was attacked on the pitcher's mound, by a fan. In Myers words he dropped the guy with a forearm in fear that he may have had a knife. His Cubs teammates & security tackled the man as well.
Orioles Career- AL Saves Leader: In 1996 he would sign as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles for two seasons (1996 & 1997). he was reunited with his old Mets manager Davey Johnson.
1996 Post Season: In the ALDS win over the Cleveland Indians, Myers was credited with two saves in three wins.
1997 Post Season- NLDS: In the ALDS win over the Seattle Mariners, Myers appeared in two games earning two saves. In four innings pitched he allowed no runs.
1998 Post Season- NLCS: In the NLCS win over the Braves, he made four appearances. In the Game #4 loss, Randy allowed three runs to Atlanta in 2/3 of an inning.
1998 Post Season- In the loss to New York, Randy made three appearances. In Game #1 Myers finished off 9-6 loss. In Game #3 he gave up an 8th inning run in the 5-4 loss. He came into Game #4 down 3-0 getting Paul O'Neil to line out to end the inning.
Carrer Stats: At the time of his retirement Myers was seventh all time in saves with 347 (now14th all time). He posted a 34.19 ERA with 884 strike outs& 396 walks in 884.2 innings pitched with 548 games finished (32nd all time) in 728 appearances.
On July 1st, he earned his first win, putting out the fire in relief of Doug Sisk in a game against the Cardinals. The Mets came back on a HR from Gary Carter & two run single by Lenny Dykstra earning Myers his first win.
On July 7th, he pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first save. On July 11th, he pitched 4.1 relief innings at Houston, ass the Mets took a 9-6 win over the Astros, earning Myers his second win.
In 1987 Myers was 3-6 with six saves, posting a 3.96 ERA. He struck out 92 batters walked 30 in 75 innings & 54 appearances, finishing up 17 games.
1988 Mets NL East Champion Season: Myers would slowly become the Mets main closer saving 26 games (7th most in the NL) to Roger McDowell’s 16 saves.
In May after collecting another win against the Reds, he went ten games without giving up a run.
On May 31st he finished up an extra inning game against the Dodgers, earning the win thanks to Kevin Elster's walk off HR. He then was the winning pitcher again, when Howard Johnson hit a 13th inning walk off HR off Frank DiPino & the Cubs on June 2nd.
By June 6th he was 4-0 with nine saves, lowering his ERA to 0.87. On June 13th Myers pitched a scoreless 11th & 12th innings vs the Cardinals & won the game when Lee Mazzilli drove in Howard Johnson with a walk off single. By the All-Star break Myers was 5-0 with 13 saves & a 1.35 ERA.
Myers closed out the Mets NL Eastern season at 7-3 with a 1.72 ERA. He had 26 saves & 69 strike outs in 68 innings in 55 appearances.
Myers control had gotten much better at this point as he only walked 17 batters, almost half of the batters he walked the previous year. His walks per nine innings went down from as well, in 1986 it was 7.6, in 1987 it was 3.6 & by 1988 it had lowered to 2.3.
Post Season 1988 NLCS: In the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers Myers was the Game #1 winning pitcher a Dodger Stadium, as the Mets scored three times in the ninth inning on doubles by Daryl Strawberry & Gary Carter. In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Myers came in to relieve Roger McDowell in the 8th inning with the bases loaded & the score tied 3-3. He walked Mike Sharperson to give LA the lead, then ended the inning getting Steve Sax to ground out.
But Myers earned another NLCS win, as the Mets scored five times in the 8th inning.
In Game #4, the Mets held a 4-2 lead in the top of the 9th inning. Dwight Gooden started the inning with a walk to John Shelby. With the left-handed Mike Scioscia coming to bat, Mets manager Davey Johnson chose to stick with Gooden instead of going to Myers in the bullpen.
Overall, Myers went 2-0 in the series no strike outs & two walks in 4.2 innings of work.
1989: Myers began the year with a save at Montreal in the fifth game of the season. On April 11th at Pittsburgh, he pitched 2.2 innings but blew a save opp. giving up two runs.
1989: Myers began the year with a save at Montreal in the fifth game of the season. On April 11th at Pittsburgh, he pitched 2.2 innings but blew a save opp. giving up two runs.
On May 4th, he relieved Ron Darling in the 9th inning of a 2-2 game. Myers earned a win as the Mets won it on Howard Johnson's 10th inning walk off HR. Myers would win five straight decisions & have eight saves by mid-June.
On June 10th, he gave up a walk off HR in Pittsburgh to Rey Quinones. On June 16th he pitched 2.2 innings to get a win at Philadelphia in a wild 15-11 game. On June 23rd, he saved his tenth game, then saved five more straight games.
The Mets finished second that year to the Chicago Cubs. Myers went 7-4 with 24 saves & a 2.35 ERA. He had 88 strike outs in 84.1 innings of work with 40 walks, almost double from the previous year.
Trade for John Franco: That December he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for native New Yorker, John Franco as he was to become the teams closer.
At the time of the trade, some stories said the Mets were unhappy with Myers method of weight training, something pitchers didn't do much of in those days. His interest in guns, weapons & warfare also may have scared off people in the locker room.
Myers saved 31 games (second to the Mets John Franco in the NL) going 4-6 with 98 strike outs in 86 innings, finishing 59 games in 66 appearances.
He came in fifth in the Cy Young voting & was actually 17th in the MVP voting. His teammate Rob Dibble saved 11 games with 17 holds & a 1.74 ERA. Both Reds relievers made the All-Star team. Norm Charlton was the other Reds set up man with two saves.
In Game #3 at Pittsburgh, he struck out the side in the 9th inning of the 6-3 win. In Game #4 he collected a hold as Rod Dibble notched the save.
NLCS co-MVP: In the final Game #6 he struck out three batters in two innings of another tight 2-1 win collecting his third save of the series. He ended the game striking out Don Slaught getting the Reds to their first World Series since 1976. In the NLCS Myers was 2-0, allowing no runs in 5.2 innings with seven strike outs. He & Rob Dibble shared co-MVP honors.
1990 World Series: In the World Series, Lou Pinella’s Reds shocked everyone with a Series sweep over the mighty Oakland Athletics. In the World Series, the Nasty Boys pitched eight & two thirds scoreless innings allowing six hits overall. In Game #2 Rob Dibble was the winning pitcher.
Trivia: That year he & fellow Red's teammates appeared on a Wheaties box.
In 1991 Dibble became the Reds main closer, earning 31 saves. Randy Myers went 6-13 with eight holds & a 3.55 ERA. With Dibble as the teams closer, Meyers was traded to the San Diego Padres for Bip Roberts in December 1991.
In 1991 Dibble became the Reds main closer, earning 31 saves. Randy Myers went 6-13 with eight holds & a 3.55 ERA. With Dibble as the teams closer, Meyers was traded to the San Diego Padres for Bip Roberts in December 1991.
Myers spent just one year in San Diego, saving 38 games (second in the NL to Lee Smith). He
posted a 3-6 record with a 4.29 ERA.
Cubs Career- Two NL Save Titles: In 1993 he signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs replacing Lee Smith as the team's closer. Myers exceled in Chicago collecting 112 saves over the three seasons. In his first season there, he led the NL in saves with a career high 53 finishing off another career high 69 games. In the strike shortened 1994 season he posted 21 saves. In 1995 he led the league in saves (38) for the second time in his career. That year he posted a career best 1.51 ERA, striking out 56 batters in 59.2 innings.
posted a 3-6 record with a 4.29 ERA.
Cubs Career- Two NL Save Titles: In 1993 he signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs replacing Lee Smith as the team's closer. Myers exceled in Chicago collecting 112 saves over the three seasons. In his first season there, he led the NL in saves with a career high 53 finishing off another career high 69 games. In the strike shortened 1994 season he posted 21 saves. In 1995 he led the league in saves (38) for the second time in his career. That year he posted a career best 1.51 ERA, striking out 56 batters in 59.2 innings.
Orioles Career- AL Saves Leader: In 1996 he would sign as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles for two seasons (1996 & 1997). he was reunited with his old Mets manager Davey Johnson.
Myers Orioles made the post season both years he pitched in Baltimore getting to the ALCS both times. In 1996 he was 4-4 with 31 saves for the Wild Card O's.
1996 ALCS: In the ALCS Game #1, Myers was the losing pitcher serving up a walk off HR to Bernie Williams. The game went to extra innings because umpire Rich Garcia called a HR on a ball that a fan had interfered with.
In 1997 he topped the league in saves for the third time in his career, but the first one in the AL. Myers saved 45 games finishing off 57, while posting a 1.51 ERA in 61 appearances for the first place Orioles.
1997- ALCS: In the ALCS loss to the Indians Myers appeared in four games. In Game #1 he was the losing pitcher when Omar Vizquel was credited with a steal of home plate. In Game #5 he gave up two runs & four hits in the inning, but still earned the save in the 4-2 win.
In Game #6 he pitched two scoreless innings earning no decision in the 10th inning loss, advancing Cleveland to the World Series.
Blue Jays Career: In 1998 he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays having his last good season, saving 28 games. Late that season he was traded to the San Diego Padres to serve as setup man for Trevor Hoffman during the stretch run & the post season.
1998 Post Season- In the loss to New York, Randy made three appearances. In Game #1 Myers finished off 9-6 loss. In Game #3 he gave up an 8th inning run in the 5-4 loss. He came into Game #4 down 3-0 getting Paul O'Neil to line out to end the inning.
Post Season Career: In five post seasons Myers was 2-2 with eight saves. He posted a 2.35 ERA striking out 32 batters & walking 14 in 30.2 innings in 29 games.
That off season the Padres made one of the biggest waiver blunders of all time. They placed a waiver claim on him because they didn’t want him to go to the Atlanta Braves, as they expected the Blue Jays to claim him. But they didn’t & the Padres had to pay the remainder of his contract.
Myers then suffered a shoulder injury & had to have rotator cuff surgery which ended his career.
Retirement: After his playing days, he coached women's basketball at his old school, Clark Community College. He also was instrumental in bringing baseball back to the school.
Myers has been involved in martial arts most of his life.
Charity: The Randy Myers Foundation helps charities in the Vancouver area.
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