1962 Mets centerfielder Richie Ashburn was a having a hard time playing for the expansion team that lost 120 games. Ashburn didn't exactly come from winning teams, in his years with the Phillies his clubs only finished over .500 four times. He was a member of the Phillies 1950 Whiz Kids that won a pennant but were swept in the World Series. Ashburn then played two years with the Cubs, finishing in seventh place both times before joining the Mets.
But Ashburn was a good hitter, batting .308 lifetime's getting elected to the Hall of Fame. He led the league in hits three times & won two batting titles. Ashburn led the league in walks & on base % four times, triples twice & once in stolen bases.
He was also a fine outfielder, who was almost never out of the line up. His constant presence in the outfield had him leading the league in put outs an amazing 17 times, assists seven times & double plays six times."I Got It": In one of the many classic 1962 Mets stories, Ashburn would come in calling "I got it" for fly balls hit to short center field. The problem was he kept get running into from back peddling short stop Elio Chacon.
Chacon was the seventh MLB player to come out of Venezuela & he didn’t speak any English, so he didn't understand what Ashburn was yelling.
As the problem persisted, Ashburn got help. He found out how to say "I got it" in Spanish, the translation being "Yo la tengo". In a team meeting it was settled on how fly balls to short centerfield would be handled with Chacon at short stop.Next time on a fly ball to shallow left centerfield, Ashburn yells out "yo la tengo", Chacon backs off but six foot thee, 200 pound, left fielder Frank Thomas comes running in for the ball & barrels over Ashburn. Thomas had missed that team meeting & did not speak any Spanish. He asked Ashburn what does "yellow tango" mean?
Elio Chacon would only play three years in the major leagues. In his last season he played in 110 games at short stop for the 1962 Mets. He committed 22 errors (4th most in the NL) &with a .961 fielding % (5th best in the NL). Chacon drew 76 walks (5th most in the NL) & led the slow club with seven stolen bases.
Frank Thomas was the Mets first slugger leading the team with 34 HRs that season.
Richie Ashburn was voted the team's MVP & was awarded a boat that slept six people. He later said he docked it in Ocean City, New Jersey & it sank. Ashburn decided to retire after the season rather than play with a bad ball club another season. He then began a long broadcasting career with the Phillies that lasted until his death in 1997. Ashburn died of a heart attack in his New York hotel room before a Phillies game with the Mets at Shea Stadium.
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