Ken MacKenzie, an original member of the New York Mets, passed away on Thursday at the age of 89.
A representative for the Mets informed the Associated Press of his passing. With MacKenzie’s death, the Mets original team now has nine players alive.
It was left-hander MacKenzie who was the only pitcher in the Mets’ 1962 inaugural season to have a winning record. In 42 games, including one start, MacKenzie was 5-4 as a reliever with a 4.95 ERA. He pitched 80 innings, struck out 51 batters, and only had one save.
That season, the Mets finished 40-120, which is a record for the most losses in a baseball season today.
He played with the Mets for less than two seasons, but he made the most of his time in New York, going 8-5 with a 4.95 ERA. In 1963, the Mets traded him to St. Louis.
With the other four MLB teams he was a member of—the Houston Astros, the San Francisco Giants, the Milwaukee Braves, and the St. Louis Cardinals—he never won a game.
In 128 relief appearances from 1960 to 1965, he had an 8-10 record and a 4.80 ERA. After the 1961 season, the Braves sold him to an expansion team, and he eventually signed with the Mets.
Born in Gore Bay, Ontario, MacKenzie excelled in both baseball and hockey while attending Yale. He was a Second-Team All-Ivy performer in the latter sport.
In 1956, fresh out of college, he signed with the Braves.
After retiring from baseball, he went back to Yale and served as the Bulldogs’ baseball team’s coach from 1969 to 1978. Even though Ron Darling did not play for MacKenzie, the AP reports that he was crucial in helping Yale sign the future star of the New York Mets.
After leaving the coaching profession, MacKenzie worked for Yale’s alumni office until his permanent retirement in 1984.
