- Mike Vail
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Mike Vail Outfielder Born: November 10, 1951 Batted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut August 18, 1975 for the New York Mets Last MLB appearance July 30, 1984 for the Los Angeles Dodgers Career statistics Avg. .279 HR 34 RBIs 219 Teams - New York Mets (1975-1977)
- Cleveland Indians (1978)
- Chicago Cubs (1978-1980)
- Cincinnati Reds (1981-1982)
- San Francisco Giants (1983)
- Montreal Expos (1983)
- Los Angeles Dodgers (1984)
Career highlights and awards 23 Game Hitting streak (Rookie Record) (1975) Michael Lewis Vail (born November 10, 1951, in San Francisco, California) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played from 1975-1984.
Vail was original drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970 amateur draft, but did not sign. A year later, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. On December 11, 1974, he was traded with Jack Heidemann to the New York Mets for Ted Martinez.
His first season in the Mets' organization, Vail won the 1975 International League Player of the Year award. He was called up to the majors by the New York Mets in August 1975 and got a hit in his first at bat against the Houston Astros. From there, he proceeded to set a modern Major League rookie record 23 game hit streak, which at the time was also the longest hitting streak in Mets' franchise history (both records have since been broken).
In the off-season, Vail was anointed the Mets' "player of the future," which prompted the Mets to trade star right fielder Rusty Staub to the Detroit Tigers to make room for Vail in their outfield.
Unfortunately, Vail dislocated his foot playing basketball in the off-season, and hit only .217 for the 1976 season. Though his average rose to .262 the following season, he was selected off waivers by the Cleveland Indians during 1978 Spring training. Staub, meanwhile, had three seasons hitting over 100 RBIs for Detroit.
Though he never lived up to his expectations, Vail still managed a respectable ten year career that saw him hit .279 in 665 games.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Categories:- 1951 births
- Living people
- Chicago Cubs players
- Cincinnati Reds players
- Cleveland Indians players
- Los Angeles Dodgers players
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Baseball players from California
- Montreal Expos players
- New York Mets players
- San Francisco Giants players
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