Highlighted Year: Joe Christopher, 1964

Outfielder, New York Mets

Age: 28

3^rd season with Mets

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1964:

A native of the US Virgin Islands, Christopher played baseball in high school in Frederiksted and also played shortstop for a local amateur team. While playing in the National Baseball Congress tournament in Kansas in 1954, the 18-year-old shortstop drew the attention of a Pittsburgh Pirates scout, who signed him. He played in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Assigned to the Phoenix Stars of the Class C Arizona-Mexico League in 1955, he was shifted to the outfield and batted .366 in 84 games with 15 doubles, 14 triples, 2 home runs, 60 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, a .481 on-base percentage, and a .507 slugging percentage. Moving up to two Class A teams during the year, his final combined totals for the season were .283 with 22 doubles, 15 triples, 4 home runs, 76 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, a .392 OBP, and a .383 slugging percentage. In 1956, Christopher was with Williamsport of the Class A Eastern League and hit .283 with 13 doubles, 4 home runs, 34 RBIs, 67 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, and a .368 OBP. Advancing to the Mexico City Tigers of the Class AA Mexican League in 1957, he topped the circuit with 24 stolen bases in 64 games while batting .291 with 16 extra-base hits, 61 runs scored, 23 RBIs, and a .358 OBP. In 1958 he was next assigned to the Salt Lake City Bees of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit .327 with 15 doubles, 10 triples, 8 home runs, 71 runs scored, 58 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, a .413 OBP, and a .469 slugging percentage. Called up to the Pirates as an outfield reserve in 1959, Christopher encountered injury problems and was quickly sent down to the Columbus Jets of the Class AAA International League where he batted .301 with 23 doubles, 7 triples, one home run, 69 runs scored, 32 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, and a .373 OBP. Back with the Pirates in 1960 as an outfield reserve and pinch-runner, thanks to his speed, and pinch-hitter, he was sent to Salt Lake City at one point for the opportunity to see more action and returned to Pittsburgh in June. He went on to appear in 50 games for the pennant-winning Pirates and hit .232 with one homer, 3 RBIs, and a .295 OBP. In the World Series against the New York Yankees, Christopher appeared in three of the seven games as a pinch-runner and contributed two runs. Still little used by the Pirates in 1961, he appeared in 76 games and batted .263 with 7 doubles, 3 triples, 14 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, and a .327 OBP. In the offseason he was chosen by the Mets in the NL expansion draft. Christopher started the 1962 season back in Class AAA with Syracuse of the International League prior to being called up by the struggling first-year Mets. He played in 119 games and hit .244 with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, 32 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a .338 OBP. Farmed out again in 1962, he returned to the Mets in July to appear in 64 games and batted .221 with 7 extra-base hits, 8 RBIs, and a .295 OBP. He finally was given the opportunity to play regularly in 1964, although he was not an especially good defensive outfielder.

1964 Season Summary

Appeared in 154 games

RF – 129, CF – 10, PH – 9, LF – 7, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 604

At Bats – 543

Runs – 78 [20]

Hits – 163 [19, tied with Tommy Davis]

Doubles – 26 [19, tied with Bob Bailey & Felipe Alou]

Triples – 8 [8, tied with Donn Clendenon & Bill Mazeroski]

Home Runs – 16

RBI – 76

Bases on Balls – 48 [19]

Int. BB – 5

Strikeouts – 92 [15, tied with Willie Stargell]

Stolen Bases – 6

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .300 [15]

OBP - .360 [13]

Slugging Pct. - .466 [17]

Total Bases – 253 [19, tied with Willie Davis]

GDP – 18 [5, tied with Roy McMillan]

Hit by Pitches – 6 [10, tied with Tony Gonzalez & Johnny Callison]

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 6 [7, tied with ten others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 7, 3B – 2, HR - 9, RBI - 36, AVG - .277, OBP - .335

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 10 AB) vs. San Francisco 5/31 – 23 innings, (in 6 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs – 12 innings, (in 5 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 8/18, (in 6 AB) at Chi. Cubs 8/28

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

HR at home – 9

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Philadelphia 6/20

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Mil. Braves 6/26

Pinch-hitting – 3 for 9 (.333) with 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI & 1 ROE

Fielding

Chances – 268

Put Outs – 251

Assists – 10

Errors – 7

DP – 2

Pct. - .974 

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The Mets went 53-109 to finish tenth (last) in the NL, 40 games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals while leading the league in fewest triples (31), and fewest walks drawn (353). Moving from the decrepit Polo Grounds to the new Shea Stadium, the Mets remained a cellar-dwelling club despite the addition of some helpful veterans and the improvement of players such as Christopher, who became the first hitter in club history who batted .300 and had the plate appearances to qualify for ranking. A 2-10 April planted the Mets in the cellar to stay. They still managed to almost play a spoiler role on the season’s final weekend, winning the first two of three games at St. Louis to nearly deprive the Cardinals, locked in a tight pennant race, of the prize outright. The club was 33-48 for the year at Shea Stadium, where they drew 1,732,597 fans.

Aftermath of 1964:

Christopher was unable to build on his 1964 success in 1965. Hindered by a hand injury from the start of the season along with the competition from rookie slugger Ron Swoboda, he batted only .249 with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 40 RBIs, and a .311 OBP. In the offseason he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Little used by Boston in 1966, Christopher was dealt to the Detroit Tigers at midseason and was sent down to Class AAA with Syracuse of the International League. With his major league career effectively finished, he continued to play winter ball in Puerto Rico and with minor league teams through 1968. An abortive comeback in the Mexican League in 1972 marked the end of his playing career. For his major league playing career, Christopher batted .260 with 434 hits that included 68 doubles, 17 triples, and 29 home runs. He scored 224 runs and compiled 173 RBIs, 29 stolen bases, a .329 OBP, and a .374 slugging percentage. With the Mets he batted .265 with 171 runs scored, 371 hits, 59 doubles, 14 triples, 28 home runs, 156 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, a .334 OBP, and a .387 slugging percentage. Following his playing career, Christopher worked for an ad agency in New York. Christopher died at age 87 in 2023. As his caregiver during his final years summed up “I can say with all honesty that Mr. Joe was one of the kindest, most pleasant men that I have ever met.” And for one season with the Mets, he was a noteworthy ballplayer.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.