The New York Mets drafted Benny Agbayani in the 30th round of the 1993 amateur draft, but he would not make his Mets debut until 1998 and due in large part to being a favorite of Mets manager Bobby Valentine.
Benny Agbayani made his Mets as well as his Major League debut on June 17, 1998 against the Montreal Expos as part of a double switch, he struck out swinging in his first at bat. He got his first hit with the Mets on June, 19 against the Florida Marlins. He appeared in just 11 games for the Mets in 1998 and did not leave much of an impression hitting just .133. He was quickly sent back to the minors.
It appeared that his major league career was over before it started. But Mets manager Bobby Valentine who was always a fan of Agabayani gave him a second chance in 1999. He was called back up from the minors in May of 1999 and this time made the most of the situation hitting a home run in his first game back against the Colorado Rockies. Agbayani would go on to hit 6 home runs over the next 16 games quickly becoming a fan favorite. Agbayani would finish the 1999 season with 14 home runs and 42 runs batted in.
After a so so spring training in 2000 that threatened his spot on the team, Benny Agbayani started out the 2000 season with a bang. In the second game of the season against the Cubs, in a game that was played in Japan, Agbayani hit a grand slam in the 11h inning to give the Mets the victory. He would go on to hit 15 home runs with 60 RBI’s in 2000 helping the Mets reach the postseason for the second straight season.
In the postseason Agabyani cemented his place in Mets history by hitting the game winning home run in the bottom of the 13th inning against the San Francisco Giants in game three of the National League Divisional Series. He than helped the Mets reach the World Series by hitting .353 with 3 RBIs in the NLCS against the St Louis Cardinals. The Mets faced their cross town rivals the New York Yankees in the World Series and lost the series 4 games to 1. But in their one victory Agabayani drove in the winning run with a double in the bottom of the 8th inning.
Benny Agbayani returned to the Mets in 2001 but injuries limited his effectiveness as he only hit 6 home runs while driving in 27 runs.
The Mets traded Benny Agbayani in January 21, 2002 as part of a three team trade which landed Agbayani in Colorado. Agbayani played for the Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox, his last season in the majors.
While with the Mets Agbayani wore number 39 in 1998 and number 50 from 1999-2001. He wore number 50 in honor of his home state of Hawaii.
Year G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SB CS SH SF TB AVG SLG OBP
1998 11 15 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 2 0 0 2 .133 .133 .188
1999 101 276 42 79 18 3 14 42 32 4 60 3 6 4 0 3 145 .286 .525 .363
2000 119 350 59 101 19 1 15 60 54 2 68 7 5 5 0 3 168 .289 .480 .391
2001 91 296 28 82 14 2 6 27 36 0 73 5 4 5 1 1 188 .277 .399 .364
322 937 130 264 51 6 35 129 123 6 206 15 15 16 1 7 433 .282 .462 .372
Postseason Totals
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SB CS SH SF TB AVG SLG OBP
22 67 6 20 6 0 1 7 14 0 14 0 1 1 1 0 29 .299 .433 .420
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