- Hodges passed away in his native Virginia at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
- The Mets selected the catcher in the amateur draft held in January 1972.
After a brief illness, former New York Mets catcher Ron Hodges passed away on Friday at the age of 74.
A representative for the Mets said on Friday that Hodges, a native of Virginia, passed away at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in his home state following a brief illness.
The catcher played his whole 12-season MLB career with the Mets, having been selected by them in the second round of the amateur draft’s second phase in January 1972.
Hodges played in the major leagues from 1973 to 1984, finishing with a batting average of.240, 19 home runs, and 147 RBIs. Hodges had 217 strikeouts, 224 walks, and an on-base percentage of.342.
Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Torre, George Bamberger, Frank Howard, and Davey Johnson were the seven Mets managers he played for.
Hodges, a native of Rocky Mount, Virginia, was Daisy and Tony Hodges’ seventh of nine children. Following his time at Franklin County High School, he enrolled at Appalachian State.
In 1973, Hodges was promoted to the Mets from Double-A Memphis due to injuries sustained by Duffy Dyer and Jerry Grote. On June 13, 1973, just nine days before turning 24, Hodges made his debut by catching Tom Seaver’s complete game victory over San Francisco.
In his rookie season, he batted.260 with one home run and eighteen RBIs. On September 20, he hit a walk-off single in the 13th inning against Pittsburgh, which was leading the NL East.
Dave Augustine hit a two-out drive off Ray Sadecki in the top of the inning with a runner on first that soared over the 358-foot sign and crashed into the left-field wall. In what became known as the “Ball on the wall play,” Cleon Jones passed the ball to Wayne Garrett, who then passed it to Hodges, who tagged Richie Zisk, who was attempting to score from first base.
With Seaver pitching a five-hitter the next day, the Mets moved up to within a half-game of first place in the division.
‘I just remember so many key hits he got for us,’ Jones said. ‘Any time he played, Ron always managed to do something to help us win.’
In Game 1 of the World Series, Hodges made just one plate appearance during the postseason and was hit by Rollie Fingers of Oakland.
In a 2018 interview with the Society for American Baseball Research, Hodges stated, “My favorite memory of my baseball career is playing in that ´73 season with the pennant drive in September.”
One player whose career was disrupted by the 51-day midseason strike in 1981 was Hodges.
Prior to the walkout, he told The New York Times, “I’ll put everybody in the car and head home to Virginia if nothing happens in the strike talks.”
‘There’s not much demand for substitute teachers in summer school. But I used to get $25 to $30 a day during the winter, teaching phys ed in the middle school – sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Lots of days, I found myself in math and science. When you’re a sub, you take what they have.’
On the first day of the 1983 season, Hodges was in the batting cage for Seaver’s comeback to the Mets following a five and a half-decade stint with Cincinnati. Hodges played 110 games that year, his only season with more than 80, due to injuries sustained by John Stearns.
Sons Riley, Gray, Nat, and Casey; sisters Aubrey, Carmen, Pat, and Donna; and two grandchildren survive Hodges. Plans were still being made for the funeral.