Here's another borrowed article from the folks at
Centerfield Maz. They surprised me when they dusted off one of my favorite random Mets - Kelvin Chapman. As Maz will explain, he was the starter, then disappeared - then suddenly was back years later.
Kelvin was born June 2, 1956 in Willits, California. He was drafted out of Santa Rosa Jr. College in 1975 and quickly moved up the Mets organization. He had a great Spring Training in 1979 & was promoted right past AAA ball stealing the second base job from Doug Flynn. These were the days when Joe Torre’s managing career was lucky enough to get a win, let alone be talked about for Cooperstown. The Kelvin experiment at second base lasted only 80 at bats, his .150 average got Doug Flynn his job back and a gold glove. Chapman spent the next four years in AAA mostly at Tidewater as a second baseman. He started out hitting well at Tidewater in 1985 , and Davey Johnson called him up to be a right handed platoon with Wally Backman. He hit .289 in 197 at bats with 3 HRs 13 doubles 23 RBIs & a 3.56 on base percentage. He started out 1985 s
till platooning but only hit .174 and was sent back to Tidewater in July. He was released after the 1985 season, a lifetime .223 hitter in 172 games. After baseball he operated a sporting goods store & batting range in Ukiah, California, then coached at Mendocino College in his hometown of Willits, California.
It's a great blog...thanks again
Centerfield Maz.
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Kelvin was born June 2, 1956 in Willits, California. He was drafted out of Santa Rosa Jr. College in 1975 and quickly moved up the Mets organization. He had a great Spring Training in 1979 & was promoted right past AAA ball stealing the second base job from Doug Flynn. These were the days when Joe Torre’s managing career was lucky enough to get a win, let alone be talked about for Cooperstown. The Kelvin experiment at second base lasted only 80 at bats, his .150 average got Doug Flynn his job back and a gold glove. Chapman spent the next four years in AAA mostly at Tidewater as a second baseman. He started out hitting well at Tidewater in 1985 , and Davey Johnson called him up to be a right handed platoon with Wally Backman. He hit .289 in 197 at bats with 3 HRs 13 doubles 23 RBIs & a 3.56 on base percentage. He started out 1985 s
till platooning but only hit .174 and was sent back to Tidewater in July. He was released after the 1985 season, a lifetime .223 hitter in 172 games. After baseball he operated a sporting goods store & batting range in Ukiah, California, then coached at Mendocino College in his hometown of Willits, California.
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