Every Team Needs a Jose Oquendo

Jose Oquendo was one of my favorite players - it didn't matter what team he played for. This is his 1984 Topps - his 2nd year with the Mets.

After playing in 120 games with NY in '83, Jose's games dropped to 81 games in 1984.

He became a legend (and inspiration to utility players everywhere) once he landed in St. Louis. Whitey Herzog played him everywhere! In 1986 he played 5 different positions. In 1987 he played every position except catcher - he even pitched in one game, but gave up 3 earned runs. In 1988 he finally played every position!

His fielding stats on baseball reference are awesome. I kept thinking of how valuable a Jose Oquendo player is during the Mets 20 inning game this year.