Family, father drove McAndrew

Jim McAndrew was a member of the 1969 World Series championship team and 1973 NL champions, yet he never pitched in the postseason.

Jim McAndrew said the biggest thrill of his career came in 1969, not from winning the World Series, but the memory of his father in the New York Mets clubhouse.

“I probably played because I saw how much it pleased my dad,” said McAndrew. “He was the real baseball fan.”

McAndrew’s father, a “diehard” New York Yankees fan, remembers sitting in the Mets clubhouse alongside Duffy Dyer and Wayne Garrett, sipping champagne as Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer streamed into the clubhouse to congratulate the Amazin’ Mets.