Darryl Strawberry was the first, and he, Ricky Ledee, and Jose VIzcaino are the answers to this trivia question: who are the only three players in MLB history to play for all four teams that have called New York City home (the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Giants)?
The latter two are long gone out west, and in the last 60 years, dozens of players have played for the two teams still calling the Big Apple home during their careers. Gene Woodling was the first to pull off the Whitestone Bridge crossing, and since then, some are memorable because you can't believe they ever came across town (Yogi, I'm looking at you), and some are memorable because they were great on both sides of town (sup, Doc Gooden and Carlos Beltran?) at different times.
Some are memorable for other endeavors (former Yankees captain Willie Randolph is better known as a Mets manager, but he was also a player in 1992), some are memorable because they were dealt between the two teams (like Armando Benitez) and some are Todd Frazier, a Jersey boy who is a Phillies stint away from hometown bingo.
And then, there are guys that had memorable tenures on one side of town, but it's easy to forget they also played in the other uniform, too. These six are among that group of New York stars that you look at in the other duds and say, oh, yeah, I forgot about that!
GRAEME LLOYD (Yankees 1996-98, Mets 2003)Lloyd was only a Yankee for a short time, but the fan base will never forget how the Australian southpaw went from goat down the stretch in '96 to one of the most important cogs in the dynasty era. Lloyd was downright awful after being initially acquired from Milwaukee (11 runs in 5 2/3 innings), but in three postseasons, he was unscored upon in eight innings with a 0.250 WHIP (that's one baserunner per four innings to you and me, aka two baserunners allowed total).
Five years after leaving the Bronx, Lloyd resurfaced in Queens, signing with the Mets prior to the 2003 season. He made 36 appearances, posting a 3.31 ERA in 35 1/3 innings, before being traded to Kansas City in July for Jeremy Hill and finishing his career as a Royal.
GARY SHEFFIELD (Yankees 2004-06, Mets 2009)Sheff played for eight teams in 22 years, so it's easy to forget all of his stops. His three years in the Bronx were unforgettable, though, as he was a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and MVP runner up in 2004. And, his injury issues in 2006 (along with those of Hideki Matsui) led to Bernie Williams' swan song, Melky Cabrera's first extended look, and a trade for Bobby Abreu, who himself became a revered Yankee over time.
Sheffield's stint in Queens wasn't as memorable, with his 500th career home run being the highlight, but he indeed played 100 games with the Mets in 2009, hitting .276 in what turned out to be his final season.
BOBBY ABREU (Yankees 2006-08, Mets 2014)Speaking of Abreu, he too did the double, although his career swan song in Queens was even less memorable than Sheffield's. He came to the Bronx in '06 ostensibly to replace Sheff, and he hit .330 down the stretch before two strong full seasons in pinstripes, including a pair of 100-RBI campaigns and a 20-20 year in 2008.
Five years later, though, he was out of baseball, only to make a comeback by signing with the Mets at the end of Spring Training 2014. It was short-lived and unsuccessful, though, as the then-40-year-old Abreu ended up playing 78 games in Queens and hitting just .248.
BOB OJEDA (Mets 1986-90, Yankees 1994)Ojeda is one step behind Strawberry on the New York square, having also played for the Dodgers. He's most memorable as a Met, though, as he came to Queens in '86 after six years in Boston and went 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting – the first of four Mets in the Top 8. The team won a World Series that year – with Ojeda the starter in the pivotal Game 6 – and posted a 3.12 overall ERA in five seasons in Queens before being dealt to the Dodgers.
Three-and-change years later, though, Ojeda came to the Yankees as a free agent, although he wasn't the same after a 1993 boating accident that killed two teammates in Cleveland. Ojeda made two starts as a Yankee and allowed eight runs in three innings, and his career ended when the Yankees released him in May.
JESSE OROSCO (Mets 1979-87, Yankees 2003)Orosco pitched 24 seasons over four decades, but cut his teeth and won his only ring as a Met, debuting in 1979 as a swingman and leaving via trade in 1987 as a two-time All-Star and third-place finisher in the 1984 Cy Young race – and perhaps most memorably, the man who got the final six outs, and the World Series icing RBI single, in the Mets' championship season in '86.
Orosco also almost had a second stint in Queens, but never made it to the regular season; he was dealt from Baltimore to the Mets in December 1999, but the Amazins sent him to St. Louis for Joe McEwing during Spring Training 2000.
Alas, a few years later, a 46-year-old Orosco did make it back, with the Yankees his second of three teams in his final MLB season. The Padres dealt the veteran lefty to the Bronx in July, and he threw 4 1/3 ineffective innings before being sent to Minnesota at the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline and finishing his career with the Twins.
IKE DAVIS (Mets 2010-14, Yankees 2016)We liked Ike as a Met, as he was their first-round pick in 2008, debuted in 2010, and put up a monster season in 2012 that left Mets fans dreaming of a strong future before injuries and Valley Fever left Davis a shell of himself and he was dealt to Pittsburgh in 2014.
Two years later, a now-journeyman Davis signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees, and was with the organization from June-August 2016. He played mostly at Triple-A, but appeared in eight games as an injury fill-in for Mark Teixeira, going 3-for-14 with a walk before being released. He never again played in the Majors, but did represent Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social MediaTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
