UnforMETable, Episode 23: Ellis Valentine

Welcome to UnforMETable, an Amazin’ Avenue Audio show that looks back on less heralded, more obscure, but quintessential Mets players from the past. Drafted a round before Gary Carter—and out of the same high school as Darryl Strawberry—Ellis Valentine had the type of talent that had people touting him as a future Hall of Famer. Valentine’s career got off to an impressive start with the Montreal Expos before some combination of injuries, off-field problems and an on-field beanball led to the precipitous downslide of his career at the tender age of 26—and right around the time of his acquisition by the New York Mets. Hear about Valentine’s fascinating career—including a memorable television appearance—and his impressive post-baseball work. As always, you can listen or subscribe to this and all of our wonderful Amazin’ Avenue Audio podcasts through Apple Podcasts, where we encourage you to leave a review if you enjoy the show. It really helps! And you can find us on the Stitcher app, or listen wherever you get podcasts. If you’ve got an idea for a player to be featured on UnforMETable, let us know in the comments. Make sure to follow Rob on Twitter (@WolffRR), and you can now follow the show, too (@unformetable). Tune in next week for another tale from the Mets’ past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices