UnforMETable, Episode 5: Nino Espinosa

Welcome to UnforMETable, a new show from Amazin’ Avenue that looks back on less heralded, more obscure, but quintessential Mets players from the past This week, Rob Wolff travels back to the late 1970s, an era of big hair (but fortunately no plastic grass—at least at Shea). We’ll take a look at the brief but joyful Met tenure of the young, afro-sporting Nino Espinosa.  Hear about Espinosa’s impressive debut, looking like a solid young starter in 1977—including one memorable game in which he almost matched the recent dominance of Noah Syndergaard, driving in the only run of a 1-0 victory—over that year’s soon to be minted Cy Young award winner, Steve Carlton. You’ll also hear about his quick flame out, getting traded to the Phillies, where he was a member of the 1980 team that won the World Series, though he did not get to play in the postseason. Thereafter, his career ended abruptly; sadly, his life would tragically do the same not much later. 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, Spotify, or wherever you get your 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 on Twitter @unformetable as well. Tune in next week for another tale from the Mets’ past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices