Better Know a Metstache: John Pacella
by Teufel Stubble | March 20th, 2009
Nobody beats John's stache!
I was fortunate enough to exchange emails with Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing yesterday and Greg had some thoughts on classic Metstaches. He noted that we had focused thus far on Metstaches of the 1980s and had neglected those scrappy 70s staches. Well, I had no response. He was right. So, today we profile John Pacella and his Metstache.
John who? Yeah, he’s not exactly having his number retired anytime soon (he wore #20, btw). John and his whiskers played for the Mets in 1977 and 1979-1980. He was a RHP who was a part-time starter. And he had one hell of a stache.
In his three seasons with the Mets, John went 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA in 39 appearances. His career, unlike his stache, was not particularly prolific. So why profile him at all? Because John’s contributions weren’t about on-field performance. He was there to bring the whimsy.
You see, John’s throwing motion was so awkward that his cap would often fall off after his delivery. Imagine the joy on the faces of teammates and fans as John and his whiskers retrieved his hat after allowing yet another batter to reach base (he had a 1.64 WHIP in his three seasons with the Mets). Every team needs a John Pacella to lighten the mood on a hot August Day.
Thanks for the smiles, John. And thanks, Greg, for inspiring this post.
And now you better know a Metstache.
Be sure to check out Greg’s book, Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets when it comes out on Monday, March 23.
Tags: Better Know a Metstache, Faith and Fear in Flushing, Greg Prince, John Pacella
Better Know a Metstache | Teufel Stubble | 
March 20, 2009
By jpk, March 20, 2009 @ 1:07 pm
where do you all stand on goatees — not for wright, but on prinicipal? It seems like Beltran grows a tremendous goatee once or twice a year and according to rigorous sabermagical analysis, he rocks when he’s got a goat going — he used it to fuel his 2004 playoff awesomeness, and parlay it into his met contract. Indeed the shadow of the goatee was there Monday when his presumed game-saving play on Brian McCann was negated only by Wright’s heroics.
I think if Beltran just changed from goatee to fu manchu, he’d probably hit .400 and win the triple crown.
Just saying — don’t want to drag that off topic, but Beltran really needs to look at some old pictures of Joe Namath or Mike Piazza.
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By Teufel Stubble:
March 21st, 2009 at 1:55 am
The goatee is very polarizing. Too often it is sported by the douchiest of the douchebags. Yes, Carlos rocked it. But did the goatee lead to the performance or did the performance mask the lameness of the goatee? It’s a chicken/egg situation.
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