Ron Hodges

Ronald Wray Hodges (June 22, 1949 – November 24, 2023) was a left-handed-batting, right-handed-throwing catcher who spent his entire 12-year major league career with the New York Mets. Passed over after being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1970, the Kansas City Royals in 1971, and the Atlanta Braves in 1971, he finally signed with the Mets through the secondary phase of the 1972 amateur draft. Called up mid-1973 when catchers Jerry Grote and Duffy Dyer were injured, Hodges made his major league debut on June 13, 1973, catching a Tom Seaver complete game against the San Francisco Giants.