SACRAMENTO, CA – APRIL 13: A detail shot of the New York Mets logo is seen during the game between the New York Mets and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Sunday, April 13, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The New York Mets received news that a former first baseman and pinch hitter, Tim Harkness, died at age 87 on Monday.
The news was shared by Canadian Baseball Network’s Bob Elliott on X, formerly Twitter. Harkness was born in Lachine, Quebec before being signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1956, making him one of the first Canadian born players in the major leagues.
The Phillies traded Harkness to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957. In 1959, while playing for the Triple-A Montreal Royals, Harkness was among the first to play a game in Cuba following Fidel Castro’s rise to power.
Harkness told Elliott that the Royals’ manager became so incensed by a call that he accidentally struck a Cuban soldier, who pointed his gun at the dugout.
“The guard has his gun pointed at me,” Harkness said, per Elliott. “All he knew was that he’d been hit and he was ready to spray the dugout. I froze.”
Harkness explained that his teammate and eventual Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda cleared the situation up by speaking Spanish to the guard.
Harkness was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets in 1962 and enjoyed his best professional season with the franchise in 1963, when he appeared in 123 games and slashed .211/.290/.339 with 10 home runs.
During that season, Harkness slugged one of the signature home runs in the franchise’s early history.
“On June 26, 1963, at the Polo Grounds, Harkness brought one of the most exciting wins to the early days of the New York Mets,” Mets historian “Centerfield Maz” recalled. “With the Mets down 6-4 to the Chicago Cubs in the 14th inning, Harkness delivered with a walk off grand slam home run against Jim Brewer, scoring Ron Hunt, Jimmy Piersall and Hawk Taylor. The small crowd of almost 9,000 were delighted to say the least.”
In 1964, Harkness made history as the first Mets player to bat and the first to log a hit in the team’s inaugural game in Shea Stadium.
Harkness was later traded to the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to their Triple-A affiliate in San Diego. That led to a long and decorated career as a scout for the San Diego Padres organization.
Harkness earned a Canadian Baseball Network Scout of the Year Award for his work with the Padres in 1996, and then went on to manage the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team, a Canadian Baseball League franchise. Harkness led the Maple Leafs to an Intercounty Baseball League championship.
The Maple Leafs posted a tribute to Harkness on their Instagram page on Monday.
“We are deeply saddened to learn about the passing of former Major League Baseball player, Toronto Maple Leafs manager, and IBL champion Tim Harkness,” the team wrote. “Rest in peace, Tim Harkness.”
After a long career around the sport that included playing, scouting and managing at the highest levels and across two countries, Harkness will be remembered by baseball fans around the globe. But some Mets fans will always know him as the first player to log a hit for the franchise in one of Major League Baseball’s most renowned stadiums.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2025/12/02/history-making-mets-veteran-dies-after-colorful-award-winning-baseball-career/
