#334) TIM TEUFEL

Tim Teufel was traded along with Pat Crosby by the Minnesota Twins to the New York Mets in exchange for Billy Beane, Bill Latham, and Joe Klink on January 16, 1986. With a much higher batting average facing left-handed pitchers he was used in a platoon at second base with Wally Backman. Tim had a distinctive hip wiggle when entering his batting stance that was dubbed the "Teufel Shuffle". He joined the club at the beginning of the season of their 1986 World Series Championship.

Teufel had two memorable moments during that World Series facing the Boston Red Sox. In Game One he allowed a ground ball to pass untouched between his legs. The error set up the only run scored in the game and a Red Sox victory. "The focal point in this game is the error." said Tim. "I feel bad for Ron Darling (The Mets starting pitcher). He's from the Boston area, and if I could take the loss for him, I would. I'm going to take a nice, long, 35-minute ride home and let it settle. I don't think my new little son is going to disown me." Neither did Teufel's manager, Davey Johnson who said, "The error didn't beat us. What beat us was not scoring any runs."

Tim came into the World Series spotlight next when he slugged a home run off Red Sox pitcher, Bruce Hurst in the eight inning of Game Five at Fenway Park. The Mets would lose that game, but claim the series in seven games.

During the 1986 season four Mets players were involved in an altercation with the Houston police outside of Cooter's nightclub in Texas. Teufel and Ron Darling pleaded no contest in January of 1987 and were fined $200 each and placed on one year probation. The incident continued to fuel the rough reputation that this New York team was earning.

With Gregg Jefferies becoming the everyday second baseman, the Mets traded Tim to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Garry Templeton on May 31, 1991. "It's not the first thing that I wanted to happen," Teufel said. "But Frank (Cashen) said that it's likely the best for my career. At this point I agree."

The infielder and his wife, Valerie have been involved with the "Tim Teufel Celebrity Golf Classic" since 1987. Raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Tim returned to the New York Mets organization as a successful minor league manager. First leading the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2003, and most recently the Binghamton Mets.

Tim Teufel signed his card in the set for me after a game when the Buffalo Bisons faced the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field on May 18, 2011. Adding a "86 WSC" inscription.