Dave Eilers joined the New York Mets when they purchased his contract from the Milwaukee Braves on August 18, 1965. The right-hander made his Mets debut throwing a scoreless ninth-inning of New York's 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium on August 22nd. He finished the season from the bullpen and registered a 1-1 record, and 4.00 ERA for the 11 games he pitched. Having always been used as a relief pitcher in the major-leagues it was not until reaching New York that Dave got his first big-league at-bat. The pitcher came to the plate in the top of the ninth-inning at Forbes Field on September 22, 1965. Eilers delivered a single to centerfield off Pirates pitcher, Roy Face. Unfortunately he would surrender a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to give Pittsburgh a 7-5 victory.
Dave made 23 appearances at the beginning of the 1966 season, but struggled with a 4.67 ERA. He was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville after June 26th. Eilers was 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 24 games with the Suns. The Houston Astros selected him from the Mets organization in the minor league draft on November 29, 1966.
"You just need a break," Dave said of pitchers reaching the major-leagues. "Somebody might even be having a bad year in the minors, but somebody else gets hurt and they get called up and take off from there, maybe doing better than they did in Triple-A. I think it's all a matter of getting the right breaks at the right time."
Dave Eilers signed his card in the set from an autograph request sent to his home on October 30, 2008.
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