About Ron Swoboda
Ronald Alan Swoboda (born June 30, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1965 through 1973, most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as the Miracle Mets when they rose from being perennial losers to defeat the favored Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series for one of the most improbable upsets in World Series history. Swoboda executed one of the most impressive defensive plays of the series in the ninth inning of Game 4 to help preserve a Mets victory. He also played for the Montreal Expos and the New York Yankees. == Major league debut == Swoboda was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he graduated from Sparrows Point High School. He then played for one season at the University of Maryland, and after an impressive showing in the AAABA tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swoboda was offered a $35,000 contract to sign with the New York Mets by scout Pete Gebrian on September 5, 1963. Swoboda spent only one season in the Mets' farm system in AA with the Williamsport Mets before making the Major League team in spring training, 1965. At the age of 20 he made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the season opener, and lined out in his only at-bat. He pinch hit, again, in the second game of the season, this time hitting an 11th-inning home run (the Mets still lost, as the Houston Astros had scored four runs in the top of the inning). He homered again in his first at-bat on April 18, giving him two home runs in his first four Major League at-bats.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.