About Ron Swoboda
Ronald Alan Swoboda 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. Swoboda hit 15 home runs by the All-Star break, the most ever by a Mets rookie in the first half of a season until Pete Alonso broke his record with 25 home runs in 2019. After having spent most of his time in left field his first two seasons, Swoboda was shifted to first base in 1967 to make room for newly acquired Tommy Davis in left. Swoboda's fielding at first was no better, and he was soon shifted to right field.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.