Terry Fennell Blocker (born August 18, 1959) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who played with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. The 6'2" outfielder batted and threw left handed.

MLB career

Blocker was the Mets' first round selection (#4 overall) in the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...

out of

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

. In his first professional season, , he batted .341 with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s for the

Little Falls Mets The Little Falls Mets were a minor league baseball team located in Little Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League, and were affiliated with the New York Mets. Their home stadium was Little Falls Veterans Memorial Park. ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In , he played for the Mets' minor league affiliate in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, where he shared the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

with two players who would go on to greater fame - Darryl Strawberry and Billy Beane. In 1985 Blocker played in 18 games in the Major Leagues for the New York Mets. He got one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in 15 at bats. He sustained a bruised

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

above his left knee in a collision with

Danny Heep Daniel William Heep (born July 3, 1957), is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Heep, who batted and threw left-handed, played for five different ballclubs during his 13-year career: the Houston Astros (1979–1982), New York Mets (198 ...

in right-centerfield that resulted in

Terry Pendleton Terry Lee Pendleton (born July 16, 1960) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas C ...

inside-the-park In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in the fifth inning of an 8–2 loss to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the second game of a doubleheader at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

on June 9, 1985. He spent the entire 1986 and 1987 seasons in the minor leagues. He was traded to the Braves before the 1988 season and had his most successful season playing in 66 games that season, mostly as their center fielder, and had a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .212 in 198 at bats. He also had 2

s, 10

rbis A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and scored 13 runs. 1989 was his final Major League season playing in only 26 games. An attempt to become a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

did not prolong his

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

, and he only pitched 1 inning in his Major League career, for the Braves in 1989. Although posting just a .205

(50-for-244) with 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 110 games in the majors, he was a strong defensive outfielder. He committed only one miscue in 177

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

for a .994 fielding percentage.

Personal

In 1995, Terry Blocker helped track down who murdered fellow Braves replacement player Dave Shotkoski. Shotkoski was murdered March 24, 1995 while walking near the Braves' hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla. Blocker went into the hard neighborhood near the hotel, found an acquaintance made when he played for the Braves in the late '80s, and started a search for the killer. West Palm Beach police confirmed Blocker helped target suspect Neal Douglas Evans. The locals initially stonewalled Blocker, but eventually word got out that Evans was bragging about the murder. Blocker learned Evans was hiding in an alleged crack house and relayed that to police. They arrested Evans—who, police said, has a rap sheet "seven feet long"—at the house.

References

External links

Terry Blocker
at Ultimate Mets Database Living people 1959 births Major League Baseball outfielders New York Mets players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from South Carolina Tennessee State Tigers baseball players Little Falls Mets players Jackson Mets players Tidewater Tides players Richmond Braves players Greenville Braves players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1950s-stub