Former Mets and Yankees pitcher Rob Gardner died on Saturday, according to an obituary in the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
He was 78.
Gardner played parts of five seasons of his major league career in Queens and The Bronx, making his first MLB start with the Mets on Sept. 1, 1965, against the Astros.
Over 46 appearances for the Mets — 21 of which were starts — Gardner posted a 4.79 ERA and struck out 93 batters.
The most memorable game of his career may have come with the Mets on Oct. 2, 1965, during the final game of the season against the Phillies, when Gardner threw 15 shutout innings.
The lefty struck out seven and gave up five hits with just two walks.
The game ended in a 0-0 tie after 18 innings.
Gardner threw 133 ⅔ innings with a 5.12 ERA for the Mets in 1966 and was traded to the Cubs before the trade deadline in 1967.
He returned to New York in 1969 when he was traded by Cleveland to the Yankees, where he went to play for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse.
Read Related Also: ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry dead at 54: Selma Blair, Olivia Munn and other celebrities react
Gardner appeared in one game for the Bronx Bombers in 1970.
He was part of a trade to the Athletics in April 1971 that sent Felipe Alou to the Yankees, but Oakland traded Gardner back to the Yankees a month later.
He made 22 more appearances for the Yankees over the 1971 and 1972 seasons.
The Yankees traded Gardner back to Oakland, this time for Felipe’s brother Matty Alou, after the 1972 season.
Gardner also spent time with the Brewers in 1973, when he threw his last major league innings.
After pitching in the minors in 1974 and ’75, Gardner retired due to an elbow injury.
After his retirement from baseball, Gardner joined the Binghamton Fire Department and was part of the first group of firefighters to become paramedics, according to the obituary.
Gardner is survived by his two children, three grandchildren, sister, niece and great nephew.
