Ron Hunt, the hard-nosed second baseman who became the first Met to start in an All-Star Game, died Wednesday at age 85.
Hunt, who set a Modern Era record with 50 hit-by-pitches in the 1971 season, had been in hospice care for a month.
Hunt played for five teams during his major league career, including time with the Mets (1963-66), Dodgers (1967), Giants (1968-70), Expos (1971-74) and Cardinals (1974). He collected 1,429 career hits across 12 seasons and was known for his tenacity.
“No one played the game harder than Ron Hunt, our first All-Star,” vice president of media relations Jay Horwitz wrote on Medium on July 4. “He would do anything to help win a game.”
Perhaps best known for his penchant for wearing a pitch, the two-time All-Star was plunked 243 times in his career, sixth most in MLB history.
“Some folks give their bodies to science,” Hunt famously said. “I gave mine to baseball.”
Born Feb. 23, 1941, in St. Louis, Hunt signed with the Milwaukee Braves out of high school after standout prep careers in baseball and football. The expansion-team Mets purchased his contract following their inaugural 1962 season and made him their starting second baseman, where he made his major league debut in 1963.
Hunt had 145 hits, 28 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs that season, finishing runner-up to 22-year-old Reds star Pete Rose for the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year Award. That was statistically the best season of Hunt’s career, but he continued to endear himself to fans and teammates with his no-nonsense approach to the game.
He was the Mets’ first All-Star starter, singling in his first at-bat for the National League during the 1964 Midsummer Classic held at his home field, Shea Stadium.
Hunt’s fearless play both in the batter’s box and on the field earned him a career 32.7 bWAR. It also resulted in 16 baseball-related surgeries and might have contributed to the onset of Parkinson’s disease, which affected him in his later years.
Hunt is survived by his wife, Jackie; his daughter, Tracy; and son, Ron Jr.
–Field Level Media
A former Charlotte FC executive contends he was fired because of management’s favored treatment of female employees and is suing the parent organization on the grounds of gender discrimination.
Attorneys for Dustin Swinehart, formerly the club’s director of community engagement, filed suit Thursday in North Carolina Superior Court in Charlotte, with Tepper Sports and Entertainment named as the defendant.
The Tepper group owns both the MLS team and the Carolina Panthers of the NFL and is led by billionaire David Tepper.
In the suit, Swinehart contends he was dismissed over an email he did not send and that in his time with the organization, he has heard women make racial slurs and appear intoxicated at public events with little to no discipline.
Swinehart played in the United Soccer League for 14 seasons and was inducted into its Hall of Fame. He has said he was the first employee hired by Charlotte in 2020, two years before the expansion team took the field on Feb. 26, 2022.
According to the court filing, the lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred in the first week of August 2024. Twin brothers walked away from a club youth soccer camp, leaving with the half-day campers even though they were registered for the full day. They were found “walking down the street alone” and were safe. It was the fourth day of camp.
Team leadership called for an executive-level video meeting the following day, with Swinehart taking part despite, he has said, not being at the camp the day the twins left.
Those in the meeting discussed safety procedures to be implemented and agreed to refund the camp fee paid by the family. According to a report from The Athletic, the group was told by Kisha Smith, Tepper Sports and Entertainment’s chief human resource officer, not to put anything in writing to the family.
The family was working cooperatively with the team and placed some of the blame on the children, per reports.
Later, per the lawsuit, Swinehart approached his boss about offering the family a luxury suite at Bank of America Stadium for a soccer match. The boss thought it was a good idea, so Swinehart asked one of his staff members to get in touch with the family about the offer.
His direct report followed through. Via email. And Smith learned about the contact, confronted Swinehart and put the wheels in motion for his termination, with insubordination cited as the reason.
One of the points made in the lawsuit is that Smith didn’t have the power to declare such an edict.
“I got fired for being kind, and I got fired for an email that I didn’t send,” Swinehart told The Athletic in an interview on Friday. “And that’s really tough. That’s really sad.”
A Tepper group spokesperson declined to comment to The Athletic, citing the active litigation.
Swinehart’s lawsuit lays out his allegations of violations of policy or misconduct by women in the organization. He said Tepper Sports and Entertainment prioritizes promoting women and has closed its eyes when it comes to their behavior.
“The evidence shows that had Plaintiff been female, he would not have been terminated. After all, he was the longest-tenured CFC employee and had amassed an exemplary employment record without a blemish. The incident for which he was terminated caused no harm to Defendant,” the lawsuit states. “Rather, his sole offense was to irk Defendant’s powerful CHRO because his direct report confirmed the family’s receipt of the refund and their interest in attending a match in a suite via email instead of a phone call.”
Swinehart told The Athletic that he supports women in the workplace, but that the Tepper organization’s actions — or inaction, in some cases — have left male employees to ponder their futures with the club.
While Swinehart said he supports gender-diversity goals, he said TSE’s public desire to be a leader on the issue has left some male employees unsure where they stand and has contributed to turnover.
“I think specifically, to kind of the celebration of the advancement of women, it felt more presented as, ‘This is great. Look at all the things that are happening,'” Swinehart said. “But you could just start to notice, like, OK, so where does this leave me or where does this leave other employees with opportunities?”
He has requested a jury trial, as well as punitive damages and compensation for unpaid salary.
He also wants Tepper Sports and Entertainment to make changes, he told The Charlotte Observer in an interview.
“Honestly, I really, really do want Tepper Sports to be a better place,” he said. “I am a deep believer in the power and platform of sports. … I think Charlotte’s better if Tepper Sports is as strong and as healthy as it can be.”
–Field Level Media
