Paul Meyer helped teammate, saw 3 seasons, rookie ball
Mets farmhand Paul Meyer was good enough to play baseball professionally. He was also good enough to help a teammate learn English, according to The Kingsport Times-News.
Specifically, he was credited with helping teammate Rafael Hernandez.
"When I cam to spring training, my English was good enough to communicate and Paul Meyer helped me get a lot better and to speak faster," Hernandez told The Times-News.
Meyer helped Hernandez as he went into his third season as a pro. That season would also prove to be his last. He spent all three seasons in rookie ball.
Meyer's career began in 1989, taken by the Mets in the fifth round of the draft out of Henry High School in Minnesota.
Meyer played football, along with baseball at Henry High.
Meyer started with the Mets in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He and a single in a June game. He hit .151 overall in 31 games. He then underwent shoulder surgery in September.
Meyer returned for 1990 in the GCL. He saw another 46 games and hit .215. He went 2 for 3 in a June game.
For 1991, he moved to rookie Kingsport and also saw the GCL again. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI in an August Kingsport game. He then returned to the GCL after injuries there and hit a two-run double in a late August GCL contest.
Overall, he saw 29 games in 1991 and hit .152 to end his career.
- Kingsport Times-News, July 21, 1991: Hernandez holding his own despite wide-ranging duties
Made the Majors:1,468-31.8%
Never Made Majors:3,146-68.2%-X