He never played a game in Queens, but Bernie Smith was the Mets' first left fielder — the Auburn Mets, that is.

During the first year of the Mets' existence as a National League franchise in 1962, it had little success at the major league level. The team lost 120 games, a record at the time.

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But the Mets also were tasked with stocking an entire farm system that year, including their Class-D affiliate located in Auburn, New York. Four members of that team would go on to play in the majors. None waited longer than Smith, whose career was catalyzed by a December 1969 trade to the Seattle Pilots.

Smith, who died Saturday at age 88 , would never play for the Pilots either. The team moved to Milwaukee and became the

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