1996 St. Lucie Mets Roster
Team Record: 71-62
Finished 1st in the FSL's East Division
Manager: John Gibbons (71-62)
Affiliation: New York Mets
Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida
Ballpark: First Data Field
Attendance: 74,728, Avg. 1,168 in 64 home dates
Playoffs - St. Lucie Mets 2 games, Vero Beach Dodgers 0
Finals - St. Lucie Mets 3 games, Clearwater Phillies 1
The St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League ended the 1996 season with a record of 71 wins and 62 losses, finishing first in the league's East Division.
The Mets plated 517 runs and yielded 505 runs. Jose Lopez paced St. Lucie with 11 home runs Randy Warner drove in 69 runs. Jose Lopez led hitters with significant playing time by hitting .291. Arnie Gooch topped the squad with 12 wins and a team-best 2.58 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 1996 St. Lucie Mets who spent time in Major League Baseball during their careers included Paul Wilson, Jesús Sánchez, Kevin Flora, Pete Harnisch, Dan Murray, Preston Wilson, Jarrod Patterson, Jay Payton, Vance Wilson, Guillermo Mota, Shannon Withem, Rafael Roque, Ramón Tatís and Scott Sauerbeck.
John Gibbons served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Arffa | R | L | January 26, 1973 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| Luis Arroyo | L | L | September 29, 1973 | 5'11" | 171 | Arecibo, PR |
| Joe Atwater | L | L | February 12, 1975 | 6'3" | 155 | Graham, NC US |
| Craig Bullock | R | R | February 11, 1972 | 6'3" | 210 | |
| John Carter | R | R | February 16, 1972 | 6'1" | 195 | Chicago, IL US |
| Jeff Cosman | R | R | February 8, 1971 | 6'4" | 205 | |
| Rob Cox | R | R | November 11, 1975 | 6'1" | 176 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Bob Daly | R | R | October 8, 1972 | 6'1" | 205 | |
| Cesar Diaz | R | R | July 12, 1974 | 6'3" | 185 | Maracay, Aragua VE |
| Jon Farrell | R | R | July 30, 1971 | 6'2" | 180 | |
| Kevin Flora | R | R | June 10, 1969 | 6'0" | 180 | Fontana, CA US |
| Paul Gomez | R | R | March 8, 1973 | 5'11" | 190 | |
| Arnie Gooch | R | R | November 12, 1976 | 6'2" | 195 | Levittown, PA US |
| Rafael Guerrero | R | R | December 3, 1974 | 6'2" | 191 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Pete Harnisch | S | R | September 23, 1966 | 6'1" | 195 | Commack, NY US |
| Scott Hunter | R | R | December 17, 1975 | 6'1" | 210 | Philadelphia, PA US |
| Angel Jaime | R | R | March 6, 1973 | 6'0" | 160 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| John Kelly | R | R | December 13, 1972 | 6'1" | 195 | Fitchburg, MA US |
| Toby Larson | R | R | February 22, 1973 | 6'3" | 210 | Coeur D'Alene, ID US |
| Jose Lopez | R | R | August 4, 1975 | 6'0" | 184 | Santiago, Santiago DO |
| Scott Marquardt | R | R | August 25, 1972 | 6'2" | 195 | Baytown, TX US |
| Jim McCready | R | R | November 25, 1969 | 6'1" | 177 | |
| Ryan Miller | R | R | October 22, 1972 | 6'0" | 175 | Tulare, CA US |
| Guillermo Mota | R | R | July 25, 1973 | 6'6" | 240 | San Pedro de Macoris, San Pedro de Macoris DO |
| Dan Murray | R | R | November 21, 1973 | 6'1" | 193 | Los Alamitos, CA US |
| Brandon Naples | R | L | November 5, 1972 | 6'1" | 215 | Reading, PA US |
| Phil Olson | R | R | October 24, 1973 | 6'3" | 225 | St. Joseph, MI US |
| Steve Pack | R | R | August 6, 1973 | 6'3" | 185 | Oceanside, CA US |
| Jarrod Patterson | L | R | September 7, 1973 | 6'1" | 195 | Montgomery, AL US |
| Jay Payton | R | R | November 22, 1972 | 5'10" | 185 | Zanesville, OH US |
| Chris Roberts | R | L | June 25, 1971 | 6'0" | 190 | Green Cove Springs, FL US |
| Bryan Rogers | R | R | October 30, 1967 | 5'11" | 178 | Hollister, CA US |
| Rafael Roque | L | L | January 1, 1972 | 6'4" | 186 | Cotui, Sanchez Ramirez DO |
| Jesús Sánchez | L | L | October 11, 1974 | 5'10" | 165 | Nizao, Peravia DO |
| David Sanderson | L | L | October 2, 1972 | 6'3" | 185 | Columbia, MO US |
| Scott Sauerbeck | R | L | November 9, 1971 | 6'3" | 190 | Cincinnati, OH US |
| Barry Short | R | R | December 15, 1973 | 6'3" | 195 | Springfield, MO US |
| Jeramie Simpson | L | R | November 28, 1974 | 5'10" | 160 | Edmond, OK US |
| Ramón Tatís | L | L | January 5, 1973 | 6'2" | 185 | Guayubin, Monte Cristi DO |
| Tony Tijerina | S | R | December 19, 1969 | 5'11" | 190 | Dallas, TX US |
| Brian Turner | L | L | June 9, 1971 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| Rich Turrentine | R | R | May 21, 1971 | 6'0" | 220 | Dallas, TX US |
| Randy Warner | R | R | August 5, 1973 | 6'2" | 200 | Phoenix, AZ US |
| Paul Wilson | R | R | March 28, 1973 | 6'5" | 235 | Orlando, FL US |
| Preston Wilson | R | R | July 19, 1974 | 6'2" | 193 | Bamberg, SC US |
| Vance Wilson | R | R | March 17, 1973 | 5'11" | 190 | Mesa, AZ US |
| Shannon Withem | R | R | September 21, 1972 | 6'3" | 185 | Ann Arbor, MI US |
| Julio Zorrilla | S | R | February 20, 1975 | 5'9" | 166 | San Pedro de Macoris, San Pedro de Macoris DO |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
