was hampered by injuries to his back and elbow, Mazzilli was traded from the Mets to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell on April 1, 1982. He had lost the right fielder competition to Ellis Valentine and Joel Youngblood. He batted .269 with 61 home runs in his five years with the Mets. Mazzilli played only 58 games with Texas and was traded to the New York Yankees for Bucky Dent midway through the 1982 season. Prior to the 1983 season, Mazzilli was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tim Burke, Don Aubin, John Holland, and Jose Rivera. Re-signing with the Mets The Mets were early favorites to reach the post-season in 1986, and prior to the start of the season offered third baseman Ray Knight to the Pirates for Mazzilli. The Pirates turned them down. The Pirates released him in July 1986, and he re-signed with the Mets on August 3. Upon signing with the Mets, Mazzilli was assigned to their triple-A affiliate, the Tidewater Tides. This was his first tour of duty with the Tides as he had made the jump to the major leagues from double-A. On August 7, the Mets released left fielder George Foster and called Mazzilli up to the majors. Foster was very critical of this move by the Mets, and accused his former employers of racism. Mazzilli turned out to be an important part of their championship team. His career with the Mets continued until 1989 when he was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays on waivers. Mazzilli retired after the 1989 season, his 14th in the major leagues. His final major league at bat came on September 29, 1989 when the Toronto Blue Jays were hosting the Baltimore Orioles. There was a great deal of attention paid to the game, as it was the middle game of a three-game series that would decide the winner of the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles had beaten even the most optimistic expectations and were in first place for much of the 1989 season. Baltimore needed to win three games against Toronto to enter post-season play. Baltimore had lost the first game. In Mazzilli's final at bat, during the second game, he singled to center field. In 14 major league seasons covering 1475 games, Mazzilli batted .259 (1068-for-4124) with 93 home runs and 460 RBI. Pittsburgh drug trials Mazzilli and Pirates teammates