Gary Edward Gentry (born October 6, 1946) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. Early years Gentry was a second baseman at Camelback High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and only began pitching while at Phoenix Junior College. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the eleventh round of the inaugural major league draft in , and was a first round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in the January Secondary Draft in , but signed with neither team, choosing instead to remain in college. In 1966, he led the Bears to a national junior college championship. Shortly afterwards, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants, but again chose not to sign. After two years at Phoenix College, Gentry transferred to Arizona State University. He went 17–1 with a college record 229 strikeouts. In the 1967 NCAA University Division baseball tournament, Gentry tossed a fourteen inning gem against Stanford University to help his team catch the College World Series title. He was named the pitcher of the All-Tournament Team. Shortly afterwards, he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1967 Major League Baseball draft. This time, he was ready to sign. New York Mets Gentry spent just two seasons in the Mets' farm system when he caught the eye of Mets manager Gil Hodges in Spring training , and earned a spot on the opening day roster behind Tom Seaver & Jerry Koosman in the starting rotation. He came within an out of a complete game in his major league debut, defeating the Montreal Expos in front of 8,608 at Shea Stadium. Overall, Gentry made 35 starts, and went 13–12 with a 3.43 earned run average and 154 strikeouts his rookie season. Unquestionably, his biggest game came on September 24. The Mets, who once trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9 games on August 13, were now in first place by six games, and now regularly drew crowds over 50,000 to Shea. Gentry pitched a four-hit, 6–0 shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals to clinch the National League East title for the Mets. On his 23rd birthday, Gentry was sent to the mound for game three of the 1969 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. Gentry lasted only into the third inning, however, the Mets were able to mount a comeback that would allow them to sweep the NLCS, and head into the World Series against