Beloved Mets slugger dies at 54 after retiring as one of MLB’s last players to wear Jackie Robinson’s No. 42

Butch Huskey, the beloved New York Mets outfielder, has passed away at age 54, the team announced Friday.

A cause of death has not been revealed for the native Oklahoman.

‘We are saddened to learn about the passing of former Met Butch Huskey,’ the Mets said in a statement.

Huskey was among the last players to wear No. 42 after it was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson, who had integrated the game a half century earlier. One of several players wearing No. 42 at the time it was retired, Huskey was given a grandfather clause, allowing him to keep the jersey until his own retirement. 

He was a seventh-round pick out of Lawton, Oklahoma’s Eisenhower High School, where he was an All-State tight end on the football field. In fact, he was offered a scholarship to play for the home state Sooners, but instead went with the Mets offer and began his minor league career. 

Huskey wouldn’t reach the majors until 1993, and due partially to the 1994 MLB strike, he wouldn’t really get to enjoy life in the majors until 1995.  

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Huskey was among the last players to wear No. 42 after it was retired by MLB in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson, who had integrated the game a half century earlier

Butch Huskey is seen with his former Seattle Mariners teammate, Ken Griffey Jr. in 2022