METS 3B ROBIN VENTURA UNDERGOES SHOULDER SURGURY

December 1999

FLUSHING, NEW YORK (TICKER) -- New York Mets third baseman Robin Ventura, who underwent knee surgery in October, today had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right shoulder.

Today's surgery took an hour. Ventura is expected to be in the middle of a throwing program when spring training starts in February and should be 100 percent healthy by March 1, the team said.

Ventura first injured the shoulder while sliding back to second base in Game Four of the National League Division Series against Arizona on October 9.

"I was able to play through it and when I left for the offseason the shoulder felt fine," he said. "But then I began to feel a little discomfort and we decided to get it taken care of so I wouldn't have any problems next year."

Ventura was bothered by his left knee most of the season and ran with a noticeable limp throughout the playoffs. He had his lateral meniscus cleaned out on October 22.

The 32-year-old Ventura was a blessing in his first season with the Mets, batting .301 with 32 home runs and a career-high 120 RBI. He also won his sixth career Gold Glove Award and helped New York reach the NL Championship Series for the first time since 1988.